504 | July 23, 2025
Book of Moses Evidence: Enoch’s Divine Power of Speech
Post contributed by
Scripture Central
Abstract
Several passages in the Book of Moses emphasize that God gave Enoch a unique power of speech. This notion is echoed in various ancient sources, most of which weren’t available to Joseph Smith in 1830.As part of his prophetic calling, Enoch was told by the Lord to prophesy unto the people.1 In response, Enoch protested declaring, “all the people hate me; for I am slow of speech; wherefore am I thy servant?” (Moses 6:31).2 The Lord then provided these comforting words:
Go forth and do as I have commanded thee, and no man shall pierce thee. Open thy mouth, and it shall be filled, and I will give thee utterance, for all flesh is in my hands, and I will do as seemeth me good. Say unto this people: Choose ye this day, to serve the Lord God who made you. Behold my Spirit is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I justify; and the mountains shall flee before you, and the rivers shall turn from their course; and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore walk with me. (Moses 6:32–34)
The next chapter records the fulfillment of this promise: “And the mountains fled, even according to his command; and the rivers of water were turned out of their course; and the roar of the lions was heard out of the wilderness; and all nations feared greatly, so powerful was the word of Enoch, and so great was the power of the language which God had given him” (Moses 7:13).
The notion that God filled Enoch’s mouth with words to speak, as well as the bestowal of divine authority upon those words, is not anywhere stated or hinted at in the Bible.3 Yet it is found in several extrabiblical sources. For instance, after Enoch beheld a vision in 1 Enoch, he began to preach unto the people declaring, “I was now speaking with a tongue of flesh, and with my breath, which the Mighty One has put into the mouth of men, that they might converse with it; … so he has created and given to me the power of reproving the Watchers, the offspring of heaven.”4
While this language is relevant, it is also somewhat generic, as it presents God giving mankind the general ability to converse, making Enoch’s power to reprove the Watchers somewhat less unique. A comparatively stronger parallel can be found in 2 Enoch: “I have been sent today to you from the lips of the Lord, to speak to you whatever has been and whatever is now and whatever will be until the day of judgment. Listen, my children, for it is not from my own lips that I am reporting to you today, but from the lips of the Lord I have been sent to you.”5 Enoch later declared, “And now, my children, place the thought on your hearts, and give heed to the sayings of your father which I am making known to you from the lips of the Lord.”6
These passages emphasize that Enoch was a faithful emissary of the Lord, speaking the words of Lord on his behalf. Similarly, a Jewish text, known as Sefer ha-Yashar, relates that “divine inspiration would fill Enoch, and he would teach all present the wisdom of the Lord and His ways.”7 This correlates well with the specific description in Moses 6:32 that Enoch’s “mouth … shall be filled.”
Enoch’s authority to speak in God’s name is also present in 3 Enoch, where Enoch is depicted in his glorified state as the angel Metatron. The Lord declared, “Any angel and any prince who has anything to say in my presence should go before [Metatron] and speak to him. Whatever he says to you in my name you must observe and do.”8 This idea is echoed in the story of another Enoch figure known as Rabbi Joshua. Concerning this man, the lord told an angelic being, “Go and do anything that R. Joshua asks of you.”9 The inability of angelic beings to go against Enoch’s words mirrors the way that the elements of the earth itself were bound to follow his commands in the Book of Moses.
“Open Thy Mouth”
When speaking to Enoch, the Lord’s specific instruction to “open thy mouth” must also be carefully considered (Moses 6:32). Perhaps related to this directive is an ancient ceremony known as the “Opening of the Mouth,” which was prominently practiced among the Egyptians and other societies. It involved washing and anointing various body parts with water (often mixed with natron) and oil in order to restore or preserve their proper functions, which can be compared to the washing and anointing rituals in Latter-day Saint temples.10 Building on the research of Eberhard Otto, Hugh Nibley explains,
But though, among the eighty-odd versions [of the Opening of the Mouth ritual] studied by Otto, no two are exactly alike, it is apparent that all have a common nature and background, the basic structure being preserved intact down through the ages. The peculiar formula by which the survival of the age-old ordinance can be readily and easily recognized turns up in every age, now in one ritual context and now in another, but always with the same purpose of restoring the function of the various bodily organs.”11
Interestingly, the ritual was performed on statues as well as human bodies. As explained by Marcin Gamrat, “The ceremonies were used in different contexts, and performed in different places, however the purpose was fundamentally the same, to endow the object with life energy so it could communicate with the human world.”12
Nibley further explains that the “rite is called the Opening of the Mouth because that must come first, that being the organ by which one may breathe, receive nourishment, and speak …. So the mouth comes first; but to rise above mere vegetation, life must become conscious and aware, so that the opening of the eyes immediately follows.”13 This sequence is rather striking because in the Book of Moses the Lord’s injunction for Enoch to open his mouth was closely followed by an anointing ordinance intended to open his eyes to the spiritual realm (Moses 6:35–36).14
Conclusion
Nothing in the Bible specifically mentions that God enhanced Enoch’s ability to speak. The idea is discussed in a general way in 1 Enoch, which was potentially available to Joseph Smith.15 Yet arguably stronger and more complete parallels can be found in texts which weren’t known to Western scholars or available in English in 1830, especially 2 Enoch. The way that the opening of Enoch’s eyes and mouth echo ancient rituals from Egypt and Mesopotamia is also quite remarkable. Overall, this element of the Book of Moses resonates with several ancient sources, supporting the text’s antiquity and revelatory production.
Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, Enoch and the Gathering of Zion: The Witness of Ancient Texts for Modern Scripture (Interpreter Foundation, with Scripture Central and Eborn Books, 2021), 43–44.
Hugh Nibley, The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri: An Egyptian Endowment (Deseret Book; Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, 2005), 164–179.
Hugh Nibley, Enoch the Prophet, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Volume 2 (FARMS, 1986), 209–211.
- 1. See Scripture Central, “Book of Moses Evidence: Enoch’s Prophetic Commission,” Evidence 485 (March 12, 2025).
- 2. See Scripture Central, “Book of Moses Evidence: Slow of Speech,” Evidence 496 (May 28, 2025).
- 3. For a comparison of Enoch with other biblical figures, see Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, Enoch and the Gathering of Zion: The Witness of Ancient Texts for Modern Scripture (Interpreter Foundation, with Scripture Central and Eborn Books, 2021), 43–44.
- 4. 1 Enoch 14:2. Translation by Richard Laurence, The Book of Enoch The Prophet (Oxford, 1821), 15; emphasis changed from the original. Note that Laurence’s chapter divisions and pagination differ from those contained in more modern editions of 1 Enoch. Laurence’s translation is used here because it represents the form of 1 Enoch that would potentially have been accessible to Joseph Smith. For a more recent translation, see George W. E. Nickelsburg and James C. VanderKam, 1 Enoch: The Hermeneia Translation (Fortress Press, 2012), 33: “created and destined me to reprimand the watchers, the sons of heaven” (1 Enoch 14:3).
- 5. 2 Enoch 39:5. Translation by F. I. Anderson, “2 (Slavonic Apocalypse of) Enoch,” in The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, vol. 1, ed. James H. Charlesworth (Doubleday, 1983), 162; some editing marks in the original silently omitted.
- 6. 2 Enoch 47:1. Translation by Anderson, “2 (Slavonic Apocalypse of) Enoch,” 174.
- 7. Sefer ha-Yashar (ed. Dan); as cited in John C. Reeves and Annette Yoshiko Reed, Enoch from Antiquity to the Middle Ages: Sources from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Oxford University Press, 2018), 203.
- 8. 3 Enoch 10:4–5. Translation by Philip Alexander, “3 (Hebrew Apocalypse of) Enoch,” in The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, 264.
- 9. Maʿaseh R. Joshua b. Levi; as cited in Reeves and Reed, Enoch from Antiquity to the Middle Ages, 117.
- 10. See Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, Freemasonry and the Origins of Latter-day Saint Temple Ordinances (The Interpreter Foundation and Eborn Books, 2022), 114–119. For an analysis of ascension themes throughout the Book of Moses, see Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, “The Book of Moses as a Temple Text,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-Day Saint Faith and Scholarship 49 (2021): 63–112.
- 11. Hugh Nibley, The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri: An Egyptian Endowment (Deseret Book; Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, 2005), 166.
- 12. Marcin Gamrat, “The Opening of the Mouth Ritual in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia: A Brief Comparison,” in The Land of Fertility III, ed. Lukasz Miszk and Maciej Waclawik (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2019), 75.
- 13. Nibley, The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri, 179.
- 14. See Scripture Central, “Book of Moses Evidence: Enoch’s Anointing,” Evidence 502 (July 9, 2025).
- 15. See Jeffrey M. Bradshaw and Ryan Dahle, “Could Joseph Smith Have Drawn on Ancient Manuscripts When He Translated the Story of Enoch?: Recent Updates on a Persistent Question,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 33 (2019): 305–374, esp. 308–311; For reasons to be cautious in assuming it was implausible for Joseph Smith to have learned anything about 1 Enoch, see Colby Townsend, “Revisiting Joseph Smith and the Availability of the Book of Enoch,” Dialogue 53, no. 3 (2020): 41–71.