Ether 1
Ether: Header
The record of the Jaredites, taken from the twenty-four plates found by the people of Limhi in the days of King Mosiah.
Comments
This header was not part of the original Book of Mormon but was added for the 1920 edition.
The book of Ether is named for the compiler of the record. This is the model that we see for the book of Moroni and the small plates of Nephi. It differs from the naming conventions discernible for the books that Mormon edited from the large plates of Nephi, or his other sources, in the case of 3 Nephi.
The addition of this header in 1920 uses the word Jaredites to describe the people of this record. This is according to Moroni 9:23, where Moroni uses that term. Moroni’s statement is the only place where that word appears in the Book of Mormon. Nowhere in the book of Ether do we have a designation for the people as a whole, and it is perhaps a misleading label for it makes it appear that there were only this one people in the land. The sure reading is that we have the story of a single lineage that had been associated with the ruling line.
It is difficult to read too far between the lines, but it does appear that there were people available where rebellious sons could find a following and build an army sufficient to defeat their fathers. Certainly, archaeology would tell us that there were many more peoples in the region than only those who this particular record follows.
Origins of the Jaredite Record
Ether 1:1–2
1 And now I, Moroni, proceed to give an account of those ancient inhabitants who were destroyed by the hand of the Lord upon the face of this north country.
2 And I take mine account from the twenty and four plates which were found by the people of Limhi, which is called the Book of Ether.
Comments
In Mosiah 28 we have the story of King Mosiah2 translating the twenty-four plates through the use of the “two stones which were fastened into the two rims of a bow” (Mosiah 28:13). After telling the story of the translation and the reaction of the people to having it read to them, Mormon noted: “And this account shall be written hereafter; for behold, it is expedient that all people should know the things which are written in this account” (Mosiah 28:19).
Mormon gave no indication that he thought he would provide that information, and we have the book of Ether because Moroni fulfilled his father’s promise that “all people should know the things which are written in this account.”
Although Moroni says that he took his account from the “twenty and four plates,” it is unlikely that he made a new translation. A king and a prophet had already created a translation through the divinely assisted interpreters. There was no reason to do it again. Additionally, if the book of Ether were translated while Moroni was traveling, after the destruction of Cumorah, he must have had the twenty-four plates with him, but then decided not to include them with the plates that were buried for safety reasons. They were sacred records and ignoring them would have been unthinkable. It is most probable that he worked from a copy of Mosiah2’s translation.
Ether 1:3–5
3 And as I suppose that the first part of this record, which speaks concerning the creation of the world, and also of Adam, and an account from that time even to the great tower, and whatsoever things transpired among the children of men until that time, is had among the Jews—
4 Therefore I do not write those things which transpired from the days of Adam until that time; but they are had upon the plates; and whoso findeth them, the same will have power that he may get the full account.
5 But behold, I give not the full account, but a part of the account I give, from the tower down until they were destroyed.
Comments
The record of Ether was a record of a new people, and to justify the authority of that new people, they needed to attach themselves to antiquity. Thus, the presence of the origin story of the world was part of their story, and they connected themselves to its beginning. That sacred beginning linked them to the biblical stories of creation, down to the time of the Tower of Babel. This confirms the comment about the record that Mormon made when discussing Mosiah’s translation and when reading that translation to his people:
Now after Mosiah had finished translating these records, behold, it gave an account of the people who were destroyed, from the time that they were destroyed back to the building of the great tower, at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people and they were scattered abroad upon the face of all the earth, yea, and even from that time back until the creation of Adam (Mosiah 28:17).
Because the knowledge in that verse was well-known, Moroni saw no reason to repeat it.
It would have been important to have what their record said, for it could have provided slightly different views of those events that would be useful to religious historians. However, assuming that Moroni had that record in translation, it is plausible that Mosiah2 had already translated it in conformance with the scriptures he knew, perhaps in the same way that the citations of Isaiah in the Book of Mormon come from the King James Version that Joseph knew, rather than from a retranslation of those texts.
Ether’s Lineage
Ether 1:6–33
6 And on this wise do I give the account. He that wrote this record was Ether, and he was a descendant of Coriantor.
7 Coriantor was the son of Moron.
8 And Moron was the son of Ethem.
9 And Ethem was the son of Ahah.
10 And Ahah was the son of Seth.
11 And Seth was the son of Shiblon.
12 And Shiblon was the son of Com.
13 And Com was the son of Coriantum.
14 And Coriantum was the son of Amnigaddah.
15 And Amnigaddah was the son of Aaron.
16 And Aaron was a descendant of Heth, who was the son of Hearthom.
17 And Hearthom was the son of Lib.
18 And Lib was the son of Kish.
19 And Kish was the son of Corom.
20 And Corom was the son of Levi.
21 And Levi was the son of Kim.
22 And Kim was the son of Morianton.
23 And Morianton was a descendant of Riplakish.
24 And Riplakish was the son of Shez.
25 And Shez was the son of Heth.
26 And Heth was the son of Com.
27 And Com was the son of Coriantum.
28 And Coriantum was the son of Emer.
29 And Emer was the son of Omer.
30 And Omer was the son of Shule.
31 And Shule was the son of Kib.
32 And Kib was the son of Orihah, who was the son of Jared;
33 Which Jared came forth with his brother and their families, with some others and their families, from the great tower, at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people, and swore in his wrath that they should be scattered upon all the face of the earth; and according to the word of the Lord the people were scattered.
Comments
The prophet who wrote this final record was Ether. Just as his people were connected to antiquity through the origin stories from the Old World, Ether needed to trace his authority to antiquity. Thus, we have a genealogy of Ether traced back to the original leader of the people, Jared.
This genealogy is then linked to the Old World through the origin story, specifically to the Tower of Babel. They become one of the separated people, therefore inheriting all of the authority that came with that pre-Jared connection.
Jared and His Brother Cry unto the Lord
Ether 1:34–37
34 And the brother of Jared being a large and mighty man, and a man highly favored of the Lord, Jared, his brother, said unto him: Cry unto the Lord, that he will not confound us that we may not understand our words.
35 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord, and the Lord had compassion upon Jared; therefore he did not confound the language of Jared; and Jared and his brother were not confounded.
36 Then Jared said unto his brother: Cry again unto the Lord, and it may be that he will turn away his anger from them who are our friends, that he confound not their language.
37 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord, and the Lord had compassion upon their friends and their families also, that they were not confounded.
Comments
The story of the Tower of Babel is the essential connection between the Jaredites and the Old World. Their authority to become a people and to carry with them God’s blessings is given origin at that point. Understanding that there was a separation of peoples to come, Jared commands his brother (apparently the prophet, compared to Jared’s more formal role as a leader) to pray that they would not be separated because of language. Jared, his brother, and his people retain their language, their identity, and therefore, their heritage. Nevertheless, they are still separated. They will be divided off and removed to a new location.
The brother of Jared, “being a large and mighty man,” joins other “large and mighty men” in the Book of Mormon. Coriantumr “was a large and a mighty man” (Helaman 1:15). Others do not get that particular designation, yet are “large in stature” (Nephi, in 1 Nephi 2:16; and Mormon in Mormon 2:1). Such designations would have indicated someone perhaps larger than expected, but the impact of the statement was to suggest that they were somehow outstanding. In the ancient Mediterranean, such epithets were indicative of qualities, not necessarily of physical build. We should not assume that any peoples of the Book of Mormon were much different than their surrounding populations.
Ether 1:38–43
38 And it came to pass that Jared spake again unto his brother, saying: Go and inquire of the Lord whether he will drive us out of the land, and if he will drive us out of the land, cry unto him whither we shall go. And who knoweth but the Lord will carry us forth into a land which is choice above all the earth? And if it so be, let us be faithful unto the Lord, that we may receive it for our inheritance.
39 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord according to that which had been spoken by the mouth of Jared.
40 And it came to pass that the Lord did hear the brother of Jared, and had compassion upon him, and said unto him:
41 Go to and gather together thy flocks, both male and female, of every kind; and also of the seed of the earth of every kind; and thy families; and also Jared thy brother and his family; and also thy friends and their families, and the friends of Jared and their families.
42 And when thou hast done this thou shalt go at the head of them down into the valley which is northward. 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.
43 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. And thus I will do unto thee because this long time ye have cried unto me.
Comments
The result of the confounding of languages at the Tower of Babel was the dispersal of peoples, and perhaps a deep story of the reason behind the nations of the world. For the Jaredites, it clearly indicated a separation of peoples. They were not only separated by their language, but they obtained a promise that they would further be separated by being given a new land.
They are commanded to gather families and flocks. They were moving an entire people.
There is a hint of where they went. The first indication is that the Lord tells them to move north. These are a people from the ancient Near East. Thus, heading north will put them on a course toward three possible bodies of water: the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, or the Mediterranean. Which of these bodies of water is the most probable will be dependent upon information found in future verses. However, that future information will strongly point to the Mediterranean.
This is not the end of a chapter in the 1830 edition.
