"Stretch forth thine hand" -- Part 1 (Nephi and Moses)

Occasionally I come across a verse in the Book of Mormon that catches my attention.  Such was the case recently as I read the account of Samuel the Lamanite:

4 And it came to pass that they would not suffer that he should enter into the city; therefore he went and got upon the wall thereof, and stretched forth his hand and cried with a loud voice, and prophesied unto the people whatsoever things the Lord put into his heart. (Helaman 13)

For some reason, the phrase "stretched forth his hand" stuck in my mind. I started to look for other examples. As is so often the case, new ideas came together as I noticed the patterns associated with this phrase.  I ended up looking at many, many verses throughout the scriptures. I'm excited to lay this all out and see what comes out of it.

Let's begin with Nephi.  "Stretch forth thine hand" is the title of this series of posts for a reason.  With these words, Nephi is intending to teach us a powerful lesson.  The setting is Bountiful in the old world, as the brothers murmur against Nephi for desiring to build a ship as the Lord had commanded.  Laman and Lemuel tell Nephi they know the people in Jerusalem were righteous because they kept the law of Moses.  In a masterful sermon, Nephi rebuts them by referencing Moses five times including this reference:

26 Now ye know that Moses was commanded of the Lord to do that great work; and ye know that by his word the waters of the Red Sea were divided hither and thither, and they passed through on dry ground. (1 Nephi 17)

And this one:

42 And they did harden their hearts from time to time, and they did revile against Moses, and also against God; nevertheless, ye know that they were led forth by his matchless power into the land of promise. 

It's not very difficult to see what Moses is doing here.  In both cases, he's clearly comparing himself to Moses. The brothers didn't take this very well:

48 And now it came to pass that when I had spoken these words they were angry with me, and were desirous to throw me into the depths of the sea;

In this moment, the brothers wanted to do to Nephi what God, through Moses, caused to happen to the Egyptians who pursued the children of Israel.

Then, in a powerful moment, God speaks to Nephi and tells him what to do in order to convince his brothers that he was following God's command:

53 And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me: Stretch forth thine hand again unto thy brethren, and they shall not wither before thee, but I will shock them, saith the Lord, and this will I do, that they may know that I am the Lord their God.

Nephi obeys and the brothers receive a physical witness that God is with Nephi.

Interestingly, Moses was given this command from God to "stretch forth/out [his] hand" on many occasions, including as Israel is miraculously saved from the Egyptians:

16 But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. (Exodus 14, see also verses 21 and 26-27) 

In a less obvious way, I believe Nephi is demonstrating to us that the same power manifested through Moses was the power that allowed Nephi to accomplish the many great things he did.

In the next part of this series, we'll take a closer look at Moses and the phrase "stretch forth/out thine hand." Then we'll look at a few other important examples of how this phrase comes into play in the Old Testament.

He will "seal you his"

I recently read the phrase "seal you his" and found it intriguing. I searched and found an article about it in the Book of Mormon Central. John Gee notes that the verb to seal occurs 34 times in the Book of Mormon. It usually takes a direct object referring to the law, the word, records, revelation, truth, etc. Twice the direct object is a person by using the expression "seal you his". Quoting from John Gee. 

While use of the term to seal to mean “to mark as one’s property, and secure from danger”
was known in Joseph Smith’s day, it was not usually used of persons. What, then, are we to make of the expression “seal you his” in the Book of Mormon? Hebrew seals from before the Babylonian exile (and thus in use during Lehi’s time) provide helpful insight. Many of those seals contain a formulaic inscription reading “belonging to,” followed by the owner’s name. To seal a document or an object, a person would wrap string or twine around it, place a daub of mud on the knot, and press the seal into the mud. Affixing this sort of seal marked the object as the possession of the person in whose name it was sealed. (Source)

What I find interesting is that the two usages of "seal you his" in the Book of Mormon are polar opposites. One is found in Mosiah 5:15

Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works, that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you his, that you may be brought to heaven, that ye may have everlasting salvation and eternal life, through the wisdom, and power, and justice, and mercy of him who created all things, in heaven and in earth, who is God above all. Amen.

The other in Alma 34:35

For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked.

In the first case, Christ seals us his. In the other, it is the devil who seals us his. This marks the end of The Two Ways, the destination they lead to, respectively. In one case it brings us to heaven to everlasting salvation and eternal life. In the other, the Spirit has withdrawn completely and the devil has all power. It is "the final state of the wicked". According to the ancient use of seals, we belong to Christ in one case, as his possession, or as king Benjamin states in that same chapter, his sons and daughters, since he has spiritually begotten us (Mosiah 5:7). I find it likely that the covenant King Benjamin's people entered into to become sons and daughters of Christ and sealed to him was marked by some formal ritual.

As mentioned, the more common usage of the word seal in the Book of Mormon is related to the word of God, often in the form of sacred records. A part of the Book of Mormon was sealed. I think there is deeper symbolism to that. We have to be ready for the word of God since it has the power to seal our ultimate fate. It is in the nature of his word

For as I, the Lord God, liveth, even so my words cannot return void, for as they go forth out of my mouth they must be fulfilled. (Moses 4:30)

D&C 1 reflects these ideas

8 And verily I say unto you, that they who go forth, bearing these tidings unto the inhabitants of the earth, to them is power given to seal both on earth and in heaven, the unbelieving and rebellious;

9 Yea, verily, to seal them up unto the day when the wrath of God shall be poured out upon the wicked without measure—

10 Unto the day when the Lord shall come to recompense unto every man according to his work, and measure to every man according to the measure which he has measured to his fellow man.

38 What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.

 

Bosom

I became interested in the word bosom as I studied the phrase "taken unto himself" in Alma 45 and Alma 46.  The connection comes from this verse:

69 And Enoch and all his people walked with God, and he dwelt in the midst of Zion; and it came to pass that Zion was not, for God received it up into his own bosom; and from thence went forth the saying, Zion is Fled. (Moses 7)

The Hebrew meaning of bosom reminds me of the metaphor of Zion as a hidden garden. The bosom is where you keep something that is both cherished and protected/hidden from plain view.

Bosom --חֵיק (ḥêq)

The word is translated in various ways, including 'lap' and 'arms.' It can even refer to the cloak covering the chest, where important things are stored (even the hands). As with many Hebrew terms, there is both a positive and and negative connotation to this term.  In the positive sense, the bosom of the Lord is a symbol of divine care and protection, as in Enoch.  See also this verse:

11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. (Isaiah 40)

In this Psalm, the author pleads with God to act on Israel's behalf by no longer withdrawing His hand in protecting and defending His people:

11 Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom. (Psalm 74)

In the negative context, the word can refer to divine judgement as well, as in these verses:

6 Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom,

7 Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the Lord, which have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom. (Isaiah 65)

According to the NIDOTTE, the expression in Hebrew is “pay back/measure/bring into the lap.” (See also Psalm 79:12 and Jeremiah 32:18.) The verses above offer a twist on the more familiar expression "burning in the bosom." 

One additional negative example: 

11 Mine eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people; because the children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city.

12 They say to their mothers, Where is corn and wine? when they swooned as the wounded in the streets of the city, when their soul was poured out into their mothers’ bosom. (Lamentations 2)

In this verse, the author uses very stark imagery to make it clear that in the day of judgement a mother will not be able to save her precious child -- the children die in their mothers' arms. 

Let's close on a more positive note.  Getting back to Enoch, we learn some important truths from the Doctrine & Covenants about the gathering, centered on the word "bosom." For example, in Doctrine & Covenants 76, Christ is described three times as being "in the bosom of the Father" (see verses 13, 25, and 39).  Then in section 38, we see these three references to "bosom":

4 I am the same which have taken the Zion of Enoch into mine own bosom; and verily, I say, even as many as have believed in my name, for I am Christ, and in mine own name, by the virtue of the blood which I have spilt, have I pleaded before the Father for them. ...

30 I tell you these things because of your prayers; wherefore, treasure up wisdom in your bosoms, lest the wickedness of men reveal these things unto you by their wickedness, in a manner which shall speak in your ears with a voice louder than that which shall shake the earth; but if ye are prepared ye shall not fear. ...

38 See that all things are preserved; and when men are endowed with power from on high and sent forth, all these things shall be gathered unto the bosom of the church. (Doctrine & Covenants 38)

From these verses, we see that just as Christ is in the bosom of the Father, Enoch has been taken into the bosom of Christ. The same blessing is promised to us if we will "treasure up wisdom in [our] bosoms."  Finally, the gathering of property and possessions into the "bosom of the church" happens as a result of temple covenants and blessings.  It is the surrendering of our will to God, allowing Him to lead us, that creates peace and abundance on earth and brings about the conditions of the Second Coming. All of this is taught beautifully using the word bosom.

One final example is found in section 88, in reference to the celestial heirs and the final "resting" state of the earth:

4 This Comforter [the Holy Spirit of Promise] is the promise which I give unto you of eternal life, even the glory of the celestial kingdom;

5 Which glory is that of the church of the Firstborn, even of God, the holiest of all, through Jesus Christ his Son—

6 He that ascended up on high, as also he descended below all things, in that he comprehended all things, that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth;

...

12 Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space—

13 The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things.

...

17 And the redemption of the soul is through him that quickeneth all things, in whose bosom it is decreed that the poor and the meek of the earth shall inherit it.

18 Therefore, it must needs be sanctified from all unrighteousness, that it may be prepared for the celestial glory;

19 For after it hath filled the measure of its creation, it shall be crowned with glory, even with the presence of God the Father;

20 That bodies who are of the celestial kingdom may possess it forever and ever; for, for this intent was it made and created, and for this intent are they sanctified. (Doctrine & Covenants 88)

Ancient religious significance of trees

Genesis 12:6 in the KJV Bible reads like this

And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.

Reading a different translation last week, I noticed that "plain" is from the Hebrew word, "elon". This appears to be a bad translation. Elon means oak or terebinth tree and virtually every other translation agrees. It presents a challenge because the tree is mentioned as if the reader knows which tree the text is referring to. There are billions of trees so what was special about that one tree in Moreh? We don't know. But even though most translations use the singular form, some claim that it might refer to a grove of trees. My knowledge of Hebrew is not even close to adequate to determine who is right. In any case, I assume the tree or grove is mentioned for a reason. It marks a sacred spot. The Lord appeared to him there and gave him promises, and Abraham built an altar. Interestingly, there is no mention of a sacrifice, which is usually the case when there is an altar. In fact, no ancient Near Eastern document refers to altars used for anything other than sacrifices in the presence of deity. Whatever happened at Moreh, other than the little information we get from the text, it was significant and God was present.

The NRSV cultural backgrounds study bible states:

No hint is given that trees themselves were worshiped, but notable trees became places where various sacred rituals were performed. The significance given to certain trees in the Biblical text suggests that they designated sacred space (cf. 13.18; 35.4,8; Deut 11.30; Judg 4.5; 6.11; 9.37). Note the eventual indictment of the Israelites that they set up sacred stones and Asherah poles “under every green tree” (2 Kings 17.10). Moreh. The name given to the oak here has been interpreted as suggesting that oracular information was gained here (Moreh means “teacher”).

This Hebrew word for tree has both a masculine and feminine version, elon and elah, respectively. Some scholars believe that elon means oak and elah means terebinth. I'm speculating here, but I believe this may be because of the strength of the large oak that can be associated with masculinity and the feminine nurture and protection that the terebinth tree gives in the form of fruit and shade (it is very dense). People in some parts of the world, like myself, don't usually value shade very highly since the hot sun is a relatively rare occurrence. But I understand it was very different for people in the Near East. See for instance Genesis 18:4, where Abraham shows his hospitality by offering his visitors to rest under a tree, among other things. 

The other thing about these words, elon and elah, is the close resemblance to El and Eloah, meaning God. As explained in this post, there is close linguistic resemblance between the tree and God that follows the same pattern as the resemblance between the ground and man.

I have written extensively about trees and tree symbolism in the scriptures before. But this detail from Abraham's life was new to me. There is a very similar description in Genesis 13:18:

So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the LORD. (This is from the English Standard Version since the KJV keeps insisting on "plain")

So we have another grove followed by the building of an altar. In Genesis 18:1, the Lord appears to Abraham at that grove. As I have written before, I think that most of the tree symbolism in the scriptures can be traced back to the Garden of Eden and the House of Israel symbolism in Zenos' allegory. There is a relationship between the covenant people and the tree of life. As the story of Abraham indicates, trees may have been a more important part of ancient Israelite worship than we might think. Especially considering the fact that Josiah's reform included the destruction of all the Asherah/tree symbols.

This all makes me think of Alma-1 in the Book of Mormon. As we know, he was one of King Noah's priests, believed Abinadi's words and secretly starting to teach the people. They gathered at a place called Mormon.

Now, there was in Mormon a fountain of pure water, and Alma resorted thither, there being near the water a thicket of small trees, where he did hide himself in the daytime from the searches of the king. (Mosiah 18:5)

The "small trees" is not a fitting description for the oaks of Abraham and with a different flora in the Americas, there were probably no terebinth trees either. But the symbolism is familiar, the trees offer protection and gives Alma a place to hide. It is also coupled with a fountain of pure water, just like the tree of life in Lehi's dream and in Revelations 21. It was certainly considered a special place

the place of Mormon, the waters of Mormon, the forest of Mormon, how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how blessed are they, for they shall sing to his praise forever. (Mosiah 18:30)

Pondering on this, my thoughts go to the sacred grove in Palmyra. This was certainly a monumental event, but there is something sacred about the place too. Considering the role of trees in the story of Adam and Eve, Abraham, Alma and the ancient tree symbolism associated with the divine, it is interesting to me that a grove of trees is where the Father and the Son appeared to Joseph Smith, ushering in the restoration in the fullness of times. They appeared amidst ancient symbols of the divine and gave young Joseph instructions, like Abraham in the grove of Moreh (Hebr. teacher).

"Taken unto himself"

As mentioned in a recent post, I looked at Alma 46, in which Moroni quotes a prophecy of the patriarch Jacob/Israel comparing the preservation of a remnant of the coat of Joseph to a righteous remnant of his seed. In making this comparison, he uses a unique phrase, highlighted in red below:

24 Yea, let us preserve our liberty as a remnant of Joseph; yea, let us remember the words of Jacob, before his death, for behold, he saw that a part of the remnant of the coat of Joseph was preserved and had not decayed. And he said—Even as this remnant of garment of my son hath been preserved, so shall a remnant of the seed of my son be preserved by the hand of God, and be taken unto himself, while the remainder of the seed of Joseph shall perish, even as the remnant of his garment.

25 Now behold, this giveth my soul sorrow; nevertheless, my soul hath joy in my son, because of that part of his seed which shall be taken unto God.

26 Now behold, this was the language of Jacob. (Alma 46)

This post will explore this phrase along with a few similar phrases in an effort to link this "preserved remnant" to Enoch's Zion.

 

Moses-Alma Metalepsis

The phrase "taken unto himself" is rare in the Book of Mormon.  It only occurs twice, once in Alma 46, which is quoted above, and once in the preceding chapter, in reference to how the end of Alma's days resembled Moses:

19 Behold, this we know, that he was a righteous man; and the saying went abroad in the church that he was taken up by the Spirit, or buried by the hand of the Lord, even as Moses. But behold, the scriptures saith the Lord took Moses unto himself; and we suppose that he has also received Alma in the spirit, unto himself; therefore, for this cause we know nothing concerning his death and burial. (Alma 45)

Connection to Enoch?

It is here that I begin to see a connection to Enoch's Zion: those who are "taken" by the Lord "unto Himself" are preserved for a righteous purpose -- therefore nothing is known "concerning [their] death and burial." Something similar is said of Enoch's Zion:

69 And Enoch and all his people walked with God, and he dwelt in the midst of Zion; and it came to pass that Zion was not, for God received it up into his own bosom; and from thence went forth the saying, Zion is Fled. (Moses 7)

I'll have more to say about this part of Moses 7 in future posts. The final verses of Moses 7 tie in with many latter-day prophecies and promises related to New Jerusalem. For now, let's focus on the words in blue. Not identical to the wording in Alma 45 and Alma 46 -- "taken unto himself" -- but very similar. And the similar sequence of gradually increasing righteousness of Alma-2, Moses, and Enoch is also readily apparent.  Notice this statement from God to Moses:

4 And, behold, thou art my son; wherefore look, and I will show thee the workmanship of mine hands; but not all, for my works are without end, and also my words, for they never cease.

5 Wherefore, no man can behold all my works, except he behold all my glory; and no man can behold all my glory, and afterwards remain in the flesh on the earth.

6 And I have a work for thee, Moses, my son; (Moses 1)

I find this so interesting.  Here is the logical chain revealed in these verses as I see it:

• God's works are endless.
• Man's work on the earth is finite.
• If a person beholds all of God's work, he would also behold all of God's glory, and could not afterwards remain on the earth.
• God still had a work for Moses to perform, therefore Moses only beheld a portion of God's work.
• It follows logically from all of this that once God's work for a given person is complete, they enter His rest, or perhaps another way to say this is that they behold all His glory.

Moses eventually completed the work God had for him, at which point he entered His rest.  Alma 45 suggests the same process happened with Alma-2. 

Enoch is the archetype of this process.

67 And the Lord showed Enoch all things, even unto the end of the world; and he saw the day of the righteous, the hour of their redemption, and received a fulness of joy; (Moses 7)

Enoch beheld "all things" and received a "fulness of joy" and entered into the rest of the Lord.

Other examples of similar wording

As I said, this wording is pretty unique in scripture.  Here are some additional examples of related wording:

In Alma 14:11 the phrase "receive them up unto himself" appears, in reference to the innocent believers killed in Ammonihah:

11 But Alma said unto him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day. (Alma 14)

In Jacob 5 the phrase "preserve ... unto myself" appears many, many times in reference to the the fruits (see verse 8, 19, 20, 23, 29, 31, 33, 46), the roots (see verse 11, 53, 54), the branches (see verse 13).  (Thanks to Stisa for bringing this to my attention). Verse 74 combines branch, root, and fruit into a metaphor that is very interesting with Enoch in mind:

74 And thus they labored, with all diligence, according to the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard, even until the bad had been cast away out of the vineyard, and the Lord had preserved unto himself that the trees had become again the natural fruit; and they became like unto one body; and the fruits were equal; and the Lord of the vineyard had preserved unto himself the natural fruit, which was most precious unto him from the beginning. (Jacob 5)

Finally, notice this crafty wording that describes the state of one who pursues unrighteous dominion:

38 Behold, ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to kick against the pricks, to persecute the saints, and to fight against God. (Doctrine & Covenants 121)

Conclusion

The phrase "taken unto himself" tells a really important story in only three words.  It is meant to evoke Enoch's blessings and remind us of what God has in store for those who, like Enoch, receive of His fullness.

In a future post, I'll discuss the word "bosom" which appears in Moses 7:69 in the context of God receiving Enoch's city. This word has a very interesting set of meanings which fit nicely into the Enoch/New Jerusalem/Temple context.