Mosiah 2:6-10
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The Book of Mormon > Mosiah > Chapter 2
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Questions
Verse 9
- "Assembled yourselves." What can be learned by comparing this assembly before King Benjamin's death to other similar assemblies, esp. the assembly Jacob calls before his death in Gen 49:1ff (note esp. v. 6) and the assembly Moses calls as recorded in the book of Deuteronomy? In Deut 31:28, the so-called Song of Moses is apparently read to only a select group of "elders" and "officers." Were the rest of the Moses's words spoken to larger groups or were all of Moses's words spoken directly only to this select group of elders and officers? How might the inclusiveness of the assembly here be related to the later shift to a more democratic form of government?
Verse 10
- Why would King Benjamin go out of his way to dispel any fear the people might have of him? Why might they be afraid of a king?
- Why did King Benjamin bother to explicitly state that he is nothing "more than a mortal man"?
Lexical notes
Verse 9
- "Assembled yourselves together." Several related Hebrew words seem particularly interesting to consider in relation to the word "assembled" as used here: miqra ("convocation" is the most frequent KJV translation), qahal ("congregation" is the most frequent KJV translation), `edah ("congregation" most frequently; ), cowd (a private council), mow`ed (an appointed time or place, such as a meeting), and `atsarah ("solemn assembly"). Another issue to think about is the sense in which this assembly may be related to the historical development of a church community being established among the Nephites. Although a "church" is referred to in Jerusalem in 1 Ne 4:26, the only other previous use of the term church that we have a record of among the Nephites is in Nephi's visions (usually in relation to distantly future events) and in Jacob's eschatological vision of the gathering of Israel "to the true church and fold of God." At the least, extended consideration of how this assembly might be related to, typologically or otherwise, and informed by and informing of the divine council so frequently mentioned in theophanies is certainly called for.
- "Trifle." In LDS scripture, this word occurs in only 3 other verses: D&C 6:12; D&C 8:10; D&C 32:5. Webster's 1828 dictionary defines trifle as "To act or talk without seriousness, gravity, weight or dignity; to act or talk with levity." A Hebrew word that may be important to consider in this context is kabad which means means "to be heavy or honoured." Given the similarities of the phrase here of "open your ears that ye may hear, and your hearts that ye may understand" with Isa 6:9ff, it might be worth considering the use of the term kabad in Isa 29:13 (cf. 2 Ne 27:25) where the people are described as honoring God with their lips, but not their hearts. King Benjamin may be invoking a similar idea, if not explicitly alluding to Isaiah, admonishing the people to give great weight to the words which he will speak. This word, and this verse more generally, might be profitably considered alongside Mosiah 5:2 in contemplating the reasons why King Benjamin's words were able to effect such a miraculous "mighty change of heart" of the people.
- "Hearken unto me." The word hearken in the KJV of the Old Testament is often translated from the Hebrew word `azan. This is the same root for the word "ear" which had particular significance in ancient Hebrew culture in that masters would pierce their slaves' ear with an awl (cf. Ex 21:6; Deut 15:17; Ps 40:6; see also the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament pp. 56-57 for further discussion). Since service(/servanthood) becomes a very important theme in King Benjamin's sermon, this may be particularly significant to keep in mind. Also, King Benjamin's words here seem to emphasize the potential for change inherent in his words. It is not sufficient that his listeners give mere intellectual consideration of his words; rather, it seems he is calling for a kind of actual obedience, compliance or change in the souls of his listeners. However, the change in his listeners does not come about by some change effected by applying King Benjamin's words to their everyday lives. Instead, the change effected by his words is immediate (again, cf. Mosiah 5:2), before the listeners return to their "everyday lives."
- "Mysteries." The term mystery/ies does not occur in the KJV Old Testament, so it's difficult to know what connotations this word might've had to an ancient Nephite audience. One related Hebrew word that occurs frequently is cowd, usually translated "secret," which "refers to Yahweh's heavenly 'council' and his divine 'decision/plan/secret' and thus directly to his action and being" (Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament, p. 795). In this sense, the mysteries that King Benjamin unfolds may be referring to the pre-mortal plan of redemption in which Christ plays the central role--after all, Christ's mission of redemption seems to be the chiastic centerpiece of King Benjamin's sermon (see Welch, "Parallelism and Chiasmus in Benjamin's Speech" in King Benjamin's Speech: "That Ye May Learn Wisdom"). Nevertheless, it seems a bit strange to modern Church ears to hear this news of Christ being referred to as a mystery in light of the injunction to the proclaim the gospel far and wide. One reason Christ's redemptive mission might be referred to as a mystery (inasmuch as this is what "mysteries" here is referring to) may be because Christ's coming was a future event rather than a past event, so that future plans are mysteries, but past events are not. Another issue to consider regarding the mysteries of God is the sense in which there seems to be frustration or impatience expressed at God hiding himself from Israel (e.g., Isa 8:17) on the one hand, and yet praise for God's mysterious/hidden ways (e.g., Isa 45:15) on the other.
- "Unfolded." The term unfolded does not occur in the KJV Bible, though it appears frequently in the Book of Mormon and in the Doctrine and Covenants, often in the context of mysteries being unfolded (cf. 1 Ne 10:19; Jacob 4:18; Mosiah 8:19; Alma 40:3; D&C 6:7; D&C 10:64; D&C 11:7; D&C 90:14). In D&C 88:95, we read "immediately after shall the curtain of heaven be unfolded, as a scroll is unfolded after it is rolled up." This phrasing here, then, might be suggesting the kind of unveiling that occurs when a scroll is opened or a curtain or veil is pulled back to reveal the (sacred) contents.
Exegesis
Verse 9
Benjamin opens his massive discourse with the summoning phrase, "My brethren." Though it is common in modern translations of the Bible to render such phrases in gender inclusive language (here one might translate the phrase as "My brethren and sisters," for example), there is reason to think carefully about why ancient scriptures so seldomly speak in inclusive ways. Of course, one can simply suggest that the texts come from patriarchal cultures in which a phrase like "My brethren" was meant to cover the whole ground, and this is often the reasoning behind translating these kinds of phrases inclusively. But there might be more to the story than just that. Though the phrase first appears in the Book of Mormon in a public address much like Benjamin's speech, it is quickly thereafter taken up by the writers of the small plates as the addressee of the written prophecies as well. Interestingly, once Mormon's editorial voice intervenes, the phrase only appears in spoken addresses quoted by Mormon: he, as editor, never addresses his audience with "my brethren." (It is perhaps important to note that he does use the phrase "my brethren" a few times in his own public address in Moroni 7, though he never uses it in his written addresses.) The importance of this "cultural" point is obvious: because the phrase "My brethren" is used, outside of the small plates, as a function of public address, it may well reflect the nature of Nephite public assemblies. That is, though it is clear in this circumstance (and others as well) that women at times were present at public gatherings, the event was understood as one of exchange between males. Whether or not this is unfortunate is something for modern thinkers to debate, but it is suggestive of how this discourse and its situation might most fruitfully be interpreted: Benjamin likely understood himself to be addressing fathers, and in a double sense. On the one hand, fathers are in such a society complete political units as summary representatives of the family (cf. verse 5). On the other hand, fathers are messengers to or leaders of the family. Benjamin was thus (as so many other speakers do throughout the Book of Mormon) addressing himself to fathers as mediators, so to speak. The importance of this point will become evident by the end of verse 9.
The phrase "all ye that have assembled yourselves together" is clearly meant to clarify "My brethren." At first, the phrase seems only rhetorical, a kind of flourish for the occasion. However, the phrase anticipates verse 28 of this same chapter: "I have caused that ye should assemble yourselves together that I might rid my garments of your blood, at this period of time when I am about to go down to my grave, that I might go down in peace, and my immortal spirit may join the choirs above in singing the praises of a just God." In this later verse, Benjamin sets up an interesting parallel between the circular assembly gathered around him at the temple and the circular assembly gathered around the throne of God, in the tradition of 1 Ne 1:8 (where Lehi sees God on His throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of singing angels). This parallel is, in itself, of major importance: Benjamin understands the convocation at the temple to be an imitation of a heavenly order, and one that will apparently allow him to be (eventually) transferred from one assembly to the other. That is, Benjamin somehow sees the assembly as being connected with his own apotheosis. There are echoes here, of course, of both the ancient gathering at Adam-ondi-Ahman (as well as the still-future gathering there): "the Lord appeared unto them, and they rose up and blessed Adam, and called him Michael, the prince, the archangel. And the Lord administered comfort unto Adam, and said unto him: I have set thee to be at the head; a multitude of nations shall come of thee, and thou art a prince over them forever. And Adam stood up in the midst of the congregation; and, notwithstanding he was bowed down with age, being full of the Holy Ghost, predicted whatsoever should befall his posterity unto the latest generation" (D&C 107:54-56). Gathered in solemn assembly, the enthroned though now quite feeble king is proclaimed a prince forever and exalted to a position in the heavens.
Moreover, because this phrase quite clearly connects to verse 28, it forms a sort of inclusio, a marker that helps the reader recognize breaks in the text's structure. The word "assemble" appears in Benjamin's speech only here and in verses 27-29, where it actually appears three times. The three instances there clearly mark a transition in Benjamin's speech: it is over the course of those three mentions of assembly that Benjamin shifts to his announcement of Mosiah's ascendancy (and from a focus on creation and wisdom to a focus on abandonment and sin). This inclusio thus suggests that verses 9-28 be read as a single unit of the text, that one look carefully at these twenty verses for a particular thematic. Such a thematic, of course, can only emerge as careful study of the verses is undertaken in the following.
In verse 9 King Benjamin tells his people of four things they must do in order for the mysteries of God to be unfolded to them: 1) listen to what King Benjamin is going to tell them, 2) open their ears that they hear, 3) open their hearts that they may understand, and 4) open their minds.
Verse 10
King Benjamin makes an explicit claim here that he is not "more than a mortal man". In the Pre-classic Mesoamerican societies surrounding the land of Zarahemla, rulers impersonated gods through dance and rituals, that may also have included human sacrifices. Benjamin explicitly rejects this Mesoamerican view of divine kingship by telling the people not to fear--he isn't going to ritually sacrifice any of them!--and by affirming that he is not an immortal divine king.
Related links
- King Benjamin's Speech: "That Ye May Learn Wisdom" by John Welch and Stephen Ricks. Articles from this book are available at the Maxwell Institute website here.
- For more on Mesamerican divine kingship during the time of King Benjamin, see Ritual & Power in Stone by Julia Guernsey. You can get a taste of this by seeing Guernsey's Izapa site.
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