Zenock

Not to be confused with Zenos.
Zenock
Zenock, predicted that Christ would be lifted up, 41–10; his testimony of the Son of God, 280–15; predicted destruction at time of the crucifixion, 420–16.
From the index of the 1920 edition of the Book of Mormon
First appearance1 Nephi 19:10[1]
Last appearance3 Nephi 10:16[1]
AliasZenoch
DeathStoning

In the Book of Mormon, Zenock (/ˈziːnək/)[2] is a prophet who predates the events of the book's main plot and whose prophecies and statements are recorded upon brass plates possessed by the Nephites. Nephite prophets quote or paraphrase Zenock several times in the course of the narrative.

In the earliest manuscripts of the Book of Mormon, the intended spelling of Zenock was Zenoch, resembling the biblical Enoch. Oliver Cowdery, who transcribed part of the Book of Mormon, misspelled the name when he copied the text to a printer's manuscript, and that spelling has carried over to almost all published editions of the Book of Mormon.

Background

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People in the Book of Mormon
Lehi (far right, bearded) bestowing a blessing on his family. At least 21 different figures are visible (inclusive of infants and children). There is a mix of men, women, and children. A man in blue appears to be writing, perhaps transcribing what Lehi is saying. One infant is nursing. Several men have beards. All but the children wear hats or scarf-like head coverings. The fashion and style is reminiscent of nineteenth-century Christian art of Old Testament scenes. There is a vibrancy of color, with clothing in blues, greens, whites, and reds. The family gather in something like a circle, on a green, grassy field. There are tents visible in the background. This is cropped from a full version of the scene.
Lehi Blessing His Posterity, C. C. A. Christensen (1890)
Prophets and priests
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Judges
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Others

Joseph Smith, founder of Mormonism, also called the Latter Day Saint movement, believed and taught that he translated an ancient[a] record on metal plates via miraculous power given by God; Smith dictated to friends who wrote his words down in an intermittent process from 1829 to 1830.[4] The resulting text was published in 1830 as the Book of Mormon, and it is the primary religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement.[5]

In the book's narrative, God tells a man named Lehi, along with his family, to leave Jerusalem to avoid the Babylonian captivity.[6] The family goes to the Americas where they establish a society and live as what Terryl Givens calls "pre-Christian Christians"[7] which eventually splits into two peoples, Nephites and Lamanites. The majority of the book is framed as the retrospective work of its narrators, including Nephi and Mormon, who self-reflexively describe their own creation of the text as a record etched onto metal plates.[8] The plates of the framing narrative are modeled on brass plates that Lehi's family bring with them from Jerusalem.[9] The Book of Mormon describes the brass plates as containing "a record of the Jews", "the law", and scriptures.[10]

Synopsis

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Zenos, Neum, and Zenock, ... 33 (line break) Isaiah's writings, ... 34 (line break) Holy One of Israel, ... 36
Zenock in the table of contents

Zenock is described as a prophet[11] who lived in the Old World some time after the "days of Abraham".[12] Nephi quotes Zenock, along with Zenos, while enscribing the small plates of Nephi.[13]

The Book of Mormon narrates that Zenock taught that Jesus would be the Son of God,[14] and would die as part of the Christian atonement.[15] Zenock is described as having taught that God was merciful to people because of this.[16] Zenock's prophecies are vaguer than the other Christological prophecies set during the Book of Mormon's main plot, such as those made by Lehi and Nephi.[17] Because of Zenock's teachings, the people he taught persecuted him, banished him, and stoned him to death.[18]

Textual history

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The name Zenock does not appear in the Bible.[19] In almost all published editions of the Book of Mormon, the name of this figure is spelled Zenock. However, the earliest spelling of Zenock's name in Book of Mormon manuscripts was Zenoch rather than Zenock.[20][1] When Joseph Smith dictated the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon for Alma 33:15, Oliver Cowdery (who was scribing for Smith at the time) wrote down Zenock. However, he immediately crossed out Zenock and replaced it with Zenoch, likely prompted by Smith. Spelled Zenoch, the name resembles the biblical name Enoch. However, when Cowdery copied the text into the printer's manuscript, he replaced Zenoch with Zenock.[21] The name was spelled Zenock in the 1830 first edition of the Book of Mormon,[22] and the misspelling persisted across subsequent editions, including the current edition published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).[23] Religious studies scholar Grant Hardy speculates that additional content about Zenock could have existed in "the lost 116 pages", a portion of the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon which Smith and his cohorts lost and never reproduced.[24]

Interpretation

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The Book of Mormon narrator Nephi quotes Zenock along with other nonbiblical and biblical prophets as part of a transition of topic and tone in the record he describes himself keeping. The first portion of Nephi's narration pertains to the history and experiences of his family (1 Nephi 1–18). Nephi introduces Zenock and others in 1 Nephi 19–2 Nephi 5 while writing more about spiritual topics. These citations produce what Frederick W. Axelgard calls an "intense prophetic aspect" of the writing, and after citing Zenock and others, Nephi narrates having a spiritual experience.[25] Nephi citing biblical and nonbiblical prophets provides a bridge between the event- and narrative- focused beginning of his record and the more spiritual and prophetic latter part.[26]

And now Alma said unto them: Do ye believe those scriptures which have been written by them of old? Behold, if ye do, ye must believe what Zenos said; for, behold he said: Thou hast turned away thy judgments because of thy Son. Now behold, my brethren, I would ask if ye have read the scriptures? If ye have, how can ye disbelieve on the Son of God? For it is not written that Zenos alone spake of these things, but Zenock also spake of these things—For behold, he said: Thou art angry, O Lord, with this people, because they will not understand thy mercies which thou hast bestowed upon them because of thy Son. And now, my brethren, ye see that a second prophet of old has testified of the Son of God, and because the people would not understand his words they stoned him to death. But be-
Alma citing Zenock in the 1858 edition of the Book of Mormon published by Jas. O. Wright & Co. Corresponds to Alma 33:12–18 in the LDS edition.

A Book of Mormon prophet named Alma cites Zenock during his ministry in the city of Zoram. While teaching a group of economically poor Zoramites, Alma brings up Zenock and how he was misunderstood and made an outcast. The account of Zenock being an oppressed prophet suggests sympathy with the poor Zoramites amid the injustices they face.[16] By quoting Zenock, Alma sets up his companion Amulek's central message calling for the Zoramites to maintain faith in Christ despite their limited circumstances.[27] Citing Zenock also serves a rhetorical purpose against the wealthy Zoramites opposed to Alma. Alma quotes Zenock saying, "Thou art angry, O Lord, with this people, because they will not understand thy mercies which thou hast bestowed upon them because of thy Son".[28] Zenock's reference to people who refused to understand his own messianic prophecies serves as Alma's indirect reference to his audience's rejection of Jesus as described in Alma's message.[29]

While narrating a divine cataclysm that affects the Nephites, Mormon refers to Zenock and affirms that the events confirmed Zenock's prophecies. As narrator, Mormon presents Zenock's prophecy and its fulfilment within the narrative as proof that religious faith is reasonable.[30]

Reception

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Most adherents of the Latter Day Saint movement believe—contrary to the findings of archaeology, history, and science—that the Book of Mormon is an ancient text and describes actual historical people and events.[31] Orson Pratt, a member of Mormonism's first Quorum of the Twelve Apostles,[32] expressed his belief that more prophecies from Zenock were contained in additional ancient plates hidden in the hill Cumorah to someday be recovered and revealed by what he believed would be the will of God.[33] Some Latter-day Saint apologists, such as Hugh Nibley, have attempted to claim an ancient setting for the Book of Mormon is plausible by speculating ancient identities of figures described in the Book of Mormon.[34] Nibley associated Zenock with the Teacher of Righteousness mentioned in the Dead Sea Scrolls.[35] A roundtable discussion about the Dead Sea Scrolls, held by BYU professors, noted that this notion circulated among Latter-day Saints, called it a "false rumor", and stated that the scrolls do not mention Zenock.[36]

Christopher Marc Nemelka claimed that in the late-1980s and early-to-mid-1990s, the deceased Joseph Smith appeared to him and gave him the gold plates of the Book of Mormon from which he said he translated what he called the Book of Lehi. In Nemelka's text, Lehi and Zenock are contemporaries. When Zenock confronts the religious establishment with an accusation of corruption, Lehi believes Zenock's message and rescues him from danger, after which Lehi becomes a target of the Book of Mormon figure Laban.[37] Embaye Melekin, an Eritrean baptized into the LDS Church in 2006, considers Zenock evidence that the Book of Mormon was anciently set not in the Americas but in the Horn of Africa. In Eritrea, which is in the Horn of Africa, it is common to preface names with a z, and Melekin believed that Zenock was the name Enoch prefaced with a z.[38]

Notes

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Wikisource has original text related to this article:
  1. ^ Like Smith, most adherents of the Latter Day Saint movement believe—contrary to the findings of archaeology, history, and science—that the Book of Mormon is of ancient origin and describes actual historical people and events.[3]

Citations

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  1. ^ a b c Skousen 2014, p. 409.
  2. ^ churchofjesuschrist.org: "Book of Mormon Pronunciation Guide" (retrieved 2012-02-25), IPA-ified from «zē´nuk»
  3. ^ Coe 1973, pp. 41–42, 46; Vogel 1986, p. 3; Davis 2020, p. 160.
  4. ^ For Smith as founder, see Vogel 1986, p. 3; for dictation of and religious beliefs about the Book of Mormon, see Hardy 2009, pp. vii, x–xiv; for Smith's beliefs, see Davis 2020, p. 160; for the term Latter Day Saint movement see Dunstan & Hawvermale 2022, p. 177n1.
  5. ^ Shipps 1985, pp. 26–33
  6. ^ Bushman 2005, pp. 85–87.
  7. ^ Givens 2002, p. 47.
  8. ^ Maffly-Kipp 2008, pp. vi–xxii; Hardy 2009, p. ix–x.
  9. ^ Bushman 2020, pp. 187–194.
  10. ^ Bushman 2020, pp. 193, 199. Quotations are, in order, 1 Nephi 5:12 and 1 Nephi 4:16.
  11. ^ Hardy 2010, p. 299n5.
  12. ^ Millet 1989, p. 210. Quotation is from Helaman 8:19–20.
  13. ^ Axelgard 1986, pp. 54–55.
  14. ^ Hardy 2011, pp. 80–81.
  15. ^ Jackson 1992, p. 1623; Benson & McConkie 2011, p. 113.
  16. ^ a b Benson 2005, p. 83.
  17. ^ Clark 2002, p. 21.
  18. ^ Jackson 1992, p. 1623; Benson 2005, p. 83.
  19. ^ Shields 2019, p. 138.
  20. ^ Skousen 2009, pp. xli, 739–744, 768. The exception is The Book of Mormon: The Earliest Text, which restores the spelling Zenoch.
  21. ^ Skousen 2012, p. 115.
  22. ^ Skousen 2009, p. 768.
  23. ^ Skousen 2009, p. 739–744, 768; Skousen 2012, p. 115.
  24. ^ Hardy 2010, p. 312n20.
  25. ^ Axelgard 1986, pp. 55, 60–61. Axelgard cites 1 Nephi 19:20 in which Nephi states he has "workings in the spirit".
  26. ^ Axelgard 1986, pp. 54–56.
  27. ^ Brady & Hopkin 2013, p. 45.
  28. ^ Quotation is Alma 33:16.
  29. ^ Hardy 2011, p. 82.
  30. ^ Hardy 2010, pp. 190–191.
  31. ^ Coe 1973, pp. 41–42, 46; Vogel 1986, p. 3.
  32. ^ Alexander & Bitton 2019, pp. ix, 205.
  33. ^ Packer 2004, p. 55.
  34. ^ Duffy 2008, pp. 49–51.
  35. ^ Nibley 1986, p. 249–251.
  36. ^ Holzapfel et al. 2008, pp. 83, 86–87.
  37. ^ Shields 2009, pp. 144–145.
  38. ^ Shields 2019, pp. 133–134, 138

References

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