Evidence #386 | January 3, 2023

Book of Mormon Evidence: Botany and Jacob 5 (Overview)

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Scripture Central

Abstract

The allegory of the olive tree, recorded in Jacob 5, contains many details that are consistent with known botanical principles and horticultural practices.

On more than 50 occasions, the Bible directly mentions various aspects of olive culture, including olives, olive trees, and olive oil (see Appendix). These numerous and diverse references come from many different biblical texts, attesting to the prominent and enduring role that olive culture played in ancient Israel.1 In contrast, only a few chapters in the Book of Mormon contain olive-related references, each of which pertain to the allegory of the olive tree written by an Old-World prophet named Zenos (see 1 Nephi 10; 1 Nephi 15; Jacob 4–6).2 Outside of these texts, no other passages in the Book of Mormon directly discuss olive culture, suggesting that Lehi’s posterity weren’t growing olives in the New World.3 

Mesoamerican forests and ruins. Image via journeylatinamerica.com. 

Although just a few Book of Mormon texts have anything to do with olive trees, Zenos’s allegory recorded in Jacob 5 contains, by far, the most extensive discussion of olive horticulture found anywhere in scripture. While some of its olive-related details can also be found in biblical texts, many others couldn’t have been derived from any biblical source or combination of sources.4 This provides a unique opportunity to test the Book of Mormon’s content, in this case on botanical grounds.

Botanically Accurate Details

In 1990, Wilford M. Hess, a professor of botany, compared Zenos’s allegory with known facts and principles pertaining to the cultivation of olive trees.5 Several years later, Hess, along with additional researchers, significantly expanded upon his original work.6 They concluded that “Nearly all of the allegory in Jacob 5 corresponds exceptionally well with both ancient and modern botanical principles and horticultural practices.”7 The following list contains a sample of 20 accurate or consistent details related to olive horticulture found in Zenos’s allegory:

1. principles of aging ripening corruption, and decay,

2. the regular need for “digging” about trees to enrich the soil,

3. the regular need for “nourishing” olive trees in various ways,

4. the regular need to “dung” (fertilize) olive trees,

5. activities involving pruning, plucking, and trimming olive trees,

6. the removal of the “main top” of an olive tree because it was perishing,

7. the need to balance an olive tree’s roots and branches,

8. a caution to “not clear away the bad … all at once” (i.e., to not overprune trees),

9. the need to burn decaying or corrupted branches or trees,

10. a distinction between “wild” and “tame” olive trees,

11. the proliferation of “young and tender branches” after pruning,

12. the grafting in of young and tender branches,

13. the grafting in of wild branches,

14. the planting of olive branches,

15. long periods of time between tending to olive trees,

16. an olive tree’s ability to produce different “sorts of fruit,”

17. the “bitter” taste of olives,

18. the need for additional laborers in preparation for a final harvest,

19. the Lord of the vineyard sharing harvested fruit with his laborers,

20. and the eventuality of laying up fruit against the season (i.e., storing the fruit).

These points are discussed in much greater detail in four related evidence articles:

Those interested in an even deeper dive should directly consult the article written by Hess and his associates, which features nearly 80 pages of commentary on this topic, and which addresses more than 50 specific questions that might be raised in relation to the botanical aspects of Zenos’s allegory.8

Botanically Inaccurate Details

While many of the details in Zenos’s allegory correspond to genuine botanical principles and practices, a couple of them do not. It should be remembered, however, that this is an allegory and should therefore be afforded some degree of creative license. No analogy or comparison ever results in a perfect one-to-one equivalency. At some point the things being compared will be different, and on those points it might be expected that a prophet like Zenos would engage in a little creative reimagining of proper olive cultivation.

Wild Branches Yielding Tame Fruit

Concerning the tame olive tree, the Lord of the vineyard mentioned that “because of the much strength of the root thereof the wild branches have brought forth tame fruit” (Jacob 5:18). Although the quality of fruit from wild branches could be improved through proper care and nourishment, they would, genetically speaking, never be able to produce “tame fruit.”9

Image via goldgrelia.com. 

On the other hand, the “manner in which the servant and Lord of the vineyard speak of the olive tree in verses 16–18 implies that they were pleasantly surprised that the wild branches bore fruit ‘like unto the natural fruit’.”10 In other words, the allegory itself seems to hint that this phenomenon is atypical. “By asserting that the natural fruit became wild, the allegory emphasizes the serious and extensive nature of changes that result from corruption within the House of Israel.”11 Thus, the botanical anomaly draws attention to a rather miraculous and similarly unexpected outcome in Israel’s actual history.

Trees Thriving in Poor Soil

Another oddity in the allegory is the assertion that olive trees can produce quality fruit even though they were planted on “poor” spots of ground, suggesting some type of defect in the soil or a lack of access to water (Jacob 5:22–23). Of course, olive trees, just like most plants, tend to not do well in areas of poor soil. Yet, once again, the allegory itself seems to be aware of its departure from the norm.

When the servant of the vineyard questions the Lord’s judgment about this matter, the Lord replies, “Counsel me not; I knew that it was a poor spot of ground; wherefore, I said unto thee, I have nourished it this long time, and thou beholdest that it hath brought forth much fruit” (v. 22). As assessed by Hess, et al., “the unusual poorness of the soil in this part of the allegory draws attention to the extraordinary care and power of the Lord of the vineyard.”12 It was only through his intervention—impressive in the allegory but truly miraculous in Israel’s history—that the plant (representing a scattered branch of Israel) did so well under such circumstances.

What Could Joseph Smith Have Known of Olive Cultivation?

As farmers, Joseph Smith and his family likely had at least a basic understanding of horticultural principles. As proposed by Hess, et al., “Joseph Smith probably knew how to prune, dig about, dung, and nourish local fruit trees; he probably knew a little about grafting and he may have been familiar with some other horticultural principles, but not likely those peculiarly related to olive culture.”13

Reconstruction of the Smith family farm. Image via rsc.byu.edu. 

For instance, it is unlikely that Joseph Smith would have known that a branch from an olive tree could be “planted” directly into the ground (Jacob 5:21–25). Hess, et al., write: “The olive is one of the few fruit trees that can be propagated by taking a branch of a tree and burying it in the ground. … Olive shoots can be cut off, placed in soil, and indeed they will root.”14 Although a few texts with olive-related information were potentially accessible to Joseph Smith, the data contained therein was relatively limited and, in some cases, inaccurate.15

Conclusion

“In this single chapter of the Book of Mormon,” write Hess and his associates, “there are many detailed horticultural practices and procedures that were not likely known by an untrained person, and may not have been fully appreciated by professional botanists or horticulturalists at the time the Book of Mormon was translated.”16 It is therefore “hard to imagine” that whoever wrote Jacob 5 “was not personally familiar with the minute details and practices involved in raising good olives in a Mediterranean climate.”17

Interestingly, in the two instances in which the allegory departs from sound horticultural principles, the text itself seems to be aware that it is doing so. Thus, rather than casting doubt on the text’s authenticity, these anomalies actually suggest the author had a correct botanical understanding but was intentionally choosing to depart from it for the sake of continuity with a prophetic understanding of Israel’s history.

As an ancient Israelite prophet, Zenos would be a plausible candidate for the text’s authorship, seeing that olives were such an important crop in Israel. It is harder to ascribe the contents of this allegory to Joseph Smith, who “probably had little knowledge of olive trees in New York, as they will not grow in the northeastern United States.”18 For a detailed analysis of what olive-related information Joseph Smith could have derived from the Bible and which details in the Book of Mormon are unique to itself, see the Appendix.

Further Reading
Appendix
Endnotes
Science
Book of Mormon

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