Book of Moses Evidence: Wordplay on Jared

The name Jared, as found in the Old Testament, appears to derive from the Hebrew verb yrd (ירד) which generally holds the meaning “to go down” or “to come down.”1 With this in mind, there may be a Hebrew-related wordplay on this name in the sixth chapter of the Book of Moses:

And Jared taught Enoch in all the ways of God. And this is the genealogy of the sons of Adam, who was the son of God, with whom God, himself, conversed. And they were preachers of righteousness, and spake and prophesied, and called upon all men, everywhere, to repent; and faith was taught unto the children of men. And it came to pass that all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years, and he died. And Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begat Methuselah. And it came to pass that Enoch journeyed in the land, among the people; and as he journeyed, the Spirit of God descended out of heaven, and abode upon him. And he heard a voice from heaven, saying: Enoch, my son, prophesy unto this people (Moses 6:21–26)

When read in context, Enoch’s revelation from heaven can be understood as an outgrowth of the righteous instruction of Jared, which was part of a tradition running all the way back to Adam.2 That being the case, the mention of “Jared” and the description of the Spirit of God which “descended” should not be viewed as disconnected entities. There are reasonable grounds—both in textual proximity and narrative association—to assume intentional wordplay.  

Descending Angels

Lest one view this proposal as a stretch, it should be pointed out that a similar example of wordplay involving the name Jared and the concept of descent can be seen in the book of 1 Enoch. Concerning the descent of the Watchers (sinful angelic beings), we read that “they all swore together and bound one another with a curse. And they were, all of them, two hundred, who descended in the days of Jared onto the peak of Mount Hermon” (1 Enoch 6:5–6).3 George Nickelsburg and James VanderKam explain that this “wordplay is an implicit etymologizing possible in Hebrew (ירדו בימי ירד) but not in Aramaic, where the word for ‘descend’ is נחת. The precise point of comparison in the wordplay is disputed. A reference to the name of Enoch’s father, Jared (ירד), seems the best explanation, not least because it is explicit in some of the earliest ancient interpretations of this text (Jubilees 4:15; 1 Enoch 106:13; 1QapGen 3:3).”4

Turning to Jubilees, we read that the wife of Mahalalel “bore a son for him in the third week in the sixth year. And he called him Jared because in his days the angels of the LORD, who were called Watchers, came down to the earth in order to teach the sons of man, and perform judgment and uprightness upon the earth.”5 One might notice that, in this text, the Watchers are initially presented in a favorable light, as they come down to “teach the sons of man, and perform judgment and uprightness upon the earth.” This provides yet another parallel with the wordplay proposal in Moses 6:21–26, since both texts emphasize righteous instruction.

The other thing that must be pointed out is the overt nature of the wordplay. In the Jubilees passage, the narrator explains that Jared was given his name “because in his days the angels of the LORD … came down to the earth.” This type of direct explanation of a name’s origin and meaning is known as an etiology. As concluded by Albertus Klijn, “It is obvious that the story was inspired by the name Jared, which was thought to be derived from the verb ירד, ‘to descend.’”6 A similar, yet even more succinct, etiological explanation can be found in a later rabbinic commentary on Genesis 5:18: “And why was his name Jared? In his days, the angels came down from the heavens and were teaching humanity how to serve the Holy One.”7

To help better recognize the parallel elements in these three passages, they are highlighted in the following chart (with the wordplay components bolded and underlined, while the additional elements are color-coded):

Although there are some differences in these works, this proposed wordplay is still rather enticing.8 It is not merely that the name of Jared shows up in the Book of Moses in connection with the generic concept of descent. Rather, it is that the name shows up in connection with: (1) the genealogical data in Genesis 5:18–24, (2) a heavenly being descending to the mortal world, and (3) a theme of righteous instruction. The fact that each of these elements turn up in limited blocks of text in these sources—and also that they expressly invoke this specific play on words—is not insignificant. The shared context considerably amplifies the already plausible case for wordplay in the Book of Moses and suggests that its presentation of these details may stem from a genuine ancient tradition.

One must also remember that neither of these additional elements—the descent of the divine beings and the theme of righteous instruction—can be found in the corresponding verses in Genesis 5:18–24. So this isn’t a detail that Joseph Smith could have derived from the Bible.

Descent from a Mountain

Additional support for this type of wordplay can be seen in a medieval Christian work commonly known as The Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan.9 It tells of how Satan and his followers (appearing in disguise as Jared’s forefathers) tricked Jared into descending from a holy mountain and visiting the wicked inhabitants at a lower elevation. Disguised as Adam, Satan declared, “Now, therefore, O my son [Jared], hearken to my counsel and go down to them, thou and thy children. … But if thou wilt not go down to them, then, arise, take thy children, and come with us to our garden.”10 Eventually, this group indeed “came down from the mountain, and Jared with them.”11 The story then expounds upon the significance of this error and Satan’s deceptions.12 What seems clear is that this story of Jared traveling down from the mountain is thematically connected to the meaning of his name.

A similar account can be found in an earlier text known as the Cave of Treasures. It tells of how many of the descendants of Seth, specifically during the time of Jared, left the holy mountain and descended to intermingle with the wicked people below. In this case, the juxtaposition between Jared’s name and the downward directionality is even more pronounced:

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.13

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.”14 A similar play on words appears to be present in the Book of Mormon, in connection with the brother of Jared.15

Conclusion

Based on this data, it is clear that multiple ancient traditions played off the meaning of “descent” inherent in the name Jared, thus providing ample precedent for suspecting similar wordplay in the Book of Moses. Some of these ancient analogues portray the physical descent of humans from an elevated position. In others, Jared’s name is connected to angelic beings who descended to the earth. The latter category of sources—which includes 1 Enoch, Jubilees, and Midrash Aggadah—is especially relevant to the Book of Moses, which analogously involves the descent of the Holy Spirit. Additional contextual parallels with Jubilees and Midrash Aggadah bolster the connection even further.   

While it is technically possible that Smith could have had access to 1 Enoch, which situates the name of Jared close to the concept of descent, the plausibility of his accessing that source (or extracts from it) is a matter of ongoing debate.16 More importantly, the instance of wordplay in 1 Enoch does not discuss righteous instruction, nor does it expressly connect the meaning of Jared’s name with the descent of the Watchers, as do Jubilees and Midrash Aggadah.17 Thus, on several levels, 1 Enoch as a source of derivation either can’t explain the textual data or it has a comparatively weaker capacity to do so. At the same time, it seems highly unlikely that the known extrabiblical sources with the best contextual match (Jubilees and Midrash Aggadah) would have been available to Joseph Smith in 1830.18 Texts like The Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan (first published in English in 1882) and The Cave of Treasures (first published in English in 1927) would also have been inaccessible.19

All in all, the textual evidence favoring wordplay in Moses 6:21–26 provides a good reason to take the Book of Moses seriously, both as an ancient text and as a revelation from heaven. This is especially so when one considers that this is just one of many dozens of proposed instances of wordplay in Joseph Smith’s revelations about the ancient world.20