Hermeneia: A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible. During his ministry, Enoch also built a city for the people of God or the people who repented and were baptized. Bradshaw, Jeffrey M., and David J. Larsen. So it is possible the City of Enoch could have been around these biblical regions. 5. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company, 1983. https://www.marquette.edu/maqom/slavonicenoch.html. Enoch and all who lived in Zion, his city, were so righteous that Heavenly Father took the whole city up into heaven. Moreover, in both cases the destination of the western movement of each group is identified as a unique hierocentric location: for Enochs people that location was Mount Sumru in the middle of the world map, while for the early Saints that location was Mount Zion, which shall be the city of New Jerusalem (Doctrine and Covenants 84:2, emphasis added), a relatively central location on the North American continent. While talking to the Lord, Enoch expressed his full confidence in Zion, saying, "SurelyZionshall dwell in safety forever" (Moses 7:20). The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary. The motif of the ascent of the community to the heavenly realm, although perhaps not as well known as the great stories of individual ascenders, is not as difficult to find as it may initially appear. Similarly, Moses 7:69 states, "And Enoch and all his . many children into the same glory he possesses (2:10). "Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 12:2223, KJV). Rashi imagines a landscape in which all Israelites will kiss one another., Differing with the Lords previous instruction to Enoch, He delivers His word as a monologuethere is no reply from Enoch this time, only an epilogue from the narrator. From the scriptures, we know that Enoch came east out of his homeland of Cainan to preach repentance unto the people. I will briefly outline the pattern that I have been able to piece together, drawing on an array of different texts within these collections. There are two problems with this argument. After all, Latter-day Saints have been called, like Enochs people, to more fully engage our hearts and accelerate our labors in a spirit of consecration until the Enochs vision of a true and permanent Zion becomes a reality. and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven (Heb. Hopler, Whitney. When I first saw the photo that accompanied the inspiring New Years message and invitation for 2022 from President Nelson,[1] I could not help but think of the following verses from the Joseph Smith Translation of Genesis about the city of Enoch (JST Genesis 9:2122): 21 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant, which I made unto thy father Enoch; that, when men should keep all my commandments, Zion should again come on the earth, the city of Enoch which I have caught up unto myself. Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book, 1989. Furthermore, the text says that men who came up unto this [priesthood] order of God, were translated and taken up into heaven. Melchizedek, we are told, was a priest of this order and was able to obtain peace in the city he ruled, the city of Salem. [28] G. W. E. Nickelsburg et al., 1 Enoch 2, 45:45, p. 148. 2:11- 12) and a whirlwind (2Ki. . This unique community matured over a period of 365 years, after which it was received up into heaven. Orem and Salt Lake City, UT: The Interpreter Foundation and Eborn Books, 2020. As a number of scholars have argued,31 I believe that some of these texts, or similar ones, originated with, or were used by, the priesthood at the Jerusalem Temple. "And Enoch beheld angels descending out of heaven, bearing testimony of the Father and Son; . Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University FARMS, 2000. Cainan was "the land of promise" named after the great-great-grandson of Adam (Moses 6:17). We are then told that "Zion, in process of time, was taken up into heaven" (Moses 7:21). Jim Davila has noted that in 2 Enoch (7172) we find the unusual tale of Melchizedek being taken away to paradise during the Flood so that he may serve later as a high priest.3 Additionally, in the Qumran texts known as 11QMelchizedek and the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice, Melchizedek appears to be depicted as a high priest who serves in the heavenly temple.4 Davila describes the trajectory of the figure of Melchizedek in ancient literature as moving from Melchizedek the priest-king to Melchizedek the god.5. 18, 23549. [20] A. F. J. Klijn, 2 Baruch, 4:23, p. 622, emphasis added. 26. 1. 1 (2013): 3-24. http://archive.atsjats.org/Paulien_-__Resurrection.pdf. And I beheld that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God. (2021, February 8). that he might take his place with the host of the holy ones and enter into community with the congregation of the children of heaven (1QHa XI, 2023).24, The second point, regarding the idea that the individual is, while in the heavenly realm, taught the mysteries of heaven, can be seen in columnXII of 1QHodayota. This latter-day city is described in modern scripture in close connection with descriptions of Enochs ancient city (see, for example, Doctrine and Covenants 45:1114). Enoch became a prophet to a wicked people, and eventually, all the people of the City of Enoch became so righteous, that they were "translated" and taken up to heaven, to return during the millennial rule of Jesus Christ. [13] Likewise, as George Mitton observes, the Book of Mormon as a testimony of the risen Lord is equally fitting since the symbol of its coming forth from the earth is reminiscent of the Lords resurrection.[14], Of course, in contrast to some other ancient religions, evidence for an early Israelite belief in a personal resurrection is controversial. Again, the ancient Enoch literature echoes the themes of the Book of Moses. In chapter 7 of the book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith provides us with an extensive account of how Enoch built a city "called the City of Holiness, even ZION" (Moses 7:19). I seek you, and as sure as dawn, you appear to me (lines 67).25 He later goes on to say, For you have made me understand your wonderful mysteries (lines 2829).26 In another place, he exclaims, I thank [you, O Lord], that you have instructed me in your truth, and made known to me your wondrous mysteries.27, We can glimpse the motif of the individual being called to teach the mysteries in 1QHodayota XII, 2829. This series of articles introduces a new book entitled Enoch and the Gathering of Zion: The Witness of Ancient Texts for Modern Scripture (see review at: https://latterdaysaintmag.com/a-new-biography-of-enoch-and-an-excellent-tool-for-the-book-of-moses/ . And it came to pass in his days, that he built a city that was called the City of Holiness, even Zion (Moses 7:13, 17-19). . They asked Zosimus all about the happenings on Earth and then proceeded to recount their own history and how they came to live in Paradise. God made heaven and earth; at last he will remake both and join them together forever. I have found a related pattern of themes in my own research on other Qumran texts, including a collection of poetic compositions or songs known as the Hodayot, or Thanksgiving Psalms, and the scroll labeled 4Q381, a collection of noncanonical psalms. After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Temple on Mount Zion 6, 3196. Reprint, Salt Lake City, UT: Bookcraft, 1966. 2 (Syriac Apocalypse of) Baruch. In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, edited by James H. Charlesworth. The Brill Reference Library of Judaism 18. What is the book of Enoch and should it be in the Bible? 5. He is taught the heavenly mysteries, often by God himself; c. He is appointed to be a teacher and is called to teach the mysteries to others; d. Those who follow his teachings are then permitted to participate in a heavenly ascent or vision. Harold Attridge believed it to have been presented as an oratorical performance.9 Scott Mackie refers to it as a mystical drama.10 Similarly, a number of scholars in recent years, including Crispin Fletcher-Louis, John Dunnill, Luke Timothy Johnson, and Silviu Bunta, have described Hebrews as a symbolic, participatory liturgy that moves worshippers from the profane to the sacred sphere.11 In other words, the epistle, or at least parts of it, was plausibly meant to have been performed, or acted outwith a series of events set in the heavenly temple, which would be dramatically brought to life through the use of visually oriented literary practices such as dramatized narrative with speaking actors, visual imagery, cues, and commandsincluding directions to behold, gaze upon, draw near, and enter.12 Scott Mackie has attempted a reconstruction of this dramatic portrayal, which he understands to be a divine adoption ceremony. He outlines the following elements in Hebrews: 1. Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cover image: Left: President Russell M. Nelson looks up in a photo included with his first message of 2022; Right: Enoch looks up as he is taken up to the presence of God. And the Lord said unto Enoch: Behold mine abode forever. Though many Latter-day Saints will remember Hugh Nibleys remarkable discoveries in ancient documents relating to the Book of Moses story of Enoch that were published nearly fifty years ago, they may not be aware of exciting new findings. Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him" ( Genesis 5:21-24 ). Often times in our anxiety to live Gods commandments, we focus on everything we should avoid to remain righteous. The text of the Book of Genesis says Enoch lived 365 years before he was taken by God. Aquila Lee argues that the idea about Mt. 1, 775-828. Community is provided access to the heavenly temple by Jesus, their High Priestthey are exhorted to boldly enter the heavenly sanctuary and draw near to Gods throne (4:1416; 10:1925).14. (NIV) Hebrews 11:5. [4] G. W. E. Nickelsburg, 1 Enoch 1, 25:24, p. 312. With Enochs Zion removed from the world, the residue of the people left behind continued to increase in wickednessa downward spiral that ultimately ended with the coming of the Great Flood to cleanse the earth of their iniquity. New York City, NY: HarperOne, 2008. We make this interpretation of veil of darkness being spiritual in nature based on similar phrases elsewhere in scripture, for example, Moses 7:56 (the heavens were veiled) and Doctrine and Covenants 38:8 (the veil of darkness shall soon be rent), which imply that this veil will cut off direct communication from heaven. Hebrews 9:8. Aquila H. Lee, From Messiah to Preexistent Son (Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2005), 258. The Prophet Joseph Smith explained:[17]. 1 (1996): 1730. . 27. This is the trajectory that Joseph Smith elaborates in his grand revelation on the kingdoms of heaven recorded in Doctrine and Covenants76. Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice implies a communal ascent: if one makes the ascent then one does so in a group. He saw God receive Zion "up into his own bosom" (Moses 7:69). Carol Newsom, one of the foremost authorities on the Songs, suggests that the recitation of these Sabbath songs was a major vehicle for the experience of communion with the angels18 and is intended as a communal experience of the human worshipping community that gives the participants a sense of being in the heavenly sanctuary and in the presence of angelic priests and worshippers.19 Davila argues that these songs were meant for liturgical use and refers to them as part of a weekly cultic drama.20 Crispin Fletcher-Louis sees the Songs as a conductors score for not merely a descriptive heavenly tour but a more concrete ritualized heavenly ascent. Translation of Hebrews 2:9 is Mackies. I will cite here examples from the pertinent Qumran texts to demonstrate each of these points. Although the texts are highly fragmentary, which makes their full content and purpose difficult to establish, they appear to have been designed to take worshippers on a tour through the celestial realms, introducing them to the angelic priesthood and the songs they sing in praise of God, guiding them through the heavenly temple, and depicting a vision of the glorious throne of God. As the righteous of Enochs day were remembered by BG as having been divinely led westward, so the early Saints were told by the Lord: gather ye out from the eastern lands and go ye forth into the western countries (Doctrine and Covenants 45:64, 66). An Impossible Challenge Turned into Hope for the Children of the Leprosy Colonies in Bihar, Latter-day Saint Fiction: A Step Into Another Time, Food for Your 120 Hour Kits that Youll Actually Eat, Come, Follow Me for Individuals and Families: Joseph SmithMatthew 1; Matthew 25; Mark 1213; Luke 21, Photo Essay: Saratoga Springs Utah Temple Begins Public Open House, https://latterdaysaintmag.com/a-new-biography-of-enoch-and-an-excellent-tool-for-the-book-of-moses/, Great Tribulations for Some; Preservation for the Lords People (7:61), The Lord Will Gather the Righteous (7:62), The Earth Shall Rest, and Enoch Receives a Fulness of Joy (7:67), https://journal.interpreterfoundation.org/the-past-and-future-of-the-temple-lot-in-independence-jackson-county-missouri/, https://www.marquette.edu/maqom/slavonicenoch.html, https://archive.org/download/131203ImageAndLikeness2ReadingS, https://www.academia.edu/28945654/_Introduction_to_MANI_S_PICTURES_The_Didactic_Images_of_the_Manichaeans_from_Sasanian_Mesopotamia_to_Uygur_Central_Asia_and_Tang_Ming_China_Leiden_Brill_2015_pp_1_19, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325807703_The_Book_of_Giants_tradition_in_the_Chinese_Manichaica, https://archive.org/details/1enochcommentary0002nick, http://archive.atsjats.org/Paulien_-__Resurrection.pdf, https://scriptures.byu.edu/tpjs/STPJS.pdf, https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2022-01-01/president-russell-m-nelson-suggests-3-resolutions-in-his-first-message-of-2022-238652, How I Know Podcast: When Your Children Are Young You Never Dream Whats Ahead On the Journey, Medical Training, Computers Enhance Education, and Service in Flooded Communities: Service from Latter-day Saints Around the World, Come, Follow Me Podcast #17, Rejoice with Me for I Have Found My Sheep Which Was Lost, Luke 12-17, John 11. Regarding those who are destined for celestial glory, it says, They are they into whose hands the Father has given all thingsThey are they who are priests and kings, who have received of his fulness, and of his glory; And are priests of the Most High, after the order of Melchizedek, which was after the order of Enoch, which was after the order of the Only Begotten Son. and Do we see this theme in ancient texts, or is this a complete innovation on the part of Joseph Smith as he sought to unite his followers around an inspiring and unifying goal? c. 1105. In a similar vein, Joseph Smith, in his inspired expansion of the Melchizedek pericope in Genesis 14, depicts the priesthood of Melchizedek as following the order of the priesthood of Enoch, which, in turn, is derived from the order of the priesthood of the Son of God (Gen. 14:2728, JST). Son confers family membership on community (they are his siblings)Behold I and the children which God hath given me bringing many sons unto glorynot ashamed to call them brethren (2:1015). [12] Moses 7:62. The work of scholars such as George Nickelsburg and Hugh Nibley has opened our eyes to ancient traditions regarding the figure of Enoch, so that we, as Latter-day Saints, have come to realize what a wealth of knowledge the Prophet Joseph Smith provided when he produced his inspired renderings of the first several chapters in Genesis, including the greatly expanded story of Enoch. . In Gods Image and Likeness 2. (Leiden: Brill, 1999), 2:465. Based on the translation by Newsom in Discoveries in the Judaean Desert XL, 166. (London: Latter-day Saints Book Depot, 185486), 18:303, January 1, 1877. 11. They were then miraculously freed from prison by angels who came from heaven in a brilliant light and were lifted up to dwell in Paradise. The Book of Enoch, which is part of the Jewish and Christian Apocrypha, credits archangel Haniel (under one of her alternate names) with traveling to Earth on assignment from God to pick up Enoch in a fiery chariot and escort him through the flames into another dimension to reach heaven. MS_2567_f0001-Plat_of_city_of_Zion__1833-ORIGINAL.pdf. Vol. Genesis 5:22-23. The scene also evokes the imagery of Nephis vision (1 Nephi 11:1, 3, 4,8, 25): I was caught away into an exceedingly high mountain . Brown Memorial Conference, 7 November 2020, edited by Stephen D. Ricks and Jeffrey M. Bradshaw. Detail of MCP. The ritual ascent described in Hebrews was merely a temporary, terrestrial preview of the glory they hoped to eventually share in heaven with Christ. and lie down and rise up forever and ever. . (accessed May 19, 2021). When he was 65 years old, Enoch, the seventh patriarch after Adam, was called by God to be a prophet. And the Spirit said unto me: Believest thou that thy father saw the tree of which he hath spoken? Regarding their sinless and harmonious state, they explained, Among us there is no sickness, pain, fatigue to our bodies, mutilation, weariness, or temptations; not even Satans power can touch us, for there is not among us rage, jealousy, evil desire, or hateful thoughts. The book of 3 Enoch features archangel Metatron (who had originally been the prophet Enoch before becoming an angel in heaven) reflecting on what happened when archangel Haniel came to take him on a trip from Earth to heaven. The past and the future of the Temple Lot in Jackson County, Missouri. In The Temple: Past, Present, and Future. The patriarchs and those in the monarchy, as well as those who lived in ancient Palestine before the sixth-century BCE Babylonian exile, did not imagine that the dead would be raised.. Temples are some of the most beautiful places on earth, but the work that takes place inside of them is what makes them sacred. Nickelsburg, George W. E., and James C. VanderKam, eds. We can see the parallel here between Enoch and Melchizedek of the Joseph Smith revelations, Jesus in Hebrews, and the leader of the Sabbath Songs: in each the leader gains access to the heavenly temple through his faithfulness and is then able to lead his followers in that same path of ascent. . Image Collections; Gospel Art; Gospel Art Book; Old TestamentGospel Art Book; Get more fascinating insights into the scriptures withThe Pearl of Great Price: A Verse-by-Verse Commentary. , And I looked and beheld a tree; and the beauty thereof was far beyond, yea, exceeding of all beauty. There are numerous biblical and pseudepigraphal texts that relate the ascensions of great biblical heroes such as Abraham, Jacob, Levi, Moses, Isaiah, Jesus, and Paul. Regarding the first, we find in numerous places of 1QHodayota the speaker thanking God for delivering him from suffering and for having raised him to the eternal height, or heavenly realm. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company, 1983. Fortunately, the scriptures, especially the Pearl of Great Price, provide details about the divine destiny and history of the City of Enoch. Retrieved from https://www.learnreligions.com/archangel-haniel-enoch-124046. Though the Bible gives little detail about Enoch as a person, we find in the Pearl of Great Price that he considered himself "but a lad" and "slow of speech" (Moses 6:31) when he was called by God to be a prophet. While there are many theories about where the City of Enoch could have been, there's not enough evidence to give an exact location of where it was built. Hugh Nibley, Enoch the Prophet, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, vol. Because of this, it is most likely Enoch did not travel to the land of Canaan.
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