Old Testament Revision 1
Old Testament Revision 1
Source Note
Source Note
Old Testament Revision 1, June 1830–ca. 7 Mar. 1831; handwriting of , , , and ; 60 pages; CHL. 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 so that the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS church) could publish it. It was in the possession of the RLDS church (now Community of Christ) until 2024, when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints acquired it. The manuscript is now held at the Church History Library in Salt Lake City.
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.
Footnotes
- [1]
Call, “Copied from the Journal of Anson Call”; Cooper, “Spiritual Reminiscences, No. 2,” Autumn Leaves (January 1891): 9, 18.
Call, Anson. “Copied from the Journal of Anson Call,” 1879. CHL. MS 4783.
Cooper, F. M. “Spiritual Reminiscences.—No. 2,” Autumn Leaves 4, no. 1 (Jan. 1891): 17–20.
- [2]
Emma Smith Bidamon, Nauvoo, IL, to Joseph Smith III, Plano, IL, 10 Feb. 1867, CCLA.
Bidamon, Emma Smith. Materials, 1842–1871. CCLA.
- [3]
The Holy Scriptures: Translated and Corrected by the Spirit of Revelation ([Plano, IL]: [Reorganized] Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 1867).
Historical Introduction
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.
and she shall say drink and I will give thy C[a]mels drink also let her be the one whom thou hast appointed for thy servent Isaac and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master. And it came to pass before he had done speaking that Behold Rebeckah came out who was born to Bethuel son of Milcha the wife of Nahor, Abrahams brother with her pitcher upon her shoulder. and the damsel being a Virgin very fair to look upon such as the servent of Abraham had not seen neither had any man known like unto her and she went down to the well and filled her pitcher and came up. and the servent ran to meet her and said let me I pray thee drink a little watter of thy pitcher. and she said drink my lord and she hasted and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. and when she had done giving him drink she said, I will draw for thy Camels also, <un>till <untill> they have done drinking. and she hasted, and emtied her pitcher into the trough; and ran again unto the well to draw and drew for all his Camels. And the man wondering at her, held his peace, pondering in his heart wheather the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not. and it came pass as the Camels had done drinking that the man took a gold<en> earing earring of half a shekel weight and two braceletts for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold, and said Whose daughter art thou tell me I pray thee and is there ro[o]m in thy fathers house for us to lodge in and she said unto him, I am am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcha, which she bear unto Nahor. she said moreover unto him we have both straw and provender enough and room to lodge in. and the man bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord. and he said Blessed is the Lord [p. 59]
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