Dragons in the Book of Mormon

The word dragon is used four times in the Book of Mormon. Two of the four references are quotes from Isaiah (2 Ne. 8:9 [Is. 51:9]; 2 Ne. 23:22 [Is. 13:22])

Isaiah 13:22 And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.

Comment: The Hebrew word thannîm is translated as dragons in this KJV verse. This is the plural form of tan and is sometimes translated as jackals or wild dogs.

Isaiah 51:9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?

Comment: The Hebrew word tannîn is translated as dragons in this KJV verse. This is normally thought
of as a sea-serpent or sea monster. In a blog entitled “Moses and His Crocodile”¹, Dr. Claude Mariottine quotes Simcha Jacobovici, the Naked Archaeologist, as saying: “Did you know that, when facing Pharaoh, it is not Moses that throws down his staff; it is his brother Aaron and, according to the original Hebrew [ed. Ex. 7:9-12], it did not turn into a snake but a crocodile? Since the Egyptians worshipped the crocodile god - Sobek, when Aaron's crocodile swallowed up the Egyptian crocodiles, Pharaoh understood that the God of Israel was more powerful than his entire pantheon. All this is lost if the Hebrew word ‘tanin’ is mistranslated as ‘snake’ instead of ‘crocodile.’” In this blog he quotes from many other sources that argue for the crocodile translation.

In the Oxford English Dictionary entry for dragon (meaning 3), we read the following.
In the Bible versions reproducing draco of the Vulgate and δράκων of the Septuagint, where the Hebrew has  tannīn a great sea- or water-monster, a whale, shark, or crocodile, also a large serpent; or  tan a desert mammalian animal, now understood to be the jackal, and so rendered in the Revised Version.

In the other two references (Mosiah 20:11; Alma 43:44), the word dragon is used as a simile for ferocity – both verses refer to people who fight like dragons. It is entirely possible that of the whales, sharks, crocodiles, and other animals that were tannīn, the one animal that the Book of Mormon record keepers may have most easily seen fighting with incredible ferocity was the crocodile.

People living on the Baja Peninsula would have been familiar with crocodiles. Johan Jakob Baegert, a German Jesuit Priest who had lived in Baja California between 1751 and 1768, in describing the small water courses of Baja¹ says: “in all of them abide alligators of considerable size and since some of them are capable of devouring a full-grown man, it is necessary to be on guard while drawing water, bathing, or washing. I have seen several of these creatures.”³ Alligators⁴ are not found on Baja today⁵; however, the mangrove swamps that are a usual habitat for alligators are rather common, especially on the East coast of Baja.

Further evidence that the people of this area knew of crocodiles is furnished by Brian Stubbs. He has studied relationships between the Uto-Aztecan languages and the Hebrew and Egyptian languages: the Uto-Aztecan languages have a word for crocodile and it is related to the Egyptian word for crocodile. A word for dragon is unknown in the Uto-Aztecan languages.⁶

Sources:
¹http://doctor.claudemariottini.com/2010/03/moses-and-his-crocodile.html;

²Reports from the American Peninsula California translated from the Original German with an Introduction and Notes, by M.M. Brandenburg and Carl L. Baumann, University of California Press, Berkley, Los Angeles, London, copyright 1952 by the Regents of the University of California. The original text is Nachrichten von der Amerikanischen Halbinsel Californien by Johan Jakob Baegert, published in Germany in 1771;
³The English translation has different page numbering than the original German text. In the original German text this reference is found in Chapter One, page 2;
⁴The original German word Baegert used for this animal was Krokodillen - the English translators chose to translated it as alligators instead of crocodiles. The difference between an alligator and a crocodile is a modern taxonomy distinction that meant nothing before the 19^th century – even today, under certain conditions, the distinction between the two is very difficult to make. Perhaps the most common distinction today between the two is that alligators are normally found in the Americas and crocodiles are found elsewhere;
⁵They were most likely hunted to extinction for their skins;
⁶Private communication between David Rosenvall and Brian Stubbs.

The Jesuits and the Indians of Baja California

 

Jesuits in Baja California (1683–1767)

Spanish Catholic priests called Jesuits attempted to settle Baja California beginning in 1683. They abandoned their first two attempts due to hostile responses from the natives. In 1697, Jesuits settled their first of 18 permanent missions to convert local natives to Christianity. “Along with religion, the Europeans brought with them diseases that the indigenous peoples had never been exposed to, and consequently had no immunity against. By 1767, epidemics of measles, plague, smallpox, typhus, and venereal diseases had decimated the native population. Out of an initial population of as many as 50,000, only some 5,000 are thought to have survived.” (“Spanish missions in Baja California,” http://en.wikipedia.org)

Jesuit records describe the people, lands, and culture that the Jesuits found in Baja between 1683 and 1767. These records can give us a glimpse into a people who may have been descendants of Book of Mormon people. The religious traditions of the Jesuits and the natives of Baja were similar to and different from those found in the New Testament and Book of Mormon when prophets and apostles were present about 1500 years before.

Pablo L. Martinez used Jesuit records in the early chapters of his book, History of Lower California (HLC). Several entries will refer to parts of this book that relate to the Book of Mormon.

 

Three Indian Tribes in Baja

The Jesuits found three prehispanic Indian tribes that they called the Cochimíes, Guaycuras, and Pericúes.  However, these were not the names the Indians called themselves. “The word laymón [or laimon] was the name” the Guaycuras or monquis gave to the Cochimíes (HLC 23–24).

We divided into two missions, and soon we noticed that there was a mingling in them of nations of different languages, one, the Monqui … and the other the Laimon. … Immediately we set about … to learn the latter, and because it is the dominating language, and appears to be the general one in this extensive kingdom, with continued study we learned it quickly, and in it we … teach the Christian doctrine to the Laimones, as in the Monqui to the Monquis.” (Herbert Eugene Bolton, Kino’s Historical Memoir of Pimería Alta, 2:50)

Was the name Laimones related to Lamonites?

Below is a map showing the locations of these three tribes (HLC 51).

 

 

Petroglyphs in Baja

The Jesuit missionaries found Indians who did not have any written records. They also found evidence of earlier people who were more cultured and skilled.

The prehispanic inhabitants of Lower California lived in a disastrous cultural condition. Certainly as the experts think, when the first men came to the peninsula they brought with them some greater culture, which was gradually lost. … There is not found among them the least notion of writing nor are there even any hieroglyphs in the land; the petroglyphs or paintings on stone that are found around Santiago … and other places do not belong according to the opinion of the learned to the men who inhabited the peninsula at the time the Spaniards arrived: they are attributed to other and very different people about whom we do not have any information except that they left their traces in these [rock] paintings. …

In the Cape Pulmo, on a large rock … there can be seen something which is like an inscription with heavy character among which many persons believe there are Gothic, Hebraic and Chaldean symbols. The natives never were able to explain the origin and significance of the drawings. They limited themselves to saying that they were the work of their ancestors. …

The petroglyphs of San Borjitas … represent distinct human figures …; in them are found as many as nine colors, without including black and white. The technique of the painters reveals great skill and beauty. …

The author of this work has seen … engravings, not paintings, of some figures of animals. The polished stone is in a convex form and on the previously prepared surface there is sculptured with a degree of perfection a deer, a tortoise and a lizard. (HLC 29–30; italics added)

The Mulekites left Jerusalem after Lehi left and lived in the land of Zarahemla which is north of where Lehi landed. Over 300 years later, Mosiah, the father of King Benjamin, found the Mulekites.

17 Their language had become corrupted; and they had brought no records with them; and they denied the being of their Creator; and Mosiah, nor the people of Mosiah, could [not] understand them. … 20 In the days of Mosiah, there was a large stone brought unto him with engravings on it; and he did interpret the engravings by the gift and power of God. 21 And they gave an account of one Coriantumr, and the slain of his people [the Jaredites]. (Omni 1:17, 20–21; [not] in verse 17 is in the Printer’s Manuscript and the 1830 Book of Mormon)

Without written records, the Mulekite language became corrupted and they no longer believed in their Creator. King Benjamin later told his sons what would have happened if Lehi had not brought the plates of brass to the new world.

Were it not for these things … even our fathers would have dwindled in unbelief, and we should have been like unto our brethren, the Lamanites, who know nothing concerning these things, or even do not believe them when they are taught them, because of the traditions of their fathers, which are not correct. (Mosiah 1:5)

Indian beliefs about God

The Jesuit missionaries asked the three Indian tribes about their religious beliefs. Some Indian beliefs are similar to Christian beliefs while others are similar to LDS beliefs. Some believe the Indian beliefs were influenced by the Jesuits, “but considering the limited intelligence of the [Indians], such a conclusion is impossible to accept” (HLC 57). However, if the Indians were descendants of Book of Mormon people, we would expect some similarities to Old Testament writings found on the brass plates, and to Book of Mormon writings. We would also expect differences that would come after 1500 years without prophets or written records. In the examples below, notice the similarities and differences. (Underlining added, but italics are in original.)

“The Pericú tradition mentioned a great lord who lived in the sky, called Niparaja, who had made the sky, the earth and the sea, and who enjoyed the privilege of going whatever he liked. This great personage had as wife Anajicojondi, who gave him three sons without use of herself, since she lacked a body; one of them Cuajaip, had been a real man and had lived for a long time on the earth … to indoctrinate humanity. One day these people ungratefully rebelled against the one who had granted them innumerable blessings; they killed him and placed on his head a wreath made of thorns. They believed that in the sky there were more people than on earth, and that in that region at a remote period frightful wars had been fought, provoked by another personage called Tuparán by some and Bac by others, against the supreme Niparaja; that the latter had been victor in the end … [and cast Tuparán] from the sky with all his followers.” (HLC 57–58)

“The Guaycuras gave credence to a leading spirit called Guamongo, who sent diseases to earth. They asserted that at a remote period he had sent to the earth one of his [subordinates] called Gujiaqui, to visit there in his stead; it so happened that as he traveled through the Peninsula, sowing pitahayas [= tall cacti or their edible fruit] and establishing fishing localities, at the end of which he hid in Puerto Escondido, where he was served by lesser spirits, who took to him daily exquisite pitahayas and delicious fish to eat, he busied himself making capes for doctors and charlatans; and that he then went back to the north, from whence he had come.” (HLC 58)

The Cochimíes … made reference to a great lord who lived in the sky, called … He who lives; they spoke also of his son, born without the aid of woman. … There was only one [Lord], creator of the sky, earth, plants, man and woman. They agreed that He who lives created certain invisible beings … [who] plotted against him, declaring themselves enemies of man; and that these being were liars and seized men when they died and put them under the earth where they could not see He who lives. … They made mention of a man who in far distant times had come from the sky to benefit mankind …; but they were not able to say what benefits he had brought to man nor did they tender him any worship. … They celebrated a fiesta named for the man who came from the sky, but this … was reduced to the enjoyment of pleasures, eating and dancing. (HLC 59–60)

 

Cochimí Indian names for God

The Cochimíes … made reference to a great lord who lived in the sky, called in their language He who lives; they spoke also of his son, born without the aid of woman, and who had two names: one of these names signified The Swift One and the other Perfection or the End of Clay; furthermore, there was another personage, He who makes Lords. (HLC 59)

The name “He who lives” is related to scripture phrases: “the living God” (Josh 3:10; Dt 5:26; 2 Ne 31:16) and “the LORD liveth” (1 Sam 14:39; 2 Sam. 22:47; 1 Ne 3:15). The Jesuits like other Catholics believed in a God without body, parts, and passions. However, for Moses and Book of Mormon prophets who saw and talked with God “face to face” (Ex 33:11), “the living God” was in contrast to idol gods “which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell” (Dt 4:28).

The first name of the great lord’s son, “The Swift One” relates the following scriptures.

The LORD … rode upon a cherub, and did fly … upon the wings of the wind (2 Sam 22:7, 11; Ps 19:10). The LORD rideth upon a swift cloud (Isa 19:1). [Jesus] was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight (Acts 1:9). Jesus Christ … cometh with clouds (Rev 1:7).

They saw a Man descending out of heaven (3 Ne 11:8). There came a cloud … [and Jesus] ascended into heaven (3 Ne 18:38–39).

The other name of the son, “Perfection or the End of Clay” is interesting. Christ did not say he was perfect until after his death and resurrection (Mt 5:48; 3 Ne 12:48). The Bible says “the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground” (Gen 2:7). King Benjamin said, “the Lord Omnipotent … shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay” (Mosiah 3:5). In “the resurrection … this mortal body is raised to an immortal body … that … can die no more; their spirits uniting with their bodies, never to be divided; thus … becoming spiritual and immortal” (Al 11:45). Therefore, after the “end of clay” or the mortal body, Christ was the first to be resurrected and to be perfect or complete with an immortal body that can die no more.

The last name, “He who makes Lords,” will be discussed in the next entry.

 

“He who makes Lords”

The Cochimíes … made reference to a great lord … called … He who lives; … furthermore, there was another personage, He who makes Lords. (HLC 56–59)

The name, “He who makes Lords,” makes sense to Mormons but not to most Christians. The Jesuits who like other Catholics of the time used the Latin Bible instead of the Hebrew Bible. A common Bible name for the Creator (Gen. 2:4) is “LORD God” in English, and “Dominus Deus” (LORD God) in Latin. This name seems completely unrelated to “He who makes Lords.” The same name for God in the Hebrew Bible is “YHWH Elohim” (Jehovah Elohim). Hebrew was the language of the Jews and the Nephites (Morm. 9:33).

Elohim is plural and means Gods or gods. However, in the Bible it is translated as God when it refers to the God of Israel and gods when it refers to pagan gods.

YHWH is written without vowels. The vowels added in modern Hebrew Bibles are from the word adonai (Lord) to remind readers to say adonai instead of what was written. Christians used the word Jehovah based on these vowels, but usually translated it as LORD in the King James Bible. Scholars generally write Yahweh and agree that YHWH comes from the Hebrew word meaning “to come into existence, become, be,” but they differ as to the meaning. For many scholars, YHWH means the one who is, the existing, ever-living. However, many recent scholars believe it is the causative form which means: The one bringing into being, life-giver; giver of existence, creator; he who brings to pass, performer of promises. Examples of the causative meaning of YHWH include:

The LORD of Hosts (1 Sam 1:3): “he creates armies”

Jehovah-shalom (Jg 6:24): “he creates peace or well-being”

Jehovah-nissi (Ex 17:15): “he creates my refuge or standard”

Therefore, YHWH Elohim (LORD God) would mean: “he creates Gods,” “he will create Gods,” or “he who creates Gods.” The Cochimi name, He who makes Lords, reflects this Hebrew meaning.

 

Sources:

• The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon
• Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, 5:500–501, 515
• William H. Brownlee, “The Ineffable Name of God,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research (April 1977), 39–40.

Author of this paper:
  Monte F. Shelley, PhD
  Director, Research Technology Group
  Maxwell Institute of Religious Scholarship
  Brigham Young University

Possible Meaning of "goodly" in 1 Nephi 1:1

The idea that goodly parents in 1 Nephi 1:1 might also mean wealthyparents has been expressed by others (including Hugh Nibley – see An Approach to the Book of Mormon, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley: Volume 6, 3rd ed., Deseret/FARMS, Salt Lake City & Provo, 1988, P. 47). However, the work of Royal Skousen and his assertion that Middle English vocabulary is found in the Book of Mormon, places this idea in a new light (see The Archaic Vocabulary of the Book of Mormon, Royal Skousen, Provo, Utah, Maxwell Institute, 2005).

In the OED, the second listed meaning of goodly is “notable or considerable in respect of size, quantity, or number.” The OED cited references for this meaning place its usage in the Middle English time period (e.g. Chaucer, 1374) and thus this may be one more example of Archaic English in the Book of Mormon.

The Word "Traffic" in the Book of Mormon

1. The word traffic occurs 3 times in all of the LDS Scriptures. Twice in 4 Nephi 1:46 and once in Ether 10:22 (see below)
2. In all three instances it occurs with a description of what happens when the people focus on acquiring wealth (gold and silver) and forget the commandments of God.
3. In the OED meaning 2b for traffic we read “To have dealings of an illicit or secret character; to deal, intrigue, conspire.” This meaning is old and is a possible Archaic English example. It is also a possible meaning for the word traffic as used in both these verses.
4. The double occurrence in 4 Nephi 1:46 is also a classic example of a Hebraism called paired cognate. This structure pairs a noun and a verb from the same cognate (root word).

Scriptures

46 And it came to pass that the robbers of Gadianton did spread over all the face of the land; and there were none that were righteous save it were the disciples of Jesus. And gold and silver did they lay up in store in abundance, and did traffic in all manner of traffic.
(Book of Mormon | 4 Nephi 1:46)

22 And they were exceedingly industrious, and they did buy and sell and traffic one with another, that they might get gain.

23 And they did work in all manner of ore, and they did make gold, and silver, and iron, and brass, and all manner of metals; and they did dig it out of the earth; wherefore, they did cast up mighty heaps of earth to get ore, of gold, and of silver, and of iron, and of copper. And they did work all manner of fine work.
(Book of Mormon | Ether 10:22–23)

Map of the Distribution of Uto-Aztecan Languages

The map is from a hand-out of Brian Stubbs given out at a seminar at Brigham Young University in 2010.

The Abbreviations of the Uto-Aztecan Languages (used in the above map)
Western Numic (WNum) Mn (Mono) NP (Northern Piute	Hp and Tb are each a branch Hp (Hopi) Tb (Tubatulabal)	Corachol (CrC) Cr (Cora) Wc (Huichol)
Central Numic (CNum) TSh (Tümpisha Shoshone) Sh (Shoshoni) Cm (Comanche)	Takic (Tak) Sr (Serrano – Takic) Ls (Luiseño – Takic) Cp (Cupeño – Takic) Ca (Cahuilla – Takic) Ktn (Kitanemuk – Takic)	Tara Cahitan (TrC) Tbr (Tubar) Yq (Yaqui) AYq (Arizona Yaqui) My (Mayo) Wr (Guarijio) Tr (Tarahumara( WTr (Westrn Tarahumara) Eu (Eudeve) Op (Opata)
Southern Numic (SNum) Kw (Kawaiisu) Ch (Chemehuevi) SP (Southern Paiute) WMU (White Mesa Ute) CU (Colorado Ute) NU (Northern Ute)	Tepiman (Tep) PYp (Yepáchic Pima) TO (Tohono O’odham) PB (Pima Bajo) NT (Northern Tepehuan) ST (Southern Tepehuan)	Aztecan (Azt) CN (Classical Nahuatl) Pl (Pipil)

Possible Meaning of the Word "slippery"

The word "slippery" in the Book of Mormon text has led to various interpretations.  I have added the Archaic English meanings to the verses where the word "slippery" occurs.  Hopefully these older meanings will throw new light on these verses. Note that the older meanings of the words, "hold" and "retain" have also been added.

1. Hel. 13: 31, 33, 36

  31 And behold, the time cometh that he curseth your riches, that they become slippery [we forget where they were put or hidden], that ye cannot hold them [remember where they were put]; and in the days of your poverty ye cannot retain them [remember where they were put].

      •  •  •

  33 O that I had repented, and had not killed the prophets, and stoned them, and cast them out. Yea, in that day ye shall say: O that we had remembered the Lord our God in the day that he gave us our riches, and then they would not have become slippery [we forget where they were put or hidden] that we should lose them; for behold, our riches are gone from us [can't remember where they were put].

      •  •  •

  36 O that we had repented in the day that the word of the Lord came unto us; for behold the land is cursed, and all things are become slippery [we forget where they were put or hidden], and we cannot hold them [remember where they were put].

2. Morm. 1: 18

  18 And these Gadianton robbers, who were among the Lamanites, did infest the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof began to hide up their treasures in the earth; and they became slippery [they forget where they were put or hidden], because the Lord had cursed the land, that they could not hold them [remember where they were put], nor retain them again [remember where they were put].

The word "slippery" in Archaic English comes from the same root word as "slipper" and "slip." We still use this older meaning of the word "slip" in such phrases as: "It slipped my mind,"  that is, we can't remember something. This, of course, is the meaning  of "slippery" as used the Book of Mormon verses above. It appears that the Lord cursed the people and their riches by affecting the memory of where they hid their riches.  It would be interesting to know how this memory could be taken away. This is like forgetting the location of a bank account that contains a significant quantity of money.

Meaning of the word "Land" in the Book of Mormon

I just had an interesting experience reading the Book of Mormon.  I was pondering over the notion and meaning of the word "land" as it is used in the Book of Mormon.  I was prompted to search for the term "lands of" using the enclosing quotes in the search box.  This narrowed the search. Some 125 occurrences of the term "land of" came up.  I read them all in sequence and found it to be a most useful exercise. It gives one a quick overview of the use of this term in the Book of Mormon.  You also get a feel for how many actual lands are mentioned by name.  There aren't really that many.  It would be a short list. It also gives a feel for the sizes and relative locations of these lands.  It is also interesting to see the use of "up," "down," "over," "to," and "into" as it relates to the relative elevations and positioning of the various lands.

I suggest you would find it most useful to spend any hour reading these same verses.

Here is a dictionary meaning of "land" which I suggest is the same meaning used by the Book of Mormon people when declaring a portion of the earth's surface as a "land." Understandably the dictionary gives several other meanings for "land."

"A part of the surface of the earth marked off by natural or political boundaries or the like; a region or country." 

 Within this definition, of course, we should stress the importance of "political" divisions and that "natural" boundaries often have a lesser importance.  The "lands" were often just the area surrounding a city of the same name (its hinterland) where the inhabitants of the city had recognized political control. The notion of inheritance of a "land" is important as well.  And as we know, these lands were sometimes nested within a larger land. They were also separated by a space of land called "borders" and not necessarily by a line border. And again as we know the word "border" as a singular word does not occur in the Book of Mormon. It is also clear in the text that a "land" is a rather small area of the earth's surface measured in a day's journey or less (like the early creation of counties in North America and for the same reason: the constraints of slow means of travel) and not a large expanse of the continent or even the continent itself, which many who comment on the geography of the Book of Mormon seem to infer.

I noted as well that the "land of Nephi" clearly starts immediately south of the "land of Zarahemla" at the south wilderness, which, of course, is the northern end of the narrow strip of wilderness.  This we knew.  And as we have often discussed, this means that when leaving the land of Zarahemla one goes "up to" the land of Nephi because of the rather precipitous rise in elevation.  Reading all the applicable references at once reinforces this important concept. As with all the borders of all lands, the boundary between the land of Zarahemla and the land of Nephi was not a line border but a strip of territory.  The borders between these two major lands were certainly not at the middle nor the southern end of the narrow strip of wilderness.

I also noted how often the "land of Jershon" is mentioned.  I suspect that it is the most mentioned after the land of Nephi and land of Zarahemla. You may have some thoughts as to why this is so.

I also noted the use of the term "came up unto" when referring to someone going to a capitol place like Zarahemla or the Jaredite city of Moron to do some activity with those in political control like the King or the Chief Judge.  There is a long history in the world of cultures situating the palace or political buildings at a slightly higher elevation within a city (the Chinese, especially, did this), therefore, the use of "up" in the phrase.  So "came up unto" does not necessarily mean the city itself was at a high elevation relative to the surrounding lands. Also, the phrase "came up unto" may be simply symbolic of this cultural notion of approaching a higher power or political authority.