Thursday, November 21, 2019

Brant Gardner on Jacob Teaching Enos "In His Language"



Behold, it came to pass that I, Enos, knowing my father that he was a just man—for he taught me in his language, and also in the nurture and admonition of the Lord—and blessed be the name of my God for it. (Enos 1:1)

Commenting on Jacob teaching Enos “in his language” Brant Gardner wrote:

It is curious that Enos explains that his father taught him in the language of his father and in the ways of the Lord. We can readily understand the second idea, for we also strive to teach our children the ways of the Lord. What is less clear is why Jacob would have to teach Enos his “language.” Nephi stated that he has been “taught somewhat in all the learning of my father . . . The language of my father . . . consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians” (1 Ne. 1:1-2). While this seems to be a parallel statement, the difference is that Enos specifically mentions being taught in the language where Nephi writes in the “language of my father.”

I suggest that Enos is literally speaking about learning Jacob’s language. Obviously, he is not talking simply about the unconscious way in which all toddlers absorb grammar and vocabulary from their parents. One possible reason for this statement is to indicate that Jacob taught him the language of the Old World (Hebrew) because the Nephites are now speaking a different language. This interpretation is appropriate, even likely, given the Nephites’ linguistic adaptation to a new location. But a second and more likely meaning is that Jacob taught Enos the writing system (Egyptian) that he would need for his record on the plates. Regardless of the spoken language, the plates require a specific script and vocabulary, modelled after the brass plates. (Brant A. Gardner, Second Witness: Analytical and Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Volume 3: Enos Through Mosiah [Draper, Utah: Greg Kofford Books, 2007], 6-7)

Further Reading