We have an echo of an Old Testament story in the Book of Enos in the Book of Mormon. Even the names are preserved in this ritual encounter.
Enos and Jacob Both Left Alone
Enos has a "wrestle . . . before God," in which he is given strength to prevail and receives a "remission" of his sins, something that can only be accomplished through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It echoes the experience of Jacob in the Bible. "Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day." The idea that Jacob was left alone stands in opposition to being reconciled, as two beings are fused together and become, in essence, similar in nature. Remember Jacob was a twin, but for the moment his twin brother is not present, and he is left alone, emphasizing the idea that he is vulnerable and perhaps even weak on his own.
Jacob Receives A New Name
But then something incredible happens: "And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him." Now the phrase "hollow of the thigh" is the Hebrew word kaph, and it also means "palm, hand, sole, palm of the hand, hollow or flat of the hand," or "hollow, objects, bending objects, bent objects." It is a representation of power. The Messenger then asks Jacob, "What is thy name?" He is then given a new name of Israel, meaning "to prevail with God." "And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved" (Genesis 32: 24-30).
A Wrestle or Embrace?
So if this is a face to face encounter with God, the term "wrestle" is indeed interesting. The Hebrew word for wrestle comes from a root meaning dust. You would get down in the dust and get dirty if you were wrestling in this Hebrew sense.
But Hugh Nibley takes a different approach. He says, "When one considers that the word conventionally translated as ‘wrestled (yēʾāvēq)’ can just as well mean ‘embrace’ and that it was in this ritual embrace that Jacob received a new name and the bestowal of priestly and kingly power at sunrise (Genesis 32:24-30), the parallel to the Egyptian coronation embrace becomes at once apparent" (The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri: An Egyptian Endowment, 2nd ed. [CWHN 16; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and FARMS, 2005], 434).
The embrace is a ritual to mark the coronation of kingly (and priestly) powers, merging the two beings as one. It is a representation of "at-one-ment." The names are also a play on words. This is not Jacob's first wrestle. He "struggled," or wrestled with Esau in the womb. Esau was born first, but as Jacob came out of the womb "his hand took hold on Esau’s heel" (see Genesis 25: 22-26). The name Jacob means "heel holder" or "supplanter." This would be a great wrestling hold.
The connection of wrestling and embracing is manifest in the transformation of Jacob as a "supplanter" who later, after receiving a new name meaning to prevail with God, is embraced as one receiving a coronation and kingly authority and power. Nibley notes, "One retained his identity after the ritual embrace, yet that embrace was nothing less than a 'Wesensverschmelzung,' a fusing of identities, of mortal with immortal, of father with son, and as such marked "the highpoint of the whole mystery-drama" (Spiegel, An. Serv., 53:392)."
Fusing of Father and Son, Mortal With Immortal
Note the fusing of the mortal with the immortal and the father with the son. Later, after Jacob receives a new name, he is reconciled with Esau in the very next chapter. Note the reunion: "And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept" (Genesis 33: 4). The embrace is symbolically fusing the two twin brothers together, if for only a moment, as later the two nations will go to battle again.
In ancient Israel, Egyptian, and other Middle Eastern cultures, kings are deified. The Psalmist declares, "For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth" (Psalms 74: 12). The close connection between kings and God is evident, and the ritual embrace represents the king (or queen) becoming one with God.
In the case of Enos, the role of becoming a king and priest is extended to the next generation. Enos begins his text with the observation, "Behold, it came to pass that I, Enos, knowing my father that he was a just man—for he taught me in his language, and also in the nurture and admonition of the Lord—and blessed be the name of my God for it" (Enos 1: 1). His father, Jacob, like his namesake in the Bible, is "justified" "through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant" (see D&C 76: 69). The "nurture" of the Lord is shown forth in His invitation as He says, "Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto all men, for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith: Repent, and I will receive you" (Alma 5: 33). This is the essence of the ritual embrace. Giving praise to the "name of God," would imply a covenant relationship as His name is placed on the initiate.
The Name of Enos
The name Enos means man or mankind, and particularly the "common man." It is related to a Hebrew root anash which means "to be weak, sick, frail." Like Jacob, who was "left alone" and "wrestled" with a being until the breaking of the day, Enos is very vulnerable, perhaps remembering earlier times when he hunted beasts in the forest with his father. I like to think of Enos sitting on a rock and remembering when he was there with his dad, as Jacob taught him about the "nurture and admonition of the Lord." Perhaps Enos is seeking some kind of reunion. The embrace of the father with the Prodigal Son was such a reunion (see Luke 15: 20). Jacob wrestled all night until daybreak. Enos kneels down before his Maker and, in a sense, wrestles with God all day long and into the night. Enos said "my soul hungered," a display of his weak and vulnerable state (Enos 1: 4).
Then Enos has an experience with the Atonement, perhaps similar to Jacob in the Bible, as he wrestles for a remission of his sins.
Jacob declares, "I have seen God face to face" (Genesis 32: 30). It is interesting that Enos ends his text with the perfect description of an embrace with the Father, and seeing His face with gladness by the statement:
"And I soon go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know that in him I shall rest. And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father. Amen" (Enos 1: 27).
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