Holiness Shall Be Upon Their Heads

As I was reading the scriptures this evening I noticed a very interesting line in 2 Nephi 2:11. In this verse the prophet Jacob (son of Lehi) is quoting Isaiah chapter 51. In the KJV Isaiah 51:11 reads:

"Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away."

This chapter is about the latter-day redemption of Israel and this verse refers to the return of Israel to the lands of their inheritance.

This verse is slightly different in the version found in the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon verse reads this way:

"Therefore, the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy and holiness shall be upon their heads; and they shall obtain gladness and joy; sorrow and mourning shall flee away" (italics added)

The Book of Mormon version adds the phrase "and holiness" when speaking of the blessings which are to be upon the heads of redeemed Israel in the latter-days. I believe this small change is very significant. I believe it is a reference to the role the temple is to play in the lives of modern Israel.

In ancient Israel the temple high priest wore ceremonial clothing as he administered in the temple (see illustration above). He wore a turban or cap with a gold plate on the front above his forehead which read: קדש יהוה (qôdesh yehôvâh) which has been translated into English as "holiness to the Lord" or "holiness to Jehovah". This plate was known as the "crown". (see Exodus 29:6)

Anciently only the high priest passed through the veil of the temple and into the symbolic presence of the Lord in the Holy of Holies. In modern temples all worthy Latter-Day Saints who enjoy the temple endowment take upon themselves the identity of the temple high priest and pass through the veil into the symbolic presence of the Lord in the Celestial Room.

Latter-Day Saints understand themselves to be modern day Israel so they see themselves being described in 2 Nephi 8 and Isaiah 51. Therefore, when Isaiah says that modern Israel will have joy and holiness upon their heads he may be referring to this gold plate. This may be his way of saying that Israel will enjoy the privileges previously restricted to the high priest.

Interestingly, an alternate translation of this verse by Avraham Gileadi reads:

"Let the ransomed of the Lord return! Let them come singing to Zion, their heads crowned with everlasting joy; let them obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing flee away." (italics added)

We know from the the text of the Book of Mormon that the authors of the book had access to the writings of Isaiah from the Brass Plates. (see 1 Nephi 19:22 - 24) It would be fascinating to know if the most faithful rendering of this verse to what Isaiah originally wrote would be something like:

"Let the ransomed of the Lord return! Let them come singing to Zion, their heads crowned with everlasting joy and holiness..."

There may also be another reference to the temple in chapter 51. Gileadi's translation of verse 9 begins with:

"Awake, arise; clothe yourself with power..."

The "clothe yourself with power" phrase sounds very much like a temple reference to Latter-Day Saints especially when compared with modern scripture such as D&C 43:16:

"And ye are to be taught from on high. Sanctify yourselves and ye shall be endowed with power, that ye may give even as I have spoken." (italics added, note: endow and clothe have similar meanings)

As I study the scriptures I am astonished at how often subtle and not so subtle references to the temple are made therein. The scriptures are temple texts and if one reads them with the temple in mind those references become very conspicuous. It's a fascinating and rewarding way to read the scriptures and one which I believe the prophets intended for us.

Origin of the Brass Plates

A few years ago I attended a presentation by Dann Hone who is connected with BYU and was involved in the building of the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies. The title of his lecture was "Possible Origin, History and Destiny of the Brass Plates from an Ancient Language."

His remarks about the origin of the Brass Plates were the most interesting part of the presentation for me. He began by talking about Moses. We know Moses spent the first forty years of his life in Egypt and was connected with the royal family (Ex. 2:10). Eventually Moses had to flee for his life into the Sinai deseret after taking the life of an Egyptian in self defense (Ex. 2:11-15). Moses joined a family of Midianites and spent the next forty years of his life among them.

This group of Midianites were led by a High Priest named Jethro (aka Hobab, Reuel or Raguel). Moses received the priesthood from Jethro (see D&C 84:6) and married one of his daughters (see Exodus 2:21).

There is some evidence to suggest that the Midianites were also known as the Kenites (compare Num. 10:29 with Judges 1:16). The name Kenite means "smith" or "metal smith". The Kenites are famous for working the copper mines of Timna and were particularly active there during Moses's time (see here for more information).

We learn from the story of the brass serpent found in Numbers 21 that Moses knew how to work metal(Num. 21:9). Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc and presumably Moses learned metal working from the Midianites with whom he had been living for at least forty years. It seems likely then that Moses had made numerous other objects from brass prior to this time.

Exodus chapter 2 tells us that Moses was a Levite. When it came time for the children of Israel to enter the promised land Moses was taken to Heaven and Joshua took Moses's place. Joshua was from the tribe of Ephraim (Num. 13).

Following the departure of Lehi's family from Jerusalem, the Lord commanded him to send his sons back to the city to retrieve the Brass Plates (1 Ne 3:2). At this time the Brass Plates were in possession of Laban who was a descendant of Joseph (1 Ne 5:16). The Book of Mormon does not give us any additional information about the origin of the Brass Plates. Later in the Book of Mormon we learn that the Brass Plates were written in the language of the Egyptians (Mosiah 1:4). Moses undoubtedly was very familiar with the Egyptian language from his time there.

Because of his skill in metal working it is possible Moses chose brass as a medium upon which to write the Torah. Perhaps this is the origin of the Brass Plates mentioned in the Book of Mormon. If Moses was the original author of the Brass Plates then they surely would have been passed to Joshua when Moses was translated. From Joshua they could have been passed down through the tribe of Ephraim until they came to be in the possession of Laban.

We have been promised that at some future time the Brass Plates will be translated and made available to the people of the earth (1 Ne 5:17-19). The possibility of the Brass Plates being the original record of Moses makes the prospect all the more exciting.