Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Jerry D. Grover on the Use of Plural "Things" in Mosiah 13:12 vs. "Thing" singular in Exodus 13:12

  

The citing of the Ten Commandments included the instruction on graven images (Mosiah 13:12), essentially mirroring that found in Exodus 20:4, with the difference that Exodus indicates the “likeness of any thing” as opposed to the plural form “of things”:

 

Mosiah 13:12

 

And now, ye remember that I said unto you: Thou shall not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of things which are in heaven above, or which are in the earth beneath, or which are in the water under the earth.

 

Although use of the plural may not be precisely definitive of a set of Maya gods, it is a unique match for all of the god manifestations associated with the Maya New Year, namely, Itzamna (sky god), Pawahtuns (wind gods), Bacabs (skybearers who stand on the earth), and Mams (gods of the earth and waters under the earth).

 

Abinadi’s prophecies in the context of the Maya ritual directly challenged and threatened the authority and power of Noah and his priests, especially given the fact that Abinadi was likely a priest himself. As Landa indicated, when no calamity happened it was on account of the services of the Maya priests; but, when misfortunes came, it was blamed on some sin or fault in the ritual services or in those who performed them. Abinadi’s prophecies were in line with the calamities that the performance of the New Year Bearer ritual was supposed to prevent. If Abinadi’s prophecies were correct, than the fault lay directly with Noah and his priests and Abinadi thus became a direct challenge to their authority, especially given the fact that one of the Maya prophecies was that there would be a change in the rule of the current lords and priests. (Jerry D. Grover, Jr., Evidence of the Nehor Religion in Mesoamerica [Provo, Utah: Challex Scientific Publishing, 2017], 26)

 

 Further Reading:


Shon D. Hopkin on the Textual Variant between Exodus 20:3 and Mosiah 12:35