And God Said: Let There Be a Firmament...

The Creation account at the opening of The Book of Genesis is perhaps the most familiar portion of The Bible.

I have long believed that any advantage we have in life, be it whatsoever it may, was not meant to be conserved for the purpose of self-aggrandizement, but to be shared with our brothers and sisters that they too may be strengthened, that they too may know as we know, plan as we plan, prosper as we prosper. Or that they would do better even and, returning the favor, we would all be lifted up. I believe in open-source inspiration: Let all learn, or in the least, let all encounter and make decisions based on careful consideration and consultation.

So I will proceed to share what I believe my Father in Heaven has given me to understand. I will not, rest assured, disclose any miraculous manifestations (nor do I have any in the typical sense of divine revelations, i.e. Moses on Mount Sinai or Joseph Smith in the Sacred Grove). But I can read a text. I will ask the reader to consider this point: Familiarity breeds inattention to detail. When we are very familiar with something, for example, the Creation Account, our familiarity can lead us to overlook even astonishing details.

Point 1: God and The Spirit of God

In Genesis chapter 1, verses 1-2, we encounter Two Divine Beings:

(1) In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
(2) And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

I would share that the King James translators added two words to the second Deific expression such that in translation it reads "The Spirit of God". To be specific, the King James translators added the definite article the and the preposition of to indicate possession: The Spirit of God. The Hebrew reads simply "Ruakh Elohim" (remember, no capitalization in Hebrew, but I prefer to capitalize Deific titles in English). This expression, word for word, reads "Spirit God".

Consider what we are being told. Imagine that two students are standing at the end of a hall. You and I are having a conversation at the opposite end of the hallway. Then I say, "I would like to talk to that student." You reply, "Which one?" I say, "The tall one." Without saying that the other student is short or shorter I have as much as communicated that point by the way I chose to describe the other member of the pair.

Now with this point in mind, consider this: If both of these Divine Beings, "God" and "Spirit God" (translated to English as "The Spirit of God") bear the name-title "Elohim" ("Elohim" and "Ruakh Elohim"), but the second one is modified with the addition of "Spirit" ("Spirit Elohim" 'Spirit God'), the usage of the term "Spirit" with the second Elohim is as much as saying that the first Elohim is embodied. And thus Moses established the corporeality of God simply by his inspired use of the modifier "Spirit" along with "Elohim".

Point 2: God Commanded and God Obeyed

Consider what God says on Day 2 (Genesis 1:6-7):

(6) And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
(7) And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

I was so familiar with this inspired account, having been blessed to have been taught it as a child, that I had failed to realize what was going on here. When God said "Let there be a firmament...", He commanded that the firmament be made. Then we read that God "made" the firmament and "divided the waters", not that the firmament seemed to come together and the waters merely divided in response to His initial command, but that God actually went and made the firmament and divided the waters.

So I ask, "Did God command Himself?" God spoke a command, but was He speaking to Himself and commanding Himself to do something? I think not. God certainly did "speak", but to Whom? Well, we are told to Whom. Here I would defer to the Hebrew term: "Elohim" said "Let there be a firmament..." and "Elohim" went and "made" the firmament and "divided" the waters.

As it happens, God the Father bears the Hebrew name-title Elohim, which literally means 'Gods' or 'Deities', and literally at a minimum 3 Gods or 3 Deities. But His Firstborn Son also bears the same name-title, Elohim. The inspired usage of this most holy name does not end there as God, Elohim, calls all of His angel children "Elohim" collectively, and even all of us embodied angel children (mortal humans) does God call "Elohim" collectively as well. Consider the following passages that demonstrate this usage in Hebrew:

Psalm 82:1,6,8
(1) Elohim (The Premortal Son of Elohim) standeth in the congregations (or "churches") of El (singular of "God", specifically referring to The Father); He judgeth among the Elohim ("Gods", that is, "angels").
(6) I have said, Ye are Elohim ("Gods", that is, "mortal humans"); and all of you are children of the most High.
(8) Arise, O Elohim ("God", The Son, that is, "Rise from the Dead, O Elohim", referring to Christ's rising on the Third Day), judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.

John 1:1-2
(1) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with The God, and the Word was a God.
(2) This Same was in the beginning with The God.

Genesis 20:17
So Abraham prayed unto The Elohim ("The Father" is also referred to as "The Elohim"): and an Elohim ("The Premortal Son" is referred to simply as "Elohim") healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare.

With this in mind, what do we have in Genesis 1:6-7? We have God, "Elohim", The Father, commanding God, "Elohim", The Premortal Son, to create, and The Son does the will of The Father. This pattern is repeated throughout the Creation: (Genesis 1:14,16,17, 20,21,24-27)

(14) And Elohim said, Let there be lights in the firmament
(16) And Elohim made two great lights...
(17) And Elohim set them in the firmament of the heaven...

(20) And Elohim said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life...
(21) And Elohim created great whales, and every living creature that moveth...

(24) And Elohim said, Let the earth bring earth bring forth the living creature after his kind...
(25) And Elohim made the beast of the earth after his kind...

(26) And Elohim said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness...
(27) So Elohim created man in His image, in the image of Elohim created He him; male and female created He them.

I wish to draw the reader to the creation of man. Elohim, The Father, the Same who has been presiding over the great work of creation says, and now it is clearer than ever, to Elohim, His Firstborn Son, the Same who from His mortal birth on has been known to the world as Jesus Christ: Let "us" make man. Inasmuch as we are God's children, it is evident that for this final act of creation, God The Father Himself would create mankind, albeit with the assistance of His Son.

In the King James we read "So God created man in His own image..." The word "own" was added by the translators, but I believe that there may have been no need to add this modifier, and that the addition is slightly misleading. Elohim, God, created man in His image, in the image of His Firstborn Son, and His Firstborn Son was in the image of The Father. The addition of the word "own" misdirects the reader's understanding, namely, that God The Father did create man in His image, but that The Father had already created His Son in His image, and man was likewise made in the Firstborn Son's image.

Now, I realize that some, perhaps all, may see this latter point, or all of my points, as James' fanciful speculation. My fellow Latter-day Saints have The Book of Moses to compare Genesis 1:27. So how was the same passage rendered by the prophet Joseph Smith when by revelation he restored Genesis to its fuller, ancient but long-lost version? (Moses 2:27)

(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.

Ever since my mission I had been aware that in Genesis The Father had addressed The Son about their creating man, "Let us make man in our image...", but I had not seen the clear antecedents in that selfsame chapter, namely, that God had not commanded Himself to create and then complied with His own command, but that God, Elohim, The Father, had commanded God, Elohim, His Son, to create, and each time The Son complied, God saw that "it was good."

Point 3: Hebrew Matthew and Elohim or The Son of God

This next point is controversial, but there is some evidence to suggest that The Gospel According to Matthew was originally written in Hebrew. Ancient Christian scholars mention a Hebrew Matthew, but if there had been such a document, it was lost long ago. But as it happens, Rabbis had preserved The Gospel According to Matthew in Hebrew. Not all scholars agree, but I personally (and I am not alone) see one such document called "Shem Tov" after the Rabbi who was found to possess it, as a vestige of the Hebrew Matthew. I will compare our Gospel According to Matthew to the Shem Tov Hebrew Matthew:

Matthew 1:23
KJV: Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
ST: Behold, the young maiden is conceiving and shall bear a son, and thou shalt call his name Emmanuel, that is, with us is Elohim.

Matthew 3:3
KJV: For this is he that was spoken of, by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
ST: To fulfill what was said by Isaiah, the prophet: A voice of one crying in the desert prepare the way of Jehovah, make straight in the wilderness a path for our Elohim.

Matthew 4:3-4,6-7
KJV: And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee...
ST: The tempter drew near and said unto him: If thou art Son of Elohim (no article "the" with "Son"), say that these stones should turn into bread. Jesus answered and said unto him: It is written: Not by bread alone... And said unto him: If thou art Elohim, jump down, for it is written, He hath commanded his angels regarding thee...

Now some scholars have read these passages and many others and have reached the conclusion that Shem Tov, or some predecessor, translated Matthew to Hebrew himself, and made careless or deliberate mistakes. What these scholars were unaware of is that in the Hebrew of the patriarchs and prophets, "Elohim" was a name-title referring to The Father or to The Premortal Son, and the context made it clear who was who, as when Elohim (The Father) commanded and Elohim (The Premortal Son) obeyed.

I see in Shem Tov not a deliberate distortion but the preservation of the oldest Biblical usage of the Deific title "Elohim" as "The Son". I suggest that when Matthew was translated from its original Hebrew to Greek and Aramaic, in each instance for audiences somewhat or entirely unfamiliar with the older usage of "Elohim" as "The Premortal Son" (in addition to "Elohim" as "The Father"), the translators added the words "the Son of" to "God" in order to avoid confusion: If thou art Elohim...: If thou art the Son of God...

Point 4: The Book of Mormon Preserves the Oldest Pre-Babylonian Usage of "Elohim" as both The Father and The Son, Albeit Via English Translation as "God"/"A God"

The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, preserves the oldest usage of "Elohim" as "The Father" and "Elohim" as "The Premortal Son". Without familiarity with this usage, certain passages seem obscure. I would direct the reader to examine the following passages, though they are only a few of many such passages:

Mosiah 15:1

(1) And now Abinadi said unto them: I would that ye should understand that God [*Elohim, "The Son"] himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people.

Alma 30:37-40
(37) And then Alma said unto him: Believest thou that there is a God ["an Elohim", "The Premortal Son"]?
(38) And he answered, Nay.
(39) Now Alma said unto him: Will ye deny again that there is a God ["an Elohim", "The Premortal Son"], and also deny the Christ ["The Son of God" as He shall be known in mortality]? For behold, I say unto you, I know there is a God ["an Elohim", "The Premortal Son"], and also that Christ shall come.
(40) And now what evidence have ye that there is no God ["Elohim", "The Premortal Son"], or that Christ cometh not? I say unto you that ye have none, save it be your word only.

Alma 30:53
(53) But behold, the devil hath deceived me; for he appeared unto me in the form an an angel, and said unto me: Go and reclaim this people, for they have all gone astray after an unknown God ["an Elohim", "The Premortal Son"]. And he said unto me: There is no God ["Elohim", "The Premortal Son"].

Point 5: A Book of Mormon Correlation, By Joseph Smith

I have examined the Biblical usage of "Elohim" as "The Father" and "Elohim" as "The Premortal Son of God". I would place one more point for consideration. That Joseph Smith dictated The Book of Mormon in several lengthy sessions is incontrovertible fact. The debate lies not in whether he dictated it, but in what the source of the dictation was. However, after The Book of Mormon was published, Joseph Smith, now with the benefit of a printed text, typeset by the printer, made corrections, mostly in punctuation and sometimes spelling. Many of these corrections reversed errors the printer had made when copying the handwritten Book of Mormon and creating the typeset version. In other instances Joseph Smith made changes to passages that were clear in the underlying Hebrew, read straightforward enough in English translation, however, given, for example, the modern understanding of the term "God", a misunderstanding could arise. Take these two passages in The Book of Mormon, 1830 edition:

1 Nephi 11:18
(1830) And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of God ["Elohim", "The Son"], after the manner of the flesh.
(JS Clarification) And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God.

1 Nephi 11:32
(1830) And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the everlasting God ["Elohim", "The Son"] was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record.
(JS Clarification) And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world: and I saw and bear record.

Conclusion

Before His birth in the flesh, our Savior Jesus Christ already lived, He was the Firstborn Son of God in the spirit, and He did the will of His Father in all things. He was blessed to carry the same name-title as His Father, "Elohim", and the Old Testament and Book of Mormon prophets used the sacred name-title Elohim to refer to either The Father or The Son. After the death of the Apostles the usage evolved such that "Elohim" came to be seen exclusively as "The Father", even though the Old Testament Hebrew texts testify of The Son of God from Genesis chapter 1 on. If the reader ponders this point and applies heart and mind to turn this issue to God, the reader will see The Old Testament as "The First Testament of The Premortal Jesus Christ." The reader will also see that although Joseph Smith may have been completely unaware of the ancient usage of "Elohim", at least when The Book of Mormon was published, the presence of this most sacred Hebraism throughout The Book of Mormon merits attention. Clearly, the reader is at liberty to draw different conclusions, but hopefully even the skeptical reader will consider this: everything I have shared here today is actually textual.

One last point: In Genesis chapter 1 God says "it is good" eight times in response to His Son's acts of creation. The Son of God is described as performing 10 tasks to fulfill His Father's role. I put it to the reader that 8 is the number of "covenant" (Jews circumcised at the age of 8 days, and baptism was performed no sooner than the age of 8), and 10 refers to the commandments of God ("The Ten Commandments", "The Ten Beatitudes"). Leaving aside the possible significations of the numbers of these occurrences, certainly the stand out feature is God The Father calling all the actions of His Son to fulfill His will "good". Look now at what The Book of Mormon prophet wrote about the words the prophet Nephi recorded: (2 Nephi 32:10)

And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good.

Indeed. We should all do good exactly how Christ did on earth, exactly how "God" (The Son) did prior to His birth on earth.

Have a blessed Sabbath, The Lord's Day.