Ether 6

#Ether Chapter 6

1 And now I, Moroni, proceed to give the record of Jared and his brother.

2 For it came to pass after the Lord had prepared the stones which the brother of Jared had carried up into the mount, the brother of Jared came down out of the mount, and he did put forth the stones into the vessels which were prepared, one in each end thereof; and behold, they did give light unto the vessels.

verse 2 “one in each end thereof” There were sixteen stones, and two were placed in each vessel or barge.

You will recall that when the brother of Jared expressed his concern about the lack of light in the barges which the Lord had instructed his people to build, the Lord responded, “What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels?” (Ether 2:23). In response to this invitation, the brother of Jared “did molten out of a rock sixteen small stones; and they were white and clear, even as transparent glass” (Ether 3:1) (For a discussion of the ancient transparent stones formed through intensive heat, see Hugh Nibley, Lehi in the Desert / The World of the Jaredites / There Were Jaredites, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Volume 5, Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1988, 370–371. For analysis of the term “molten,” see Royal Skousen, Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon: Part 6, 3 Nephi 19– Moroni 10, Provo, UT: FARMS, 2006, 3754. For a discussion of glass in the ancient world, see Nibley, The World of the Jaredites, 216–218).

He then asked the Lord to “touch these stones . . . with thy finger, and prepare them that they may shine forth in darkness” (Ether 2:4) (For information concerning Gazelem, “a stone, which shall shine forth in darkness unto light,” see the commentary for Alma 37:23.). As petitioned, the Lord touched them “one by one” (verse 6), which caused them to “shine in darkness, to give light unto men, women, and children, that they might not cross the great waters in darkness” (Ether 6:3).

Hugh Nibley asked, “But who gave the brother of Jared the idea about stones in the first place? It was not the Lord, who left him entirely on his own; and yet the man went right to work as if he knew exactly what he was doing. Who put him on to it?” (Hugh Nibley, An Approach to the Book of Mormon, 2nd edition, Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book, 1976, 285).

While stones that emit light may seem like an absurdity to some modern readers, legends of their existence and importance were widely spread throughout the ancient world (For a treatment of criticisms regarding the shining stones in the Jaredite barges, see Nibley, An Approach to the Book of Mormon, 273–274. For the scientific plausibility of shining stones, see Nicholas Read, Jae R. Ballif, John W. Welch, Bill Evenson, Kathleen Reynolds Gee, and Matthew Roper, “New Light on the Shining Stones of the Jaredites,” in Pressing Forward with the Book of Mormon: The FARMS Updates of the 1990s, ed. John W. Welch and Melvin J. Thorne, Provo, UT: FARMS, 1999, 253–255). Drawing upon a substantial body of ancient texts, John A. Tvedtnes has connected the shining stones in Ether to such items as the Urim and Thummim, glowing idols, teraphim, sanctuary stones, and medieval glowing stones (John A. Tvedtnes, “Glowing Stones in Ancient and Medieval Lore,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 6, no. 2, 1997: 99–123). Tvedtnes concluded, “The account of the stones used to provide light in the Jaredite barges fits rather well into a larger corpus of ancient and medieval literature” (Tvedtnes, “Glowing Stones,” 122–123. See also, Nibley, An Approach to the Book of Mormon, 290–291: “The few sources that might have been available to the prophet were obscure and garbled accounts in texts that not half a dozen men in the world could read, eked out by classical sources that were entirely meaningless until the discovery of the key—the great Gilgamesh Epic—long after the appearance of the Book of Mormon. That key ties the pyrophilus stone, the Alexander Cycle, the Syrian rites, the Babylonian Flood stories and the Urim and Thummim together in a common tradition of immense antiquity and makes the story of the Jaredite stones not only plausible but actually typical.”).

Of particular relevance is the way that shining stones were directly linked to Noah’s ark. In the Bablyonian Talmud, for example, one Jewish commentator reported that the Lord instructed Noah to “Set therein precious stones and jewels, so that they may give thee light, bright as the noon” (Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Sanhedrin 108b, trans. H. Freedman, ed. Isidore Epstein, London, UK: Soncino Press, 1935, reprinted 1952, 1956, and 1961, online at come-and-hear.com). Another ancient Jewish rabbi explained, “During the whole twelve months that Noah was in the Ark he did not require the light of the sun by day or the light of the moon by night, but he had a polished gem which he hung up” (Midrash Rabbah, trans. H. Freedman, ed. H. Freedman and Maurice Simon, London, UK: Soncino Press, 1939, reprinted 1951 and 1961, 244, online at archive.org. This glowing stone is referred to as the “tzohar” in Jewish mysticism and is present in the stories of Noah and Abraham. See Rashi on Genesis 16:66:16, B. Sanhedrin 108b, B. Bava Batra 16b, Zohar 1:11a–11b. See also Howard Schwartz, Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism, New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2004, 85–88; 332, for traditions on this glowing stone.).

These Jewish explanations are notable when considering that the text in Ether 6:7 explicitly draws a parallel between the Jaredite vessels and Noah’s ark: “there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish, and also they were tight like unto the ark of Noah” (emphasis added) (Hugh Nibley explained, “The description of the ships suggests nothing in the Bible, where aside from its general dimensions—which are symbolic—nothing is said as to how the ark actually looked; but it exactly matches the description of those sacred magur boats in which, according to the oldest Babylonian stories, the hero of the Flood was saved from destruction.” See Hugh Nibley, Since Cumorah, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Volume 7, Salt

Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1988, 209–210. Since Cumorah originally ran as a series in the Improvement Era from 1964–1967. For parallels between the Jaredite barges and the ship in the Babylonian flood story, see Nibley, An Approach to the Book of Mormon, 276–281).

Considering that his people were already constructing barges after the manner of Noah’s ark, it is possible that the brother of Jared knew something of the stones which illuminated Noah’s vessel when thinking of a potential source of light for the barges of his own people. The story of Noah and the flood would have been relatively recent history for the Jaredites, who had departed from the, “great tower, at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people” (Ether 1:33) (For information concerning the historicity of the tower of Babel, see Michael R. Ash, “Challenging Issues, Keeping the Faith: Is the Tower of Babel Historical or Mythological?” Deseret News, September 27, 2010, accessed October 28, 2016 at deseretnews.com: “When we shine the light of science and scholarship on the Tower of Babel, we find some interesting things. First, the word ‘Babel’ comes from an Assyro-Babylonian word that means ‘Gate of God’ and is related to a Hebrew word that means ‘confusion.’ It appears that the author(s) of the Babel account are engaging in some word-play to make a particular point about the story. It’s also interesting to note that the book of Ether never mentions ‘Babel’ but simply the ‘great tower.’” For an extensive treatment of the Tower of Babel, see Jeffrey M. Bradshaw and David J. Larsen, In God’s Image and Likeness 2: Enoch, Noah, and the Tower of Babel, Salt Lake City, UT: Eborn Books and The Interpreter Foundation, 2014, 379–434). Nibley thus argued that the brother of Jared was simply “following the pattern of Noah’s ark, for in the oldest records of the human race the ark seems to have been illuminated by just such shining stones” (Nibley, An Approach to the Book of Mormon, 285).

An awareness of the ancient sources which discuss the shining stones and Noah’s ark may offer additional insights about the story of the brother of Jared. For instance, rather than just drawing upon the boundless limits of his own creative imagination, the brother of Jared may have been intentionally demonstrating his faith in the miraculous deliverance of Noah and his family—including the precious stones that, according to a variety of ancient sources, granted them light amidst the deluge. As the brother of Jared likened the sacred story of Noah’s salvation to his own people, he thought of a similar solution to his own vexing problem (When Moroni gave his lengthy interjection in Ether 12, he provided numerous examples of faithful prophets and then placed the brother of Jared as the capstone example of faith (Ether 12:20–21). In the same way that the brother of Jared obtained faith by following the example of Noah, readers can obtain faith by following the example of the brother of Jared, whose faith was so strong that “the Lord could not withhold anything from his sight; wherefore he showed him all things, for he could no longer be kept without the veil,” Ether 12:21).

In several ways, this story also helps demonstrate the pattern of the Lord’s interaction with his children. In some cases, God will freely grant His children blessings or solutions, simply because they have the faith to ask (see Ether 2:19–21). In other situations, the Lord requires initiative, creativity, and diligent striving on the part of those seeking blessings or solutions. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland taught, “Clearly the brother of Jared was being tested. The Lord had done His part—miraculously, profoundly, ingeniously. Unique, resolutely seaworthy ships for crossing the ocean had been provided. … Now He wanted to know what the brother of Jared would do about incidentals” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Rending the Veil of Unbelief,” in A Book of Mormon Treasury: Gospel Insights from General Authorities and Religious Educators, Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2003, 55).

The story about these stones is also deeply layered with rich symbolism. M. Catherine Thomas, for example, has suggested that the stones “evoke the Urim and Thummim” as well as the “white stone mentioned in Revelation 2:17” (M. Catherine Thomas, “The Brother of Jared at the Veil,” in Temples of the Ancient World: Ritual and Symbolism, ed. Donald W. Parry, Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1994, 391. For more information about the Urim and Thummim, see Paul Y. Hoskisson, “Urim and Thummim,” Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 4 vols. ed. Daniel H. Ludlow, New York, NY: Macmillan, 1992, 4:1499–1500; Cornelis Van Dam, The Urim and Thummim: A Means of Revelation in Ancient Israel, Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1997; Matthew Roper, “Teraphim and the Urim and Thummim,” Insights: A Window on the Ancient World 20, no. 9, September 2000: 2. Stan Spencer, “Reflections of Urim: Hebrew Poetry Sheds Light on the Directors-Interpreters Mystery,” Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 14, 2015: 187–207). Thomas R. Valletta has noted that like the Liahona, the stones “typologically led the Jaredites to the promised land by the power of Christ” (Thomas R. Valletta, “Jared and His Brother,” in The Book of Mormon: Fourth Nephi Through Moroni, From Zion to Destruction, ed. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate, Jr., Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1995, 315). Robert E. Clark saw the transparent stones—initially devoid of light—as a reflection of the brother of Jared’s “own limitations, his own emptiness” that needed to be “filled with light” (Robert E. Clark, “The Type at the Border: An Inquiry into Book of Mormon Typology,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 2, no. 2, 1993: 75). Thomas, likewise, viewed them as supplying “not only practical light, but spiritual light as well” (Thomas, “The Brother of Jared at the Veil,” 391).

With these interpretations in mind, it is noteworthy that the stones only received their light after the Lord touched them “one by one with his finger” (Ether 3:6). In this sense, it can be understood that the light which provides revelation, which reveals one’s true identity, which acts as a constant guide through darkness and danger, and which fills the emptiness of the mortal heart with true joy and divine purpose can only be activated through personal contact with Jesus Christ (The description of Christ’s touching the stones “one by one” and filling them with light is symbolic of his pattern of personal ministry. See also the commentary for 3 Nephi 17:21). Ultimately, the brother of Jared believed that stones could shine with light because he had faith in Jesus Christ—the true “light and life of the world” (3 Nephi 11:11).

3 And thus the Lord caused stones to shine in darkness, to give light unto men, women, and children, that they might not cross the great waters in darkness. 4 And it came to pass that when they had prepared all manner of food, that thereby they might subsist upon the water, and also food for their flocks and herds, and whatsoever beast or animal or fowl that they should carry with them— and it came to pass that when they had done all these things they got aboard of their vessels or barges, and set forth into the sea, commending themselves unto the Lord their God.

5 And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters, towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind.

6 And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind.

verse 6 “they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them” Don’t fail to notice the exciting imagery in this verse.

7 And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish, and also they were tight like unto the ark of Noah; therefore when they were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters.

verse 7 “buried in the deep” In the scriptures, to cross the waters or seas, is, figuratively, to leave the old decadent world behind to receive the new pristine and promised land. The same symbolism applies in the ordinance of baptism of water.

“encompassed about” See a discussion of this interesting expression in the commentary for Ether 3:2. In this instance the Jaredites are frightened and threatened by the waters in which they are engulfed.

“they were tight like unto the ark of Noah” It is interesting to note the similarities between the Jaredite barges and the ark of Noah. According to the prophet Joseph Smith, “the construction of the first vessel was given to Noah, by revelation. The design of the ark was given by God, ‘a pattern of heavenly things’” (TPJS, 251). Hugh Nibley has reported a description of Noah’s boat in an ancient Babylonian account of the Flood. In that account, Noah’s boat is called the magur boat, peaked at the ends, completely covered but for a door, without sails, and completely covered by the waters from time to time, as men and animals rode safe within. This closely resembles the account of the Jaredite barges given in the book of Ether (An Approach to the Book of Mormon. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1988, 343-48).

The King James Version of the Old Testament reports that Noah’s ark was to have a “window” for a light: “A window shalt thou make to the ark” (Genesis 6:16). However, some modern Jewish translators of the Hebrew text render this passage: “A light shalt thou make to the ark.” The word in question, tsohar, means “noon” or “midday.” Ancient Jewish legend relates that it was not just a light in the ark but was actually “a precious stone which illuminated the whole interior of the ark” (Hertz, Pentateuch and Haftorahs, 26-27). Actually, a number of early Jewish sources say that God had Noah suspend precious stones or pearls inside the ark to lighten it. The gems would glow during the night and dim during the day so Noah could tell the time of day and how many days had passed (see TB Sanhedrin 108b, TY Pesahim 1.1, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Genesis 6:16, Midrash Bereship Rabbah 31.11, Pirqe de Rabbi Eliezer 23, and Rashi on Genesis 6:16. For a recap of the story, see Louis Ginzberg, ed., The Legends of the Jews [Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1937], 1:162- 63). The first person to bring this Jewish tradition to the attention of Latter-day Saints was Janne M. Sjodahl, in his An Introduction to the Study of the Book of Mormon [Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1927], 248. The tradition is discussed at length in Hugh Nibley’s “There Were Jaredites: The Shining Stones,” Improvement Era, September 1956, 630-32, 672-75). In a medieval Arabic text, we read that it was the pegs that Noah used to construct the ark that shone.

Another interesting correlation between the Jaredite barges and Noah’s ark is the fact that similar terms are used in describing the Flood of Noah and the Jaredite experience. An Ethiopic Christian text, Conflict of Adam and Eve III, 9:6-7, describes the Flood of Noah in terms such as “waves . . . high like mountains,” as in Ether 2:24 and 6:6. The Book of Mormon account indicates that the high waves resulted from intense winds from the Lord. Early Jewish and Christian traditions indicate that God sent strong winds to destroy the Tower of Babel, from which the Jaredites fled (Ether 1:33). Several early texts have the wind, sometimes called a “wind-flood,” destroying the idols erected by Nimrod, to whom both Jewish and Christian traditions attribute the building of the tower.

8 And it came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land while they were upon the waters; and thus they were driven forth before the wind.

9 And they did sing praises unto the Lord; yea, the brother of Jared did sing praises unto the Lord, and he did thank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord.

10 And thus they were driven forth; and no monster of the sea could break them, neither whale that could mar them; and they did have light continually, whether it was above the water or under the water.

verse 10 “neither whale that could mar them” Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language defines mar as, “to injure; to hurt; to deform; to disfigure.”

11 And thus they were driven forth, three hundred and forty and four days upon the water.

verse 11 Some have been critical of the 344 days they were on the water, claiming it is too long. Actually, this is a reasonable length of time for trans-Pacific voyages drifting without sails. In fact, 344 days is exactly the length of time it takes the Pacific current to go from Asia to Mexico (John L. Sorenson, An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1985], 111, 368 note 16).

12 And they did land upon the shore of the promised land. And when they had set their feet upon the shores of the promised land they bowed themselves down upon the face of the land, and did humble themselves before the Lord, and did shed tears of joy before the Lord, because of the multitude of his tender mercies over them.

verse 12 Here, the “promised land,” as promised lands always are, is symbolic of the celestial kingdom.

If we do not feel gratitude to the Lord every day, then it would seem we simply don’t fully understand our relationship to him (D&C 59:21).

13 And it came to pass that they went forth upon the face of the land, and began to till the earth.

14 And Jared had four sons; and they were called Jacom, and Gilgah, and Mahah, and Orihah.

verse 14 “Jared had four sons” Their names seem to indicate kinship to the Semitic Language.

Jacom may be related to the Hebrew Jakim (1 Chronicles 8:19; 24:12), signifying one who is raised up by the Lord; it evidently comes from the verb, kum, to stand up. It may also be related to khamamu, which is said to mean to hold, to fix, to grasp, and in Babylonian to fix the laws, to lead, to govern (H. F. Lutz, “Kingship in Babylonia, Syria, and Egypt,” American Anthropologist, October and December, 1924).

Gilgah may be a variant of Gilgal, which means a wheel, or a circle. It was the place where the Israelites made their first camp in Palestine, after having crossed the Jordan and occupied Jericho. It was there that Joshua set up twelve stones, possibly in a circle, forming a stonehenge in memory of that great event in Israelitish history—the Lord had led Israel into the Promised Land across the Jordan on dry land (Joshua 4:19- 20; 9:16; 10:6-7).

Mahah may be the mahan of the Pearl of Great Price (Moses 5:31).

Orihah is, undoubtedly, the same as Urijah (2 Kings 16:10-12), meaning the light of the Lord.

#15 And the brother of Jared also begat sons and daughters.

16 And the friends of Jared and his brother were in number about twenty and two souls; and they also begat sons and daughters before they came to the promised land; and therefore they began to be many.

17 And they were taught to walk humbly before the Lord; and they were also taught from on high.

verse 17 “they were also taught from on high” It would seem that the ideal formula for acquiring spiritual intelligence or light and truth is the combination of mental exertion and prayerful pleading and pondering. In this way, we qualify for the Spirit’s endowments.

18 And it came to pass that they began to spread upon the face of the land, and to multiply and to till the earth; and they did wax strong in the land.

19 And the brother of Jared began to be old, and saw that he must soon go down to the grave; wherefore he said unto Jared: Let us gather together our people that we may number them, that we may know of them what they will desire of us before we go down to our graves.

20 And accordingly the people were gathered together. Now the number of the sons and the daughters of the brother of Jared were twenty and two souls; and the number of sons and daughters of Jared were twelve, he having four sons.

verse 20 It has been speculated that the brother of Jared, who had twenty-two sons and daughters, was a polygamist. Whether or not he had more than one wife is not known, but we do know that polygamy was practiced among the Jaredites. We will later learn that Riplakish, an early Jaredite king, had “many wives and concubines . . . [and] did afflict the people with his whoredoms and abominations” (Ether 10:5-7). Jaredite polygamy was not restricted to royalty. Moroni will later record that in the final battle of the Jaredites every man kept his sword in hand “in the defence of his property and his own life and of his wives and children” (Ether 14:2).

21 And it came to pass that they did number their people; and after that they had numbered them, they did desire of them the things which they would that they should do before they went down to their graves.

22 And it came to pass that the people desired of them that they should anoint one of their sons to be a king over them.

verse 22 “anoint” To anoint is to place oil, usually olive oil, on the head or other prominent part of a person or building. The Hebrew term mashiach (Messiah) and Greek term christos (Christ) derive from the verb “to anoint” in their respective languages. They both mean “the anointed one.”

Among both Nephites and Jaredites, anointing was practiced when enthroning kings (e.g., Jacob 1:19; Ether 6:22).

In biblical accounts, anointing was a part of the ceremony of divine investiture for prophets (e.g., 1 Kings 19:16), priests (e.g., Exodus 28:41), kings (e.g., 1 Samuel 15:1), and sanctuaries (Exodus 30:22-29). In addition, it was an element in certain blessings (Psalm 23:5; James 5:14).

Anciently, the olive tree was the source of oil for anointing and other dietary and medicinal purposes in the Mediterranean area (Judges 9:8-9; Zechariah 4:1-3, 11-14). The source of oil among Book of Mormon peoples for such functions, if oil was used, remains unknown.

23 And now behold, this was grievous unto them. And the brother of Jared said unto them: Surely this thing leadeth into captivity.

verses 22-23 “Surely this thing leadeth into captivity.” The Jaredite opposition to kingship may reflect the negative experience they had under the Mesopotamian king under whose reign the entire society collapsed.

The concerns of the brother of Jared will be fully realized as subsequent kings will turn from the ways of righteousness and lead their people into abominable practices of idolatry and other forms of wickedness that will contribute to their spiritual decline and ultimate destruction as a civilization.

24 But Jared said unto his brother: Suffer them that they may have a king. And therefore he said unto them: Choose ye out from among our sons a king, even whom ye will.

25 And it came to pass that they chose even the firstborn of the brother of Jared; and his name was Pagag. And it came to pass that he refused and would not be their king. And the people would that his father should constrain him, but his father would not; and he commanded them that they should constrain no man to be their king.

verse 25 To constrain in this context means to urge to action or to compel.

26 And it came to pass that they chose all the brothers of Pagag, and they would not.

27 And it came to pass that neither would the sons of Jared, even all save it were one; and Orihah was anointed to be king over the people.

28 And he began to reign, and the people began to prosper; and they became exceedingly rich.

#29 And it came to pass that Jared died, and his brother also.

30 And it came to pass that Orihah did walk humbly before the Lord, and did remember how great things the Lord had done for his father, and also taught his people how great things the Lord had done for their fathers.

verse 30 In our tour through the book of Ether, we will encounter four kings who were righteous and presided over Zion-like societies. These include Orihah (introduced in this verse), Shule (chapter 7), Emer (chapter 9), and Lib (chapter 10).