Book of Moses Evidence: The Roar of Lions

During Enoch’s prophetic commission in the Book of Moses, the Lord made him the following promise: “No man shall pierce thee. … 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” (Moses 6:32–34).1 In the next chapter, this promise was miraculously fulfilled:

And so great was the faith of Enoch that he led the people of God, and their enemies came to battle against them; and he spake the word of the Lord, and the earth trembled, 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)

Parallel in the Book of Giants

The statement “the roar of the lions was heard out of the wilderness” is notable, seeing that a similar detail turns up in an Enochic text known as the Book of Giants. Two primary versions of this text exist. One was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls and is written in Aramaic. The other version is Manichean in origin and is found in multiple languages. Although clearly related, both versions are highly fragmentary and have substantial differences.2  

In one section, the Aramaic text seems to portray a leader among the giants (i.e., mighty warriors) who lamented that his opponents could not be overcome in battle. Loren Stuckenbruck renders the relevant passages as follows:

4. […a]ll flesh, and I made war against them, but [I was] not

5. [strong enough, and] I was [not] able to prevail against them, because my adversaries

6. [are angels who] dwell [in heave]n, and they reside in holy places. vacat And [they have] not

7. [been defeated because the]y are stronger than I.     vacat

8. […]rh of the wild creature has come, and a wild man (they) call (me).3

Because the portion of the manuscript right before the mention of the “wild creature” is partially missing, Stuckenbruck simply presents the extant legible letters (rh) in his translation. However, other scholars have offered an interpretation that is very much aligned with the Book of Moses. For instance, Florentino Martínez and Wilfred Watson render this passage as “the roar of the wild beasts has come.”4 The translation offered by Józef Milik is almost identical: “the roaring of the wild beasts came.”5

These differing translations derive from the fact that we can’t be positive about what the missing letters may have been. Whereas Stuckenbruck takes a more cautious and conservative approach by not translating anything, the reconstructed translation by Martínez and Watson, as well as that given by Milik, offer a very plausible solution. Based on the context of the passage, these scholars assume that a word expressing what sound the beasts were making is most appropriate. For added validation, the same assumption is apparently made by Edward Cook in his Aramaic transcription of this passage, where he likewise conjectures (in bracketed text) that the sound of a roar was heard coming from the wild beasts.6

In the Manichaean version of the Book of Giants there is reference not just to a beast, but specifically to a lion and perhaps even to a lion’s roar! In a recent translation by Prods Skjaervo, he conjectures that a portion of the text reads: “[… not] the lion’s [roar?], but [the swiftness of its f[eet(?).”7 

Contextual Significance

Not only do these readings closely align with the wording in Moses 7:13 (“the roar of the lions was heard out of the wilderness”), but the context in which these phrases turn up in each text offers further validation. In the Book of Moses, the roaring of lions is mentioned just as Enoch defeated his enemies through God’s power: “and all nations feared greatly, so powerful was the word of Enoch” (Moses 7:13). We then read that the “fear of the Lord was upon all nations, so great was the glory of the Lord, which was upon his people” (Moses 7:17), and that Enoch “built a city that was called the City of Holiness, even Zion” (Moses 7:19), and also that “Zion, in process of time, was taken up into heaven” (Moses 7:21). 

The Aramaic fragments in the Book of Giants present similar details in immediate connection to the discussion of wild beasts. The unidentified giant lamented that his adversaries “dwell [in heave]n, and they reside in holy places” and that he suffered defeat because his enemies were “stronger than I.”8 In other words, both texts discuss wild beasts (and most likely the roar of wild beasts) in the context of a battle in which earthly warriors were defeated by a powerful and mysterious group of beings who dwelt in the heavens or resided in holy places (which resonates with the Zion community in the Book of Moses). The Manichean version exhibits a similar setting. In that text, Skjaervo situates the phrase “the lion’s [roar?]” in the immediate context of two mortal warriors, Ohya and Aha, who pledged to engage in the conflict with the angelic beings.9 

Also of interest is that right after mentioning the “wild beasts,” the speaker in the Aramaic passage identified himself as a “wild man.”10 This distinctive epithet also turns up in the Book of Moses, although as a label given to Enoch by his detractors.11 Bradshaw has further demonstrated that the Book of Giants, as a whole, bears a remarkable resemblance with the Book of Moses. After carrying out an in-depth analysis between these works, Bradshaw explains,

However, considering the relative brevity of [the Book of Giants], the number of currently identified thematic resemblances to Moses 6–7 is remarkable. Although the combined fragments of the Qumran [Book of Giants] scarcely fill three pages in the English translation of Florentino García Martínez, the results indicate that this single text contains eighteen, fully three-fifths, of the thirty proposed thematic resemblances of the combined ancient Enoch literature to the Book of Moses Enoch account. These resemblances range from general themes in the storyline to specific occurrences of rare terms or phrases in appropriate contexts.12

The discussion of wild beasts (or the roaring of wild beasts) in the Book of Moses is therefore just one of many converging parallels between the two works. When viewed in the aggregate, these relationships are mutually strengthening.  

Enoch-Metatron Compared to Lion

Another fascinating parallel arises in a Zohar commentary on Genesis 49:9. Addressing both parts of this passage (rendered in all capitals), the commentary reads:

JUDAH lS A LlON’S WHELP: first he will be a whelp, and then a lion, corresponding to the transition from “lad” [i.e. Metatron] to “man”, as it is written: “The Lord is a man of war” (Ex. 15, 3). FROM THE PREY, MY SON, THOU ART GONE UP The word “prey” includes the angel of death, who preys upon mankind. From that prey the Shekinah shook itself free.13

To be clear, the identification of the lad as Metatron (Enoch in his glorified state) is not in the original text but is instead an explanatory note provided by the translator to help interpret the identity of the “lad.” This association is partly justified because “lad” or “youth” is a common title given to Metatron in various ancient and medieval texts, just as it is in the Book of Moses. It also works because Metatron is regularly called by the name of the Lord in rabbinic sources, since he serves as the Lord's faithful angelic messenger.14 Further support comes from the description of Judah overcoming the “angel of death” and regaining the light and glory of God (Shekinah) in a heavenly ascent context. According to some traditions, not only did Enoch-Metatron ascend to heaven and regain the glory lost from Adam and Eve,15 but he specifically overcame the angel of death.16 Thus, on multiple fronts, there are reasons to trust the translator’s conclusion that Judah should be associated with Enoch-Metatron in this commentary.

With this backdrop in place, it is intriguing that the commentary compares Judah’s metaphorical transition from a whelp to a lion with Enoch-Metatron’s transition from a “lad” to a “man of war.” The implication is that Judah, like Enoch, would eventually become powerful like a lion in a military context. This, of course, relates to the peculiar imagery in the Book of Moses, where Enoch is first described as a “lad” in Moses 6:31 and then defeats his enemies and causes “lions” to roar out of the wilderness in Moses 7:13.

“Like the Mouth of a Lion”

It should be recalled that in Moses 7:13, the roaring of lions is connected to a promise of protection given to Enoch back in Moses 6:32: “And the Lord said unto Enoch: 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.” Thus, it was Enoch’s divinely empowered speech that ended up being the key to delivering his people. With it he turned the course of rivers, removed mountains, and ultimately subdued all of his enemies.17 

With this in mind, a mystical Jewish work known as Havdalah de-Rabbi ʿAqiva speaks of a secret revealed by none other than the antediluvian patriarch Enoch. The secret involves a divine name which, if invoked, is able to deliver the initiate from any type of harm and allow him to overcome all things. Of particular interest is that Enoch compared the power of this name with that of the “mouth of a lion”:

I, Enoch b. Yared, wrote it down in the seventieth year of my youth. … This secret of the secrets is for delivering the weak from the grasp of the strong, the lowly from the grasp of the powerful, and the poor from the grasp of the wealthy. When I have invoked it, I, so-and-so, the son of so-and-so, can be rescued, delivered, and saved by it from the power of kings and rulers, and from the power of enemies and adversaries, and from every mortal need, and from the jurisdiction of Gehenna, and from all harsh decrees, and from every kind of retribution, and from any of the progeny of Adam and Eve who rise up against me to cause harm to me. May my mouth be made like the mouth of a lion; (may) my tongue be (made) like the tongue of a heifer; and may I put on a radiance like (that of) fiery horses … So too may there be rescue and deliverance from the power of kings, and from the power of rulers, and from the power of enemies and adversaries, and from harsh decrees, and from mortal needs, and from every kind of retribution, and from all humans who rise up to do harm to me. You who are a shield for the righteous, may You be a shield and a refuge for me, amen!”18

This connection is rather remarkable, considering that within the Book of Moses the roaring of lions is invoked specifically in the context of Enoch using his divine power of speech to protect him and his people from their enemies: “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). Also fascinating is that the superlative and all-inclusive protection afforded by the name in this Jewish work matches up well with other Restoration texts that associate Enoch with the power of the priesthood (i.e., the power to act in the name of God).19

Conclusion

Both the Aramaic and Manichean versions of the Book of Giants make a reference to “wild beasts” or a “lion” in connection with Enoch, which echoes the “lions” mentioned in Moses 7:13. Thus, on at least this basic level of textual resemblance, the parallel is beyond any reasonable doubt.

However, the context of the passage in the Aramaic version suggests that some type of sound, such as a roar or bellow, was heard from the wild beasts. This has led several scholars to translate the passage in a manner that is remarkably close to Moses 7:13 (“the roar of the lions was heard out of the wilderness”). It has also been conjectured that a roar was given by a lion in the Manichean version as well. Thus, both extant versions of the Book of Giants have substantive phrasal elements that most likely match up with the Book of Moses.

If the peculiarity of this detail in these separate Enochic works wasn’t enough, their contexts are also quite similar. In each case, the wild beast/lion imagery shows up adjacent to a battle involving mortal men and heaven-residing beings (understood to be angels in the Book of Giants but who also correlate with Enoch’s translated community of Zion in the Book of Moses).20 The parallels between the Book of Moses and the Aramaic version are especially nuanced and multi-faceted on this front. According to Jeffrey Bradshaw, “This phrase, placed in analogous post-battle settings in both texts, is one of the most striking and unexpected affinities between Joseph Smith’s Enoch story and the ancient Book of Giants.”21

It should also be remembered that the roaring of lions in Moses 7:13 is connected to Enoch’s divine power of speech, which God gave him as a means to protect himself and his people. This correlates well with a Jewish mystical work, in which a protective incantation revealed by Enoch is associated with the “mouth of a lion.” On a different front, the identity of Metatron is implied in a Jewish commentary on Genesis 49:9, which compares Judah’s metaphorical transition from a lion whelp to a lion with the transition of a “lad” (i.e. Enoch) into a “man of war.”

Thus, multiple Enochic traditions evoke the concept of lions or the roaring of beasts/lions in various relevant contexts. Because such a connection is never made in the Bible and none of these sources would have been available to Joseph Smith, these parallels strengthen the case for the antiquity of the Book of Moses and the truthfulness of Smith’s prophetic calling.