Alternate Verse Divisions for Moses Chapter 2

Recently I was reading in the Book of Moses Chapter 2 and part way through the chapter I thought, "That is an awful number of 'And I, God' phrases all right in a row!" But I have long since learned that there are never random repetitions in the scriptures. If there is something that is being repeated over, and over, and over, then it is for a reason. If the same phrase is used repeatedly then that always indicates literary structure that is meant to be a teaching tool.

As I looked over the chapter I noticed that many times the phrase "And I, God" appeared at the beginning of a verse, but sometimes it was in the middle of a verse. If you look at the original manuscript for the Book of Moses, you can see that it was written as one big paragraph, with no verses or other structure, including punctuation. Only the chapter breaks were present in the original. I couldn't find when and who first broke the text into verses, but it was most likely Orson Pratt in 1878. I have previously written about how if we change some of the punctuation and verse structure in the Book of Mormon then we can see some insights that are not clear in our current version. So I am not adverse to second guessing Orson Pratt on how he decided to break the text into verses.

Below I have altered the verses of Moses 2 to highlight some of the structure of the text, which the current verse divisions hide a little bit. The left column contains Moses 2 with my renumbering. The right column contains the original verse numbering so you can see where I have broken a verse apart or combined verses. Except for the first two verses and the phrases indicating the days of creation, every verse in my renumbered scheme begins with "And I, God". This creates a few new verses, and there are five instances where two verses are combined. I would like to emphasize these places were verses were combined because in each case a unique structure was created full of interesting parallels. Especially in the fourth day of creation my new verse structure highlights a beautiful chiasmus, which I will write about in another post.

Orson Pratt did a truly monumental work in dividing the Book of Mormon and the Pearl of Great Price into verses, but he was not the original author, nor did he know the original author, so there were subtleties in the text that he did not know about. So consider how I have changed the verses in Moses 2 below and try to see how it changes how we understand the chapter. Let me know what you learn.

Renumbered Verses	Original Numbering (Highlighted)
1 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Moses, saying: Behold, I reveal unto you concerning this heaven, and this earth; write the words which I speak.	1 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Moses, saying: Behold, I reveal unto you concerning this heaven, and this earth; write the words which I speak.
2 I am the Beginning and the End, the Almighty God; by mine Only Begotten I created these things; yea, in the beginning I created the heaven, and the earth upon which thou standest. And the earth was without form, and void; and I caused darkness to come up upon the face of the deep; and my Spirit moved upon the face of the water; for I am God.	I am the Beginning and the End, the Almighty God; by mine Only Begotten I created these things; yea, in the beginning I created the heaven, and the earth upon which thou standest. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and I caused darkness to come up upon the face of the deep; and my Spirit moved upon the face of the water; for I am God.
3 And I, God, said: Let there be light; and there was light.	3 And I, God, said: Let there be light; and there was light.
4 And I, God, saw the light; and that light was good.	4 And I, God, saw the light; and that light was good.
5 And I, God, divided the light from the darkness.	And I, God, divided the light from the darkness.
6 And I, God, called the light Day; and the darkness, I called Night; and this I did by the word of my power, and it was done as I spake.	5 And I, God, called the light Day; and the darkness, I called Night; and this I did by the word of my power, and it was done as I spake;
7 And the evening and the morning were the first day.	and the evening and the morning were the first day.
8 And again, I, God, said: Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water, and it was so, even as I spake; and I said: Let it divide the waters from the waters; and it was done;	6 And again, I, God, said: Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water, and it was so, even as I spake; and I said: Let it divide the waters from the waters; and it was done;
9 And I, God, made the firmament and divided the waters, yea, the great waters under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament, and it was so even as I spake.	7 And I, God, made the firmament and divided the waters, yea, the great waters under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament, and it was so even as I spake.
10 And I, God, called the firmament Heaven.	8 And I, God, called the firmament Heaven;
11 And the evening and the morning were the second day.	and the evening and the morning were the second day.
12 And I, God, said: Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and it was so.	9 And I, God, said: Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and it was so;
13 And I, God, said: Let there be dry land; and it was so.	and I, God, said: Let there be dry land; and it was so.
14 And I, God, called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters, called I the Sea.	10 And I, God, called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters, called I the Sea;
15 And I, God, saw that all things which I had made were good.	and I, God, saw that all things which I had made were good.
16 And I, God, said: Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, the fruit tree yielding fruit, after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed should be in itself upon the earth, and it was so even as I spake. And the earth brought forth grass, every herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed should be in itself, after his kind.	11 And I, God, said: Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, the fruit tree yielding fruit, after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed should be in itself upon the earth, and it was so even as I spake. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, every herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed should be in itself, after his kind;
17 And I, God, saw that all things which I had made were good.	and I, God, saw that all things which I had made were good;
18 And the evening and the morning were the third day.	13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.
19 And I, God, said: Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven, to divide the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years. And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth; and it was so.	14 And I, God, said: Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven, to divide the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years; 15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth; and it was so.
20 And I, God, made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, and the greater light was the sun, and the lesser light was the moon; and the stars also were made even according to my word.	16 And I, God, made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, and the greater light was the sun, and the lesser light was the moon; and the stars also were made even according to my word.
21 And I, God, set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth. And the sun to rule over the day, and the moon to rule over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness.	17 And I, God, set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18 And the sun to rule over the day, and the moon to rule over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness;
22 And I, God, saw that all things which I had made were good.	and I, God, saw that all things which I had made were good;
23 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.	19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
24 And I, God, said: Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl which may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.	20 And I, God, said: Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl which may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
25 And I, God, created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind.	21 And I, God, created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind;
26 And I, God, saw that all things which I had created were good.	and I, God, saw that all things which I had created were good.
27 And I, God, blessed them, saying: Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the sea; and let fowl multiply in the earth.	22 And I, God, blessed them, saying: Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the sea; and let fowl multiply in the earth;
28 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.	23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
29 And I, God, said: Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their kind, and it was so.	24 And I, God, said: Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their kind, and it was so;
30 And I, God, made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and cattle after their kind, and everything which creepeth upon the earth after his kind.	25 And I, God, made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and cattle after their kind, and everything which creepeth upon the earth after his kind;
31 And I, God, saw that all these things were good.	and I, God, saw that all these things were good.
32 And I, God, said unto mine Only Begotten, which was with me from the beginning: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and it was so.	26 And I, God, said unto mine Only Begotten, which was with me from the beginning: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and it was so.
33 And I, God, said: Let them have dominion over the fishes of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.	And I, God, said: Let them have dominion over the fishes of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
34 And I, God, created man in mine own image, in the image of mine Only Begotten created I him; male and female created I them.	27 And I, God, created man in mine own image, in the image of mine Only Begotten created I him; male and female created I them.
35 And I, God, blessed them, and said unto them: Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.	28 And I, God, blessed them, and said unto them: Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
36 And I, God, said unto man: Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in the which shall be the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein I grant life, there shall be given every clean herb for meat; and it was so, even as I spake.	29 And I, God, said unto man: Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in the which shall be the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein I grant life, there shall be given every clean herb for meat; and it was so, even as I spake.
37 And I, God, saw everything that I had made, and, behold, all things which I had made were very good.	31 And I, God, saw everything that I had made, and, behold, all things which I had made were very good;
38 And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.	and the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Interpreting Scriptures After the Fact

Anyone who has studied US Supreme Court decisions is familiar with the major landmark decisions. In these cases the court had to consider how to apply the text of the constitution to situations that were not considered when it was written. Sometimes in these cases the text of the constitution takes on added meaning as the application and interpretation evolves to accommodate changes in the country.

The US constitution is not the only text whose interpretation has changed throughout history. The Bible has even more than the constitution been interpreted and reinterpreted throughout history. Sometimes to the point that the original meaning is lost or forgotten in the haze of history. Knowing that this happens is the first step towards a fuller and richer understanding of the scriptures. To illustrate this I will consider how we interpret Psalm 72.

In the LDS version of the Bible the chapter heading for Psalm 72 reads:

David speaks of Solomon, who is made a type of the Messiah—He will have dominion—His name will endure forever—All nations will call him blessed—The whole earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord.

For the most part this is an accurate summary of the psalm but the summary explicitly draws a link between Solomon and the Messiah. But if we read the text of the psalm and just consider the text itself there is absolutely nothing in it that makes this connection. There is no explanatory or parenthetical text that explicitly states that the purpose of the psalm is to create an archetype of the Messiah. Just considering the text, all we can surmise is that King David was extolling the virtues and glory of his son Solomon. By itself there is nothing to suggest that David was speaking of Solomon as "a type of the Messiah".

We also have no statement from David explaining that he intended the psalm to be interpreted as referring to the coming Messiah. So where did we get the idea that the purpose of the psalm was to describe the Kingship of the future Messiah?

When I started considering this question I wondered if this was peculiar LDS interpretation of the Bible or if it had a broader acceptance. As I looked up different commentaries of Psalm 72 I noticed that about half mentioned that particular interpretation. So this idea is not limited to the LDS world. The more I looked into it I could tell that the idea had been around for quite some time. But still I was interested in where it had originated.

I looked into Jewish commentaries on Psalm 72 and discovered that Jewish scholars of the 15th and 16th centuries wrote extensively about the coming "King Messiah" as described in Psalm 72. These scholars took their cue from medieval Jewish scholars of the 11th and 12th centuries, who in turn took their interpretations from earlier commentaries. The idea can be traced back to the 1st century BC with the first written version of the Targum, which was a series of spoken explanations given by a Rabbi to help people who didn't know Hebrew to understand the scriptures. Beyond that the source of this interpretation comes from the oral commentary passed down from one Rabbi to another. Thus we can only place the origin of this idea sometime before the 1st century BC.

So while the idea that Psalm 72 "was designed to refer ultimately to the Messiah" is over 2000 years old, we have absolutely no evidence that King David intended that psalm to be interpreted in that way. It is possible that he did intend it that way, but then again it is entirely possible that he was writing a psalm for the future coronation of King Solomon, and nothing more. I should point out that even though this interpretation has a long history, it is by no means universally accepted. It's not that some commentators reject it, they just never mention it, or only mention it in passing. It is treated as one of a number of possible interpretations.

So while the LDS chapter heading states, "David speaks of Solomon, who is made a type of the Messiah" there is nothing in the text to suggest that the original purpose was to make "a type of the Messiah". It is entirely possible that the psalm was written solely for King Solomon and later generations used it to describe the coming King Messiah, as many scholars now do.

When we read the scriptures we should keep in mind that our interpretation of certain passages may be different from the original intent. This is not to say later interpretations are wrong, but we should be careful not to impose a particular interpretation on the original authors that they may have never intended. When we remember this we can begin to have a fuller understanding of the scriptures and how we read and interpret them.