Old Testament Revision 1
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Source Note
Old Testament Revision 1, June 1830–ca. 7 Mar. 1831; handwriting of , , , and ; 60 pages; CCLA. Includes redactions, wrapper, and archival markings.The possibility that the first pages inscribed by , especially the first two-and-a-half pages following the original heading, were copied from an earlier dictation text cannot be ruled out. At least by October 1830, when replaced Cowdery as scribe, this manuscript is the dictation copy.The Bible revision manuscripts remained in JS’s possession throughout his life—except during a brief period in 1838 and another in 1839. Upon the death of JS, the manuscript was in possession of his wife for over twenty years, until 1867 when she gave it to her son in order for the RLDS Church to publish The Holy Scriptures.Note: The transcript of Old Testament Revision 1 presented here is used with generous permission of the Brigham Young University Religious Studies Center. It was published earlier, with some differences in style, in Scott H. Faulring, Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds., Joseph Smith's New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004), 75–152.
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Historical Introduction
In June 1830, only weeks after the Book of Mormon was published (in March) and the Church of Christ organized (in April), JS began dictating to a revelation dealing with several key Old Testament figures. The revelation opens with “the words of God which he spake unto Moses,” a visionary experience in which Moses receives a knowledge of God and his Only Begotten and learns the purpose of creation. He sees the spirit creation of all things, the appointment of Christ during a premortal council, the effects of the Fall, and the introduction of the gospel to fallen mankind. Moses understands the place of man in the divine plan and foresees his own future role. The manuscript continues with the story of Adam and Eve and several generations of their descendants. A detailed exposition of the experiences of Enoch is included, even though the biblical account contains only a brief mention of that ancient prophet. The manuscript records Enoch’s prophecies of the coming of the Son of Man and recounts the ministry of Noah and the life of Abraham.Like many other revelations, this manuscript bears a simple heading. Written in the hand of scribe , the heading reads, “A Revelation given to Joseph the Revelator June 1830.” What prompted this revelation when JS first began dictating in June 1830 is unknown, but the resulting lengthy manuscript opened an ambitious project of biblical expansion and revision. After the vision of Moses, which recounts a conversation with Deity unrelated to known biblical texts, on the third page and under a new heading (“A Revelation given to the Elders of the Church of Christ On the First Book of Moses”) the manuscript begins an account of the Creation that resembles Genesis 1. The lengthy opening vision and some portions later in the manuscript record prophetic experience at best hinted at in biblical texts, but as the transcript unfolded over the next several months, it became a commentary on and often an expansion of the King James Version of Genesis.At some point during the creation of this manuscript, JS came to see such “restoration” of lost biblical texts as part of his prophetic mission. Book of Mormon passages he dictated to in 1829 spoke of “plain and precious things” missing from “the Book, which is the Book of the Lamb of God” and promised that these “plain and most precious parts of the Gospel of the Lamb” would be restored. (Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 30–31 [1 Nephi 13:28, 32].) On the third page of this manuscript, just before the beginning of the creation account, this revelation similarly declares that lost scriptural passages “shall be had again among the Children of men.” An early December 1830 revelation was explicit. After affirming that JS had been given keys to unlock ancient knowledge, the revelation addressed , commanding “that thou shalt write for [JS] and the scriptures shall be given even as they are in mine own bosom.” (Revelation, 7 Dec. 1830, in Doctrine and Covenants 11:5, 1835 ed. [D&C 35:20].)This manuscript was begun at a time when JS and his religious associates in the Susquehanna valley of northern (JS resided in ) and southern (a number of followers lived in nearby ) faced intense opposition from both neighbors and civil authorities. Despite such pressures, JS and may have begun this manuscript in Harmony, but in part to escape harassment later in June they moved north to , New York, a more hospitable environment. When Cowdery departed Fayette in early fall 1830 for a mission to the West, he had written nine manuscript pages from JS’s dictation. His replacement as scribe, , inscribed seventeen lines under the date of 21 October 1830, and then another page and a half under the date of 30 November 1830. The next day began writing and inscribed two pages under the date of 1 December 1830. After his early December arrival, , an educated new convert from , became the main scribe (as commanded in the revelation already noted). Most of the remainder of the sixty-page manuscript is in his hand.A January 1831 move to interrupted progress on what was now clearly a work of biblical revision, but JS and resumed work in February and finished this manuscript in March. Before his move to Ohio in early January 1831, made a copy of the first 19 pages and first five lines of page 20 of the manuscript, possibly indicating that JS and Rigdon had finished through Genesis chapter 5 when they moved to Ohio. It is unknown why Whitmer made this copy. When both the Old Testament Revision manuscript and Whitmer were in Ohio, Whitmer made a second copy of the completed manuscript (known as Old Testament Revision 2). He documented his work by inserting a final date at the end of this copy: “April 5th 1831 transcribed thus far.” This original manuscript (Old Testament Revision 1) was then retired and JS and Rigdon continued the ambitious Bible revision using Whitmer’s second copy. The project remained an important concern of JS into 1833.Note: The transcript of Old Testament Revision 1 presented here is used with generous permission of the Brigham Young University Religious Studies Center. It was published earlier, with some differences in style, in Scott H. Faulring, Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds., Joseph Smith's New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004), 75–152.
Lord said unto Enoch as I live even so will I come in the last days in the days of wickedness and vengence to fulfill the oath which I have made unto you concerning the children of Noah and the day shall come that the earth shall rest but before that day the heavens shall be darkened and a veil of darkness shall cover the earth and the heavens shall shake and also the earth and great tribulations shall be among the children of men but my people will I preserve and righteousness will I send down out of heaven and truth will I send fourth out the earth to bear testimony of mine only begotten his resurection from the dead yea and also the resurection of all men and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with the flood to gether out mine own elect from the four quarters of the earth unto a place which I shall prepare an holy City that my people may gird up their loins and be looking fourth for the time of my coming for there shall be my tabernicle and it shall be called Zion a New Jerusalem and the Lord said unto Enoch then shalt thou and all thy City meet them there and we will receive them into our bosom and they shall see us and we will fall upon their necks and they shall fall upon our necks and we will kiss each other and there shall be mine abode and it shall be Zion which shall come fourth out of all the creations which I have made and for the space of a thousand years shall the earth rest and it came to pass that Enoch saw the day of the coming of the son of man in the last days to dwell on the earth in righteousness for the space of a thousand years but before that day he saw great tribulation among the wicked and he also saw the sea that it was troubled and mens hearts failing them looking forth with fear for the judgements of the Allmighty God which should come upon the wicked and the Lord shewed Enoch all things even unto the end of the world and he saw the day of the righteous the hour of their redemption and received a fullness of joy and all the days of Zion in the days of Enoch were three Hundred and Sixty five years and Enoch and all his people walked with God and he dwellt in the midst of Zion and it came to pass that Zion was not for God received it up into his own bosom and from thence went forth the saying Zion is fled. and it came to pass that Mathusalah the son of Enoch was not taken that the covenents of the Lord might be fulfilled which he made to Enoch for he truely covenanted with Enoch that Noah should come be the fruit of his loines and it came to pass that Mathusalah prophecied that from his loins should spring all the kingdoms of the earth (from Noah) and he took glory unto himself and there came fourth a great famine into the land and the Lord cursed the earth with a sore curse and many of the inhabitants thereof died and it came to pass that Mathusalah lived an hundred eighty and seven years and begat Lamach and Mathusalah lived after he begat Lamach seven Hundred eighty and two years and begat sons and daughters and all the days of Mathusalah were nine Hundred Sixty and nine years and he died and Lamach lived an Hundred eighty and two years and begat a son and he called his name Noah saying this son shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands because of the ground which [p. 19]
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