Difference between revisions of "Abr 3:21-25"

From Feast upon the Word (http://feastupontheword.org). Copyright, Feast upon the Word.
Jump to: navigation, search
(Verse 23: chosen before thou wast born)
(Verse 24: one among them that was like unto God)
Line 15: Line 15:
 
===Verse 24===
 
===Verse 24===
 
* "''these may dwell.''" Why didn't the Lord say instead "whereon we may dwell" or "whereon all of us may dwell"?  Are the future earth dwellers, who are labeled "these," a group that is separate from "those who were with" the Lord at this planning meeting?
 
* "''these may dwell.''" Why didn't the Lord say instead "whereon we may dwell" or "whereon all of us may dwell"?  Are the future earth dwellers, who are labeled "these," a group that is separate from "those who were with" the Lord at this planning meeting?
 +
* "''one among them that was like unto God.''" Does this just mean Jesus was the firstborn?  If so, how did that make him like God?  Is this saying nobody else was like God in the premortal existence?  Should we read [[Moro 7:48]] as saying that Jesus Christ was the only person capable of becoming like God prior to our mortal probation?
  
 
== Lexical notes ==
 
== Lexical notes ==

Revision as of 13:33, 13 January 2010

The Pearl of Great Price > The Book of Abraham > Chapter 3

Previous (Abr 3:16-20)             Next (Abr 3:26-28)

Questions

Verse 22

  • "organized." Why does this word not appear in the Bible or Book or Mormon? What did community organizing look like in the premortal existence?

Verse 23

  • "these souls." Is God drawing a distinction between the "noble and great ones" and "those that were spirits"? Are they synonymous groups or is the latter all-inclusive? How do we reconcile this verse with the statement in Moses 2:21 wherein God "saw that all things which [he] had created were good"?
  • "stood in the midst." Is this a scriptural way of saying the Lord already considered these individuals his disciples?
  • "rulers." Should we find any discomfort in being told that we should be rulers, given that Nephi and the sons of Mosiah struggled with the expectation they should be kings?
  • "chosen before thou wast born." How do square this statement with the concept that many were called in the premortal existence (see Alma 13:3) but relatively few are chosen in this life to minister in the Lord's kingdom (see D&C 121:34-40)? Or is this verse more compatible with scriptures such as Alma 7:10?

Verse 24

  • "these may dwell." Why didn't the Lord say instead "whereon we may dwell" or "whereon all of us may dwell"? Are the future earth dwellers, who are labeled "these," a group that is separate from "those who were with" the Lord at this planning meeting?
  • "one among them that was like unto God." Does this just mean Jesus was the firstborn? If so, how did that make him like God? Is this saying nobody else was like God in the premortal existence? Should we read Moro 7:48 as saying that Jesus Christ was the only person capable of becoming like God prior to our mortal probation?

Lexical notes

  • Click the edit link above and to the right to add lexical notes


Exegesis

Verse 21

This verse read differently until the 1981 edition of the scriptures. Of the several manuscripts of the Book of Abraham (none of which were written in Joseph's hand), one has an alternate reading that was (in 1981) replaced with the more common reading. The text used to read "deliver" instead of "declare" in the first part of this verse: "I now, therefore, have come down unto thee to deliver unto thee the works which my hands have made...." While "declare" certainly seems to make more sense, if "deliver" is the correct reading, there may be an entirely different way of understanding this verse (and its implications for the whole of Abraham 3). (It might well be noted that "deliver" appears in verse 20. This may be a reason on the one hand to reject the alternate reading, and on the other hand to accept it. It may be that, on the one hand, some scribe copying accidently glanced at verse 20 rather than at verse 21 while copying, thus producing the alternate text. It may be that, on the other hand, the Lord used deliver in two very different senses to tie them together, and this may suggest a powerful literary tie in these two verses. If this were the case, the more common rendering might be explained as a later "cleaning up" that became quickly adopted by other scribes who worked on the Book of Abraham.)

If, then, "deliver" is the correct reading, Abraham's experience here might be similar to Enoch's experience as described in Moses 7, one in which he is exalted and receives the right to sit on the very throne of God.

Related links

Verse 23

  • "[T]hou wast chosen before thou wast born...": Compare Gen 11:26 where Abraham was the tenth generation patriarch from Noah, the prior major patriarch mentioned in the old testament, just as Noah was the tenth generation patriarch from Adam (cf. Gen 5:29). This similarity suggests both Abraham and Noah were foreordained to become great patriarchs.
  • For a poetic attempt to think the possibility of reading "deliver" in verse 21, see User: Joe Spencer/who is like God.



Previous (Abr 3:16-20)             Next (Abr 3:26-28)