Bible Central

  • Book & Chapter Guides
  • Reference Overviews
    • People of the Bible
    • Places of the Bible
    • Topic Guides
    • Library
    • Bibliography
  • Media
Menu
  • Book & Chapter Guides
  • Reference Overviews
    • People of the Bible
    • Places of the Bible
    • Topic Guides
    • Library
    • Bibliography
  • Media
Search
Close

Moses 1

 / Reference Overviews / Library / 

Moses 1

Book

Old Testament Cultural Insights

Avram Shannon

Loading...

Contents

An Ancient Concept of Heredity
Angels
Authorship
Babylon
Beth-el
The Book of Leviticus
Camels
Categories of Animals
Cherubim
Child Sacrifice in the Old Testament
Circumcision
Deferential Speech
Esau and Edom
Firmament
Giants
Glory of the Lord
Gopher Wood
Hebrew
Hospitality
Introduction to Genesis
The Mark and Curse of Cain
Matzebot
Meaning of the Name Isaac
Melchizedek
Moab
Moses 1
Names and Covenants: Abraham and Sarah
Names of God
Polygamy
Pottage
Satan
Shekel
Shinar
Slavery
Sons of God
Soul
Symbolic Meaning of the Name Adam
Symbolic Meaning of the Name Eve
Symbolic Meaning of the Name Noah
Tree of Life
Tribe of Asher
Tribe of Benjamin
Tribe of Dan
Tribe of Gad
Tribe of Issachar
Tribe of Naphtali
Twelve Tribes of Israel
Urim and Thummim
Loading...

Contents

An Ancient Concept of Heredity
Angels
Authorship
Babylon
Beth-el
The Book of Leviticus
1 2 … 8 Next »
Avram Shannon, “Moses 1,” in Old Testament Cultural Insights, ed. Taylor Halverson (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2022).

The title “Book of Moses” is not the original name for the material from the Joseph Smith Translation of Genesis that appears in our Pearl of Great Price, but it is used as a convenient title. The original edition of the Pearl of Great Price was published in 1851 by Elder Franklin D. Richards of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In that edition, there was no book of Moses as such. Instead, Elder Richards included two distinct extracts from the Joseph Smith Translation.

The first was called “Extracts from the Prophecy of Enoch, containing also a Revelation of the Gospel unto our father Adam, after he was driven out from the Garden of Eden” and contained what is now in Moses 6:43–7:69. The second of the two extracts was entitled “The words of God, which he spake unto Moses at the time when Moses was caught up into an exceeding high mountain, and he saw God face to face, and he talked with him, and the glory of God was upon Moses; therefore Moses could endure His presence.” This extract contained what is now in Moses 1:1–4:19, 22–25; 5:1–16, 19–23, 32–40; and 8:13–30. The entire book of Moses as we think of it today was not present in the original Pearl of Great Price.

When he prepared the 1878 edition of the Pearl of Great Price, Elder Orson Pratt of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles put the material from the Joseph Smith Translation into the Pearl of Great Price in the form that we have it today. Moses 1 was organized as a separate document called “The Visions of Moses,” while the rest of the material was contained under the heading “The Writings of Moses.” (This is incidentally how the Community of Christ organizes the first chapters of the Joseph Smith Translation to this day.)

When James E. Talmage prepared a new edition in 1902, he collected all the Joseph Smith Translation Genesis material under one heading, which he called “The Book of Moses.” This title stood until the preparation of the 1981 edition, when the title was changed to “Selections from the Book of Moses.” This change was to reflect the fact that what we call the book of Moses was an extract of the Joseph Smith Translation of Genesis and not a complete scriptural work. This is the title of the book to this day, although we still reference it as the book of Moses for convenience. As readers of this wonderful book, it is worth remembering that it is only one part of Joseph Smith’s larger work of translating the Bible.

Related Verses

Moses 1

Site Links

  • Chapter Guides
  • Reference Works
  • Media
  • About
  • Donate
  • Donor FAQ

BMC Ecosystem

  • Scripture Plus
  • Book of Mormon Central
  • Doctrine and Covenants Central
  • Pearl of Great Price Central
  • Evidence Central
  • Messages of Christ
  • Seminary Central
  • BMC en Español
  • BMC en Português

Stay Connected

Get instant access to scripture study tips, biblical insights, and Come Follow Me devotionals through our social media channels.

Facebook Youtube Instagram Twitter

Subscribe

 
 
 

Which lists would you like emails from?

Signing up for both the Daily and Weekly email lists is not recommended, as you will receive duplicate emails.

 

We respect your email privacy

 

Copyright 2021 Bible Central, a project of Book of Mormon Central. All rights reserved.
Registered 501(c)(3). EIN: 20-5294264