Hebrew and Egyptian in Native American languages

Egyptian Wordplay in the Book of Mormon

Many people are familiar with Hebraisms in the Book of Mormon, Bible and other texts(including Mayan codex and Hopi ceremonial dress).  These would include such examples as chiasmus which is a figure of speech in which in which two or more clauses are given and then repeated in reverse order.  Another  Hebraism is called polysyndeton which is the use of several conjunctions in close succession.  This was used in 3 Nephi 4:7 "and they were girded about after the manner of their loins and they were dyed in blood, and their heads were shorn, and they had headplates".  These are just a few examples of Hebraisms.  The Book of Mormon as a record we are told was written in reformed Egyptian which consisted of a mix of both Egyptian and Hebrew.  With the above examples of Hebrew in the Book of Mormon I have often wondered if there were any "Egyptianisms" in the Book of Mormon? 

I read an article a few years ago that spoke of one Egyptianism that takes place in 1 Nephi 15:23-24 (part of verse 24).  Unfortunately I do not recall the author or the title of the article only that it impressed me enough that I took the time to write it in the margin in my scriptures next to 1 Nephi 15:23-24 which states:

"And they said unto me: What meaneth the rod of iron which our father saw, that led to the tree?

And I said unto them that it was the word of God: and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish;"

In Egyptian "mdwr ntr" is "Gods words" and is translated into English as hieroglyphics.  In Egyptian "mdw" is also "staff" or "rod".  This is an Egyptianism word play on word meanings. Thus in Egyptian word meanings and word play "word of God" and "rod" or "staff" are directly correlated.  This would seem to have been something either done by Nephi in writing portions of the Book of Mormon or by the Lord himself in helping Nephi understand his fathers vision in which he saw the Tree of Life with the rod of iron which represented the word of God.  Either way it would have been something that Joseph Smith wouldn't have known when he translated the Book of Mormon in the early to mid 1800's and points once again to the authenticity of the Book of Mormon.  If anyone can recall the article or founder of this Egyptianism or any others please feel free to comment and inform me so I can give credit where credit is due. 

Mesoamerican Cultural Correlations in the Book of Mormon: Coronation Ceremonies and Human Sacrifice

San Bartolo Mural Coronation ceremony 100 bc

This post is going to be going over some Book of Mormon cultural ties that seem to have also taken place in Mayan temples and rituals. These ties were recently pointed out along with others in the Temple on Mount Zion Conference held in honor of the late Matthew Brown in a talk given by Mark Alan Wright entitled, “Axes Mundi: A Comparative Analysis of Nephite and Mesoamerican Temple and Ritual Complexes”. In this talk Mark points out numerous cultural ceremonial ties held by both the Nephites and certain cultures in Mesoamerica. He shows that the just of what we know as the plan of salvation can be seen in certain murals and teachings held in Mesoamerica,  his main focus of murals were those of San Bartolo to be particular but similarities can be seen on other murals as well. I am only going to be covering a few of the cultural ties held between the two groups but for a more in-depth look I will leave the link to the youtube video of the actual presentation given by Mark Alan Wright and highly suggest watching.

The first correlation that I would like to discuss is that of how a coronation was handled at the time of the San Bartolo murals which date back to 100 b.c.(this is during the Nephite timeframe 600 b.c- 400 a.d.) and more than likely earlier. In the murals it depicts a coronation ceremony that shows a newly crowned king receiving the objects that are given to new royalty at coronation as he sits atop an erected platform or tower. This platform appears to be wooden or something that would have been rather easily constructed. This echoes the crowning of the King Mosiah by his aging father King Benjamin found in Mosiah 2:7 which states,

"For the multitude being so great that king Benjamin could not teach them all within the walls of the temple, therefore he caused a tower to be erected, that thereby his people might hear the words which he should speak unto them." 

And the receiving of royal objects is found in Mosiah 1:16 when King Benjamin gives his son Mosiah the plates of brass and the plates of Nephi as well as the sword of Laban and the Liahona. Thus the murals show that indeed the coronation of King Mosiah does fit into a similar Mesoamerican cultural setting.

San Bartolo Mural Beast, Human, and foul sacrifice 100 bc

The next cultural perspective that Mark has pointed out was that of sacrifice. In Alma 34:10 we have Amulek preaching unto the apostate Zoramites. He is attesting to the need for the atonement of Christ and in doing so he rehearses the need for a great and last sacrifice and declares that it is not a sacrifice of beast, foul or human sacrifice but an infinite and eternal sacrifice. It is the non qualifying sacrifices that add cultural context. As can be seen again in the San Bartolo murals the sacrifice of all three non-qualifying sacrifice subjects…namely beasts, fouls and a form of human sacrifice are shown. This would add credence as to why Amulek would be preaching to an apostate group that the type of sacrifice they  would regularly offer would not suffice. Mark then points out that this same cultural context can be found in the 3 Nephi setting known as the sermon at the temple when Christ appeared the Nephite and Lamanites.

One of the first things that Christ did upon appearing to his apostles in Jerusalem was to allow them to feel the prints in his hands and feet. These were signs that those who were familiar with sacrifice in that area would recognize, especially those who knew the Jesus personally. In the new world Christ did the same
thing by allowing the Nephite/Lamanite population to come forth feel the prints in his hands and feet but his wording also adds one more important cultural context that would be the sign of sacrifice that those in new world (Mesoamerica) would recognize. He stated, “Come forth and thrust your hands into my side” and then followed with “and feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet” (3 Nephi 11:14). It was common among many cultures in Mesoamerica to do human sacrifice.

Aztec Art portraying Human Sacrifice

The manner of human sacrifice among the Aztecs was stretching the sacrificial victim while still alive across an altar with a people holding his arms and legs. Using an obsidian bladed knife a priest would cut a slit below the rib cage on the side and thrust his hand into the body and pull out the still beating heart and hold it up as sacrifice to the heathen God. There are multiple Aztec pictures of these types of sacrifices along with stories from many of the Spanish conquistadors who actually witnessed these sacrifices. Bernal Diaz del Castillo is the classic source of information about mass sacrifice by the Aztecs. A literate soldier in Cortes' company, Diaz claimed to have witnessed such a ritual. "We looked over toward the Great Pyramids and watched as [the Aztecs] ... dragged [our comrades] up the steps and prepared to sacrifice them," he wrote in his Historia Verdadera de la Conquista de la Nueva Espana (The True History of the Conquest of New Spain), published posthumously in 1632. "After they danced, they placed our comrades face up atop square, narrow stones erected for the sacrifices. Then, with obsidian knives, they sawed their breasts open, pulled out their still-beating hearts, and offered these to their idols." Thus the phrase "thrust your hands into my side" works as a sign or cue to those Nephites that indeed this was the Jesus Christ whom their prophets had preached would visit after his infinite sacrifice.

My personal conclusion of the following contextual events that Mark touched on is that the Mesoamerican setting does add meaning and insight and allows for a better understanding of the above mentioned scenarios. As I mentioned briefly above Mark Alan Wright touches much more on these scenarios and many others in his talk I have linked below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jLV8k-yjqA

The Hanging of Zemnarihah, Ancient Practice or Western Vigilante Justice?

Zemnarihah

In the realm of added insights to the Book of Mormon some of my favorites are those involving the understanding of ancient Jewish practices or rituals and the clarification those practices give to the text of the Book of Mormon. There are multiple places where this happens in the Book of Mormon which I hope to be able to do a post for each insight that I deem applicable. One of the stories in the Book of Mormon that gets further clarification from the insights is that of the hanging of the Gadianton leader named Zemnarihah. Zemnarihah was a military leader for a rogue group of dissenters from both the Lamanite and Nephite populations known as the Gadianton Robbers. This group had set up their own type of government and practiced an effective form of guerilla warfare against both the Nephites and Lamanites.

It was during this time of guerilla warfare that the Gadianton Robbers had found so much success that they actually caused the Lamanite and Nephite populations to band together in one location between the cities of Zarahemla and Bountiful with all their families and possessions and enough food to last 7 years. The Nephite/Lamanite population was under the leadership of Lachoneus and Gidgiddoni who were both men of God and great political and military leaders. This plan of banding together actually caused Zemnarihah and his army to abandon their guerilla tactics and have to attack the Nephite population like a regular military front. As explained by Daniel C. Peterson this is known as premature regularization and has been the downfall of many guerilla units throughout history.

Eventually due to the lack of food and the lack of ability to pull off clean attacks on the Nephites the Gadianton Robbers decided to abandon their attack effort. Gidgiddoni knowing their plans decided to head off their escape and attack from both the front and the rear. It was during this time that many of the Gadianton Robbers were either killed or taken prisoner and their leader Zemnarihah was executed. It is the manner of his execution that needs insights from ancient Jewish practices to gain the appreciation it deserves. In 3 Nephi 4: 28-29 it reads.



Lachoneus and Gidgiddoni



Their leader, Zemnarihah, was taken and hanged upon a tree, yea, even upon the top thereof until he was dead. And when they had hanged him until he was dead they did fell the tree to the earth, and did cry with a loud voice, saying: May the Lord preserve his people in righteousness and in holiness of heart, that they may cause to be felled to the earth all who shall seek to slay them because of the power and secret combinations, even as this man hath been felled to the earth”

The practice of hanging someone who has been found guilty of certain crimes is part of Jewish law and was part of the Law of Moses. This is found in Deuteronomy 21:22 which states, “And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree.” But it seems as though the hanging of Zemnarihah went once step further with the cutting down of the tree. In researching this issue I was directed to an article entitled, “The Execution of Zemnarihah” by John W. Welch (the same John Welch who founded chiasmus in the Book of Mormon). It is in this article that John leads us to the ancient Talmud tradition that the tree be cut down with the body of the decedent and both buried. Actually the Talmud also recommends hanging the culprit on a precut tree or post so that, in the words of Maimonides (a medieval Jewish philosopher, physician and Torah scholar), “no felling is needed.” If we next consider why the tree was required to be chopped down John Welch quotes Maimonides again saying, "In order that it should not serve as a sad reminder, people saying: 'This is the tree on which so-and-so was hanged.' "In this way, the tree became associated with the person being executed; it came to symbolize the culprit and the desire to forget him or her.” Nibley and Welch both pointed out that when the culprit is hung in the tree it represented that due to his crime he is unsuitable for heaven or earth thus the reason his body hangs between them both.

Note should be taken that in 3 Nephi 4 at the end of verse 28 and all of 29 it states that the Nephites did cry with one voice saying, “may the Lord preserve his people in righteousness and in holiness of heart that they may cause to be felled to the earth all who shall seek to slay them because of power and secret combinations, even as this man hath been felled to the earth." This fits in nicely with the ancient practice of heralding a notorious execution which is also stated in Deuteronomy. Thus we see that an incident such as the execution of Zemnarihah actually fits in very nicely with ancient practice of law and tradition and ritual and not just some sort of old western vigilante form of justice that existed at the time of Joseph Smith jr. but an actual practice of the Law of Moses. I have included a link to the above quoted article of John Welch from the Neal A. Maxwell Institute website.

 http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/books/?bookid=71&chapid=839

The Book of Mormon Phrase "To Breathe Out" and the Mesoamerican Speech Scrolls

Aztec Murals with speech scrolls

In my continual attempt to find evidence of Mesoamerica in the text of the Book of Mormon I stumbled across an article by Diane E. Wirth from the Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum called, “Mesoamerican Speech Scrolls”. In this article Diane points out that the words “breathed out” is not used anywhere in scripture other than in the Book of Alma in the Book of Mormon with reference towards expressing speech. This is ironic because it is also used in Mesoamerican art to express speech or communication. In Mesoamerican art it is referred to as “speech scrolls”.

The concept behind the speech scroll is similar to the way we portray cartoons now days with a cloud or balloon shape filled with whatever words the character is saying. In the context of a Mesoamerican speech scroll it is usually on a hieroglyph, stela, pottery or codices (screen-folded books). In the Mesoamerican speech scrolls the scrolls usually extend out of the mouth of the characters in vocalization. Diane points out that there are many examples of this speech scroll being used for threatening the same way the words “breathed out” were used in the Book of Mormon.

Murals of Tepantitla, Teotihuacan

In the Book of Mormon (Alma 35:9) states, “And he [The Ruler of the Zoramites] breathed out many threatenings against them. And now the people of Ammon did not fear their words.” And it is used again in Alma

54:19, in conjunction with a conversation that was taking place between Moroni and Ammoron via epistles back and forth to each oother. In one of Ammoron’s epistles back to Moroni he says, “Behold, ye have breathed out many threatenings against me and my people; but behold, we fear not your threatenings”.

Examples of this speech scroll can be seen in the murals of Tepantitla, Teotihuacan (screaming speech scroll, tears and blood from chest) or Stela 13 from Seibal. Other speech scrolls date back to Olmec time periods such as the cave paintings of Oxtotlan, Guerrero and the ceramic cylinder seal from San Andreas Tabasco Mexico. The Olmec time period correlates with the same time frame as that of the Jaredites from the Book of Mormon roughly 2500 B.C. to 400 B.C.

Stela 13 from Seibal

As can be seen it interesting that this same form of threatening or emphasizing the importance of a message or speech is found in both the Book of Mormon through the phrase “breathed or breathe out” and also in Mesoamerican art through speech scrolls that show this “breathing out” visually. I have only posted pictures of a few of examples of these speech scrolls but Diane E. Wirth has noted more examples in the article. This stands as another correlation between the Mayans and their surrounding civilizations and those civilizations found in the Book of Mormon. I have included a copy of the article that is located on the Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum website.

http://www.bmaf.org/node/438

Metals and The Book of Mormon

Navajo Knowledge of Christ's Visit to the Americas as Shared by Golden R. Buchanan

Navajo Shaman from late 1800's early 1900's

I decided to share this portion of a talk given by Golden R. Buchanan who spent a large portion of his life in the service of the Native Americans. He is also known as the "father of the Indian Placement Program" for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  He was  my Uncle William Bush's mission president.  My uncle spent many years  as a counselor for the Indian Placement Program working hand in hand will the Indigenous of this country.  This is just a portion of Golden Buchanan's talk called "Indian Traditions" in the Improvement Era magazine in 1955.  I decided to share this article because it shows the traditional stories in which Christ chose twelve disciples on the American continent.  This one in particular was shared by an older Navajo shaman and if these traditional stories are indeed true they add support and authenticity to the historicity of the Book of Mormon which proclaims the same message of the visitation of Christ to the Americas shortly after his death and resurrection in Jerusalem. Enjoy!

Some months ago I spent a few days in the hinterlands of the reservation. Among others that I visted was an old medicine man. His home was so remote that up to this time he had never heard the gospel. As we sat in his home, I began the story of the gospel, using his lovely daughter as an interpreter. As the story progressed, I could see his interest rising, and by the time our story reached the part of the visit of the Savior to this continent and his choosing of the Twelve, he could contain his eagerness no longer.

In his native tongue, for he could speak no English, he said, "I know of that," and putting up his hands he named the Twelve disciples chosen by the Savior. He gave them all names and in order. As the story continued, more and more he entered into the discussion, supplying parts of it. He was so completely enthralled that he seemed not to notice that we were white people. He fitted in the stories of the people with the message of the restoration.

Christ's visit to the Americas

Later on in the day, as we sat in the shade visiting, I asked him if he would let me have and write the names of the Twelve as he had given them. He thought a while and then cautioned that should I write, I must never give them to the world. They were sacred, and not to be used lightly. But, since I was his friend and knew the story anyway, he would give them to me and I might write them if I would keep them to myself. He then named them one by one, each in its place; there could be no variation.

As we sat there visiting, I thought to try him on another point. "Which of these Twelve are the three that did not die?" I asked. His eyes flashed, he looked at me searchingly. I seemed to read the thoughts in his mind, which were something like this. "How could you white men know about such things?"


I said further to him, "Yes, I know about it. It is here in your book, the Book of Mormon. It is no secret. Your forefathers wrote it, and we have it here. I just wanted to see if you could give me the names of the three."



He sat for some time with his head bowed, and then finally looked up and said, "The names of the Twelve I

have just given you, are not the Twelve that he chose on this continent, they are the Twelve that were with him across the waters before he came here. Their names are sacred and must not be used lightly." After some little time I asked him if he would give me the names of the Twelve chosen here. He looked up at me with a twinkle in his eye and said, "My friend, you have had enough for one time. Come again some other time." He got up from the log and hurried away and busied himself with some sheep that were in the pen. As I sat there pondering, his wife came over and warned me again of the sacredness of what I had learned and suggested that they should only be used on rare occasions.



Artists depiction of Christ's visit to the Americas
and his calling of twelve disciples



On other occasions I have been told the story of the three who never died. Some of the old patriarchs claim that they have seen the three, that they have sat with them in conference and have discussed the program of the Navajo people. But, said one, "They are not just like us although they look like it. They are not dead, but something has happened to their bodies because they can sit with us in council and then, quick as a flash, they are clear across the reservation with another group of Navajos. I do not know how they do it, but I know them and have talked with them many times."

I have scarcely scratched the surface of even the few things that I know, and I am sure that there are countless items of interest and information that have not come to my attention. It is interesting to note, in closing, that I know of no Indian language in which one can take the name of the Lord in vain. Indeed, I do not know of an Indian language in which they can even swear. They have to learn English or some white man's language before they can defile the name of Deity.

Ancient Hebrew Ceremonies in Mesoamerica

Tabernacle (Sukkot)

Back in April of last year I did  a blog post on the ties between King Benjamin's address to his people when coronating his son Mosiah to take his reign as the new king and compared it to the Hebrew practice known as Sukkot or the Feast of the Tabernacles.  This comparison was triggered by an article I had stumbled across a few years ago by John A. Tvedtnes that found over 20 similarities between these two ceremonies.  Today I will attempt to add the third piece to the puzzle with insights given by Diane Wirth in her book, "Decoding Ancient America, A Guide to the Archaeology of the Book of Mormon". In her book Diane presents the corolations between the Mayan Cha-Cha'ac ceremony and that of the Feast of the Tabernacles (Sukkot).  The Cha-Cha'ac ceremony is a Mesoamerican ceremony still practiced today in the Yukatan, Mexico just as the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot or Feast of Booths) is still practices in Israel and all over the world today.

The Feast of the Tabernacles was to take place on the fifteenth to the twenty-second of the seventh month. At this time the Israelites were to construct rough temporary living quarters, called sukkot (singular sukkah), or “booths”, in order “that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt” (Leviticus 23:43). The booths (Sukkah) were structures that were made strictly for this festival after the harvest.  The roofs were made by weaving green branches with leaves and represented the temporary dwellings made by their ancestors in the desert after being led out of Egypt by Moses. Much like the Sukkah the Maya build an altar/table and it to is composed of young leafy branches that were hung over the table and have gourds of water hanging from the sides.  Both the Sukkah and the Mayan altar/table have open roofs that were used to open communication between God and man.

Artists depiction of Mayan Cha-Cha'ac

Both the Israelites and the Mayan's made sacrifices to their Gods at these festivals.  Today the Maya sacrifice chickens during the Cha-Cha'ac ceremony. Once the ceremonial sacrifice is completed like Sukkot both the Maya and the Israelites then partake in a feast.  Another similarity is fire (or light) used in both the old world (Israel) and new world (Mesoamerica).  The Maya use candles and the Israelites use oil lamps and men dance carrying torches.  Another tie between the two and that is the use of bread.  The Israelites baked bread for the feast with a braid on the top of the bread that represented a latter to heaven and the Maya instead baked bread in many layers which represented the layers of heaven or the cosmos.  As a side note the Hebrews also believed that there were many layers to heaven. 

As can be seen there are many similarities between the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) and the Cha-Cha'ac ceremony.  How could the Mayan's have such a similar ceremony to that of the Israelites?  It has been supposed that father Lehi and his family (in the Book of Mormon) who was from Jerusalem and was lead by the Lord to the new world (Mesoamerica) would have been the one who introduced these ancient practices to the Mayans.  We know that Nephi the son of Lehi followed the law of Moses because he stated in 2 Nephi 5:10 that "And we did observe to keep the judgments, and the statutes, and the commandments of the Lord in all things, according to the law of Moses".  As the father of the Nephites in the new world Nephi's handing down of the ancient Jewish traditions would have included the Feast of the Tabernacles and would explain why such an event seems to be present in the coronation of Mosiah as the king years later and again with the Maya centuries later.  All the above similarities and many more make a great case for these ceremonies being from the same ancient roots. Either way both of these ceremonies are still practiced to this day. I have included the link to the previous post where I discuss the similarities between the Feast of the Tabernacles and the coronation of King Mosiah from his father King Benjamin. Along with with a youtube video of a modern day practice in Yukatan of the Cha-Cha'ac.
http://inthecavityofarock.blogspot.com/2011/04/nephite-assembly-under-king-benjamin.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PujLBD-BWb4&feature=related

Colophons in the Book of Mormon

Nephi and the Plates of Brass

Of all the evidences that support the Book of Mormon’s claim of authenticity some of my favorites are those that deal with ancient literary devices or styles of writing that date back to ancient time periods but can be found littered all throughout the Book of Mormon proving its ancient origin and not merely a creation of Joseph Smith jr. One of my favorites is that of the colophon as pointed out by Hugh Nibley in his articles “Lehi in the Desert/The World of the Jaredites”. A colophon is a statement made by the author or scribe used to give some sort of relevant information or useful insight usually about the author or scribe of a document.

The term derives from tablet inscriptions appended by a scribe to the end of an ancient Near East (e.g., Early/Middle/Late Babylonian, Assyrian, Canaanite) text such as a chapter, book, manuscript, or record. In the ancient Near East, scribes typically recorded information on clay tablets. The colophon usually contained facts relative to the text such as associated person(s) (e.g., the scribe, owner, or commissioner of the tablet), literary contents (e.g., a title, "catch" phrase, number of lines), and occasion or purpose of writing. Colophons and "catch phrases" (repeated phrases) helped the reader organize and identify various tablets, and keep related tablets together .Positionally; colophons on ancient tablets are comparable to a signature line in our own times.

The book of 1 Nephi and especially the first chapter is a colophon. It’s a literary form of an introduction. It was pointed out by Hugh Nibley several years ago that they appear in several Egyptian documents. This is interesting because we know that Nephi made his record “in the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians.” Here's how Nibley described the ancient literary device found in 1 Nephi,

Bremner-Rhind Papyrus dating to 4th Century B.C.

“The first three verses of 1 Nephi, sharply set off from the rest of the text, are a typical colophon, a literary device that is highly characteristic of Egyptian compositions. Typical is the famous Bremner-Rhind Papyrus, which opens with a colophon containing (1) the date, (2) the titles of Nasim, the author, (3) the names of his parents and a word in praise of their virtues, with special mention of his father's prophetic calling, (4) a curse against anyone who might ‘take the book away,’ probably ‘due to fear lest a sacred book should get into impure hands.’ Compare this with Nephi's colophon: (1) his name, (2) the merits of his parents, with special attention to the learning of his father, (3) a solemn avowal (corresponding to Nasim's curse) that the record is true, and the assertion, ‘I make it with mine own hand’ (1 Nephi 1:3)--an indispensable condition of every true colophon, since the purpose of a colophon is to establish the identity of the actual writer-down (not merely the ultimate author) of the text. Egyptian literary writings regularly close with the formula iw-f-pw ‘thus it is,’ ‘and so it is.’ Nephi ends the main sections of his book with the phrase, ‘And thus it is, Amen’ (1 Nephi 9:6; 14:30; 22:31).” (Lehi in the Desert/The World of the Jaredites, p. 15.)

These textual elements functioned in antiquity somewhat like a copyright or seal of approval. There are many other colophons scattered throughout the Book of Mormon especially by the prophet Mormon in his compiling of the plates. Thus when we compare the style in which Nephi composed his colophon at the beginning of the chapter with that of Nasim the author of the Bremner-Rhind Papyrus we see that Nephi's style of composing this device would have been a common characteristic of the time period. Not only common but almost verbatim.  I offer this as another "Nibley Find" that once again confirms the authenticity of the Book of Mormon. 

Linens and The Book of Mormon