Lehi’s Calling (Reaction)

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Scripture Central

Abstract

After witnessing a pillar of fire, Lehi was afraid, returned to his home, and cast himself upon his bed, where he experienced a vision. Similar reactions of fear or exhaustion, as well as the mention of a bed or couch, are found in other ancient prophetic call narratives.

In Nephi’s summary of his father’s record, Lehi is introduced to a council of divine beings and receives a prophetic commission (1 Nephi 1). In several ways, the details of Lehi’s heavenly encounter follow the pattern of prophetic call narratives found in biblical and pseudepigraphic literature.¹ One feature of this pattern involves the prophet’s reaction to his visionary experience.² In Lehi’s case, after beholding a “pillar of fire” in which “he saw and heard much,” Lehi “did quake and tremble exceedingly” (v. 6). He then “returned to his own house at Jerusalem; and he cast himself upon his bed, being overcome with the Spirit and the things which he had seen” (v. 7).

Fear and Trembling

Other prophetic call narratives and visionary encounters feature similar reactions of fear and trembling. In 1 Enoch, when Enoch beheld the fiery architecture of heaven, he said that “fear covered me and trembling seized me” (1 Enoch 14:14).³ A similar response is found in 2 Enoch, except in relation to fiery angelic beings: “I saw there an exceptionally great light, and all the fiery armies of the great archangels …. And I was terrified, and I trembled with a great fear” (2 Enoch 20:1).⁴ In 3 Enoch, Rabbi Ishmael is escorted into God’s presence and then reports that when “the fiery seraphim fixed their gaze on me, I shrank back trembling and fell down, stunned by the radiant appearance of their eyes and the bright vision of their faces” (3 Enoch 1:8–9).⁵

The Apocalypse of Abraham records that “the voice of the Mighty One came down from the heavens in a stream of fire” and gave Abraham instructions (8:1–2). Afterward Abraham related, “And my spirit was amazed, and my soul fled from me. And I became like a stone, and fell face down upon the earth” (10:2).⁶ In the Testament of Abraham, an angelic being brought the following report from Abraham to the Lord: “at your command everything yields and shudders and trembles before your power, and I too fear.” Abraham then requested to see in vision “all the created things” which the Lord had brought into existence (10:4–7).⁷

In the Testament of Levi, an angel escorting Levi through the heavens explained, “There with [the Lord] are thrones and authorities; there praises to God are offered eternally. So when the Lord looks upon us we all tremble. Even the heavens and the earth and the abysses tremble before the presence of his majesty” (3:8–10).⁸

Upon beholding the “Lord of hosts,” Isaiah declared, “Woe is me! for I am undone.” (Isaiah 6:5). Ezekiel, after seeing the “glory of the Lord,” said, “And when I saw it, I fell upon my face” (Ezekiel 1:28). When an angelic being appeared to Daniel, he “was afraid, and fell upon [his] face” (Daniel 8:17).

Ezekiel's vision of God on his throne. Image via blog.logos.com.

In the book of Fourth Ezra, Ezra reported, “After seven days I dreamed a dream in the night; … And I looked, and behold, that man flew with the clouds of heaven; and wherever he turned his face to look, everything under his gaze trembled, and whenever his voice issued from his mouth, all who heard his voice melted as wax melts when it feels the fire” (4 Ezra 13:4).⁹

Fatigue and Bed Motifs

Much like Lehi was “overcome with the Spirit,” other prophets were also drained of physical strength.¹⁰ The detail of Lehi casting “himself upon his bed” also resonates with ancient texts, in which the prophet reclines upon a bed or couch before encountering a vision. As explained by Blake Ostler, “the bed or couch was necessary because the prophet entered into a trance state wherein physical strength and consciousness were lost while a consciousness of the heavenly realm opened to his gaze.”¹¹

In the book of 1 Enoch, Noah stated that he “was seeing a vision on my bed” (85:3).¹² In 2 Enoch, Enoch reported, “I lay on my bed sleeping. And, while I slept, a great distress entered my heart, and I was weeping with my eyes in a dream” (2 Enoch 1:3). Enoch was then visited by angelic beings.¹³ In this same text, a man named Nir “was sleeping on his bed” when the Lord sent an angel to appear to him and give him a divine commission (72:3).¹⁴

Job, in the Testament of Job, recorded, “One night as I was in bed a loud voice came to me in a very bright light saying ‘Jobab, Jobab!’ And I said, ‘Yes? Here I am.” After receiving divine knowledge, Job explained, “When I heard these things, I fell on my bed worshiping” (3:1–5).¹⁵

In connection with Abraham’s vision in The Apocalypse of Abraham, he recorded that “there was no longer strength in me to stand up on the earth” (10:2).¹⁶ Heavenly messengers visited Abraham in the Testament of Abraham, “and they both sat on couches” (4:4).¹⁷ Abraham’s son Isaac had divine premonition of his father’s death as he “rested on his couch” (5:5–6).¹⁸ Later, Abraham “reclined on his couch” and the angel named Death visited him (17:2).¹⁹ Thus, in this narrative, the couch surfaces over and over as a motif linked to visionary experience.

Abraham looking at the stars. Image via drawforgod.com.

The Ascension of Isaiah reports that Isaiah “sat on the couch of the king” when a vision of the heavens opened before his view (6:2).²⁰ After receiving instruction from an angel, Daniel was so exhausted that he “fainted, and was sick certain days” (Daniel 8:27). Ezra stated in Fourth Ezra, “I was troubled as I lay on my bed” (3:1). Ezra then prayed unto the Lord and an angelic messenger was sent to answer him.²¹ A line from The Sibylline Oracles reads: “Blessed, heavenly one, who thunders on high, who have the cherubim as your throne, I entreat you to give a little rest to me who have prophesied unfailing truth, for my heart is tired within.”²²

Conclusion

These samples of biblical and pseudepigraphic texts demonstrate that Lehi’s reaction to his confrontation with the divine was entirely appropriate and even expected. Just as in so many other accounts, his visual and auditory encounter with the pillar of fire left him quaking and trembling and overcome with exhaustion. Which, in turn, led him to lie down upon his bed, where he experienced a second visionary encounter.

Interestingly, while the bed/couch motif shows up in prophetic call narratives in pseudepigraphic texts, it is, according to Ostler, “absent from biblical calls.”²³ Joseph Smith, therefore, wouldn’t have known that this feature belonged to the prophetic call genre simply by reading his King James Bible. As Ostler concluded, “what are the chances that [Joseph Smith] could have … included in his version elements that were present only in the yet unknown pseudepigrapha?”²⁴

Stephen O. Smoot, “The Divine Council in the Hebrew Bible and the Book of Mormon,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 27 (2017): 155–180.

John W. Welch, “The Calling of Lehi as a Prophet in the World of Jerusalem,” in Glimpses of Lehi’s Jerusalem, ed. John W. Welch, David Rolph Seely, and Jo Ann H. Seely (Provo: FARMS, 2004), 421–448.

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.

BibleIsaiah 6:5Ezekiel 1:28Daniel 8:17Daniel 8:27Book of Mormon1 Nephi 1:6–7

Bible

Book of Mormon

¹ See Stephen O. Smoot, “The Divine Council in the Hebrew Bible and the Book of Mormon,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 27 (2017): 155–180; John W. Welch, “The Calling of Lehi as a Prophet in the World of Jerusalem,” in Glimpses of Lehi’s Jerusalem, ed. John W. Welch, David Rolph Seely, and Jo Ann H. Seely (Provo: FARMS, 2004), 421–448; an earlier version was published as “The Calling of a Prophet,” in First Nephi, The Doctrinal Foundation, ed. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate Jr., Book of Mormon Symposium Series, Volume 2 (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1988), 35–54; Stephen D. Ricks, “Heavenly Visions and Prophetic Calls in Isaiah 6 (2 Nephi 16), the Book of Mormon, and the Revelation of John,” in Isaiah in the Book of Mormon, ed. Donald W. Parry and John W. Welch; (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 1998), 171–190; 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.
² See Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Lehi’s Prophetic Calling (Divine Confrontation),” Evidence# 0325, March 29, 2022, online at evidencecentral.org.
³ James H. Charlesworth, ed., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Volume 1: Apocalyptic Literature and Testaments (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1983), 21.
⁴ Charlesworth, ed., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol. 1, 134.
⁵ Charlesworth, ed., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol. 1, 256.
⁶ Charlesworth, ed., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol. 1, 693.
⁷ Charlesworth, ed., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol. 1, 886–887.
⁸ Charlesworth, ed., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol. 1, 789.
⁹ Charlesworth, ed., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol. 1, 551. Note that the fear comes from both seeing and hearing the glorious being. See Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: See and Hear,” Evidence# 0324, March 29, 2022, online at evidencecentral.org; See also, The Greek Apocalypse of Ezra 7:5–9: “And then the blessed Ezra began to say, ‘O eternal God, Creator of the whole creation, who measured out the heaven with a span and contained the earth in his hand, who drives the cherubim, who took the prophet Elijah to the heavens in a fiery chariot, … whom all things fear and tremble from the face of your power” (p. 578).
¹⁰ For examples in the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith’s history, see Book of Mormon Central, “Why Are People Exhausted by Powerful Spiritual Experiences? (Alma 19:6),” KnoWhy 460 (August 21, 2018).
¹¹ 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.
¹² Charlesworth, ed., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol. 1, 63.
¹³ Charlesworth, ed., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol. 1, 106.
¹⁴ Charlesworth, ed., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol. 1, 210.
¹⁵ Charlesworth, ed., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol. 1, 840.
¹⁶ Charlesworth, ed., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol. 1, 693.
¹⁷ Charlesworth, ed., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol. 1, 884.
¹⁸ Charlesworth, ed., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol. 1, 884.
¹⁹ Charlesworth, ed., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol. 1, 893.
²⁰ James H. Charlesworth, ed., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Volume 2: Expansions of the “Old Testament” and philosophical Literature, Prayers, Psalms and Odes, Fragments of Lost Judeo-Hellenistic Works (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1985), 164.
²¹ Charlesworth, ed., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol. 1, 528.
²² Charlesworth, ed., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol. 1, 362.
²³ Ostler, “The Throne-Theophany and Prophetic Commission in 1 Nephi,” 77.
²⁴ Ostler, “The Throne-Theophany and Prophetic Commission in 1 Nephi,” 87.

Literary Features

Lehi's Calling

Lehi's Calling (Reaction)

Book of Mormon

Evidence #327 | April 4, 2022

Lehi’s Calling (Reaction)