Moses 7

Moses 7; Genesis 5:23–24 Overview. Enoch the Prophet and Founder of Zion

Moses 7 is another literary masterpiece of the book of Moses. Because it is jam-packed with so many events and so much meaning, it may be helpful to readers to preview its contents before diving into details.

Above all, the chapter builds on previous descriptions of Enoch as a seer, preacher, and teacher to give us a sense of Enoch as a prophet. Thus, having concluded his preaching of the plan of salvation in chapter 6, Moses 7:2 tells us that “from that time forth Enoch began to prophesy . . . unto the people” (emphasis added). In preparation for Enoch’s visions and mission, the Lord instructs Enoch to ascend to Mount Simeon, where he is “clothed upon with glory” as he speaks to the Lord face to face (verses 3–4). He witnesses a vision of the tribes and is charged to call them to repentance (verses 5–11). The enemies of the people of God come to battle but are defeated—not by military force but rather by the “power of the language which God had given” to Enoch (verses 12–17).

After a brief account of the founding of Zion, the City of Holiness (verses 18–19), Enoch’s grand vision opens. Most of part 1 of the grand vision is structured as a judgment speech (verses 28–40), following the general model of Isaiah 1 and Deuteronomy 32. The speech witnesses the sorrow of God and the heavens themselves for the wickedness and misery of the people. It also contains God’s proposal for a merciful resolution of the people’s troubles “inasmuch as they will repent” and accept the suffering of His Chosen for their sins (verse 39). After hearing God’s speech, Enoch is overcome with sorrow and bursts out weeping. To help us understand the depths of Enoch’s sorrow, we are told that he “stretched forth his arms, and his heart swelled wide as eternity; and his bowels yearned; and all eternity shook” (verse 40).

In part 2 of the grand vision (verses 44–67), the Lord informs and comforts Enoch with a vision of the “coming of the Son of Man” and of “all things, even unto the end of the world” (verses 47, 67). In a brief summary of the happy culmination of Enoch’s mission, we read that Enoch and his righteous city of Zion were received up into God’s own bosom (verse 69).

Latter-day Saints will one day witness the return of Enoch’s Zion, as described in verses 62–63. This sequence of events is captured poetically in Edward Partridge’s hymn, “Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise”:

Let Zion in her beauty rise;
Her light begins to shine.
Ere long her King will rend the skies,
Majestic and divine,
The gospel spreading thru the land,
A people to prepare
To meet the Lord and Enoch’s band
Triumphant in the air.[1]

The scene provides a fitting bookend to the story of Creation and the Fall at the beginning of the book of Moses. Just as the first book of the Bible, Genesis, recounts the story of Adam and Eve being cast out from the Garden of Eden, so the last book, Revelation, fittingly prophesies a permanent return for the sanctified to Paradise (see Revelation 22:1–5). In that day, the veil separating man and the rest of fallen creation from God will be swept away, and all shall be “done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). In the original Garden of Eden “there was no need for a temple—because Adam and Eve enjoyed the continual presence of God.” Likewise, in John’s vision “there was no temple in the Holy City, ‘for its temple is the Lord God.’”[2] To reenter the renewed garden at that happy day is to return to the original spiritual state of immortality and purity and to know the oneness that existed at the dawn of Creation, before the creative processes of division and separation began.[3]

Moses 7:1. Those Who Believed Adam’s Teachings Became the Sons of God

7:1. “many have believed and become the sons of God.” Note that the Hebrew and Greek terms for “sons of God” are gender neutral. Thus, it would be better to use the term “children of God” in its place. However, it seems even more fitting to describe the “sons of God” instead as “sons and daughters of God” as King Benjamin did in Mosiah 5:7. Why so? Although the Church teaches that every mortal in the beginning was a child of heavenly parents,[4] the scriptures often teach that only the most faithful of God’s offspring will be given “power to become the sons [and daughters] of God.”[5] According to the present verse, belief is the first step, but becoming is the natural result of continued belief and faithfulness.^[6]

Compare John 1:12: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even [JST: only] to them that believe on his name”; Doctrine and Covenants 11:30: “But verily, verily, I say unto you, that as many as receive me, to them will I give power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on my name. Amen.”

7:1. “looking forth with fear, in torment, for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God to be poured out upon them.” This is a reference to the condition of those in spirit prison (see Alma 40:14).

7:1. “the wrath of God to be poured out upon them.” Compare, for example, Revelation 16:19: “The cup of the wine of the fierceness of [God’s] wrath.” In scripture, the symbol of the cup is sometimes linked to Jesus’s sufferings (see Mark 14:36; 3 Nephi 11:11). Perhaps significantly, other scripture paints God’s wrath either as a liquid or as a fire kindled by God.[7] There may also be a connection to the liquids poured out during certain sacrificial ceremonies at sacred places, often in connection with making covenants.[8]

Moses 7:2. Enoch and Mahujah Cry unto the Lord

7:2. “stood.” In ancient tradition, standing before the Lord may have symbolized the role of an attendant to a king. It is a posture that shows readiness to listen and carry out divine instructions with promptness.[9]

7:2. “the place.” BYU professors Richard D. Draper, S. Kent Brown, and Michael D. Rhodes noted that in a scriptural context, the Hebrew term corresponding to “the place” often describes a special or sacred location.[10]

7:2. “Mahujah.” Scholars agree that Mahujah is a variant on the name Mahijah (Moses 6:40), perhaps a new name given to him at that time.[11] Because the pronoun “I” is present in the original manuscript (OT1) and the second-person plural “ye” appears twice later in the verse, the following reading seems to be more accurate: “As I was journeying and stood in the place, Mahujah and I cried unto the Lord. There came a voice out of heaven, saying—Turn ye, and get ye upon the mount Simeon.” This reading turns the name Mahujah into a personal name instead of a place name. In other words, Enoch is seen as standing with Mahujah rather than on the place named Mahujah. This reading is also consistent with ancient sources that describe a second journey of Mahaway (Mahijah/Mahujah) to visit Enoch and that appear to show him praying on a high mountain.[12] Non-Latter-day Saint scholar Salvatore Cirillo found this parallel impressive, concluding, “The emphasis that [Joseph] Smith places on Mahijah’s travel to Enoch is eerily similar to the account of Mahaway to Enoch in [the Book of Giants].”[13]

7:2. “cried unto the Lord.” As Draper and his coauthors emphasized, it is the cry of the righteous that mobilizes the Lord to act—whether it be in providing needed understanding (as we see in the story of Enoch), in taking action to correct injustices, or in delivering His people from distress.[14]

7:2. “the mount Simeon.” Fittingly, the name Simeon (Hebrew Shim‘on) is generally taken from the Hebrew shama‘, which means “to hear,” as indicated in Genesis 29:33.

Moses 7:3–4. The Heavens Open, and Enoch Is Clothed with Glory

7:3. “I turned and went up on the mount.” Note Enoch’s immediate response. The singular pronoun in the text implies that at this point, Mahujah/Mahaway declined to follow Enoch to higher ground.[15] We are not told directly whether Mahujah/Mahaway remained repentant or became recalcitrant before he died, but the Book of Giants description of Mahaway’s slaughter suggests that he remained too long with the wicked and for that reason, if for no other, ultimately shared in their tragic demise. The Book of Giants records these words as a lament for Mahaway’s violent death: “Slain, slain was that angel who was great, [that messenger whom they had]. Dead were those who were joined with flesh.”[16]

7:3. “I was clothed upon with glory.” This event anticipates verse 17, in which Enoch’s people are glorified. Hugh Nibley commented that the idea of putting on clothing in a temple context is in symbolic imitation of being transfigured to a glorious state.[17]

The pseudepigraphal books of 2 and 3 Enoch purport to describe the process by which Enoch was “clothed upon with glory” (Moses 7:3) in detail. Both accounts describe a “two-step initiatory procedure” whereby “the patriarch was first initiated by angel(s) and after this by the Lord.”[18] As this process culminated, Enoch, both in ancient sources and in modern scripture, received “a right to [God’s] throne” (7:59). In 2 Enoch, God commanded His angels to “extract Enoch from (his) earthly clothing. And anoint him with my delightful oil, and put him into the clothes of my glory.”[19] After Enoch was changed, he resembled God so exactly that he was, in some Jewish accounts, mistaken for Him.[20]

To summarize, in this event Enoch became a “son of God” (Moses 6:68) through the sealing power, having been remade fully in God’s image and likeness. In this sense, sealing ordinances can be seen not only as the means of linking but also as the result of imprinting. Throughout history, seals have provided a unique stamp of identity on important documents—the image of the author being transferred, as it were, to the document itself. Similarly, the scriptural concept of sealing is both an empowering and an imprinting process,[21] recalling Alma’s words about receiving God’s image in our countenances (see Alma 5:14).

Agreeing with the Latter-day Saint view that every person is invited to follow in the footsteps of Enoch, Enoch scholar Charles Mopsik concluded that Enoch’s exaltation should not be seen as a unique event. Rather, he wrote, the “enthronement of Enoch is a prelude to the transfiguration of the righteous—and at their head the Messiah—in the world to come, a transfiguration that is the restoration of the figure of the perfect Man.”[22] This echoes the book of Moses description of God as the Man of Holiness (Moses 7:35; see also 6:57).

7:4. “many generations.” In verses 4–11, Enoch is given a limited vision of the tribes that stops just short of the events of the Flood. Going further, starting in verse 20 Enoch is given a grand vision that shows God’s work on this earth from the beginning to the end. Why was such a vision necessary? Nibley observed, “Before the king can take over his throne, the king must go to heaven and see the field of his labors, which is shown him on a map, and receive his assignment.”[23]

Moses 7:5–11. Enoch’s Vision and Prophecy to the Tribes

7:6. “people of Canaan.” “This people is not the same as ‘the seed of Cain’ (v. 22). Although both groups [were] ostracized, . . . their tribal names are different origin.”[24] It is unknown whether there is any connection between these pre-Flood Canaanites and the latter group of the same name that inhabited the area of Palestine. The first mention of Canaan in the Bible is in naming the son of Ham, who was the son of Noah (Genesis 9:18). The Canaanites mentioned in Abraham 1:21–22 are said to have been Ham’s descendants, but no explicit connection is made between them and the land of Canaan where Abraham was commanded to go when he left Ur (see Abraham 2:1–4).

7:7. “Prophesy.” Enoch, having received his divine commission as a prophet, is now commanded to warn the people. Here the prophetic declaration he makes in heaven is meant to foreshadow the message he will later proclaim to the people.

7:7. “the land shall be barren and unfruitful.” The punishment of the people is “measure for measure.”[25] Because the Canaanites had wickedly conspired to exterminate the people of Shum and take their land, the land would be cursed for their sake. The curse and its murderous provocation parallel the experience of Cain on a larger scale (see Moses 5:36). Note that this prophecy about the unfruitfulness of the land directly contrasts the Lord’s promise given in Exodus 23:26 to the Israelites, who were to be given their own land of Canaan: “There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren.”

7:7. “none other people shall dwell there but the people of Canaan.” Here is a second contrast to the Israelites in their Canaan: The Israelites were told that the other peoples that inhabited the land would be driven out “little by little” rather than all at once (Exodus 23:30). Subsequently, Israel was never alone in the promised land.

7:8. “curse the land.” The words are again reminiscent of the story of Cain (compare Moses 4:23). Contrast 7:17, where the Lord “blessed the land” on behalf of the people of God.

7:8. “a blackness.” The fact that “a blackness came upon” the children of Canaan contradicts any notion that these people inherited dark skin (see footnote 24 and Moses 7:22). Hugh Nibley’s explanation of the Arab concept of aswad (“black”) versus abyad (“white”) is of interest here: those Arabs who lived out in tents in the heat were called “black,” while those who live in the shelter of stone houses in the city were called “white.”[26] Also of interest is that black and white in Arabic can be used to refer to levels of moral cleanliness and purity. Such a distinction is found in 3 Enoch 44:6, where Rabbi Ishmael is shown the spirits suffering in Sheol and comments that “the faces of the wicked souls were as black as the bottom of a pot, because of the multitude of their wicked deeds.”[27]

7:9. “Enoch.” Presumably this place was not named after the prophet but rather after Enoch the son of Cain (Moses 5:42–43, 49).

7:10. “Go to this people.” Apparently “this people” included the groups of people named in verse 9 but not the people of Canaan.

7:11. “baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, which is full of grace and truth, and of the Holy Ghost.” Although 6:52 states that baptism should be performed in the name of the Son and verses 57–59 show God referring to the Son and the Spirit in His explanation of spiritual rebirth, verse 11 marks the first example of using titles of all three members of the Godhead in the baptismal ordinance as is done today (see Doctrine and Covenants 20:73).

Moses 7:12–13. The Power of Enoch’s Word Defeats the Enemies of the People of God

7:12. “all the people, save it were the people of Canaan.” The restricted scope of Enoch’s ministry outlined here contrasts the universal extent of the teachings of the “preachers of righteousness” that preceded Enoch (Moses 6:23). There is no explanation for why the people of Canaan are excluded from Enoch’s preaching. Following the narrative, we may suppose that the reason relates to their acts of violence (see 7:7).

7:13. “so great was the faith of Enoch.” Enoch’s power over the elements is a fulfillment of the promises given in 6:32–34. According to the Joseph Smith Translation of Genesis 14:26–31, performing such feats of great faith was an expected part of belonging to “the order of the covenant which God made with Enoch.” Melchizedek, who was “ordained an high priest” after this order, demonstrated similar faith and worked similar miracles. Compare Jacob 4:6.

7:13. “their enemies came to battle against them . . . and the roar of the lions was heard out of the wilderness.” Remarkably, in the Book of Giants, ’Ohya also gives a description of such a battle followed by a similar mention of the “roar of the wild beasts.”[28] This phrase does not seem to appear anywhere else in scripture or in Jewish tradition, but it does occur in almost identical contexts in the book of Moses and the Book of Giants. Building on our earlier discussion on the role reversal of Enoch and ’Ohya as “wild men” (see the commentary on Moses 6:38), we might see a similar turning of the tables when the wild beasts and lions are surprisingly made subject to the God of Enoch rather than (as would have been expected) to Enoch’s wicked adversaries.[29] Following the bread crumbs of scholars who see a connection between the Book of Giants and the biblical book of Daniel,[30] we might go further to observe that the same God who “shut the lions’ mouths” to save Daniel from harm (Daniel 6:22; emphasis added) opened the mouth of Enoch to destroy his enemies through the “power of [his] language” (Moses 4:19).

7:13. “he spake the word of the Lord.” It is significant that the scriptures do not speak of Enoch’s military might in battle but rather of how “he spake the word of the Lord, and the earth trembled, and the mountains fled, even according to his command; . . . and all nations feared greatly.” Apparently, as with the Book of Mormon peoples, the “virtue of the word of God” spoken through those called of God “had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else” (Alma 31:5).

7:13. “rivers of water were turned out of their course.” This event is a fulfillment of the promise in Moses 6:34. Remarkably, Enoch’s experience in the book of Moses can be compared to this Enoch account from the Mandaean Ginza: “The [Supreme] Life replied, Arise, take thy way to the source of the waters, turn it from its course. . . . At this command Tauriel [an angel assisting Enoch] indeed turned the sweet water from its course.”^[31] We find no account of a river’s course turned by anyone in the Bible. It is thus remarkable that just such an event appears in Enoch stories in this pseudepigraphal account and in the book of Moses.

Moses 7:14–16. Those Who Fight against God Are Cursed; God Dwells with Enoch’s People

7:14. “a land out of the depth of the sea.” Following the description of other geological changes that occurred when Enoch spoke the word of the Lord is the mention of a landmass that arose “out of the depth of the sea.” Hugh Nibley wrote, “The really spectacular show in the Enoch literature is the behavior of the seas. Like the alternating drought and flood from the skies, there is either too much sea or not enough. Before ‘the floods came and swallowed them up,’ the sea first drew back in places, leaving its coastal beds high and dry in anticipation of the great tsunami (sea wave) which came with the earthquake.”[32]

7:15. “giants.” This is one of two references to giants in the book of Moses (the other is in 8:18). The giants are not to be equated with the gibborim—those to whom Enoch preached.[33] Note that a distinction is made between the giants and the “enemies of the people of God” (7:14), though it is probably safe to assume that the giants were also unfriendly to the people of Enoch. There are also reports of giants (Hebrew nephilim) in the Bible. Genesis 6:4 relates that “there were giants (nephilim) in the earth in those days.” Also, when Israelite spies went into the land of Canaan, they reported that men of great height inhabited the land. Among these men were “the sons of Anak, which come of the giants” (Numbers 13:32–33). In 1 Enoch, these giants are explicitly connected with fallen angels (known as the Watchers). In this tradition—which is inspired by Genesis 6:1–4 but rejected by the book of Moses (see 8:13–14)—the giants are the offspring of the Watchers and mortal women.

7:15. “a curse.” Not a curse on the land but on the people themselves, who “from that time forth” engaged in “wars and bloodshed” (7:16).

7:15. “all people that fought against God.” The “enemies of the people of God” (verse 14) are now described as the enemies of God Himself.

7:16. “the Lord came and dwelt with his people.” Compare Revelation 21:3. Joseph Smith taught that Enoch brought his people “into the presence of God.”[34] Brigham Young further said that their calling and election was made sure and that they entered into the rest of the Lord.[35] They became members of the church of the Firstborn, which also has been called the church of Enoch (see Doctrine and Covenants 76:67).

Moses 7:17–19. Enoch’s People Gather to Zion and Keep the Law of Consecration

7:17. “the glory of the Lord, which was upon his people.” Previously, it was Enoch who was “clothed upon with glory” (Moses 7:3). Now all his people have become glorified.

7:17. “blessed upon the mountains, and upon the high places.” Mountains and high places are the favored locations for sanctuaries.[36] Similarly, the Book of Giants describes those who repented in response to Enoch’s preaching and gathered to divinely prepared cities as dwelling “on the skirts of four huge mountains.”[37]

7:18. “the Lord called his people Zion.” The word Zion, which probably predates the arrival of the Israelites to the Jerusalem area, may be related to the root ṣwn (also Arabic ṣâna), which means “to protect, preserve, defend,” consistent with its description as a fortified hill in 2 Samuel 5:7. This is also consistent with Zion’s depiction in Doctrine and Covenants 45:66 as “a land of peace, a city of refuge, a place of safety for the saints of the Most High God.”

In contrast to typical biblical usage that associates Zion with a place in the environs of Jerusalem, the Lord applies the name to a group of people in Doctrine and Covenants 97:21: “For this is Zion—the pure in heart.”[38] BYU professor Richard D. Draper and his coauthors observed that in Moses 7:18 it was likewise the Lord “who conferred the name on His people, itself a sacred act.”[39] The Lord called His people Zion because they kept the crowning covenant of consecration: “the law of the celestial kingdom” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:22). In respecting this and all the Lord’s covenants, “they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them” (Moses 7:18).

President George Q. Cannon taught, “As a people we are expecting the day to come when Jesus will descend in the clouds of Heaven; but before this day comes . . . the organization of society that exists in the heavens must exist on the earth.”[40] The conditions for such a society have been achieved only rarely with long, sustained effort. Terryl and Fiona Givens observed, “All who have attempted to reenact Enoch’s enterprise have found the transition from worldly ways to celestial society a more taxing challenge than anticipated. The hard lesson has been, that ‘Zion cannot be built up unless it is by the principles of the law of the celestial kingdom’ (Doctrine and Covenants 105:5). Rome is not the only city that cannot be built in a day.”[41]

7:18. “one heart and one mind.” At a conference of the Church held soon after Moses 7 was dictated, the Lord emphasized one of this chapter’s most important lessons: “I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine” (Doctrine and Covenants 38:27).

7:18. “no poor among them.” Enoch and his people were, in the words of William W. Phelps, “above the pow’r of mammon.”[42] Latter-day Saint pioneer and author George W. Crocheron asked, “What was the primal cause which brought about this happy condition of society, socially, religiously and industrially? It was due to the people having consecrated their time, talents, and all their earthly possessions, to one common end—the good of the whole community.”[43] Compare 4 Nephi 1:3.

Moses 7:20–21. Enoch’s Grand Vision: Zion Blessed, but All Others Cursed

7:20. “Enoch talked with the Lord.” Enoch’s grand vision of eternity came about because Enoch “talked with the Lord.” The Lord responded to his questions with this all-encompassing vision. As in 3 Enoch 45,[44] Enoch in the book of Moses is shown all generations of humankind from beginning to end. Many additional details from Enoch’s vision are provided in an uncanonized revelation on Enoch found in Joseph Smith’s Revelation Book 2.[45]

7:20. “Surely Zion shall dwell in safety forever.” Rejoicing in the happy fate of his people, Enoch exulted, “Surely Zion shall dwell in safety forever.” God’s reply was a gentle rebuke, affirming Enoch’s hopes for Zion while reminding him that God’s fatherly care extends beyond the righteous to those who suffer because of their own wickedness: “Zion have I blessed, but the residue of the people have I cursed.” God’s love for those who have brought the curse of wickedness upon themselves is expressed not only by His weeping for them (see Moses 7:28) but also by His sending His Son, who will suffer for the sins of all those willing to repent (see Moses 7:39).

7:21. “in process of time.” Zion was received into heaven only after Enoch successfully completed his 365-year ministry (see verse 68). As Elder Neal A. Maxwell observed, “Enoch—brilliant, submissive, and spiritual—knew what it meant to see a whole city-culture advance in ‘process of time.’ He could tell us much about so many things, including patience.”[46]

7:21. “taken up into heaven.” Though some early Church leaders taught that the physical city of Zion was taken up into heaven, it should also be remembered that the primary meaning of Zion is “a Christlike people” (see verses 18–19). When verse 63 describes the return of the city of Zion, it speaks of the warm fellowship between its heavenly and earthly inhabitants, not of a restoration of ancient buildings, streets, and gardens as is sometimes mistakenly imagined.

7:21. “Behold mine abode forever.” Elsewhere, the Lord uses the related term dwell instead of abide, promising that the Son of Man would “dwell on the earth in righteousness for the space of a thousand years” (verse 65) and that “Zion shall dwell in safety forever” (verse 20). This raises a question: Though Moses 7:21 says that “Zion was taken up into heaven,” it will later return to earth (Moses 7:62). So how can Zion really be God’s “abode forever”? Are we meant to understand that God will come to live on earth permanently? Yes and no. It should be remembered that when Zion returns to a renewed earth, the veil that separates heaven and earth will be rent (Doctrine and Covenants 67:10; 101:23) and there will no longer be a distinction between them—earth and heaven will be “gather[ed] together in one” (Doctrine and Covenants 27:13). Thus, even when God is not dwelling on earth, He will be “there” (compare Moses 7:30). Further clarifying this idea, Elder James E. Talmage explained that “the actual person of any one member of the Godhead [cannot] be physically present in more than one place at one time.” However, through God’s immanence (His ability to be spiritually “present” in and completely aware of everything in His Creation [Doctrine and Covenants 88:6–13]), He will abide in Zion—and His Saints will abide in Him—even when He is not physically present.[47]

7:21. “abode.” The use of the word abide (in the sense of an enduring relationship of intimate indwelling) and the word abode (in the sense of an enduring dwelling place) is a distinctive characteristic of the account of Enoch; the two words appear nowhere else in the Pearl of Great Price. Their dense frequency of six appearances within two chapters in Moses[48] contrasts their significantly lower frequency of eight appearances (only four with the same meaning) in the entire Book of Mormon. The English abide and abode in the sense of divine indwelling also appear frequently in the Gospel of John.[49] The Greek mone, which is translated as “abode” in John 14:23 and as “mansions” in John 14:2,[50] suggests a permanent dwelling place.

Moses 7:22–27. Enoch’s Grand Vision: Enoch Sees All Nations

7:22. “the residue of the people which were the sons of Adam.” “The residue of the people” refers to all those who had not been taken up to heaven with the city of Enoch. Might this phrasing, which specifically distinguishes the people who were “the sons of Adam,” allow for the possibility of the presence of non-Adamic lineages on the earth at that time?

7:22. “the seed of Cain were black.” Other than a possible allusion in a Joseph Smith Translation addition to Genesis 9:26, no explicit connection is made in scripture between the seed of Cain (“who were black” [Moses 7:22]) and the people of Canaan mentioned in Moses 7:8 (“there was a blackness came upon all the children of Canaan”). The two groups are mentioned in different visions, and their tribal names are of different origin.[51] This verse might be understood in connection with the “mark” of Cain (see Moses 5:40). Decoding the nature of that mark is not a straightforward matter (see the commentary on Moses 5:40). Early Church leaders and most other Americans in the nineteenth century believed that Cain’s descendants were Black. Modern Church leaders have specifically disavowed previous racial theories.

7:23. “Enoch beheld.” The prologue ended and its poignant message underscored with eloquent restraint, the grand vision opened. What did Enoch behold? With “all the nations of the earth . . . before him,” he saw “the power of Satan . . . upon all the face of the earth” (7:23–24).

7:24. “Enoch was high and lifted up.” Because of his continued faith and righteousness, Enoch was “lifted up . . . in the bosom of the Father, and of the Son of Man” (verses 13, 19, 24). This is the first mention of the Son of Man in this chapter. Note the parallel between Enoch being lifted up in this verse and the Son of Man being “lifted up on the cross, after the manner of men” in verse 55. In addition, the idea of being lifted up may be connected to initiation into heavenly mysteries. For example, Enoch recounts in the Book of Parables 71:3, “And the angel Michael, one of the archangels, took me by my right hand, and raised me up, and brought me out to all the secrets; and he showed me all the secrets of mercy.”[52] Later in that account, Enoch was proclaimed a “Son of Man,”[53] meaning in this instance that he became as God is—a concept that is disconcerting to some readers but which poses no problem for Latter-day Saint theology.[54]

7:24. “the power of Satan was upon all the face of the earth.” Once Zion was taken up, Satan’s power was unrestrained.

7:25. “angels descending out of heaven.”[55] The Lord’s response to Satan’s derision is a merciful rescue mission for the residue of the people who had not been caught up to Zion. Note that this identical phrase is repeated in verse 27.

7:25. “so, wo be unto the inhabitants of the earth.” The first message the angels are required to proclaim is faith and repentance, thus preparing the world to receive the ordinances of the gospel.

7:26. “a great chain.” Satan’s chain is for imprisoning those who will perish in the Flood. Compare verse 57; Alma 12:10–11; Doctrine and Covenants 123:7–8.

7:26. “it veiled the whole face of the earth with darkness.” Satan’s chains are designed to block light. God’s curtains are designed to let in as much light as possible, to whatever degree the world is ready to receive it (see Moses 7:30).

7:26. “he looked up and laughed, and his angels rejoiced.” See 3 Nephi 9:2 and contrast 3 Nephi 27:30.

7:27. “bearing testimony of the Father and Son.” The second message of the angels, after faith and repentance (see Moses 7:25), is the ordinances of the gospel, which they proclaimed through bearing testimony of the Father and Son.

7:27. “many . . . were caught up by the powers of heaven into Zion.” The mission of the angels was successful. Many were converted by the Holy Ghost and were translated to join those in Zion.

Moses 7:28–40. Enoch’s Grand Vision: God and the Heavens Weep for the Wicked

7:28–40. Within the book of Moses, Noah’s and Enoch’s stories of rescue and exaltation share a common motif: water. On one hand, Noah’s waters are the waters of destruction, the floods of an all-consuming deluge that cleanses the earth—a prelude to a new creation. On the other hand, Enoch’s waters are the waters of sorrow, the bitter tears that precede a terrible, annihilating storm. Indeed, in Moses 7 three distinct parties weep for the wickedness of humankind: God (verse 28), the heavens (verses 28, 37), and Enoch (verses 41, 49). In addition, a fourth party, the earth, complains and mourns—though does not specifically weep—for humankind (verses 48–49).

While Charles Harrell argued that “Moses 7 accentuates only [God’s] wrath rather than his tender-heartedness,”[56] a useful corrective to this perspective may be found through comparing this chapter to suitable Old Testament analogues. While the fusion of justice and mercy in the character of God may seem like an irreconcilable contradiction in modern thinking, ancient scripture writers had no problem in putting these seemingly opposite characteristics together—often in proximity within a single chapter of scripture. This general Old Testament model is best exemplified in two classic chapters of the Old Testament: Isaiah 1 and Deuteronomy 32.[57] For example, Moses 7:28–41 resonates with selected themes mentioned by John Hobbins in his outline of Isaiah 1, including

• God’s call for heaven and earth to witness His grievance,
• the relationship of privilege and obligation entailed by a Father and His children,
• the actions God will take in response to the wayward and defiant state of His children, and
• God’s proposal for a merciful resolution of His children’s troubles.

The weeping voice of the heavens. Jewish tradition links the weeping of the heavens with the separation of the “waters above” and the “waters beneath” via the firmament during the second day of Creation.[58] Given the Creation setting of this motif, it is not surprising that the book of Moses associates the weeping of the heavens with the story of the Flood, which in essence recounts the alienation of the earth from the heavens and the reunion of the two in the re-creation of a new earth and a new covenant with the righteous Noah as its new Adam.[59]

The weeping voices of God and Enoch. The tradition of weeping prophets is perhaps best exemplified by Jeremiah, who cried out, “Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!” (Jeremiah 9:1). Less well known as a weeping prophet is Enoch. For example, in Midrash Rabbah on Lamentations, Enoch is portrayed as weeping in the likeness of God because of the destruction of the Israelite temple. No similar scene has been found in the ancient literature relating to any other prophet. But here in Midrash Rabbah and in the book of Moses, it is specifically connected with Enoch. Having seen God weep, Metatron (Enoch in his glorified state) said, “‘Sovereign of the Universe, let me weep, but do Thou not weep.’ He replied to him: ‘If thou lettest Me not weep now, I will repair to a place which thou hast not permission to enter, and will weep there.’”[60]

7:38. “a prison have I prepared.” Both the book of Moses and the Book of Giants contain a “prediction of utter destruction and the confining in prison that is to follow” for the unrepentant wicked.[61] From the book of Moses we read, “But behold, these . . . shall perish in the floods; and behold, I will shut them up; a prison have I prepared for them” (Moses 7:38). Likewise, in the Book of Giants we read the lament of one of the gibborim: “he has imprisoned us and overpowered yo[u].”[62]  Moses 7:39 follows the general pattern of Isaiah 1, where “Yahweh’s decision not to blot the people out entirely, despite the defection, is . . . recounted.”[63] Here, the way is open not only for the living but also for the dead—those who refused to hear the gospel while yet on earth. Similarly, in verse 39, God explains that His Chosen will suffer for the sins of the penitent and will release them from prison “inasmuch as they will repent.”

Moses 7:41–44. Enoch’s Grand Vision: Enoch Weeps over His Brethren

7:41. “told Enoch all the doings of the children of men.” Compare 2 Enoch 53:2: “See how I have written down all the deeds of every person before the creation, and I am writing down what is done among all persons forever.”[64]

7:41. “Enoch . . . wept.” Enoch’s question about the weeping of the heavens in Moses 7:29 formed the opening of a powerful inclusio (verbal envelope) whose closing bookend is found in verse 40. Having concluded His answer to Enoch, God now reiterates His solidarity with the sorrowing of the heavens (“wherefore, for this shall the heavens weep”). In eloquent brevity He acknowledges that the bitter cup of weeping now also extends to include the earth and its creatures (“yea, and all the workmanship of my hands”). In verse 41 Enoch weeps. Only now does the realization of the depth of God’s empathy finally draw out Enoch’s full response, and “his heart swelled wide as eternity”—in other words, as wide as God’s heart.[65] Now Enoch unites his own voice with the weeping heavenly chorus in a grand finale.

7:41. “shook.” In the scriptures, shaking and trembling are indicators of deep emotion, whether positive or negative. Sometimes such references are to individuals and nations; other times they describe a figurative shaking of heaven or earth resembling the shaking of all eternity that is pictured here.

7:42. “Enoch also saw Noah, and his family.” Compare 1 Enoch 106:16 where Enoch prophesied the destiny of Noah and his sons: “And this child that was born to you will be left upon the earth, and his three children will be saved with him, when all men on the earth die.”[66]

7:42. “the posterity of all the sons of Noah should be saved with a temporal salvation.” The verse speaks only of temporal salvation, implying that those who escape death will not necessarily evade the effects of sin.

7:43. “held it in his own hand.” Although the Bible does not explicitly describe God’s role during the Flood, Book of Parables 67:2 contains a similar description to the one in the book of Moses: “I will put my hand upon [the ark] and protect it.”[67]

7:44. “wept.” See Moses 7:41. Enoch first wept over humankind’s wickedness, then he wept over its destruction. Finally, he will weep over the complaints of the suffering earth (verse 48).

7:44. “I will refuse to be comforted.” Hugh Nibley commented, “Enoch is the great advocate, the champion of the human race, pleading with God to spare the wicked and ‘refusing to be comforted’ until he is shown just how that is to be done. He feels for all and is concerned for all. He is the passionate and compassionate, the magnanimous one who cannot rest knowing that others are miserable. He is the wise and obedient servant, the friend and helper of all, hence the perfect leader and ruler.”[68]

7:44. “Lift up your heart, and be glad; and look.” Terryl and Fiona Givens wrote, “In the midst of Enoch’s pain, God commands him to ‘Lift up your heart, and be glad; and look.’ Only then does he see ‘the day of the coming of the Son of Man.’ Recognizing in Christ’s advent the great work of healing and redemption, ‘his soul rejoiced.’”[69]

Moses 7:45–47. Enoch’s Grand Vision: Enoch Rejoices in the Coming of the Son of Man

7:45. “When shall the day of the Lord come?” Enoch wants to know when the Messiah will come so the righteous will be “sanctified and have eternal life” (Moses 7:45). Compare 3 Enoch 45, where Enoch sees the sad parade of generations, ending with the appearance of “the Messiah son of Joseph” and “the Messiah son of David,” who will lead Israel to final victory.[70]

7:45. “the day of the Lord.” In this verse, “the day of the Lord” means the time when Jesus Christ would live on earth. Later, the same words are used to refer to His Second Coming (Moses 7:65).

7:45. “all they that mourn.” Compare Matthew 5:4. This group includes both the compassionate righteous and the wicked that are shut up in prison.

7:46. “in the days of wickedness and vengeance.” The “days of wickedness and vengeance” in the “meridian of time” parallel “the days of wickedness and vengeance” (Moses 7:60) at the Second Coming.

7:47. “the Son of Man.” See 6:57. The title “Son of Man,” which is a notable feature of the Book of Parables in 1 Enoch, also appears in marked density throughout Enoch’s vision in the book of Moses.[71] Moreover, the related titles of “Chosen One,” “Anointed One” (= Messiah), and “Righteous One” each appear prominently in the Enoch stories in both the Book of Parables and the book of Moses.[72] The titles “the Lamb,” “the King of Zion,” “the Rock of Heaven,” and “the Only Begotten” appear only in the book of Moses. The title “the Lord” is used whenever one of the more specific titles is not employed.

7:47. “The Righteous is lifted up, and the Lamb is slain from the foundation of the world.” Elder Neal A. Maxwell commented, “Enoch at first ‘had bitterness of soul,’ refusing to be comforted. Then the Lord showed him Jesus’ great rescuing and redeeming Atonement, which was to be accomplished in the meridian of time.”[73] Witnessing this focal point of divine love and mercy, Enoch’s “soul rejoiced” (Moses 7:47).

Moses 7:48–54. Enoch’s Grand Vision: The Earth Mourns and the Lord Covenants

7:48. “Wo, wo is me, the mother of men; I am pained, I am weary, because of the wickedness of my children.” Compare Jeremiah 4:19. O. Glade Hunsaker noted, “The poetry of Moses is striking. For example, Enoch hears and describes the personified soul of the earth alliteratively as the ‘mother of men’ agonizing from the bowels of the earth that she is ‘weary” of “wickedness.’ The tension of the drama resolves itself as the voice uses assonance in pleading for ‘righteousness’ to ‘abide’ for a season.”[74]

Although the complaining earth motif is not found anywhere in the Bible, it does turn up in other ancient sources including in 1 Enoch and the Book of Giants.[75]

7:51. “he covenanted with Enoch.” The Joseph Smith Translation of Genesis 9:21–25 makes a connection between God’s covenant with Noah (see Genesis 9:11) and the similar covenant that God had made with Enoch: “I will . . . remember the everlasting covenant, which I made unto thy father Enoch.”[76]

7:52. “a remnant of his seed should always be found among all nations.” See Moses 8:3. From the preceding verses, we infer that “his” means “Noah’s.” Hugh Nibley speculated that this and related verses raise a question about the possibility of surviving non-Noachian lineages:

God promised Enoch “that he [God] would call upon the children of Noah; and he sent forth an unalterable decree, that a remnant of his seed [Enoch’s through Noah] should always be found among all nations, while the earth should stand; and the Lord said: Blessed is he through whose seed Messiah shall come” ([Moses 7:]51–53). Methuselah boasted about his line as something special (8:2–3). Why special if it included the whole human race? These blessings have no meaning if all the people of the earth and all the nations are the seed of Noah and Enoch. What other line could the Messiah come through? Well, there were humans who were not invited by Enoch’s preaching—not included among the residue of the people not entering Enoch’s city. They were “the residue of the people which were the sons of Adam; and they were a mixture of all the seed of Adam save it was the seed of Cain, for the seed of Cain . . . had not place among them” (v. 22).[77]

7:53. “whoso cometh in at the gate and climbeth up by me shall never fall.” BYU professors Richard D. Draper, S. Kent Brown, and Michael D. Rhodes commented, “The language is that of entry and ascent, of effort and struggle. Its first sense points metaphorically to temples, whose architecture carries the worshiper inward and upward toward the presence of God.”[78]

Moses 7:55–59. Enoch’s Grand Vision: The Crucifixion and Resurrection of the Son of Man

7:56. “the earth groaned; and the rocks were rent." Compare Matthew 27:51: “And the earth did quake, and the rocks rent.”

7:56. “the saints arose.” Compare Matthew 27:52; Helaman 14:25.

7:57. “as many of the spirits as were in prison came forth, and stood on the right hand of God.” See Moses 7:38.

7:59. “the Son of Man ascend up unto the Father.” Compare John 20:17; Acts 1:9–11; Moses 7:47, 55. See Moses 7:24.

7:59. “I know thee.” The kind of knowledge referred to here is the result of Enoch’s personal encounter with the Lord (6:34). At that time, Enoch had also received the blessing of “a right to [God’s] throne” (7:59). In His high priestly prayer, Jesus said, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). Elder Bruce R. McConkie explained, “This doctrine is that mortal man, while in the flesh, has it in his power to see the Lord, to stand in His presence, to feel the nail marks in His hands and feet, and to receive from Him such blessings as are reserved for those only who keep all His commandments and who are qualified for that eternal life which includes being in His presence forever.”[79]

7:59. “given unto me a right to thy throne.” Note that Enoch was not given the divine throne but rather was granted a promissory right to receive it at some future time. Moreover, it was “not of [him]self” but “through [the Lord’s] own grace” that the throne was given (Moses 7:59). Compare Book of Parables 45:3, which tells of how God’s Chosen One “will sit on the throne of glory.”[80] In 3 Enoch 10:1, Enoch declared, “He [God] made me a throne like the throne of glory.”[81] Hugh Nibley showed these resemblances to Matthew Black, a prominent Enoch scholar, and afterward said that they “really knocked Professor Black over. . . . It really staggered him.”[82]

Moses 7:60–62a. Enoch’s Grand Vision: The Earth Shall Rest

7:61. “the day shall come that the earth shall rest.” The earth will rest—at last—after the Second Coming.

7:61. “a veil of darkness shall cover the earth.” Compare 7:56 (“the heavens were veiled”) and Doctrine and Covenants 38:8 (“the veil of darkness shall soon be rent”), which suggest that this veil is symbolic of humankind’s stubborn refusal to be guided by, or perhaps even to acknowledge the possibility of, direct communication from heaven. Sadly, as a result of that refusal, the world will be left in darkness and despair. Compare Doctrine and Covenants 110:1: “The veil was taken from our minds.” See also a phrase added to the end of the Joseph Smith Translation of Genesis 9:26: “And a veil of darkness shall cover him.”

7:61. “my people will I preserve.” Elder Neal A. Maxwell commented, “God preserved and prepared Enoch’s people in the midst of awful and enveloping evil, and, reassuringly, he has promised his people in our own time that though ‘great tribulations shall be among the children of men, . . . my people will I preserve.’”[83]

7:62. “righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth.” The phrase “and righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of earth” recalls a similar phrase in Psalm 85:11. In the psalm, the personification of truth and righteousness is used to create a metaphor of peace and prosperity in the land, whereas in Moses 7:62, it helps depict the coming forth of a united testimony from above and below of the Only Begotten—specifically of His resurrection and “the resurrection of all men.”

This united testimony of righteousness and truth rends the veil of darkness described in verse 61, enabling the restoration of the gospel with a fullness of ancient authority, powers, and ordinances. Heavenly messengers[84] are to be sent “down out of heaven,” and “truth” (referring to the Book of Mormon and perhaps to other “hidden” books revealed or rediscovered in modern times) is to be sent “forth out of the earth.” As George L. Mitton observed, the Book of Mormon is an especially fitting testimony of the risen Lord since “the symbol of its coming forth from the earth is reminiscent of the Lord’s resurrection.”[85]

7:62. “his resurrection from the dead; . . . and also the resurrection of all men.” How well does the mention of Christ’s resurrection and that of “all men” fit into the ancient Enoch literature, rediscovered in our day as an example of “truth sen[t] forth out of the earth” (verse 62)? Interestingly, the description of the resurrection in the Messianic Apocalypse (one of the Dead Sea Scrolls) closely parallels the Gospels’ use of Isaiah 26 and 61 to describe what Christians understand to be Jesus’s mission. Among other things, this text declares that God’s “Messiah . . . will heal the badly wounded and will make the dead live.”

With this and a related passage in mind, Benjamin Wold argued that a personal, bodily resurrection in the last days is envisioned, not merely a temporary resurrection or a symbolic restoration of Israel. Of course, evidence for an early Israelite belief in a personal resurrection is controversial. However, considering the testimony of the book of Moses Enoch account, it is significant that some of the earliest and most explicit descriptions of the resurrection in Jewish literature that do exist are found in the Enoch literature, particularly within the Book of Parables. The Book of Parables is also rich in descriptions of the Son of Man that, for Christians, seem to relate to other aspects of the mission of Jesus Christ.[86]

Moses 7:62b. Enoch’s Grand Vision: The Righteous Are to Be Gathered to Zion

7:62. “righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood.” The description of the flood of righteousness and truth that will bring about the gathering of the elect in the last days seems to be fashioned as a deliberate counterpoint to the account of the flood that destroyed the wicked in Noah’s day. Further explaining the gathering, the Prophet Joseph Smith declared: “Men and angels are to be co-workers in bringing to pass this great work, and Zion is to be prepared, even a new Jerusalem, for the elect that are to be gathered from the four quarters of the earth, and to be established an holy city, for the tabernacle of the Lord shall be with them.”[87]

7:62. “unto a place which I shall prepare.” Compare 4 Ezra 13:35: “Zion will come and be made manifest to all people, prepared and built, as you saw the mountain carved out without hands”;[88] 2 Baruch 4:2–3: “It is that [city] which will be revealed, with me, that was already prepared from the moment that I decided to create Paradise.”[89] Significantly, the emphasis the book of Moses and these ancient texts put on the latter-day city of Zion as the place God prepared echoes the description in the Book of Giants of the earlier gathering of the righteous to cities “which the Living Spirit had prepared for them in the beginning.”[90]

7:62. “an Holy City.” See Moses 7:19. Compare Book of Parables 45:5, which also emphasizes the holiness of the place to which the righteous will be gathered: “And my chosen ones I shall make to dwell on it, but those who commit sin and error will not set foot on it.”[91]

7:62. “looking forth for the time of my coming.” “Looking forth” is more than merely watching for the signs of the Lord’s coming; it is living in a manner that pays heed to His warning words.[92]

7:62. “there shall be my tabernacle.” The Lord does not say that His tabernacle will be in the Holy City but rather that His tabernacle “shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem” (Moses 7:62; emphasis added). In other words, it seems that the entire city will be God’s tabernacle. This is consistent with Revelation 21, where the whole of the celestial city is described in terms of temple architecture.

7:62. “it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem.”[93] Jewish tradition also describes a New Jerusalem. According to the Testament of Levi 10:5, “The house which the Lord shall choose shall be called Jerusalem, as the book of Enoch the Righteous maintains.”[94] This account may be citing 1 Enoch 90:28–29, which tells of how the old house (that is, the old city of Jerusalem) is removed and replaced with a new house (that is, New Jerusalem).[95]

Moses 7:63–64. Enoch’s Grand Vision: Zion Shall Be the Lord’s Abode at His Return

7:63. “thou and all thy city meet them there.” The heavenly city of Zion will unite with its earthly counterpart: Zion, the New Jerusalem. Compare Doctrine and Covenants 45:11–15, which was received just a few months after Moses 7 was recorded. See also the Joseph Smith Translation of Genesis 9:21–25.

The descent of the heavenly Jerusalem is described Revelation 21:2 as well as in pseudepigraphal and rabbinical sources. Howard Schwartz summarized, “Some say that in the future God will cause the Jerusalem on high to descend from heaven fully built, and will set it on the tops of four mountains: Mount Sinai, Mount Tabor, Mount Carmel, and Mount Hermon (Isaiah 2:2; 52:7). Then the Temple will sing aloud, and the mountains will answer the song. So too will Jerusalem serve as a beacon to all of the nations, and they will walk in her light. Thus will God announce the Redemption.”[96]

In 4 Ezra 7:26–28, we read: “For behold, the time will come, when the signs which I have foretold to you will come to pass; the city which now is not seen shall appear, and the land which now is hidden shall be disclosed. And everyone who has been delivered from the evils that I have foretold shall see my wonders. For my son the Messiah shall be revealed with those who are with him, and those who remain all rejoice [one thousand] years.”[97]

7:63. “we will receive them into our bosom.” See Moses 7:31. Notice that the Lord used “we” in His description, indicating that the gathered elect will be welcomed both into the bosom of God and the arms of Enoch and his people.

7:63. “they shall see us.” See 6:35. BYU professors Richard D. Draper, S. Kent Brown, and Michael D. Rhodes commented, “The verb ‘to see’ points to the quality of the Lord’s sight, effectively permitting people to see as He sees (1 John 3:2).”[98] Doctrine and Covenants 76:94 explains, “They who dwell in his presence are the church of the Firstborn; and they see as they are seen, and know as they are known, having received of his fulness and of his grace.”

7:63. “we will kiss each other.” As in Moses 7:62, the imagery here is similar to that in Psalm 85, but significantly, in this instance, it also resembles the imagery in 1 Enoch 11:2[99]—with an important difference. In Psalm 85 and 1 Enoch, divine attributes (mercy, truth, righteousness, peace) meet and kiss, whereas in the book of Moses it is Enoch’s city and the Lord Himself who fall upon the necks of the righteous and kiss them as they would kiss a returning prodigal. Robert Alter, writing about Psalm 85, captured the commonality of spirit with Moses 7:63: “This bold metaphor focuses the sense of an era of perfect loving harmony. Rashi imagines a landscape in which all Israelites will kiss one another.”[100]

N. T. Wright, an Anglican bishop and New Testament scholar, described the uniting of heaven and earth as follows: “God made heaven and earth; at last, he will remake both and join them together forever. And when we come to the picture of the actual end in Revelation 21–22, we find not ransomed souls making their way to a disembodied heaven but rather the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven to earth, uniting the two in a lasting embrace.”[101]

7:64. “there shall be mine abode.” See verse 21.

7:64. “for the space of a thousand years the earth shall rest.”[102] Draper, Brown, and Rhodes commented, “This news was what Enoch had been praying to learn since he had heard the groaning complaint of the earth (vv. 48–49). By postponing his response to Enoch’s request for this information, the Lord had led Enoch in vision through the corridor of history to the Millennium.”[103] Again, the ancient Enoch literature echoes the themes of the book of Moses. In the Enochian Book of Parables 45:4–5 we read, “On that day, I shall make my Chosen One dwell among them, and I shall transform heaven and make it a blessing and a light forever; and I shall transform the earth and make it a blessing. And my chosen ones I shall make to dwell on it.”[104]

Moses 7:65–67. Enoch’s Grand Vision: Enoch Sees All Things and Has a Fullness of Joy

7:65. “the day of the coming of the Son of Man.” See verse 45. Jubilees describes this event as follows: “And the Lord will appear in the sight of all. And everyone will know that I am the God of Israel and the father of all the children of Jacob and king upon Mount Zion forever and ever. And Zion and Jerusalem will be holy.”[105]

7:66. “great tribulations among the wicked.” Passages in the Enochian Book of Parables describe similar troubles for the wicked at the time of the coming of the Son of Man.[106]

7:67. “the Lord showed Enoch all things.” Compare 2 Enoch 40:1: “Now therefore, my children, I know everything; some from the lips of the Lord, others my eyes have seen from the beginning even to the end.”[107]

7:67. “even unto the end of the world.” In Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:4, the end of the world is equated to “the destruction of the wicked.” Compare Matthew 13:39: “The harvest is the end of the world.”

7:67. “received a fulness of joy.” Compare 3 Nephi 17:20: “And now behold, my joy is full.”

Moses 7:68–69; Genesis 5:23–24. God Receives Enoch and Zion into His Bosom

7:68; 5:23. “three hundred and sixty-five years.” The book of Moses applies this duration to “all the days of Zion,” whereas the Bible applies it to the age of Enoch when he was translated (Genesis 5:23–24). In contrast to the Bible, Moses 8:1 says that “all the days of Enoch were four hundred and thirty years.”

7:69; 5:24. “Enoch . . . walked with God.”[108] Joseph Smith expected the Saints in our time to prepare to walk with God, saying: “The Lord was going to make of the Church of Jesus Christ a kingdom of Priests, a holy people, a chosen generation, as in Enoch’s day.”[109]

7:69; 5:24. “was not.” The book of Moses applies this phrase to all the inhabitants of Zion, and Genesis applies it to Enoch alone. The Prophet taught: “When the world in general would not obey the commands of God, after walking with God, he translated Enoch and his church, and the Priesthood or government of heaven was taken away.”[110]

7:69. “received it up.” Compare Doctrine and Covenants 45:11–12: “Enoch, and his brethren, . . . were separated from the earth, and were received unto myself.” An explicit analog to the book of Moses idea that others ascended with Enoch is found in a Mandaean Enoch fragment and late midrash.[111] However, even more striking is the implication in the Book of Giants that after having been gathered to divinely prepared cities of refuge, the righteous who responded to Enoch’s preaching were taken up to live in the presence of God.[112]

7:69. “bosom.” Craig Keener explained the connotation of this word in the Bible:

Holding an object to one’s bosom declared the specialness of that object, and the image could be used to depict God’s relation with Torah. . . . The image also represented a position of intimacy for people, thus Jesus elsewhere in the gospel tradition used being in Abraham’s bosom as an image of intimacy and fellowship with Abraham. Because the phrase often appears in man-woman or parent-child relations, and because the text [of John 1:18] speaks of “the Father,” the affectionate image may be that of a son on his father’s lap.[113]

Strikingly, the word bosom is used six times in Moses 7[114] and nowhere else in the rest of the book of Moses. Each time it alludes to the bosom of the Father, expressing the intimacy between God and those who dwell in His presence. Of perhaps most relevance here is that the foundation stone of the temple, the place of greatest holiness, is said in rabbinic readings of Ezekiel 43:14 to be “set in the bosom of the earth.”[115] Perhaps related to this temple imagery is the scriptural description of the bosom as an individual’s receptacle for the Holy Ghost that may “burn” to indicate that something is right (Doctrine and Covenants 9:8).

7:69. “Zion is Fled.” See Hebrews 6:18, which speaks of those “who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.” Philip Alexander argued that Enoch’s title Metatron was meant to “express the idea that Enoch was a metator [Latin ‘forerunner’] for the other adepts, showing them how they could escape from the wilderness of this world into the promised land of heaven.”[116] In similar fashion, Hebrews 6:19–20 presents Jesus as a forerunner who entered “into that within the veil” ahead of us.[117]