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Abr 3:1-21

2007-01-30T19:27:31Z

138.23.49.78: /* Exegesis */ Abbreviation and minor correction.

[[The Pearl of Great Price]] > [[The Book of Abraham]] > [[The Book of Abraham 3|Chapter 3]]
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== Questions ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Lexical notes ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add lexical notes''

== Exegesis ==
===On Abraham 3===
Certainly the first--and perhaps the only certain--thing to be said about this chapter is that it forms, within the text of the Book of Abraham (as it now stands), a transition. Whereas Abraham's first two chapters record events that gather about a sort of trajectory from Chaldea to Egypt, this third chapter introduces a sort of interruption of the journey. It can be called an interruption because one presumes that the complete Book of Abraham would return eventually to the account of the journey and record the completion of the narrative (with whatever experiences Abraham had in Egypt). This interruption is doubled because of the radical otherness that characterizes the content of most of this chapter. If it were only that the account of the journey suddenly faded into the background of a revelation recorded at length, this chapter would not be considered such an oddity in LDS scripture. The sense of interruption the reader feels at the threshold of chapter 3 is primarily the sense of a movement from the broadly familiar to the radically other.

LDS pastoral citations of this chapter are almost universally limited to the passage beginning with verse 22. This suggests that (at least LDS) readers feel "at home" again in the story of "the" pre-mortal council as it is told there and beyond. In short, Abraham 3 has been effectively divided in two by traditional approaches to the text: the first twenty-one verses are understood as a rather bizarre interruption of an otherwise simple story, and the remaining seven verses are separately a very straightforward account of the proceedings of "the" pre-mortal council of the gods. If this chapter might best be read as a transition, then it is clear now what that transition signifies in the broader scheme of the Book of Abraham: Abraham 3:1-21 forms a transition, from Abraham's journey from Chaldea to Egypt, to the revelation he received concerning the (whole?) history of man, a history stretching from "the" pre-mortal council to (implicitly, since the text does not reach so far) Abraham himself.

These introductory comments perhaps provide a framework for interpreting the first twenty-one verses of Abraham 3. It is apparently best read as a sort of transition from particular historical circumstances to a very broad overview of history; from Abraham's journey to the Lord's revelation of all things from the beginning. One question that might guide interpretation of Abraham 3:1-21 concerns the transitional role of the passage (perhaps now called a "passage" for more than one reason).

Besides being transitional, Abraham 3:1-21 absolutely must be read as an event. That is to say, these verses ''cannot'' be read as an astronomical treatise. Abraham does not at all abstract himself from the revelatory experience to discuss with his readers a labeled map of the cosmos, nor does he apparently concern himself greatly with whether or not his readers are following very well what he writes. Verses 1-21 are punctuated constantly by phrases that explicitly tie the text to Abraham's very real experience, characterizing every word with an undeniable event-ness. Perhaps the most important consequence of this aspect of Abraham's text is the fact that what Abraham has to say about the nature of the stars, etc., is ''necessarily'' kept at some distance from the interpreter. The reader can only make sense of Abraham's words if he or she has full and uninhibited access to Abraham's own experience, which is--barring an entirely new revelatory experience on the reader's part--completely impossible. Abraham 3 is inevitably a trace, merely a trace of an experience. As a trace, however, it is meant perhaps to put readers on the track of having just such a revelatory experience (see commentary at [[Abr 1:28]]).

===Verse 1===
That this verse begins with "and" marks its continuity with the event recorded immediately previous to it: the Lord's commandment to Abraham to call Sarah his sister before the Egyptians. The "and" perhaps also ties this grand revelatory experience to what might be called an entire series of revelations beginning with the very first verses of [[Abr 1]]. If the immediately preceding revelation--as well as the explicit statement of the Lord in [[Abr 3:15]]--is any hint as to the character of these revelations, then they might best be understood as a series of revelations preparing Abraham for his sojourn in Egypt (the events of which are not recorded in the Book of Abraham as it now stands, though there may be a hint of at least one such event in the representation of Facsimile no. 3). In short, Abraham 3 is a revelation preparatory to Abraham's stay in Egypt.

It should be noted, however, that this "and" does not immediately connect the previous revelations to a revelation; rather, the revelation does not begin until verse 3, coming through the mediation of Abraham's own work with the Urim and Thummim. Accordingly, one must read verses 1 and 2 as a brief description of some guesswork on Abraham's part (this would concord with a statement found in the Kirtland Egyptian Papers--this statement may be found on page 144 of the ''Joseph Smith Commentary on the Book of Abraham'', which can be downloaded [http://www.boap.org/LDS/BOAP/SecondEd/index.html here] for free--that the names and natures of certain heavenly bodies were "sought out by the most aged of all the fathers, since the beginning of the creation, by means of the Urim and Thummim." If this statement is to be taken seriously, then it appears that Abraham, using the Urim and Thummim, was trying to sort out the nature of the heavens on his own while traveling.

===Verse 2===
That Abraham is watching the stars on his journey is no incredible surprise: this detail seems to be implied already in [[Abr 2:16]] (see commentary there). In his attempt to understand the stars through the Urim and Thummim, Abraham develops a sort of preliminary approach: he reads all of the stars as gathered about "the throne of God," some at some distance, other "near unto it," these latter being "many great ones." This preliminary approach seems to set the stars against something other than a star, the throne. In other words, Abraham regards the heavens first as a question of stars gathered in relative orders at varying distances from a (central?) throne. If [[Abr 1:31]] may be read as suggesting that Abraham draws a careful distinction between planets and stars, then Abraham would here be considering only the patterns of stars as they appear in the night sky. Though it is not clear how, it ''is'' clear that what Abraham here sees is somehow connected with the vision that opens [[Rev 12]], where John sees stars (even constellations) gathered together in a drama that has something to do with the throne. Whatever Abraham's preliminary reading of the night sky, it is clear that he has some sort of picture of things before the Lord begins to instruct him in verse 3.

===Verse 3===
The largest apparent difference between Abraham's preliminary reading of the heavens and the Lord's first instruction on the matter is the identification of a particularly overarching "great one," which the Lord names for Abraham: Kolob. This selection of one among the many might well parallel the events recorded in [[Abr 3:22|Abr 3:22-28]]. Perhaps more significant still is the fact that by introducing Kolob, the Lord introduces the concept of government among the stars. This concept seems to have been entirely missing from Abraham's reading in verse 2. Though he clearly was attempting to read the stars in relation to one another, he did not yet understand that there was any sense of government among them. Kolob is introduced as a governing star, and it is set in the midst of a number of other governing stars.

===Verse 4===
This verse reintroduces the Urim and Thummim into the story, and then it seems all over again to drop out entirely. This detail suggests this verse be read against all other statements by the Lord to Abraham throughout the chapter: what is so different from the content of the Lord's statement through the Urim and Thummim from everything else the Lord says? The answer is quite simple: an actual "reckoning"--as opposed to general statements about reckoning--is provided in this verse, and nowhere else in the chapter.

Before any analysis of what this reckoning (1 day = 1,000 years) means can proceed, it would be well to understand the word itself. Its manifestations in the KJV are almost universally (except when it is a question of reckoning by genealogy, which hardly seems to be the question in Abraham 3) a translation of (in Hebrew) ''hshb'' and (in Greek) ''logizomai'', words roughly parallel to each other. ''hshb'' in modern Hebrew has come to be the common word for "thinking," meaning most literally in the ancient language "to weave together" or "to impose an order onto something." ''logizomai'' means to give a ''logos'', a logic, to something, again "to impose an order onto something." To reckon is, biblically speaking, to engage some "thing" already in existence in such a way that it comes to a new arrangement, to a new order. It is, as it were, to weave an interpretation into the thing itself, to think it. In Joseph Smith's time, "reckoning" had some emphasis on numerical order, though it might be used more broadly in the biblical sense already explored. At the very least, "to reckon" seems justifiable to be understood as "to think an order into something."

Given this meaning for the word "reckoning," it becomes somewhat clearer what is being said in verse 4. The Lord provides Abraham with His (the Lord's) own reckoning: "after his manner of reckoning,..." "This is the reckoning of the Lord's time." It seems, then, that the Lord presents Himself as a thinker, as a "reckoner," who imposes order on things (is the meaning of creation?), one who imposes a logic, even a ''logos'' (see [[John 1:1]]) on things. Perhaps only hinted at in this verse, though made explicit in the following verses, is the point that the Lord's reckoning is different from that of men. The phrasing in verse 4, however, suggests that these several reckonings are provided by the Lord, not invented by the men who think: "the time appointed unto that whereon thou standest [meaning Abraham]." This point is clearly connected with a question and its answer in [[D&C 130:4]]-5. There the question is asked if one's reckoning is not according to the planet ("that whereon thou standest") on which one resides. The simple answer: "Yes." Reckoning has, apparently, a great deal to do with relative location.

It is certainly difficult to make explicit or clear what much of this is meant to imply (see the above note on the event-ness of this chapter), but at least one implication seems to be the following. Thinking, ordering, understanding, engaging, etc., all seem to be very tied to one's bodily existence. If one's body is dust, derived from the earth (as the meaning of ''adam'' attests), then it is apparently the case that man thinks the world--all things--through the earth, through the dust, from "that whereon thou standest." If Abraham 3 goes on to introduce a whole string of places whereon one might stand, it is introducing so many standpoints, bodily locations, realizable viewpoints.

On a more obvious level, the fact that Lord reckons time as a mutliple of our own reckoning suggests a view of God less different than ourselves than one which sees God as entirely out of time.

== Related links ==
===Verse 3===
* ''Kolob.'' See [http://www.bycommonconsent.com/2006/11/kolob-as-sirius/ "Kolob as Sirius"] by Kevin Barney at the ''BCC'' blog for a discussion of various theories on the meaning/etymology of the word ''Kolob'' (viz. ''klb'' = dog star = Sirius, or ''qlb'' = center).

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Abr 1:16-20

2007-01-29T18:16:30Z

138.23.49.78: Preliminary Adjustment

[[The Pearl of Great Price]] > [[The Book of Abraham]] > [[The Book of Abraham 1|Chapter 1]]
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== Questions ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Lexical notes ==
===Verse 17===
* ''Turned their hearts away from me.'' Notice Joseph Smith is told something similar in [[JS-H 1:19]]. Christ also accused the Pharisees of the same thing in [[Matt 15:7]]-9.

== Exegesis ==
===Verse 19: As it was with Noah===
[[Moses 8:19]] describes Noah getting the Priesthood.

There is some affinity between the characters of Abraham and Noah. Noah was a prophet fighting the tide of the world who was given the promise that his seed would continue beyond the flood such that today, all men can be said to be children of Noah. Similarly, Abraham fought the tide of wickedness in his day and has been given similar promises and it is through him that the Priesthood and the Gospel survived the flood of wickedness in his day such that all of us who have been blessed to receive any of the ordinances of the gospel can say that we received it through Abraham and we are his children. Also, it is Abraham that will be permitted to have his children survive the burning of the second coming.

Another affinity exists in the figure of Enoch, who established a Zion city at the time of Noah and then left, leaving Noah to continue the work of God on the Earth. At the time of Abraham, there was Melchizedek, who, in the JST for Genesis 14: 25-40, is said to have established a city (Salem) similar to the one Enoch established. It is also said that his people "sought for the city of Enoch". We do not however learn any more of this city or its people, which for all intents and purposes seems to have disappeared from off the face of the earth.

In effect, Noah and Enoch were both prophets who were given something of a special mission to stay behind and carry on an earthly ministry; that is, to preserve the priesthood and kingdom of God on the earth while the main body of the church all but disappeared.

== Related links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add related links''

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Abr 1:16-20

2007-01-26T18:16:04Z

138.23.49.78: /* Verse 19: As it was with Noah */ Summing up.

[[The Pearl of Great Price]] > [[The Book of Abraham]] > [[The Book of Abraham 1|Chapter 1]]
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== Questions ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Lexical notes ==
===Verse 17===
* ''Turned their hearts away from me.'' Notice Joseph Smith is told something similar in [[JS-H 1:19]]. Christ also accused the Pharisees of the same thing in [[Matt 15:7]]-9.

===Verse 19===
* ''As it was with Noah.'' [[Moses 8:19]] describes Noah getting the Priesthood. [[Gen 9:22]]-27 describes an incident where some LDS scholars believe Ham stole Noah's Priesthood garments (see commentary there).

== Exegesis ==
===Verse 19: As it was with Noah===
There is some affinity between the characters of Abraham and Noah. Noah was a prophet fighting the tide of the world who was given the promise that his seed would continue beyond the flood such that today, all men can be said to be children of Noah. Similarly, Abraham fought the tide of wickedness in his day and has been given similar promises and it is through him that the Priesthood and the Gospel survived the flood of wickedness in his day such that all of us who have been blessed to receive any of the ordinances of the gospel can say that we received it through Abraham and we are his children. Also, it is Abraham that will be permitted to have his children survive the burning of the second coming.

Another affinity exists in the figure of Enoch, who established a Zion city at the time of Noah and then left, leaving Noah to continue the work of God on the Earth. At the time of Abraham, there was Melchizedek, who, in the JST for Genesis 14: 25-40, is said to have established similar to the one Enoch established. It is also said that his people "sought for the city of Enoch". We do not however learn any more of this city or its people, which for all intents and purposes seems to have disappeared from off the face of the earth.

In effect, Noah and Enoch were both prophets who were given something of a special mission to stay behind and carry on an earthly ministry; that is, to preserve the priesthood and kingdom of God on the earth while the main body of the church all but disappeared.

== Related links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add related links''

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Moses 6:5-25

2006-11-09T22:48:30Z

138.23.49.78: /* Verse 2 */

[[The Pearl of Great Price]] > [[The Book of Moses]] > [[The Book of Moses 6|Chapter 6]]
{|
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== Questions ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Lexical notes ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add lexical notes''

== Exegesis ==
===Verse 2===
Adam's language might be read to suggest that Abel had been an "appointed seed," through whom Adam was to have posterity alive at the Second Coming of Christ (see [[D&C 107:42]]). How this should be read in terms of Moses 5 is not entirely clear, however.

== Related links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add related links''

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Moses 4:21-25

2006-11-02T18:28:23Z

138.23.49.78: /* Verse 25 */

[[The Pearl of Great Price]] > [[The Book of Moses]] > [[The Book of Moses 4|Chapter 4]]
{|
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== Questions ==
=== Verse 25 ===
* Why does this verse mention the sweat of the ''face'' as opposed to simply sweat, or perhaps the sweat of one's back, etc.?
* What application does this verse have for us today? (Does it tell us what type of work we should do (physical versus less physical)? Does it tell us how to give or receive gifts from others? Can it be used to guide welfare systems in their formation or administration? Does it suggest how we should teach our children to work? Does it tell how we can use other's thoughts and inventions?)

== Lexical notes ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add lexical notes''

== Exegesis ==
''Click the edit link above and to the right to add exegesis''

== Related links ==
=== Verse 25 ===
* J. Reuben Clark, "Private Ownership under the United Order and the Gaurantees of the Constitution", Improvement Era, Nov. 1942 (Address given in the October General Conference of the same year.)

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Moses 4:6-10

2006-11-01T20:36:16Z

138.23.49.78: /* Questions */ Satan knew not the mind of God

[[The Pearl of Great Price]] > [[The Book of Moses]] > [[The Book of Moses 4|Chapter 4]]
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== Questions ==
=== Verse 6: Satan knew not the mind of God ===
* It would seem that Satan is aware of many things regarding the Lord's plan. What does it mean that he did not know the mind of God?
* Did he not know, then, that he was acting in accordance with the plan in tempting Eve?
* Does this fact have any application for us today?

== Lexical notes ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add lexical notes''

== Exegesis ==
''Click the edit link above and to the right to add exegesis''

== Related links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add related links''

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Moses 4:26-32

2006-11-01T20:25:03Z

138.23.49.78: /* Questions */

[[The Pearl of Great Price]] > [[The Book of Moses]] > [[The Book of Moses 4|Chapter 4]]
{|
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== Questions ==
=== Verse 32 ===
* If the Lord is speaking here, then is he also the voice of the narrator in [[Moses 1:1|chapter 1]]?
* Who is the Lord speaking to here? (Joseph, the saints, both, or some other entity?)

== Lexical notes ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add lexical notes''

== Exegesis ==
* ''verse 32'' -- This note is of the same form as [[Moses 1:42]] excepting that the voice here is clearly the Lord's.

== Related links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add related links''

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Moses 4:26-32

2006-11-01T20:22:27Z

138.23.49.78: /* Exegesis */

[[The Pearl of Great Price]] > [[The Book of Moses]] > [[The Book of Moses 4|Chapter 4]]
{|
| [[Moses 4:21-25|Previous (Moses 4:21-25)]] ||             || [[Moses 5:1-5|Next (Moses 5:1-5)]]
|}
== Questions ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Lexical notes ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add lexical notes''

== Exegesis ==
* ''verse 32'' -- This note is of the same form as [[Moses 1:42]] excepting that the voice here is clearly the Lord's.

== Related links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add related links''

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|}