2 Nephi 30

MDC Contents			2 Nephi 30:1 1 AND now behold, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you; for I, Nephi, would not suffer that ye should suppose that ye are more righteous than the Gentiles shall be. For behold, except ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall all likewise perish; and because of the words which have been spoken ye need not suppose that the Gentiles are utterly destroyed. Textual: There is no break between chapters at this point in the 1830 text. This section is a continuation of the themes presented in chapter 29, but there is a change in the speaker. Where the ending verses of our current chapter 28 and all of 29 have the Lord as the speaker, this section returns to Nephi as the locutor. Nephi makes this break explicit. Having written in the first person for the Lord, Nephi creates a textual break, and indicates that the narration is returning to Nephi as the author. This is the reason he says "I would speak unto you." Nephi needs to add his information to that which he has written for the Lord. In addition to the change of speaker, there is also an apparent change in audience. The declaration of the Lord in chapters 28-29 appears directed at the Gentile reader in the last days. Nephi understands that his own people will also read this, and so he understands that where the Lord needed to remind the Gentiles in the last days of the importance of the people of the covenant, Nephi’s contemporary readers would see that admonition is perhaps a different light. Where the Lord chastises the Gentiles for their hatred of the Jews, Nephi cautions his "Jews" to be humble. Even though there are great prophecies about the effect of their words in the latter days, and even though they are children of the covenant, nevertheless there is incumbent upon them that they actually walk in the way of the Lord; "for behold, except ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall all likewise perish." This last phrase is important. Nephi has been prophesying of the last days. In the context of the last days there will be a destruction of the wicked. Nephi cautions that this destruction of the wicked does not fall along the lines of Jew/Gentile, but rather righteous/wicked. If the Nephites do not follow God, they will be destroyed. If the Gentiles do not follow God, they will be destroyed. Sociological: I have suggested that Jacob’s speech contains elements that can be read as a message of conciliation between a Gentile and Jewish population among the people of Nephi. Given that possible context, these verses take on a new light. The injunction against pride of place for the covenant Jews becomes not a generic call to humility, but a very real call to conciliation. Rather than a circumstance of theory, it becomes a circumstance of immediate necessity. Are the Jewish Nephites being told not to hold their right of inheritance over the gentiles who are among them? Is this last caution of destructions a warning to the Jewish Nephites that they should not expect that the Gentiles among them will be utterly destroyed? In the context of a mixed community, these readings are possible, and would have a much more immediate impact than a general call to humility. It is also important to note that just as the Gentiles will not be utterly destroyed, the Nephites will also not be utterly destroyed. Of course as a political entity they will be destroyed, but their seed will yet remain mixed in with that of the Lamanites. That ultimate remnant of the people of Nephi is the mode of the continuation of the promise of their words coming as a redemption in the last days. 2 Nephi 30:2 2 For behold, I say unto you that as many of the Gentiles as will repent are the covenant people of the Lord; and as many of the Jews as will not repent shall be cast off; for the Lord covenanteth with none save it be with them that repent and believe in his Son, who is the Holy One of Israel. This is a remarkable statement, and is presented so casually as to belie its revolutionary position. Nephi asserts that the covenant is based upon righteousness and not tribal/racial affiliation. In the Old World, this assertion is not made explicit until Paul in New Testament times, and it was considered revolutionary at that point. Yet we have in Nephi the very clear assertion that the ultimate covenant follows something other than the lineage of the chosen people. This is an extremely unusual position for someone who is one of the historically "chosen" people. When Jacob is expounding on the covenant people, he appears to use the term as it relates to the historical covenant: 2 Ne. 6:11 11 Wherefore, after they are driven to and fro, for thus saith the angel, many shall be afflicted in the flesh, and shall not be suffered to perish, because of the prayers of the faithful; they shall be scattered, and smitten, and hated; nevertheless, the Lord will be merciful unto them, that when they shall come to the knowledge of their Redeemer, they shall be gathered together again to the lands of their inheritance. 2 Ne. 6:12 12 And blessed are the Gentiles, they of whom the prophet has written; for behold, if it so be that they shall repent and fight not against Zion, and do not unite themselves to that great and abominable church, they shall be saved; for the Lord God will fulfil his covenants which he has made unto his children; and for this cause the prophet has written these things. 2 Ne. 6:13 13 Wherefore, they that fight against Zion and the covenant people of the Lord shall lick up the dust of their feet; and the people of the Lord shall not be ashamed. For the people of the Lord are they who wait for him; for they still wait for the coming of the Messiah. There is a possible reading that the uniting of the gentiles to Zion makes them part of the covenant people in Jacob’s discourse, but the simpler reading is that the promises to the covenant people will result in the gentiles joining with them. In any case, this is certainly not Nephi’s covenant of righteousness, but perhaps at most a covenant of adoption. This covenant of righteousness is similarly not the context of another recent reference by Nephi to the covenant people: 2 Nephi 29:4 4 But thus saith the Lord God: O fools, they shall have a Bible; and it shall proceed forth from the Jews, mine ancient covenant people. And what thank they the Jews for the Bible which they receive from them? Yea, what do the Gentiles mean? Do they remember the travails, and the labors, and the pains of the Jews, and their diligence unto me, in bringing forth salvation unto the Gentiles? 2 Nephi 29:5 5 O ye Gentiles, have ye remembered the Jews, mine ancient covenant people? Nay; but ye have cursed them, and have hated them, and have not sought to recover them. But behold, I will return all these things upon your own heads; for I the Lord have not forgotten my people. Here Nephi clearly uses the "covenant people" as a tribal/racial designator, and uses it in apposition to the gentiles. With all of that background of usage, we have 2 Nephi 30:2. Of course there is a shift in the time context of the designations, with the "ancient covenant people" being the Jews, this covenant of righteousness being a future state. Nevertheless, the theology is monumentally important for the nature of the gospel. In the Old World, the Pauline implementation of the covenant of righteousness is what allows the Gentiles to receive the gospel. Perhaps it is in that prophetic mode that Nephi sees and understands this fundamental theological shift in the relationship between God and his people. Regardless of how radically Nephi might have understood this process, it is possible that the presence of this understanding in Nephi’s writings is also a result of his efforts to incorporate the gentile populations into the Nephite core society as I have suggested multiple times. The need for the theological understanding of the covenant of righteousness would have had the same importance to Nephi has it did to Paul, enabling the integration of Gentiles into the community of the historical covenant people. In that social context, it would not be surprising that the Lord would reveal this principle to Nephi - even though the need for that principle is centuries away in the Old World. 2 Nephi 30:3 3 And now, I would prophesy somewhat more concerning the Jews and the Gentiles. For after the book of which I have spoken shall come forth, and be written unto the Gentiles, and sealed up again unto the Lord, there shall be many which shall believe the words which are written; and they shall carry them forth unto the remnant of our seed. 2 Nephi 30:4 4 And then shall the remnant of our seed know concerning us, how that we came out from Jerusalem, and that they are descendants of the Jews. Twice in the Book of Mormon, Nephi has had occasion to refer to the salvation of the Jews by the hands of the Gentiles as taught in Isaiah 49:22-23. He cites the passages himself in 1 Nephi 21:22-23, and instructs Jacob to cite them as the basis for Jacob’s sermon that Nephi includes in his own record (see 2 Nephi 6:4-7). Without referencing anything specific to Isaiah, Nephi expands on his understanding of the way in which the gentiles will be saviors of the Jews. In particular, Nephi uses the coming forth of the words of his people as a means by which the Gentiles will participate in the theological gathering if Israel. Those words will bring the gospel to the Jews, both of the Old World and the New. 2 Nephi 30:5 5 And the gospel of Jesus Christ shall be declared among them; wherefore, they shall be restored unto the knowledge of their fathers, and also to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, which was had among their fathers. This particular prophecy relates to verse 4, and the particular people referred to are the descendants of the Lehites (Nephi usually includes all of his father’s descendants in these prophecies). It is the future Lehites (termed Lamanites in modern usage of the term) who will be restored to a knowledge of Jesus Christ - through the means of the writings about Jesus that were made by their very ancestors. Grant Underwood notes the importance of these passages to the early Saints in the last days: "During the lifetime of the Prophet Joseph Smith, one of the most frequently cited of all Book of Mormon passages was 2 Nephi 30:3-8. In answer to La Roy Sunderland's Mormonism Exposed, Parley P. Pratt introduced these verses by declaring: "The Book of Mormon contains many Prophecies, yet future, with names, places and dates, so definite, that a child may understand; indeed, it is one of the peculiar characteristics of the Book of Mormon, that its predictions are plain, simple, definite, literal, positive, and very express, as to the time of their fulfillment. Notice a prediction of Nephi . . ." (Truth Vindicated 13). Among other events, the passage Pratt referred to foretells the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and its role in restoring the Lehite remnant to a knowledge of their true identity. "The Indians are the people of the Lord," wrote W. W. Phelps in his famous series of letters to Oliver Cowdery, "and the hour is nigh when they will come flocking into the kingdom of God, like doves to their windows; yea, as the book of Mormon foretells—they will soon become a white and delightsome people" ("Letter No. 11" 193). Reflecting on the passage describing how the Indians would gain a knowledge of their spiritual heritage through the Book of Mormon, Phelps enthused, "And how much is the joy of our hearts enlarged, when it is known the 'poor Indians,' are to be raised from their low estate, and miserable condition, by the everlasting gospel; even the fullness of the gospel contained in the Book of Mormon, and other books of God?" (193; emphasis in original)." (Underwood, Grant. "Insights from the Early Years." In: Second Nephi, The Doctrinal Structure. Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1989. p. 333) 2 Nephi 30:6 6 And then shall they rejoice; for they shall know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God; and their scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a pure and a delightsome people. Once again we have verses that have had a modern reading with racial overtones. In this case, however, it is clear that the "scales of darkness" must refer to something rather than skin color, and this darkness will fall from their eyes and not from the skin. The transformation into pure and delightsome is not based on an alteration of a physical trait, but the alteration of a spiritual trait, and one that is dependent upon the reception of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, which is the immediate precedent in verse 5. Variant: The printer’s manuscript, the 1830, and 1837 editions of the Book of Mormon all have the phrase "white and delightsome" rather than "pure and delightsome." The word "pure" was first introduced in the 1840 edition, but then the word "white" returned for all editions until the 1981 edition. That source also notes a somewhat similar usage for "white": Dan. 12:10 10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. (Book of Mormon Critical Text. FARMS 1987, 1:277). 2 Nephi 30:7 7 And it shall come to pass that the Jews which are scattered also shall begin to believe in Christ; and they shall begin to gather in upon the face of the land; and as many as shall believe in Christ shall also become a delightsome people. In addition to the redemption of the future Lehites, redemption shall also come to the historical Jews. The transformation occasioned by the belief in Christ shall also make them a "delightsome" people, further indicating that there is a spiritual transformation rather than a physical one. 2 Nephi 30:8 8 And it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall commence his work among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, to bring about the restoration of his people upon the earth. Literary: Verse 8 is a transition phrase that links Nephi’s specific prophecy with the Isaiah texts that he is about to cite. In addition to linking the text, it also creates an abrupt shift in time context. Surely the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and its redemptive effect on the Jew (both of the Old and New worlds) is part of the "restoration of his people" that Nephi mentions in verse 8. Thus the idea that the "Lord God shall commence his work" is not sequentially following the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, but the Book of Mormon is a part of this work. The intent of this verse is not to create a sequence, but rather to link the coming of the Book of Mormon into another Isaianic prophecy of the redemption of the righteous remnant. 2 Nephi 30:9 9 And with righteousness shall the Lord God judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth. And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. Literary: Nephi incorporates specific verses from Isaiah. Unlike his usage of Isaiah where Isaiah was the base text, here Isaiah is included as an integral part of the text. As we have seen in other occasions, this continues to be a literary use if Isaiah rather than as a base for a theological argument. The text cited is Isaiah 11:4: 4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. There is no significant alteration in the text. Nevertheless, verse 30 is an intercalated mini-commentary on Isaiah 11:4. 2 Nephi 30:10 10 For the time speedily cometh that the Lord God shall cause a great division among the people, and the wicked will he destroy; and he will spare his people, yea, even if it so be that he must destroy the wicked by fire. Nephi creates an aside that comments on the meaning of the final judgement predicted by Isaiah. There is little real difference between the two statements, with Nephi only more solidly linking the "meek of the earth" in Isaiah to "his people" in verse 30. The wicked are opposed to the meek/covenant people, and are destroyed. Nephi’s interjection of "by fire" is simply a reiteration of the cleansing fire of the final triumphant entry of the Savior, which has also been part of the Isaianic predictions. 2 Nephi 30:11 11 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. Literary: Nephi follows Isaiah 11:5 precisely. 2 Nephi 30:12 12 And then shall the wolf dwell with the lamb; and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling, together; and a little child shall lead them. Literary: Nephi makes only a slight change in Isaiah 11:6: 6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. The change comes not in the text, but in the introduction to the text. Nephi adds "and then" (with the shift in timing requiring a minor shift in the word order as well). This addition should not be seen as a variant, but as the result of an integration of Isaiah into Nephi’s text. Nephi is not using Isaiah as fixed sacred text, but rather as a dynamic and integrated part of his message. Thus Isaiah the historical text comes alive in Nephi and is amenable to the same tenses and meanings as the rest of Nephi’s discourse. This is a change that comes from the way Nephi is using the text, not from any putative translation of Isaiah. 2 Nephi 30:13 13 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. Literary: Nephi cites Isaiah 11:7 with no changes. These verses are used to establish the time context of the redemption of God’s covenant people (including in Nephi’s conception the covenant of righteousness) in the last days. 2 Nephi 30:14 14 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice's den. Literary: Nephi cites Isaiah 11:8 without alteration. 2 Nephi 30:15 15 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Literary: Nephi cites Isaiah 11:9 without alteration. As has been noted previously when Nephi cited these verses as part of the whole historical and sacred foundational text, the import of these verses is to show the dramatic alteration in the normal state of affairs that will be ushered in when the Messiah comes to triumphantly reign. The known order of the world is turned upside down, but the currently dangerous becoming manifestly safe. It is a literary series of contrasts that shows by extreme the type of total transformation that will come with the entry of the Messiah. With this verse, Nephi leaves off the direct citation of Isaiah. However, it is most fascinating what Nephi declines to include from this very passage of Isaiah. It cannot be presumed that Nephi would not have known these passages, and so some choice occurred in not including them. Isaiah 11:10 10 ¶ And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. Isaiah 11:11 11 And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. Isaiah 11:12 12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. Nephi has cited these verses in the past, and has referred to them several times. In this particular context, he is more interested in the restoration of the people in the last days, and probably is leaving these verses implied for those who know Isaiah as well as Nephi does. 2 Nephi 30:16 16 Wherefore, the things of all nations shall be made known; yea, all things shall be made known unto the children of men. Textual: Most typically in the Book of Mormon, "wherefore" is used as a causative conjunction. That is, it joins two concepts where the second is caused by the first. In this case, the antecedent of the "wherefore" cannot be the immediately preceding citations of from Isaiah as the reversal of the order manifest in those verses (from earthly contention to heavenly peace) is not the cause of revelation of all things. This comes as a function of the reign of the Messiah, and it is that reign that causes both this revelation of all things as well as the alteration of the normal order of the things of the world. The antecedent is then not a specific verse, but this entire section that is interweaving texts from Isaiah. It is the coming of the Messiah in glory at the end of the world that will create this revelation of all things. 2 Nephi 30:17 17 There is nothing which is secret save it shall be revealed; there is no work of darkness save it shall be made manifest in the light; and there is nothing which is sealed upon the earth save it shall be loosed. Literary: Nephi adds his own poetic reversal to that of Isaiah. The hidden is revealed. Darkness is brought to light, the sealed is loosed. In each of these cases Nephi provides a symbolic opposite that represents this alteration of the normal world in the last days. Textual: This conception of the revelation of hidden things appears later in Mosiah: Mosiah 8:17 17 But a seer can know of things which are past, and also of things which are to come, and by them shall all things be revealed, or, rather, shall secret things be made manifest, and hidden things shall come to light, and things which are not known shall be made known by them, and also things shall be made known by them which otherwise could not be known. These particular words are part of Ammon’s discourse before Limhi. While it is entirely possible that this is an independent usage of the phraseology (or that it was one influenced by Joseph Smith’s vocabulary and thus the similarity comes through Joseph Smith) we must examine the possibility of Ammon’s access to the small plates. The small plates followed a family transmission trajectory through the end of Omni, at which point the plates are full, and they are given to Benjamin. It would be quite logical to assume that Benjamin and Mosiah at the very least would have read this record, presuming that it would be new to them. Thus Ammon as a son of Mosiah may also have either had access, or had the record read to him. The similarity of terms in Nephi and Ammon thus have multiple possible means of connection, from random to remembered. 2 Nephi 30:18 18 Wherefore, all things which have been revealed unto the children of men shall at that day be revealed; and Satan shall have power over the hearts of the children of men no more, for a long time. And now, my beloved brethren, I make an end of my sayings. Nephi concludes his discussion of the "future history" by proclaiming the victory of the Messiah over evil. All that men have done shall be revealed. Satan "shall have power over the hearts of the children of men no more." It is interesting that in this context Nephi adds "for a long time." Nephi is certainly aware of the final release of Satan from his binding for a short period at the end of the Millennium, but that is not his prime focus. He focuses on the binding, and the rest of the events at the beginning of the Millennium, but leaves unstated the full discussion of the nature of that time period. It is not the focus of his message, though he clearly understands more than he is saying. Textual: Nephi formally closes this section with "and now, my beloved brethren, I make and end of my sayings." This is an absolute termination of this discussion of Nephi’s prophecies, and is intended to close the concept begun with the citation of Isaiah. From this point on to the end of the Book of Mormon, we have short and succinct chapters that form single units. Chapters 31, 32, and 33 are also chapters in the 1830 edition (following more closely the way Nephi would have divided his work). This closing phrase and the nature of the next three chapters suggests that at the end of this chapter Nephi has concluded his major work. The next two chapters are particular ideas - mini-sermons - that he has time to include. The final chapter is a very clear termination of the entire work. We must assume that Nephi had other things to do than write a record (he was a king, after all) and that while writing this section he is of advanced years. It is therefore possible that this ending might have been conceived as a possible termination for his work. It is certainly a breaking point, where he left off writing for an indeterminable period of time. In the life of Nephi the man, we should see this point as one where he stops from this task of recording the important knowledge he must leave for the future, and returning to other tasks. As he continues, he has time to enter some more writing, and will add two short sermons that are self-contained, and flow neither from the past text, nor from each other. They are simply things that he can write down, possibly in a single sitting. When Nephi pens 2 Nephi 33, we must understand that he sees that his writing is at an end. It is tempting to suggest that this final testimony was written previous to our current chapters 31 and 32, but there is no evidence for that. The creation of the plates appears to have been part of what Nephi did (since the lack of room on the plates is the reason for no longer continuing to write at the end of Omni - Omni 1:30). There is never a mention of any attempt at creating new plates, so it would appear that Nephi created both the plates and the mode of binding them into a set. This bound set creates a logical ordering, supposing that plates were not easily moved from one section to another. With that physical form it would be surprising if 2 Nephi 33 were written before 31 and 33 because that would require moving plates within the set.
			by Brant Gardner. Copyright 1999