Mosiah 19 All

The Book of Mormon > Mosiah > Chapter 19

Questions

Verse 3

• Why might a minority of the people have been upset with the king?
• What does it mean to "breathe out threatenings"?
• How does the theme of contention play throughout the history of the Zeniff colony?

Verse 4

• How might this Gideon's role as liberator echo that of the Old Testament judge Gideon?
• What are we to make of Gideon? Is he a role model? A cautionary figure? What can we learn from his experience?
• How should we judge Gideon's wrath, swearing, and threats of violence?
• After reading this account, should we be surprised by how Gideon meets his eventual end?

Verse 5

• Why are we told here that Noah "fled and ran"? Aren't these pretty much the same thing?
• What might be the significance of a tower being "near" the temple, rather than part of the temple?
• What do we know about this Nephite temple?

Lexical notes

• Gideon. In Hebrew, the name Gideon means "hacker." The root verb is used elsewhere to describe the hacking down idolatrous images or shrines (cf. Deut 7:5; 12:3; 2 Chr 14:3; 31:1). The Old Testament judge Gideon may have recieved this name as a likely foreshadowing of either hacking down of the altar of Baal in Judg 6:25-32, or the hacking down of Israel's enemies depicted in Judg 7. The Book of Mormon Gideon is similarly a man of the sword; he draws it here in fighting King Noah, and is ultimately killed by the sword in Alma 1:9.

Exegesis

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The Book of Mormon > Mosiah > Chapter 19

Questions

• We are presented here with a rather colorful narrative of fleeing, fighting, and negotiating. What is the purpose of this account? Why would Mormon bother to include it? Why don't we just have a more abbreviated account? Is there something more here that we should be getting from these stories?

Verse 8

• Why might Gideon have spared King Noah? Why not just kill him and then go off to flee or fight the Lamanites?

Lexical notes

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Exegesis

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The Book of Mormon > Mosiah > Chapter 19

Questions

Verse 11

• Why might King Noah have tried to get the men to leave their wives and children?

Verse 15

• Are the Nephites expected to pay 1/2 of all they have every year, or is this just a one time payment with an unspecified level of tribute to be paid afterwards?

Lexical notes

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Exegesis

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The Book of Mormon > Mosiah > Chapter 19

Questions

Verse 16

• Why wouldn't a son of Noah have followed his father and fled into the wilderness?

Verse 17

• What does it mean for Limhi to be described as a "just" man?

Verse 18

• What position in society might Gideon have had that allowed him to send scouts out into the wilderness?
• What do the Nephites mean by wilderness? Does this just mean uninhabited lands, or is there some other meaning?

Verse 19

• What does it mean that the men had sworn "in their hearts"? Wasn't this a fairly public decision?
• What are we to make of this desire to seek revenge? Is this a noble desire? How are we supposed to feel about these men who first leave their families to potentially perish, then get upset and want to seek revenge for their deaths?

Verse 20

• These men have killed the king? What standing might they have under Old Testament law? Was this a justified killing, or something much more grievous?

Lexical notes

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Exegesis

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The Book of Mormon > Mosiah > Chapter 19

Questions

Verse 21

• How could these men have been able to grab and kill the king, but not the priests?

Verse 24

• To what does the word ceremony refer?

Lexical notes

Ceremony. According to the critical text project for the Book of Mormon, the word ceremony here is an error, and was originally translated sermon. The use of the word "ceremony" is curious, and would be the only time it to be used in ancient scripture. The only other scriptural use is in Official Declaration 1.

Exegesis

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v.24

Regarding the use of "ceremony" in verse 24, it's possible that it is a reference to some type of ritual killing or death of a king. The text prior to verse 24 contains a sense of building urgency and the implication that the actions could be happening quickly, one right after the other. For example, we are told that the people were "angry" (v. 19) and that they acted in anger when they "caused that he should suffer, even unto death by fire" (v. 19). In the following verses "they were about to take the priests" (v. 21, emphasis added), the priests "fled" (v. 21), the people "were about to return" (v. 22, emphasis added) when they met the men of Gideon, and they immediately tell the men of Gideon everything. The textual image is that of an impassioned people acting on their impulses; the men of Gideon could very well have arrived in the middle of events not yet wrapped up, and it is possible that there remained some unfinished ritual or ceremony with regards to Noah's death that the people had yet to perform, especially if he was offered in their anger as a sacrifice so that the people could regain their families.

Another possibility is discussed by Hugh Nibley in the transcripts of his Book of Mormon class. He sees the word as a clear reference to some type of reconciliation or peace ceremony in which two factions—the men of Gideon versus the men who originally left their families and followed Noah into the wilderness—ritually agree to not fight against each other. Given the political context at the time, it is not unlikely that some kind of formal treaty or ritual of reconciliation would be performed.

The use of the word "ceremony" stands out awkwardly among these verses, in the same way that Mosiah 17:11 stands out among its neighboring verses. In addition to its possible reference as a "ritual killing" or "death of a king," the word "ceremony" could denote an execution. In Mosiah 17:9, Abinadi refuses to recall his words, and then, in v. 10 he proclaims his suffering, death, and refusal to recall his words as testimonies. He levels his own evidence, as it were, against the king and his priests, and in v. 11, Noah responds with fear. The following verses--Abinadi's prophecy--are famous, but the overlooked preceeding verses lend a sense that not only was Abinadi making a prophetic statement in verses 15-19--he was pronouncing another sentance. His own death would be evidence of their corruption--evidence which could justify their own trial and eventual execution.

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The Book of Mormon > Mosiah > Chapter 19

Questions

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Lexical notes

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Exegesis

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Related links

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