Book of Mormon Evidence: Wordplay on Jared

The name Jared is significant within the Nephite record. Jared was a leader of the people known as the Jaredites, who originated during the time of the infamous tower spoken of in Genesis 11:1–11. The name may also trace back to the Jared mentioned in Genesis 5:18–20, who was the father of Enoch. Matthew Bowen explains, 

To know with certainty the origin and meaning of the name Jared as a “Jaredite” name, one must more precisely ascertain the origins and language of the Jaredites. Given that Amaleki, Mormon, and Moroni describe the Jaredites as having come from “the tower” or “the great tower,” an Asiatic origin if not an outright Mesopotamian origin seems certain.

If such is the case, the name Jared as attested in the Book of Mormon plausibly represents a hebraized cognate of the Semitic/Akkadian noun wardu(m) or warad, which denotes “slave, servant” (cf. theophoric warad—names like Warad-Sin, “Servant of the moon[-god]”), a noun which in turn derives from the Akkadian verb, warādu(m), “go down,” “descend.” Akkadian wardu(m)/warādu(m) provides a useful analogy for the name Jared in terms of yered/yārad, “go down” or “come down” (i.e., “descend”). The Nephites may have understood the name Jared either as “slave/servant [of Deity]” or “as a hypocoristicon meaning God shall/has descended” and the gentilic designation Jaredites as “those who go down” or “bring down” (cf. yōrĕdîm, môrîd[îm]).1

Understanding these linguistic roots may be valuable, as it appears that Book of Mormon authors evoked several layers of wordplay in connection with this name. This article builds, and significantly expands, upon Bowen’s prior research on this topic.2

Jaredite Origin Story

There is a prominent theme of elevation and directionality right from the outset of the Jaredite origin story.3 In his abridgment of this people’s history, Moroni explained that “Jared came forth with his brother and their families, with some others and their families, from the great tower” (Ether 1:33). The tower of Babel, of course, came to be viewed over time as a symbol of elevated pride, associated with a people who thought they could ascend into heaven through their own power and artifice.4

What catches the eye is the way that the text immediately reports a downward journey away from the land of the tower. After giving instructions for the people to gather their families and provisions, the Lord told the brother of Jared, “Thou shalt go at the head of them down into the valley which is northward” (Ether 1:42). The Lord then declared, “And there will I bless thee and thy seed, and raise up unto me of thy seed, and of the seed of thy brother, and they who shall go with thee, a great nation. And there shall be none greater than the nation which I will raise up unto me of thy seed, upon all the face of the earth” (Ether 1:43).

In other words, rather than the people lifting themselves up into heaven by building a tower, they were first instructed to travel downward, perhaps symbolizing the path to humility. As the prophet Nephi declared, “O Lord, wilt thou not shut the gates of thy righteousness before me, that I may walk in the path of the low valley, that I may be strict in the plain road!” (2 Nephi 4:32). Only if the Jaredites humbly followed the Lord’s directives in the valley would the Lord then “raise up” their seed unto him.5

In the next chapter, we learn that “Jared and his brother, and their families, and also the friends of Jared and his brother and their families, went down into the valley” (Ether 2:1) and “when they had come down into the valley of Nimrod the Lord came down and talked with the brother of Jared; and he was in a cloud, and the brother of Jared saw him not” (Ether 2:4). This was no chance meeting, as the Lord had previously designated this low-elevation setting in the valley for their encounter: “And there will I meet thee, and I will go before thee into a land which is choice above all the lands of the earth” (Ether 1:42).

Further backing for the validity of this connection comes from ancient traditions involving the posterity of Seth who, specifically in the days of Jared, broke their covenant and descended from a holy mountain in order to mingle with the posterity of Cain. One version of this story can be found in a Syriac work known as The Cave of Treasures. The careful reader will notice that within this account the name of Jared is repeatedly juxtaposed with the concept of descent:

In the days of Jared, in his 500th year, the children of Seth broke the oath their forefathers had made them swear and began to descend from the holy mountain to the villainous camp of Cain the murderer’s children. The descent of Seth’s children was thus: In Jared’s fortieth year, at the end of the first millennium (which lasted) from Adam until Jared, in these years there appeared those craftsmen of sin and disciples of Satan, for it was he who was their teacher. … When Satan found himself an occasion through this wrongdoing he was exceedingly glad that thereby he could make descend and bring down the children of Seth from the holy mountain. … When Jared heard and began to know their words, (he said:) “I implore you by Abel’s innocent blood: Do not go down from this holy mountain! Remember and think of the oaths which our fathers Seth, Enosh, Kenan and Mahalalel made us swear.” Enoch also told them: “Listen, children of Seth, whoever breaks the commandment of Jared and his fathers’ oaths and goes down from this mountain, can never come up again.” But they did not wish to listen to Jared’s advice and the words of Enoch. They became bold, broke the commandment, and 100 valiant men went down. … After them a multitude of others became bold, too, went down and also fell.6

Apparently noticing the relevance of Jared’s name in this account, the translator of this work specifically noted that the “name ‘Jared’ means ‘descent’ in Hebrew.”7 Thus, there is precedent for connecting the name of Jared with the physical descent of his people from a higher location.

In the case of the Book of Mormon, however, the drop in elevation doesn’t hold the same negative connotation. On a typological level, the story appears to evoke the themes of descent and ascent embedded in the Plan of Salvation and woven throughout scripture.8 Noticing close textual affinities with several biblical passages, Bowen has noted that “Moroni appears to have intentionally described the Lord’s theophanic ‘condescensions’ using language from Exodus and its etiological descriptions of the function of the tent of the meeting.”9

When viewed in light of Bowen’s detailed comparisons and the broader typological context, the language of descent—both in relation to the Jaredites and the Lord himself—hardly seems to be happenstance. Moreover, the repeated names of Jared and the brother of Jared couldn’t be more narratively conspicuous.

The Fall and the Falling Down of Jared upon the Mount

As part of his theophany on Mount Shelem, the brother of Jared explained to the Lord that “because of the fall our natures have become evil continually” (Ether 3:2). With this concern on his mind, “the brother of Jared fell down before the Lord” once the Lord revealed a portion of his body (Ether 3:6). The reader is then informed that “the Lord saw that the brother of Jared had fallen to the earth; and the Lord said unto him: Arise, why hast thou fallen?” (Ether 3:7). The Lord eventually explained, “Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you” (Ether 3:13).

We thus see that the falling down of the brother of Jared is narratively connected to the broader doctrine of the Fall of mankind. The unusual degree of emphasis on these fall-related details strongly suggests they may be playing off of Jared’s own descent-related name. Eventually, we are told that “the brother of Jared came down out of the mount” and prepared his people so they could cross the great waters (Ether 6:2).

Jaredite Themes of Service and Captivity

As noted previously, the name of Jared “plausibly represents a hebraized cognate of the Semitic/Akkadian noun wardu(m) or warad, which denotes “slave, servant.”10 With this in mind, themes of servitude and captivity are worth exploring in the account of the Jaredites. Not long after they reached their promised land, the Jaredite colony wanted to anoint a king among themselves. Yet the brother of Jared warned them against this course of action, stating, “Surely this thing leadeth into captivity” (Ether 6:23). The people, however, didn’t listen to this wise counsel and within three generations a descendant of the first king rebelled against his father and took him captive. According to the narrator, this “brought to pass the saying of the brother of Jared that they would be brought into captivity” (Ether 7:5).

The rest of the record shows the validity of Jared’s warning, as captivity (often linked with servitude) becomes a recurring and problematic theme throughout the generations. In chapter eight, this evil was renewed by another man named Jared: “And Jared rebelled against his father, … and he did carry away his father into captivity, and did make him serve in captivity; And now, in the days of the reign of Omer he was in captivity the half of his days” (Ether 1–4).

In chapter ten, a king known as Kim had a brother who “did bring him into captivity; and he did remain in captivity all his days; and he begat sons and daughters in captivity, and in his old age he begat Levi; and he died. And it came to pass that Levi did serve in captivity after the death of his father” (Ether 10:15). Later, in the same chapter, the kingdom was taken from a king known as Hearthom: “And he served many years in captivity, yea, even all the remainder of his days. And he begat Heth, and Heth lived in captivity all his days. And Heth begat Aaron, and Aaron dwelt in captivity all his days; and he begat Amnigaddah, and Amnigaddah also dwelt in captivity all his days; and he begat Coriantum, and Coriantum dwelt in captivity all his days; and he begat Com” (Ether 10:30–31).

In chapter twelve, we read that “Shiblom was slain, and Seth was brought into captivity, and did dwell in captivity all his days” (Ether 11:9). Later, “there arose another mighty man; and he was a descendant of the brother of Jared. And it came to pass that he did overthrow Moron and obtain the kingdom; wherefore, Moron dwelt in captivity all the remainder of his days; and he begat Coriantor. And it came to pass that Coriantor dwelt in captivity all his days … and he died, having dwelt in captivity all his days” (Ether 11:17–23). Finally, in chapter thirteen, “there arose up Shared, and he also gave battle unto Coriantumr; and he did beat him, insomuch that in the third year he did bring him into captivity” (Ether 13:23). Note that the name Shared may hold a similar meaning to that of Jared.11

These somewhat redundant details are reported here for effect, showing that the Jaredites indeed perpetuated a distinctive and enduring tradition of capturing and enslaving kings and their families. Interestingly, the notion of servitude—on a nationwide scale—is actually at play near the very outset of Moroni’s abridgment. Concerning the Jaredites’ impending inheritance of their land of promise, Moroni emphasized three times in a row that they needed to “serve” God. This comes as a repeated element (B) in an extended alternate parallelism (Ether 2:10–12):12  

Near the end of the record, after narrating generations of destruction and captivity among the Jaredites, Moroni again reiterated this divine pronouncement upon the land: “And now I, Moroni, proceed to finish my record concerning the destruction of the people of whom I have been writing. For behold, they rejected all the words of Ether; … wherefore the Lord would have that all men should serve him who dwell upon the face thereof” (Ether 13:1–2).13

Tellingly, this same theme comes up again in the context of Jaredite abominations in Alma 37:23: “And the Lord said: I will prepare unto my servant Gazelem, a stone, which shall shine forth in darkness unto light, that I may discover unto my people who serve me, that I may discover unto them the works of their brethren, yea, their secret works, their works of darkness, and their wickedness and abominations.”14 This subtle consistency is rather remarkable when one considers that the record of the Jaredites hadn’t yet been dictated by Joseph Smith at that time.15

When the textual data is looked at carefully and in the aggregate, the Jaredite record is, to a significant degree, about a people who should have served the Lord but instead repeatedly served in captivity under earthly kings, due to their own pride and wickedness. All of this ties in thematically with the meaning of “slave, servant” in the name Jared—and, by extension, the Jaredites.

Allusions to the Jaredite Pride and Downfall in Nephite Texts

Although the Nephites had their own problems with wicked kings, they did not exhibit the same pattern of ever-shifting generational servitude under competing rulers that plagued the Jaredites. As understood by Hugh Nibley, this surprising cultural practice likely stemmed from the Jaredites’ Asiatic origins.16

That being said, Nephite leaders and prophets certainly seemed to take this cultural lesson to heart. It appears, for instance, that the record of the Jaredites was one of the major motivating factors that led King Mosiah to abandon the Nephite monarchy in favor of a system of judges.17 Later commentary by Alma, Mormon, and Moroni likewise suggest a clear-eyed awareness of Jaredite wickedness and the cause of their destruction.

It may be significant that in a number of instances, statements from these Nephite prophets invoke downward directionality in immediate connection to the Jaredites, suggesting an awareness of the meaning behind the name. At the same time, such remarks are sometimes juxtaposed with the imagery of building or lifting something up, likely alluding to the great tower from which the Jaredites originated. It should be noted that the Hebrew verb yrd (from which the name Jared likely derives) can also occasionally mean “to go up” in addition to the more common usage of “to go down.”18

The first instance comes from Mormon’s abridgment of the book of Omni, where he mentioned a large stone engraved with “an account of one Coriantumr, and the slain of his people. … It also spake a few words concerning his fathers. And his first parents came out from the tower, at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people; and the severity of the Lord fell upon them according to his judgments” (Omni 1:21–22).19

Likewise, Alma, when speaking to his son Helaman, commanded him to withhold from his people information about the secret oaths and abominations of the Jaredites, “lest peradventure they should fall into darkness also and be destroyed” (Alma 37:27). Alma later echoed this language when giving a prophecy about the Nephite downfall, suggesting it would correspond to the reintroduction of the Jaredite wickedness: “Yea, and then shall they see wars and pestilences, yea, famines and bloodshed, even until the people of Nephi shall become extinct—Yea, and this because they shall dwindle in unbelief and fall into the works of darkness” (Alma 45:11–12). The concept of “works of darkness” stretches back to the antediluvian period in conjunction with secret combinations—both of which are expressly linked to the Jaredites in Nephite texts.20

Mormon later drew attention to Alma’s admonition, again using downward imagery: “Now behold, it is these secret oaths and covenants which Alma commanded his son should not go forth unto the world, lest they should be a means of bringing down the people unto destruction” (Helaman 6:25).21 Ironically, this impending downfall was being caused, in part, because the Nephites “began to seek to get gain that they might be lifted up one above another; therefore they began to commit secret murders, and to rob and to plunder, that they might get gain” (Helaman 6:12). This wickedness was ultimately traced back to Cain’s covenant with Satan and later to the wickedness at the great tower:22

And also it is that same being who put it into the hearts of the people to build a tower sufficiently high that they might get to heaven. And it was that same being who led on the people who came from that tower into this land; who spread the works of darkness and abominations over all the face of the land, until he dragged the people down to an entire destruction, and to an everlasting hell. (Helaman 6:28)

Using similar language, we read in the same chapter that the people did “build up unto themselves idols of their gold and their silver” (Helaman 6:31). If that weren’t enough, the up-down dichotomy emerges once again in Helaman 6:38. Concerning the Gadianton robbers, we read:

And it came to pass on the other hand, that the Nephites did build them up and support them, beginning at the more wicked part of them, until they had overspread all the land of the Nephites, and had seduced the more part of the righteous until they had come down to believe in their works and partake of their spoils, and to join with them in their secret murders and combinations.

The somewhat odd terminology—using “build up” and “build them up” in connection to idols and the Gadianton robbers—hardly seems accidental. This language of building typologically correlates with the building of the great tower. Not only is this a key element of the Jaredite origin story but the “tower” is explicitly mentioned in this very chapter—twice—in connection with the origin of the secret oaths and covenants that were afflicting Nephite society (Helaman 6:28). That being the case, the consistent downward oriented language (“fell upon,” “bringing down,” “dragged the people down,” and “come down to believe”) seems to be an intentional inversion of the people of Babel, and all who followed after them, who were lifted up in their pride.       

On several occasions, Moroni repackaged this imagery as a warning to future Gentiles not to replicate the errors of the Nephites and Jaredites before them.23 In Mormon 8:7, Moroni noted that “the Lamanites have hunted my people, the Nephites, down from city to city and from place to place, even until they are no more; and great has been their fall; yea, great and marvelous is the destruction of my people, the Nephites” (Mormon 8:7). This echoes the complete downfall of the Jaredites which occurred at the very same hill.24 Moroni then warned the Gentiles using language that repeatedly alludes to Nephite and Jaredite wickedness:

• “And it shall come in a day when the blood of saints shall cry unto the Lord, because of secret combinations and the works of darkness. Yea, it shall come in a day when the power of God shall be denied, and churches become defiled and be lifted up in the pride of their hearts” (Mormon 8:27–28)
• “Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be churches built up that shall say: Come unto me, and for your money you shall be forgiven of your sins. O ye wicked and perverse and stiffnecked people, why have ye built up churches unto yourselves to get gain?” (Mormon 8:32–33)
• “And I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there are none save a few only who do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts” (Mormon 8:38)
• “Yea, why do ye build up your secret abominations to get gain” (Mormon 8:40)

One should notice the repackaging of the “built up” imagery that echoes the great tower story back in Helaman 6. Then, after all this, Moroni again evoked downward imagery, warning future Gentiles that “the sword of vengeance hangeth over you” (Mormon 8:41). In other words, the divine sword is poised to fall upon the wicked—an image that is stated more explicitly in a number of passages throughout the Book of Mormon.25    

Moroni’s stark warning to modern readers in Ether 2:11 continues this theme: “And this cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God—that ye may repent, and not continue in your iniquities until the fulness come, that ye may not bring down the fulness of the wrath of God upon you as the inhabitants of the land have hitherto done.”26 Moroni brought up the matter once more Ether 8:23 in connection to “murderous combinations,” with the phrases “get above” and “built up” juxtaposed with “fall upon”:27

Wherefore, O ye Gentiles, it is wisdom in God that these things should be shown unto you, that thereby ye may repent of your sins, and suffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you, which are built up to get power and gain—and the work, yea, even the work of destruction come upon you, yea, even the sword of the justice of the Eternal God shall fall upon you, to your overthrow and destruction if ye shall suffer these things to be.

A final example comes from an epistle from Mormon to his son Moroni. In this case, however, the upward inversion holds a positive meaning. Instead of talking of people “lifted up” in pride or attempting to “build up” idols or robbers or secret combinations or a tower, Mormon instead prays for Christ to lift up Moroni: “And if they perish it will be like unto the Jaredites, because of the wilfulness of their hearts, seeking for blood and revenge. … My son, be faithful in Christ; and may not the things which I have written grieve thee, to weigh thee down unto death; but may Christ lift thee up” (Moroni 9:23–25).

We thus see a remarkably consistent use of downward-upward language in Nephite texts in connection with the Jaredites. In many instances the Jaredites are explicitly mentioned, but in other instances a continuity with their destruction is clearly implied due to key words such as “secret combinations,” “get gain,” “works of darkness,” etc. This inverted imagery appears to thematically build on the origin story of the Jaredites, who came from the great tower (a symbol of being lifted up in pride) and the very name of the Jaredites themselves (denoting “descent,” “to go down,” “to come down,” and even “to go up”).

Conclusion

On several different levels, Book of Mormon authors appear to have been aware of the meanings—involving both descent and servitude—that likely stand behind the name Jared. This can be seen in (1) the themes of descent and the Lord’s condescension when the Jaredites first departed from the great tower, (2) the emphasis on the brother of Jared falling down in connection with the Fall of mankind in his encounter with the Lord on Mount Shelem, (3) the theme of generational captivity and servitude to mortal kings throughout the Jaredite record, which was forewarned by the brother of Jared and was in ironic contrast to the service that they should have rendered to God himself, and (4) the repeated use of downward imagery connected to the Jaredite destruction and works of wickedness, often in contrast to upward imagery that harks back to the building of the tower at their point of origin.

When this textual data is viewed in its entirety, a very strong case can be made that the Nephite authors were well aware of the Jaredite etymology and that this name holds deep thematic significance throughout the Book of Mormon. This adds to a growing body of evidence, involving dozens of other names and terms in the text, that seem to be attended by Semitic or Egyptian wordplay.28

At the same time, many of the textual patterns related to Jared and the Jaredites in this study are themselves quite sophisticated. Even if one were to conclude that these proposed instances of wordplay were not intentional, it would be difficult to argue that many of these subtle textual consistencies weren’t intended. This study thus provides another line of evidence, among many, pointing to the Book of Mormon’s remarkable textual complexity.29