Ether 2
Journey into the Wilderness
Ether 2:1–3
1 And it came to pass 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 which was northward, (and the name of the valley was Nimrod, being called after the mighty hunter) with their flocks which they had gathered together, male and female, of every kind.
2 And they did also lay snares and catch fowls of the air; and they did also prepare a vessel, in which they did carry with them the fish of the waters.
3 And they did also carry with them deseret, which, by interpretation, is a honey bee; and thus they did carry with them swarms of bees, and all manner of that which was upon the face of the land, seeds of every kind.
Comments
In Ether 1:33–36, we learned of two men: Jared and the brother of Jared. We were not given any particular details as to why these two men are the preeminent actors in the beginning of the book of Ether. We must hypothesize.
We see Jared’s name consistently, and just as consistently, the absence of a name for the brother of Jared. Nevertheless, it is clear that the brother of Jared is the prophet. This information suggests that Jared is the clan leader, the recognized head of the family and groups of families. His brother functions as the prophet. Although modern readers often associate the leader and the prophet as the same person, that was not always the case in the ancient world. It was frequent in the Old Testament that there would be a recognized leader, a king during the time of Hebrew kingship, and then an advisor who would be the one able to discern the will of God.
That appears to be the relationship we see between Jared, his brother, and the people that form their community. These people will become identified with the person who establishes them as a new people; they will become Jaredites. The political position of leadership will continue through Jared. His brother serves an important function, but it is his importance as a conduit between his people and God that serves to define him. His continuing lineage will not play a known part in the later history of the Jaredite people.
As these new Jaredites prepare to travel, they gather what they will need for the journey. There is some small disconnect between this description and the specific timing of events, because we are told that they gather fish to keep in a vessel so that they could take fish with them (verse 2). We have yet to be told that they arrived at a shore or were commanded to build vessels. The point of these verses is the travel preparation, not the precise timing of their travels.
It is interesting that the wreck of a Roman vessel has been found (in 1986) that has tank-like structures that appear to have been used for transporting live fish. While the Roman period is long after the date of the Jaredites, it nevertheless suggests that such an idea did appear in antiquity. Finding that one vessel was a spectacular find, and the absence of finding earlier ones just as easily suggests the lack of preservation of those ships.
Ether 2:4–6
4 And it came to pass that 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.
5 And it came to pass that the Lord commanded them that they should go forth into the wilderness, yea, into that quarter where there never had man been. And it came to pass that the Lord did go before them, and did talk with them as he stood in a cloud, and gave directions whither they should travel.
6 And it came to pass that they did travel in the wilderness, and did build barges, in which they did cross many waters, being directed continually by the hand of the Lord.
Comments
Verses 4 and 5 both mention that the Lord appeared to the brother of Jared “in a cloud.” That phrase will be repeated in verse 14, following the statement in verse 13, that “And now I proceed with my record.” These statements will form the bracketing around verses 7–12, which are an aside in the text.
The important information for the story is that God led the people of Jared through the wilderness to the place where they “did build barges, in which they did cross many waters.” That part of the story will also be repeated, but with greater elaboration after the inserted text.
A Choice Land
Ether 2:7–10
7 And the Lord would not suffer that they should stop beyond the sea in the wilderness, but he would that they should come forth even unto the land of promise, which was choice above all other lands, which the Lord God had preserved for a righteous people.
8 And he had sworn in his wrath unto the brother of Jared, that whoso should possess this land of promise, from that time henceforth and forever, should serve him, the true and only God, or they should be swept off when the fulness of his wrath should come upon them.
9 And now, we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fulness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity.
10 For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. And it is not until the fulness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they are swept off.
Comments
These verses are the beginning of the editorial insertion that consists of verses 7–12. The beginning of verse 7 is actually part of the planned text, and perhaps the statement that “they should come forth even unto the land of promise.” However, the mention of the land of promise triggers the aside. The remainder of verse 7 describes that promised land as “choice above all other lands, which the Lord God had preserved for a righteous people.”
That statement leads into the covenant made with the brother of Jared, that “whoso should possess this land of promise, from that time henceforth and forever, should serve him, the true and only God, or they should be swept off when the fulness of his wrath should come upon them.” That is essentially the same covenant made with Lehi1. It is a statement that God would lead people to this new land, and that they would be preserved if they remained faithful, but if they did not, they would be destroyed.
Ether 2:11–12
11 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.
12 Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written.
Comments
One of the questions to be asked of the book of Ether is how Moroni used Mosiah2’s translation to create his text. The plausible answer is that Moroni followed his father’s practice of using the plates of Nephi. There would be times when Mormon recounted the story, and there were times when he copied information from his sources. Moroni appears to be using that same method.
The difference in detail between the recounting of the Jaredite preparations to embark on their journey to the New World, that precede and follow the insertion found in verses 7–12, strongly suggest that Moroni is retelling the story at this point rather than copying it.
A second question might have been whether it was Ether or Moroni who made this insertion into the story. These two verses strongly suggest that it was Moroni. Both he and his father address the future Gentiles, for they knew that they were writing (at least in part) to them. Thus, verse 11 should be easily assigned to Moroni. The rest of the verses, by association, should be assigned to Moroni as well.
Ether 2:13–14
13 And now I proceed with my record; for behold, it came to pass that the Lord did bring Jared and his brethren forth even to that great sea which divideth the lands. And as they came to the sea they pitched their tents; and they called the name of the place Moriancumer; and they dwelt in tents, and dwelt in tents upon the seashore for the space of four years.
14 And it came to pass at the end of four years that the Lord came again unto the brother of Jared, and stood in a cloud and talked with him. And for the space of three hours did the Lord talk with the brother of Jared, and chastened him because he remembered not to call upon the name of the Lord.
Comments
Verses 13 and 14 return the reader to the main story after Moroni’s aside about the land of promise in verses 7–12. What is obscured with this insertion is that the Jaredites made two trips across many waters. The first came after they had gathered their provisions and traveled northward out of the Valley of Nimrod. The second came after they had reached a place where they camped for four years. This second journey is made clear in verse 16 of this chapter.
With the need to traverse two bodies of water in two different sets of barges, it is most probable that they set out across the Mediterranean and stopped either on the southern coast of the Iberian peninsula, or along the northern coast of Africa. From that point, they would cross the Atlantic.
The Jaredites remain on the coast for four years. The place was called Moriancumer, and perhaps was named for Jared’s brother, since Joseph Smith revealed that the brother of Jared was named Mahonrimoriancumer, or Mahonri Moriancumer.
The important part of this particular part of the story is that the people were quite comfortable not embarking on the next part of the journey for four years. Perhaps they were building the barges but had not yet used them. For whatever reason, the time had come for them to depart, and the Lord had to chastise the brother of Jared because they had not yet done so.
The brother of Jared was chastised “for the space of three hours.” We don’t know how they would have measured time, but it was surely a significant amount. Had the brother of Jared not prayed at all? That is a possible reading, but another reading would be that he had not asked the essential question about when they should begin the journey that God had already told them to take (see verses 5 and 6 of this chapter).
Ether 2:15
15 And the brother of Jared repented of the evil which he had done, and did call upon the name of the Lord for his brethren who were with him. And the Lord said unto him: I will forgive thee and thy brethren of their sins; but thou shalt not sin any more, for ye shall remember that my Spirit will not always strive with man; wherefore, if ye will sin until ye are fully ripe ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. And these are my thoughts upon the land which I shall give you for your inheritance; for it shall be a land choice above all other lands.
Comments
What does it mean that “Jared repented of the evil which he had done?” In this context, the “evil” was that he had not obeyed the Lord. We should assume no more than that. God had commanded them to prepare, build barges, and depart. They were four years waiting on the seashore, and thus had not fulfilled a direct commandment. In that thing, the brother of Jared and all the people had committed sin. It was the sin of direct disobedience. Thus, the Lord could forgive them, if they would not sin anymore and if they would prepare to go to that land that was promised for their inheritance.
Building Barges and Solving Problems
Ether 2:16–17
16 And the Lord said: Go to work and build, after the manner of barges which ye have hitherto built. And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did go to work, and also his brethren, and built barges after the manner which they had built, according to the instructions of the Lord. And they were small, and they were light upon the water, even like unto the lightness of a fowl upon the water.
17 And they were built after a manner that they were exceedingly tight, even that they would hold water like unto a dish; and the bottom thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the sides thereof were tight like unto a dish; and the ends thereof were peaked; and the top thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the length thereof was the length of a tree; and the door thereof, when it was shut, was tight like unto a dish.
Comments
The Lord tells the brother of Jared to “go to work.” That might be an instruction to all of God’s people in all times. There are things we are commanded to do, and perhaps times when we have symbolically remained in place for four years.
God tells the brother of Jared to build barges “after the manner of barges which ye have hitherto built.” That confirms that this is the second time that the people of Jared would cross the waters in vessels. They build them again. Perhaps the instructions we see here were given previously, but even if they were, Moroni elects to include them prior to the major sea voyage. The barges were to be built water-tight and be capable of being covered by water and not sinking. This should not be assumed to mean that they were intentionally submarine-like vessels, but only that they would be able to survive major storms at sea.
The Problem of Air
Ether 2:18–21
18 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared cried unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, I have performed the work which thou hast commanded me, and I have made the barges according as thou hast directed me.
19 And behold, O Lord, in them there is no light; whither shall we steer? And also we shall perish, for in them we cannot breathe, save it is the air which is in them; therefore we shall perish.
20 And the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: Behold, thou shalt make a hole in the top, and also in the bottom; and when thou shalt suffer for air thou shalt unstop the hole and receive air. And if it be so that the water come in upon thee, behold, ye shall stop the hole, that ye may not perish in the flood.
21 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did so, according as the Lord had commanded.
Comments
This part of the story is told through multiple occasions where the brother of Jared comes to the Lord with questions. Apart from the story, the lesson is clearly that our changing circumstances in life will require our continued conversation with God, and our continuing to seek counsel from Him. We may receive information for the next steps, but those next steps may lead to more questions, and further reasons to rely upon the Lord.
In this case, the brother of Jared sees to the building of the barges. While they were to be similar to those built previously, they were also clearly different. The brother of Jared needed multiple instructions on how to make them functional.
In this conversation, there are multiple problems: how would they be lighted, steered, and how could the occupants breath in a sealed barge? These verses describe the solution to the breathing issue. The answer is that they should have a hole in the top and a hole in the bottom of the barge’s hull. While having holes in the hull is usually something to be avoided in a vessel, it is possible that these two holes were connected by a tube. (A modern-day engineer has suggested such a mechanism and has demonstrated how it might work.)
The Problem of Light
Ether 2:22–25
22 And he cried again unto the Lord saying: O Lord, behold I have done even as thou hast commanded me; and I have prepared the vessels for my people, and behold there is no light in them. Behold, O Lord, wilt thou suffer that we shall cross this great water in darkness?
23 And the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels? For behold, ye cannot have windows, for they will be dashed in pieces; neither shall ye take fire with you, for ye shall not go by the light of fire.
24 For behold, ye shall be as a whale in the midst of the sea; for the mountain waves shall dash upon you. Nevertheless, I will bring you up again out of the depths of the sea; for the winds have gone forth out of my mouth, and also the rains and the floods have I sent forth.
25 And behold, I prepare you against these things; for ye cannot cross this great deep save I prepare you against the waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come. Therefore what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea?
Comments
The brother of Jared returns to the Lord after building the vessels in the way described. That left a major question unanswered. How were they to get light, or were they to cross the waters in nearly perpetual darkness?
The Lord asks the brother of Jared what he thinks should be done. Before requesting an answer, the Lord indicates the problem. Because the vessels will be sealed, and at times under water, they cannot have a fire within it. Importantly, in verse 24, the Lord tells them that “the winds have gone forth out of my mouth, and also the rains and the floods.” In verse 25 he reiterates that Yahweh must protect them against “the waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come.” The implication is that Yahweh is behind them, and controls the elements and therefore, he will be behind their travel and protect them all through it.
The Lord will provide them the direction needed, but not the solution to light. That solution, he leaves for Jared to determine. That also is the way the Lord works with us. In modern revelation, the Lord has clarified: “Wherefore, let them bring their families to this land, as they shall counsel between themselves and me. For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward” (Doctrine and Covenants 58:25–26).
That is what the brother of Jared was doing with the Lord. They were counseling together, but the Lord did not command in all things. Agency is important, but using our agency for our own benefit is extremely important.
This is not the end of a chapter in the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon.
