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.
unto Noah this is the token of the covenent which I have established between me and thee for all flesh that shall be upon the earth and the sons of Noah that went forth of the Ark were Shem and Ham and Japheth and Ham was the father Canaan these were the three sons of Noah and of them was the whole earth overspread and Noah began to till the earth and he was an husband man and he planted a vineyard and he drank of the wine and was drunken and he was uncovered within his tent and Ham the father Canaan saw the nakedness of his father and told his breatheren without and Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid upon both their shoulders and went backward and they saw not their fathers nakedness and Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his younger son had done unto him, and he said cursed be Canaan a Servent of servents shall he be unto his breatheren and he said blessed be the Lord God of Shem and Canaan shall be his servent and a vail of darkness shall cover him that he shall be known among all men God shall enlarge Japheth and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem and Canaan shall be his servent and Noah lived after the flood three Hundred and fifty years and all the days of Noah were nine Hundred and fifty years and he died
Chapter 9
Now these were the generations of the sons of Noah Shem Ham and Japheth and unto them were sons born after the flood the sons of Japheth Gomer and Magog. Madai and Javan and tubal and Meshech and Tiras and the sons of Gomar Ashkenaz and Riphath and Togarmah and the sons of Javan Elishah and Tarshish Kittim Dodanim by these were the Isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands every one after the same toungue after their families in their nations. And the Sons of Ham Cush and Mizraim and Phut and Canaan and the sons of Cush Seba and Havilah and Sabtah and Raamah and Sabtecha and the Sons of Raamah Sheba Dedan. And Cush begat Nimrod he began to be a mighty one in the earth he was a mighty hunter in the land wherefore it is said even as Nimrod the mighty hunter in the land and he began a kingdom, and the begining of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh in the land of Shinar out of that land went fourth Ashur and builded Ninevah and the City Rehoboth, and Calah, and Resen between Ninevah and Calah the same was a great City and Mizraim begat Ludim and Anamim and Lehabim and Naphtuhim and Pathrusim and Casluhim out of whom came [p. 25]
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