Evidence #485 | March 12, 2025
Book of Moses Evidence: Enoch's Prophetic Commission
Post contributed by
Scripture Central
Abstract
Moses 6 contains the prophetic commission of Enoch, which matches the prophetic call pattern found in various ancient texts.In the 20th century, scholars began to notice that ancient accounts of prophetic callings (wherein a prophet would receive a divine commission from the Lord) possess a particular form. That is to say, they manifest a number of shared characteristics and motifs. As noted by Stephen D. Ricks, this pattern includes the following:1
1.Divine Confrontation
2. Introductory Word
3. Commission
4. Objection
5. Reassurance
6. Sign
Generally speaking, the prophet first has some sort of confrontation with God or another divine being, such as an angel. The divine being then offers an introductory word, explaining why the prophet is being called. He is then given a commission to perform a specific task or duty. After this, the prophet typically offers some sort of objection, usually in response to feelings of inadequacy. The divine being then reassures the prophet and offers him a sign affirming that he will be protected or strengthened by God’s power and authority.2
Prophets in the Bible called after this pattern include Moses (Exodus 3:1–12), Gideon (Judges 6:11–27), and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:4–10).3 This same pattern is also present in the Book of Moses in relation to Enoch’s prophetic call. It is only after this call pattern, found in Moses 6:26–36, that Enoch becomes such a prominent figure and prophet throughout Moses 6–7.
The Divine Confrontation
Like biblical prophets, Enoch was first confronted by a divine being as a prelude to his prophetic call. In this instance, “as he journeyed, the Spirit of God descended out of heaven, and abode upon him. And he heard a voice from heaven” (Moses 6:26–27). This encounter with both the Spirit of God and the Lord’s voice from heaven officially began Enoch’s call to preach.
The Introductory Word
According to Norman Habel, the function of the introductory word is “not merely to arouse the attention of [the prophet] but to spell out the specific basis or ground … for the commission,” which will vary based on each prophet’s individual needs and historical context.4 For Enoch, the world had grown dire, and many of the people had followed Cain’s example and loved Satan more than God.5 This necessitated a prophet to help the people correct their paths and return to God:
For thus saith the Lord: I am angry with this people, and my fierce anger is kindled against them; for their hearts have waxed hard, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes cannot see afar off; and for these many generations, ever since the day that I created them, have they gone astray, and have denied me, and have sought their own counsels in the dark; and in their own abominations have they devised murder, and have not kept the commandments, which I gave unto their father, Adam. Wherefore, they have foresworn themselves, and, by their oaths, they have brought upon themselves death; and a hell I have prepared for them, if they repent not; and this is a decree, which I have sent forth in the beginning of the world, from my own mouth, from the foundation thereof, and by the mouths of my servants, thy fathers, have I decreed it, even as it shall be sent forth in the world, unto the ends thereof. (Moses 6:27–30)
The Commission
“The Enoch pericope,” Ricks observes, “differs from the biblical passages only in that the ‘call’ is situated before the ‘introductory word.’”6 That is, in Enoch’s call, he is first told, “Prophesy unto this people, and say unto them—Repent” (Moses 6:27). With this command, Enoch received instructions regarding what he was to prophesy about and preach, which would ultimately shape his ministry moving forward.
The Objection
Like other prophets, Enoch “protests his inability to fulfill his prophetic commission.”7 After receiving his call, “He bowed himself to the earth, before the Lord, and spake before the Lord, saying: Why is it that I have found favor in thy sight, and am but a lad, and all the people hate me; for I am slow of speech; wherefore am I thy servant?” (Moses 6:31).8 Apparently, Enoch could not see how he could possibly qualify as a prophet due to his youth, outcast nature, and lack of eloquence when speaking. Similar objections were given by other prophets when they were called.9
The Reassurance
“In response to their protestations of inexperience and incapacity, God assures his chosen vessels of aid sufficient to fulfil their commission,” explains Ricks.10 For Enoch, God offered a lengthy list of blessings that would attend the young prophet should he be faithful and do as God had commanded him:
And the Lord said unto Enoch: Go forth and do as I have commanded thee, and no man shall pierce thee. Open thy mouth, and it shall be filled, and I will give thee utterance, for all flesh is in my hands, and I will do as seemeth me good. Say unto this people: Choose ye this day, to serve the Lord God who made you. Behold my Spirit is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I justify; and the mountains shall flee before you, and the rivers shall turn from their course; and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore walk with me. (Moses 6:32–34)
In this instance, Ricks points out that “the divine reassurance to … Enoch represents an explicit response to [his] objections.”11 Where Enoch mentioned he was hated by others, they would not be able to pierce him or do him bodily harm. Furthermore, “if before Enoch had been weak in speaking, God’s gift would make that weakness a strength unequalled in other men.”12
The Sign
“To betoken and guarantee the prophetic commission,” writes Ricks, “God gives the prophet a sign, usually of a miraculous nature.”13 This is typically situated at the end of the prophetic call. For Enoch, this sign was also accompanied by a ritual action.14 God told him, “Anoint thine eyes with clay, and wash them, and thou shalt see. And he did so. And he beheld the spirits that God had created; and he beheld also things which were not visible to the natural eye; and from thenceforth came the saying abroad in the land: A seer hath the Lord raised up unto his people” (Moses 6:35–36). Both literally and symbolically, this miracle helped Enoch see that God was truly with him.
Conclusion
Ricks observes, “The report of the prophetic vocation of Enoch in the Book of Moses accords with impressive consistency with the call narratives in the Bible.”15 The only apparent difference is found in the inverse ordering of the commission and the introductory word. However, such minor changes need not be seen as problematic, as elements of the call narrative were sometimes adapted by ancient authors.16 The important thing is that all of the essential features are present and that they approximate the sequence found in other call narratives.
It is true that Joseph Smith had studied the Bible to some extent and could have been familiar with the biblical narratives referenced in Habel’s initial study.17 Yet it is a big leap to assume he independently noticed the prophetic call pattern long before biblical scholars had identified it, and that he was then able to implement it in a text with so many other authentically ancient details about the prophet Enoch.18 The fact that the prophetic call pattern turns up at least twice in the Book of Mormon helps reinforce that this was no mere accident.19
With these factors in mind, the presence of this literary form suggests divine intervention. As concluded by Ricks, the call narrative in Moses 6 is an “additional authenticating detail [that] places Enoch more securely in the tradition of the prophets and the book of Moses more firmly in the form and tradition of the prophetic literature.”20
Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, Enoch and the Gathering of Zion: The Witness of Ancient Texts for Modern Scripture (Interpreter Foundation; Scripture Central; Eborn Books, 2021), 37–50.
Stephen O. Smoot, “‘I Am a Son of God’: Moses’ Prophetic Call and Ascent into the Divine Council,” in Tracing Ancient Threads in the Book of Moses: Inspired Origins, Temple Contexts, and Literary Qualities, Volume 2, ed. Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, David Rolph Seely, John W. Welch, and Scott A. Gordon (The Interpreter Foundation; Eborn Books, 2021), 923–942.
Stephen D. Ricks, “The Narrative Call Pattern in the Prophetic Commission of Enoch (Moses 6),” BYU Studies 26, no. 4 (1986): 97–105.
Bible
Book of Mormon
Pearl of Great Price
- 1. Stephen D. Ricks, “The Narrative Call Pattern in the Prophetic Commission of Enoch (Moses 6),” BYU Studies 26, no. 4 (1986): 97. This pattern follows the observations of Norman Habel, “The Form and Significance of the Call Narratives,” Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 77 (1965): 298–301.
- 2. See generally Ricks, “The Narrative Call Pattern,” 98–101.
- 3. Another form of a prophetic call which includes a throne theophany is also present in the Bible, Book of Mormon, and apocryphal and pseudepigraphal texts. For a summary of the throne theophany call pattern, which is closely related to the narrative call pattern identified by Ricks and Habel, see Blake T. Ostler, “The Throne-Theophany and Prophetic Commission in 1 Nephi: A Form Critical Analysis,” BYU Studies Quarterly 26, no. 4 (1986): 67–95. For additional discussions regarding how this throne theophany is present in the Book of Mormon, see Scripture Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Lehi’s Calling (Overview),” Evidence 345 (June 7, 2022); Scripture Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Alma’s Prophetic Calling,” Evidence 346 (June 7, 2022). For another instance in the Book of Moses where a prophetic commission occurs, this time with Moses, see Stephen O. Smoot, “‘I Am a Son of God’: Moses’ Prophetic Call and Ascent into the Divine Council,” in Tracing Ancient Threads in the Book of Moses: Inspired Origins, Temple Contexts, and Literary Qualities, Volume 2, ed. Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, David Rolph Seely, John W. Welch, and Scott A. Gordon (The Interpreter Foundation; Eborn Books, 2021), 923–942.
- 4. Habel, “The Form and Significance of the Call Narratives,” 298–299.
- 5. According to Aaron P. Schade and Matthew L. Bowen, The Book of Moses: From the Ancient of Days to the Latter Days (Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Deseret Book, 2021), 272–73, when the Lord said the people had “foresworn themselves,” these actions should perhaps “be viewed in terms of breaking oaths and covenants with the Lord in favor of oaths and covenants with Satan, following the precedent that Cain established in Moses 5.” Schade and Bowen cite the 1828 Webster’s dictionary for foreswear to support this argument.
- 6. Ricks, “The Narrative Call Pattern,” 100.
- 7. Ricks, “The Narrative Call Pattern,” 100.
- 8. See Scripture Central, “Book of Moses Evidence: Enoch the Lad,” Evidence 480 (February 6, 2025).
- 9. See Ricks, “The Narrative Call Pattern,” 100.
- 10. Ricks, “The Narrative Call Pattern,” 100.
- 11. Ricks, “The Narrative Call Pattern,” 100.
- 12. Ricks, “The Narrative Call Pattern,” 101. Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, Enoch and the Gathering of Zion: The Witness of Ancient Texts for Modern Scripture (Interpreter Foundation; Scripture Central; Eborn Books, 2021), 48 also notes that the Mandaean text, the Ginza Rabba likewise notes Enoch would be able to turn waters from their course by his command.
- 13. Ricks, “The Narrative Call Pattern,” 101.
- 14. See Bradshaw, Enoch and the Gathering of Zion, 43–46 for a discussion regarding this action in light of the ancient temple and other Enochic literature and revelations of Joseph Smith that involve God anointing Enoch’s eyes. Bradshaw also connects this action to the opening of Enoch’s mouth promised in the divine reassurance.
- 15. Ricks, “The Narrative Call Pattern,” 101.
- 16. For instance, Michael G. Steinhauser, “The Form of the Bartimaeus Narrative (Mark 10.46–52),” New Testament Studies 32, no. 4 (1986): 583–95 argues that the healing of Bartimaeus in Mark 10:46–52 was told as a narrative call akin to Moses or Gideon, following the same criteria used by Habel and Ricks. However, even in this case, Steinhauser notes on p. 586, “In the Bartimaeus narrative the objection precedes the call.”
- 17. See Scripture Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Joseph Smith’s Education,” Evidence 1 (September 19, 2020).
- 18. See Bradshaw, Enoch and the Gathering of Zion; Jeffrey M. Bradshaw and Ryan Dahle, “Could Joseph Smith Have Drawn on Ancient Manuscripts When He Translated the Story of Enoch?: Recent Updates on a Persistent Question,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 33 (2019): 305–374.
- 19. See Scripture Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Lehi’s Calling (Overview),” Evidence 345 (June 7, 2022); Scripture Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Alma’s Prophetic Calling,” Evidence 346 (June 7, 2022).
- 20. Ricks, “The Narrative Call Pattern,” 101. It is also worth noting that other Enochic literature likewise describes Enoch’s call to be a prophet in a similar narrative, occasionally utilizing the throne theophany narrative observed by Ostler. See, for instance, 1 Enoch 14:14–24; 2 Enoch 1:1–6, 21:1.