Jan 25-Feb 1 : Sharper than a Two-edged Sword (D&C 6)

This week, I decided to look in (a LOT of ) detail at the Hebrew background to one phrase in D&C 6: 'sharper than a two-edged sword.'

Doctrine and Covenants 6:2 Behold, I am God; give heed unto my word, which is quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, to the dividing asunder of both joints and marrow; therefore give heed unto my words.

3 Behold, the field is white already to harvest; therefore, whoso desireth to reap, let him thrust in his sickle with his might, and reap while the day lasts, that he may treasure up for his soul everlasting salvation in the kingdom of God.

4 Yea, whosoever will thrust in his sickle and reap, the same is called of God.

Where does the metaphor of God’s word as “sharper than a two-edged sword” come from and what does it mean? 

The immediate sources for these words are two verses from the New Testament, which all of Joseph Smith’s friends and family would have recognized:

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Rev 1:16  And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

So why a TWO-EDGED sword?

If you say that something is a double-edged sword, you mean that it has positive effects as well as negative effects. 

A sword is a ROD of IRON, an expensive piece of metal which could be beaten into a sword in times of war, into plowshare or pruning hook (scythe) in time of peace. (see below for the PLOWSHARE].

[ see  Isa 11:3-4 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.]

But, both Paul, in Hebrews, and John, in Revelation, were using a well-known metaphor from the Old Testament.  See for example, Psalm 149:6, Proverbs 5:4, Job 1:15.  What you cannot tell from the English, is what the original metaphor was in Hebrew.  Most of the time, the word “edge” – when used of a sword – translates the Hebrew word,  פֶּה peh or MOUTH, probably from the image of TEETH, which are sharp and biting. So if you have a TOOTHED sword, it logically comes out of your mouth.

Interestingly, the Mayans/Aztecs in Central America – where IRON is scarce - used WOODEN swords with extremely sharp obsidian “teeth” embedded in both edges.

Let’s look more closely at the Hebrew of some of these OT verses.

Proverbs 5:4  חַדָּה כְּחֶרֶב פִּיּֽוֹת

Pro 5:4 But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged [פִּיּֽוֹת peyote  feminine plural] sword.

 

Job 1:15  לְפִי־חָרֶב

Job 1:15 And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge [לְפִי l’pey] of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

Psalm 149 is particularly interesting because the English translation has both a word for MOUTH (for the HB גְרוֹנָם garonim which actually means “throat, gargle; to roar or shout) and ‘twoedged” for the HB ,  פֶּה peh or MOUTH)

Psalm 149:6 וֹמְמוֹת אֵל בִּגְרוֹנָם וְחֶרֶב פִּֽיפִיּוֹת בְּיָדָֽם׃

Psa 149:6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth   [גְרוֹנָם ], and a twoedged [פִּֽיפִיּוֹת : peypeyot : peh here is doubled and then made plural] sword in their hand;

Sometimes the word “twoedged” is not an adjective, but the MOUTH still gets referenced in describing God’s (or a prophet’s) sword. This is particularly true of poetic portions of the OT.

Isa 49:2  And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft (or arrow); in his quiver hath he hid me;

The psalmist (David?) in Psa 57:4  uses alliteration – ch repeated 4 times- (like Neal A Maxwell) in describing teeth as weapons, tongue as sword.

Psa 57:4  My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears  [חֲנִ֣ית  chaniyth ] and arrows [  חִצִּ֑ים chetsim] , and their tongue a sharp [  חַדָּֽה  chadah ] sword  [ חֶ֣רֶב  chereb].

Psa 64:3  Who whet (sharpen) their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:

Psa 89:43 Thou hast also turned the edge [ צ֣וּר   tsuwr  rock, sharp, edge] of his sword, and hast not made him to stand in the battle

Isa 1:20  But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured [תְּאֻכְּל֔וּ   אָכַל   'akal  to eat or devour]  with the sword [חֶ֣רֶב    חֶרֶב    chereb] : for the mouth [פִּ֥י     פֶּה   peh]    of the LORD hath spoken it.

SWORDS, PLOWSHARES AND PRUNING HOOKS

Statue : sword into plowshare : 1957 : Evgeniy Viktorovitch Vuchetich; United Nations north garden area; UN, NY, NY.

What is the connection between the SWORD and the PLOW?  Plowshare is an old-fashioned way of talking about the hard metal tip attached to a wooden plow allowing it to break earth more effectively.

Remember, a sword is made from a ROD of IRON, an expensive piece of metal which could be beaten into a sword in times of war, then back into a plowshare or pruning hook (scythe) in time of peace

Isa 2:2-5  And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.  And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

Or Joel’s opposite warning to the wicked:

Joel 3:10  Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks [אֵת ʼêth, ayth ] into spears: . . .

 אֵת ʼêth, ayth; of uncertain derivation; a hoe or other digging implement:—coulter (vertical blade ahead of the plow tip which cuts into the furrow), plowshare.

This is an interesting Hebrew word: it is spelled the same as את, or ote which means sign, ensign, miracle, plague.  It is spelled with two letters: aleph which is the FIRST letter of the HB alphabet, and tav, which is the LAST letter of the HB alphabet.  The first and the last, in GK alpha and omega.

MIRRORING GOD'S ACTIONS 

Doctrine and Covenants 6:2 Behold, I am God; give heed unto my word, which is quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, to the dividing asunder of both joints and marrow; therefore give heed unto my words.

3 Behold, the field is white already to harvest; therefore, whoso desireth to reap, let him thrust in his sickle with his might, and reap while the day lasts, that he may treasure up for his soul everlasting salvation in the kingdom of God.

4 Yea, whosoever will thrust in his sickle and reap, the same is called of God.

Notice that God is using a sharp, two edged sword to HARVEST souls.  ALL will be CUT, but the covenant-keeping wheat is brought into the storehouse and the disobedient tares will be CUT OFF and cast into the fire.

One of the purposes of D&C 6 is to say that whosoever wants to help God is welcome to step into the field which is white and use their own blade/tool/weapon to assist with the harvest.  Remember, the TEMPLE is the storehouse (literally, in the OT, foods - tithes and free-will offerings - were stored inside the temple walls to feed the people in times of FAMINE, PESTILENCE, or WAR).

CUTTING COVENANT WITH A TWO-EDGED SWORD

In Hebrew, the verb karat (כָּרַ֧ת )- meaning to make or seal a covenant - translates literally as "to cut".

2 NEPHI 4:4 For the Lord God hath said that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; and inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence.

Covenants in biblical times were often sealed by killing and cutting up an animal, with the implication that the party who breaks the covenant will suffer a similar fate (see  Jer 16:4  They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.).

(See also Deu 28:20  The LORD shall send upon thee cursing . . .

21  The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee

22  The LORD shall smite thee  . . . the sword

23  And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron. (FAMINE)

25 The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies:

26 And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away.)

When God offers His covenant, His words become like a two-edged sword, whose edges represent Blessings and Mercy to those who accept and live His commandments, or Cursings and Justice to those who choose iniquity.

In the Old Testament,  Isaiah uses powerful metaphors of this offered BLESSING / CURSING.   Objects can either bless or curse you, depending upon your choices. “[T]he rod of his mouth . . . (Isa 11:4)” becomes either a cursed sword, or a blessed plowshare. In ancient times, the same expensive metal rod was beaten into a sword in times of war, then into a plowshare or pruning hook (scythe) in time of peace

BLESSING / CURSING in ISAIAH

When my daughter, Heather, was a student at BYU, she studied Isaiah with Victor Ludlow, who required students to create a special project as the final exam.  Heather chose to make a book of verses from Isaiah, illustrating objects with interesting textured paper.  If you read the book from left to right – the English way – the verses depict curses upon the wicked.  If you read the book from right to left – the HEBREW way – the same objects become covenant blessings.  After the class ended, Heather gave me the book: I treasure it.

Here are some of the objects /verses she contrasts:

WATER

+  Isa 44:3  For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:

-         Isa 28:2   as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand.

 LIGHT

+ Isa 60:20  . . . the LORD shall be thine everlasting light,

-         Isa 10:16-17 Therefore shall the Lord. . . kindle a burning like the burning of a fire . . .  and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour . . . in one day;

 

PEACE

+ Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born . . . and his name shall be called . . .The Prince of Peace.  Isa Isa 32:17  And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever.

-         Isa 48:22  There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.

 The title of the book, written in Hebrew, is בְּכָל־זֹאת לֹא־שָׁב אַפּוֹ וְעוֹד יָדוֹ נְטוּיָֽה  (. . . For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.  Isa 5:25)

In 2017, the Ensign had a 2-page spread about 2-edged swords. 

Extra post for Jan 18-24 Knight Family in Church History

Since I am a Knight descendant (along with something like 45K other Mormons), I love to see how this amazing family supported Joseph and Emma and the entire cause of Zion.

There is a new Knight Family Website where you can go to find detailed information on the Knights and their contributions to the early Church.  Thanks to those who got the website up just in time to dovetail our family history with church history study.

For example, the story about Joseph Smith using the Knight wagon to get the gold plates fits perfectly into family scripture study this week. It's found on the new family website under "Knights in the D&C" and even has an easy art project for kids.

Other timely stories include the generosity of Joseph Knight in giving the Smiths food and foolscap paper for the translation of the Book of Mormon, and Newell learning to pray.

Fool's cap watermark giving paper it's name

One of the remaining pages from the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon. Placed inside the cornerstone of the Nauvoo House in 1841 by Joseph Smith. Significant water damage has destroyed the majority of the text, making the printer's manuscript - a copy used by Grandin - the oldest version we have.

After refusing to pray out loud with Joseph Smith and others, Newell left a prayer meeting in April, 1830, and went home. What happened next has been referred to as the 'first miracle' in the new church. Use your discretion to decide if your children are old enough to not be frightened by this story.

Joseph Smith wrote about it and this was printed in the History of the Church (the navy blue volumes taken from JS diaries), Vol. 1, pages 82-84.

"Amongst those who attended our meetings regularly, was Newel Knight, son of Joseph Knight. He and I had many serious conversations on the important subject of man's eternal salvation. We had got into the habit of praying much at our meetings, and Newel had said that he would try and take up his cross, and pray vocally during meeting; but when we again met together, he rather excused himself.

"I tried to prevail upon him, making use of the figure, supposing that he should get into a mud-hole, would he not try to help himself out? And I further said that we were willing now to help him out of the mud-hole. He replied, that provided he had got into a mud-hole through carelessness, he would rather wait and get out himself, than to have others help him; and so he would wait until he could get into the woods by himself, and there he would pray.

"Accordingly, he deferred praying until next morning, when he retired into the woods; where, according to his own account afterwards, he made several attempts to pray, but could scarcely do so, feeling that he had not done his duty, in refusing to pray in the presence of others.

"He began to feel uneasy, and continued to feel worse both in mind and body, until, upon reaching his own house, his appearance was such as to alarm his wife very much. He requested her to go and bring me to him. I went and found him suffering very much in his mind, and his body acted upon in a very strange manner; his visage and limbs distorted and twisted in every shape and appearance possible to imagine; and finally he was caught up off the floor of the apartment, and tossed about most fearfully.

"His situation was soon made known to his neighbors and relatives and in a short time as many as eight or nine grown persons had got together to witness the scene. After he had thus suffered for a time, I succeeded in getting hold of him by the hand, when almost immediately he spoke to me, and with great earnestness requested me to cast the devil out of him, saying that he knew he was in him, and that he also knew that I could cast him out.

"I replied, "If you know that I can, it shall be done," and then almost unconsciously I rebuked the devil, and commanded him in the name of Jesus Christ to depart from him; when immediately Newel spoke out and said that he saw the devil leave him and vanish from his sight.

"This was the first miracle which was done in the Church, or by any member of it; and it was done, not by man, nor by the power of man, but it was done by God, and by the power of godliness; therefore, let the honor and the praise, the dominion and the glory, be ascribed to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.

"This scene was now entirely changed, for as soon as the devil had departed from our friend, his countenance became natural, his distortions of body ceased, and almost immediately the Spirit of the Lord descended upon him, and the visions of eternity were opened to his view.  So soon as consciousness returned, his bodily weakness was such that we were obliged to lay him upon his bed, and wait upon him for some time.  He afterwards related his experience as follows:

"I now began to feel a most pleasing sensation resting on me, and immediately the visions of heaven were opened to my view.  I felt myself attracted upward, and remained for some time enwrapt in contemplation, insomuch that I knew not what was going on in the room. By and by I felt some weight pressing upon my shoulder and the side of my head, which served to recall me to a sense of my situation, and found that the Spirit of the Lord had actually caught me up off the floor, and that my shoulder and head were pressing against the beams.

"All this was witness by many, to their great astonishment and satisfaction.(History of the Church, 1:82-3)"

January 18–24 Doctrine and Covenants 3–5

 

[This print hangs in front entrance hall of our home.  We bought it 35+ years ago at the Springville Art Museum, where we saw the original on display.  Without taking it out of the frame, I cannot tell you the artist or the title.  And a Google search has failed to find either.  If YOU KNOW who drew this - it is done in pastels - please let me know.]

This week you will get my ramblings and random thoughts as I read through these three sections.  Some of the very earliest revelations that Joseph received, and yet great insights.  My notes will be in this typeface: quotes will be in other typefaces.

I love how each of these revelations BUILDS upon the previous one: be sure to read them all, in order from 3 to 4 to 5 at one sitting.

 Doctrine and Covenants 3

Amazing to me that D&C 3, the EARLIEST revelation written down by (or for) Joseph, is severely critical of his mistakes.  Only about 24 years old at the time and living in poverty, Joseph appears to have felt he needed the moral and financial support of the (relatively) wealthy Martin Harris in order to get the Book of Mormon translated and published. And so, he handed over the 117 pages.

At the same time that Martin took the 116 pages, Emma gave birth to Smiths’ firstborn, a son.

“Sophia Lewis reportedly said that she was present at the birth and that the baby was stillborn. Lucy Mack Smith, not present at the birth, wrote that the baby “was very soon snatched from her [Emma’s] arms and borne aloft to the world of spirits.” Although the birth and death of this baby are recorded in JS’s family Bible under the name of “Alvin Smith,” this information was recorded in the Bible decades after the event by someone other than JS or Emma. The baby’s gravestone does not give him a name but reads, “An Infant Son of Joseph and Emma Smith.” “

Headstone : Photo, George Anderson, 1907

The childbirth and loss of the baby almost killed Emma.  It was only 3 weeks later that she encouraged Joseph to go find Martin Harris and the irreplaceable translation she had write down.

D&C 3:2   . . . his paths are straight. . .

Many times in scripture, the straight (or strait) path seems to refer to the path through the Israelite temple taken by the high priest as he carries the blood of the sacrifice from the altar in the courtyard, through the holy place and, through the veil, into the holy of holies on the Day of Atonement.  These three regions of the temple can symbolize the three degrees of glory seen in D&C 76.

Christ walked that path, offering his own blood as the telestial sacrifice and, dying, he entered the terrestrial spirit world, a copy of Eden, where he set the prisoners of death free and organized the work for the dead. Then, Easter morning, after speaking with Mary in the garden, he returned to his celestial home to report to his heavenly parents.

D&C 3:2   . . . and his course is one eternal round.

And so is ours.  With Christ, we were first spirits in the celestial world with our heavenly parents.  At birth, we take upon ourselves physical bodies, which spend the first years in terrestrial innocence, not being held responsible for sin.  At baptism, we are born again into a telestial world where we come to know – and learn to choose – good over evil.

At death, we reverse the path, following Christ back home, completing the eternal round.

D&C 3:6  And behold, how oft you have transgressed the commandments and the laws of God, and have gone on in the persuasions of men.

7 For, behold, you should not have feared man more than God. Although men set at naught the counsels of God, and despise his words—

8 Yet you should have been faithful; and he would have extended his arm and supported you against all the fiery darts of the adversary; and he would have been with you in every time of trouble.

 

Words for all of us.

 

D&C 3 : 9 Behold, thou art [insert your own name here] and thou wast chosen to do the work of the Lord, but because of transgression, if thou art not aware thou wilt fall.

10 But remember, God is merciful; therefore, repent of that which thou hast done which is contrary to the commandment which I gave you, and thou art still chosen, and art again called to the work;

11 Except thou do this, thou shalt be delivered up and become as other men, and have no more gift.

 

Just like Joseph Smith, we have each been chosen to come to earth in this day and accomplish a great work as a part of God’s kingdom on earth.  Refer to your patriarchal blessing for detail of your own responsibilities. 

 

And, at times, we each fail to live up to our callings.

 

When that happens, remember verse 10: God is merciful.  Just repent and get back on the path you were chosen to follow.  The only alternative is to give up on the work we are called to do, give up on our covenants, give up on one another, give up on the dream and become like everyone else. 

 

D&C 3 : 19  . . . that the promises of the Lord might be fulfilled, which he made to his people;

20 And that [all humanity] might come to the knowledge of their fathers, and that they might know the promises of the Lord, and that they may believe the gospel and rely upon the merits of Jesus Christ, and be glorified through faith in his name, and that through their repentance they might be saved. Amen.

 

The reason YOU were called to do God’s work was that His promises might be fulfilled:  That ALL people might hear and hearken and be saved by their merciful Savior. 

 

D&C 76: 40 And this is the gospel, the glad tidings, which the voice out of the heavens bore record unto us—

41 That he came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness;

42 That through him all might be saved whom the Father had put into his power and made by him;

43 Who glorifies the Father, and saves all the works of his hands, except those sons of perdition who deny the Son after the Father has revealed him.

44 Wherefore, he saves all . . . .

 

 Doctrine and Covenants 4

Six months after receiving D&C 3, and after recovering the plates and Urim &Thummim which had been taken because Joseph disregarded God’s counsel, Joseph Knight, Senior, felt prompted to help.  [NOTE: the Knights were later the third family to join the church and are among my ancestors]. 

“ Joseph Knight Sr., another early supporter of JS, wrote that Joseph Sr. and Samuel Smith stopped at his home in Colesville, New York, in January 1829 before going on to visit JS and Emma Smith. “I told him [Joseph Smith Sr.] they had traviled far enough,” Knight wrote, “[and] I would go with my sley and take them Down [to Harmony] to morrow[.] I went Down and found them well and the[y] were glad to see us[.] we conversed about many things. in the morning I gave the old man a half a Dollar and Joseph a little money to Buoy [buy] paper to translate.” JS had apparently not translated since June 1828, and Knight’s provision of paper may have allowed him to resume translation. Within weeks of Knight’s visit, JS began translating again, with Emma, Samuel, and Martin Harris each acting briefly as scribe.” [from Joseph Smith’s Revelations: A Doctrine and Covenants Study Companion from the Joseph Smith Papers  https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/church-historians-press/jsp-revelations/dc-004-1829_02_01_005?lang=eng  ]

 

And this brings us to D&C 4 : words of counsel, originally to Joseph Smith’s father, but, also to all who are called to the work.

 

D&C 4: 1 Now behold, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men.

2 Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.

3 Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work;

4 For behold the field is white already to harvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul;

5 And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work.

6 Remember faith, virtue ,knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence.

7 Ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Amen.

 

We do not know how extensive J.Smith, Snr.’s missionary efforts were, but we do know that after returning home from his visit with his son and the reception of this revelation, Father Smith finally began to tell Oliver Cowdery about his son’s visions and the project of translating the gold plates.  This one convert changed everything : the translation resumed and was finished in only a couple of months.

 

Harvesting in France, James Harwood

Doctrine and Covenants 5

Great blessings are offered to those who will hear the words of dedicated servants:

 

D&C 5: 16 And behold, whosoever believeth on my words, them will I visit with the manifestation of my Spirit; and they shall be born of me, even of water and of the Spirit.