KerryShirts

Very good points! It's O.K., we all have gifts to share with the world, and different points of view.

Here is my response to an answer concerning my videos on Reformed Egyptian that I am "proving too much" in claiming English is also a reformed Egyptian script. No, quite frankly, I am not "proving too much," I am proving that I am not the first one to indicate the archaeological evidence showing precisely this situation, not only with English script, but Latin, Roman, Greek, Etruscan, Hebrew. Paleo-Hebrew, Proto-Sinaitic, all of which came out of the Egyptian hieroglyphic. See here: YouTube - TheBackyardProfessor's Channel

I do as well. The reason I came out in this manner is because it is a back at you to critics who pretend they know it is all make believe and fairy tales. It is actually quite real.

Hey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was just informed that the Ariel Crowley article I used in my video is online! You can now READ and SEE the entire article, which is simply fabulous! See here: Anthon Transcript - Crowley - SHIELDS

LOL! Yeah, everything I have ever written or said has been in Reformed Egyptian.......

I just posted my new video on demonstrable evidence for the reformed Egyptian script of the Book of Mormon Here: I also have other vids on reformed Egyptian that are quite instructive. Hey, that's what I am told man, I am only passin the word along......

Here is a partial study I did on the garment, which thekabalist has discussed. The Garment of the True Priesthood The battle between Pharaoh and Abraham is also shown in facsimile No. 1 in a unique, powerful manner. Abraham is shown wearing a full body garment, as is the priest, though his is a different style. On all other lion couches to date, there is none that show the figure on the couch fully clothed in a garment as our facsimile No. 1. They are either mummies, or nude, but none have the garment and slippers as Abraham does. What is this garment and how does it tie in with our theme? Without it there isn't a battle to be sure! The garment tells it all, showing just who has the true priesthood and who doesn't, who is the covenant person, and who isn't. A Mesopotamian parallel is instructive concerning garments which tie the individual wearer of the garment into the cosmos, and showing garments were definitely associated with kingship and who possessed the real authority. Leo Oppenheim's excellent study shows that by the end of the first millenium B.C. the kusitu garment "shifted from secular to ceremonial use. From then on, gods, kings, and priests are clad in it... the Neo-Assyrian texts refer to the kusitu as to the exclusive royal dress."[16] Esarhaddon gave his son this garment, showing the people who the future king was to be, "you have girt your son with the kusitu and (thus) you have endowed him with the kingship over Assyria."[17] Alma P. Burton notes that "The words "to endow" (from the Greek enduein), as used in the New Testament, mean to dress, clothe, put on garments, put on attributes, or receive virtue."[18] So this is the idea in facsimile 1. It is interesting that the priesthood of Eanna was threatened, "on repeated royal attempts to induce the priesthood of Eanna to send the kusitu to a rival sanctuary which the collegium refused." The authority over the entire earth as well as sky was at stake, as the garments had stars sewn onto them, especially of the late Assyrian kings, these nalbas same were literally "garment(s) of the sky."[19] Not only the sky, but clouds, stars, and the sun were sewn into the garments, the wearer being called the gallab same, the "shearer of the sky," i.e. "he who cuts off the fleecy clouds." Is it coincidence that this was the garment of Marduk, and that Marduk was equated with Nimrod, the same who sheared the sky with his arrow and claimed he killed God?[20] In the legends, Nimrod shoots an arrow in the sky and it comes down with blood, hence Nimrod claims he killed the God of Abraham so he has the power.[21] Also legendary is Nimrod establishing his priesthood line through the matriarchal line, while Abraham came through the patriarchal line, hence the rivalry.[22] That contest of matriarchy verses patriarchy involving the -archy is noted as "the origin of a quarrel or a murder... command, power, authority, which is what the quarrel is about. The suffix archy means always to be first in order, whether in time or eminence..."[23] Is it coincidence that the stars on the Mesopotamian-Assyrian garments of the kings are connected "with the cult of the foremost goddess of the Mesopotamian pantheon"?[24] In the Aggadah, Nimrod's hunting prowess came from his skin garment he wore, which he inherited down the line from Adam, it being the same skin garment. When the animals saw him in it, they would lie down for him, so he found easy prey, hence becoming a "mighty hunter" (Hebrew gibbor - "mighty"), or a "war-like giant."[25] Nimrod, again, as the antithesis against Israel and the true priesthood, rivals Esau, another great hunter, and in fact, wants to slay him as he had the garment that belonged to Adam. Another story indicates that Nimrod received the garment from his forefathers, it being Adam's garment, "from Ham, who had stolen them out of the ark of Noah; when Esau saw them, he became jealous because Nimrod's success in hunting was due to the fact that he wore these coats of skin that made the animals prostrate before him. Hence he slew Nimrod."[26] Hugh Nibley recounts the story that Ham stole the garments from Noah, hence Noah cursed Ham, and it was through his son Cush that Nimrod acquired them.[27] This garment of Adam is said to have been a garment of light.[28] The garment certainly did represent authority of the wearer, and it was passed down from Seth to Noah, and worn by Noah as he sacrificed on the altar.[29] Interestingly, in the story of Esau, who killed Nimrod for the garment, it was this that Esau sold Jacob as his birthright, and also hence why Jacob, in his blindness blessed Jacob who had the garment as it had the fragrence of Paradise. This was later referred to as the coat of many colors of Joseph as well.[30] The idea here is crystal clear. The garment had its origin in the celestial realms, hence garment of light, another tie in with the cosmos, and as such indicated the authority of the wearer. Nimrod, it is said, apparently had this garment at one time. It is most interesting that nimrah according to Jacob of Serug means "tiger," "crown," and "striped garment."[31] We read in the Apocalypse of Abraham that Abraham received the garment after sacrificing as God told him and not falling into temptation with Azazel, the false angel: "For behold, the garment which in heaven was formerly yours has been set aside for him, [Abraham] and the corruption which was on him has gone over to you."[32] John Tvedtnes also traces a tradition which says "the garments though stolen by Ham, were recovered by Shem who, as Melchizedek, gave them to Abraham as his successor. Abraham passed the garments to his son Isaac and he to his eldest son Esau.[33] So, the wearer of the garment of the priesthood would certainly have God's authority. And Nimrod's or Pharaoh's actions speak louder than words that he does not have it. So the confrontation is on, and has been from time immemorial, Adam, Eve, and the Serpent, Cain and Abel, Abraham in Egypt, Moses in Egypt, Joseph in Egypt, Daniel and the lion's den, etc. As Hugh Nibley has pointed out "contention is not discussion...war is beyond politics."[34] And that is just the point with our facsimile No. 1. Facsimile No. 1 is indicating that there is a choice, the famous ancient doctrine of the two ways, between light and darkness. Interestingly, this is also indicated by scholars who note that with Abraham and his opponents, the proverb certainly applies: "The wise man, his eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness." This is interpreted as alluding to Abraham and Nimrod. "The element of darkness is reminiscent of Philo's description of Nimrod as the black one who does not participate in the light (and cf. also Gen. Rab. 42.4 where Nimrod is called a Cushite, i.e. Ethiopian, because his father was Cush).[35] This juxtaposition of light and dark is everywhere throughout the Abraham story, as per the priest in Facsimile No. 1 who is pictured as being black, while Abraham is white, which realistically represents the idea of choosing between the light and dark, the ancient doctrine of the two ways. The Pseudo-Philo says God caused a deep sleep to overcome Abraham which encompassed him with fear because he was set in the place of fire, "and I showed him the torches of fire by which the just who have believed in me will be enlightened."[36] The image of the fiery and smoking furnace is always rearing up, such as in Genesis 15, as well as the Abrahamic lore, and 4 Baruch 6:23, Pseudo-Philo 6:17, etc. In the legends as well, Abraham sees a horror of great darkness (Nimrod himself?), and he further saw the future terror of the nations his people would be in, namely "the horror-awakening Babylon, MedoPersian, Syro-Grecian, and Roman empires."[37] The smoking furnace of Genesis 15 has been interpreted as the fire of Gehinom, Hell, and then he saw a burning lamp, which was the Law, an interesting contrast of the two ways.[38] So the themes play themselves out in our Book of Abraham, with Abraham as wearer of the true garment of the Priesthood being opposed in darkness by the false priesthood. Endnotes 16. A. Leo Oppenheim, "The Golden Garments of the Gods," in Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 8 (1949), p. 179. 17. Ibid., p. 179. 18. Alma P. Burton, "Endowment," in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism, vol. 2. Cf. Blake T. Ostler, "Clothed Upon: A Unique Aspect of Christian Antiquity," in BYU Studies, Vol. 22, (1982) pp. 31-45 for discussion of endowments meaning to clothe with a garment. See also the excellent discussions of John Tvedtnes, "Priestly Clothing in Bible Times," in Donald W. Parry, ed., Temples of the Ancient World, Deseret/FARMS, 1994, pp. 649-704, and Stephen D. Ricks, "The Garment of Adam in Jewish, Muslim, and Christian Tradition," in Ibid., pp. 705-739. Also Hugh Nibley, "Sacred Vestments," in Don E. Norton, ed., Temple and Cosmos, Deseret/FARMS, 1992, pp. 91-138. 19. Oppenheim, Ibid., p. 180, note. also 181. 20. Oppenheim, Ibid., p. 185f, 187 note 25; Toorn & Horst, Ibid., p. 9, though they ultimately abandon the equation of Nimrod=Marduk. 21. Baring-Gould, Ibid., p. 165. 22. Hugh Nibley, Abraham in Egypt, Deseret Book, 1981, pp. 189f. 23. Hugh Nibley, "Patriarchy and Matriarchy," in John Welch, Gary P. Gillum, Don E. Norton, eds., Old Testament and Related Studies, Deseret Book/ FARMS, 1986, p. 95. 24. Oppenhaim, Ibid., p. 191. 25. Encyclopedia Judaica, p. 1167; See also Warren & Tvedtnes, Ibid., pp. 1-2. 26. Toorn & Horst, Ibid., p. 26. 27. Hugh Nibley, Lehi in the Deseret; The World of the Jaredites, Bookcraft, 1980, pp. 160-164. 28. Stephen D. Ricks, "The Garment of Adam in Jewish, Muslim, and Christian Tradition," in Parry, Ibid., p. 707f. 29. Ricks, Ibid., p. 711. 30. Ricks, Ibid., pp. 711f. Cf. John Tvedtnes, "Priestly Clothing in Bible Times," in Parry, Ibid., pp. 658f. Tvedtnes extends his ideas on the passing down of the garment to Moses, Joshua, Elijah and Elias, p. 662; Baring-Gould, Ibid., p. 164. 31. Ricks, Ibid., p. 729, n 41. The Light Garment in Egypt is also associated with the Wedjat-Eye, in J. Zandee, "Sargetexte, Spruch 75," in Zeitschrift f�r �gyptische Sprache, 1972, p. 55. 32. Charlesworth, Ibid., Vol. 1, Apocalypse of Abraham 13:14, p. 695. 33. Tvedtnes, Ibid., p. 657; Also see Hugh Nibley, An Approach to the Book of Mormon, Deseret Book, 1978, pp. 177-179, for the story of the torn garment of Joseph from the Medieval Tha' labi. 34. Hugh Nibley, "Beyond Politics," in Nibley on the Timely and Timeless, Truman G. Madsen, ed., Religious Studies Center, BYU, 1978, pp. 290f. 35. Toorn & Horst, Ibid., p. 28. 36. Pseudo-Philo 23:6, in Charlesworth, Ibid., vol. 2, p. 333. 37. Baring-Gould, Ibid., p. 185. 38. Baring-Gould, Ibid., p. 186. Hugh Nibley has discussed this doctrine of the two ways, in "The Expanding Gospel," in Temple and Cosmos, Norton, ed., pp. 195-199.

THe opposite of faith is fear, hence doubt. However, I will fear and tremble before him!

I have actually done a series of videos on her talk, and it IS great stuff!

Andrei Orlov also noted about the theme of the 40 days of fasting Moses underwent, as well as Abraham in the Apocalypse of Abraham, and other righteous men that the role of the Shekhinah is powerful. Here is the reason why. Is this not just fascinating or what?! David Halperin elaborates this tradition of the unusual nourishment of the patriarch and its connection to Moses’ feeding on the Shekhinah attested in some later rabbinic accounts. He notes that “...Moses also discovered that the divine presence is itself nourishment enough. That is why Exodus 24: 11 says that Moses and his companions beheld God, and ate and drank. This means, one rabbi explained, that the sight of God was food and drink for them; for Scripture also says, ‘In the light of the King’s face there is life’.... We may as- sume that the author of the Apocalypse of Abraham had such midrashim in mind when he wrote that ‘my food was to see the angel who was with me, and his speech — that was my drink.’” Halperin, The Faces of the Chariot..., 111. (as found in Andrei Orlov, ESCHATOLOGICAL YOM KIPPUR IN THE APOCALYPSE OF ABRAHAM: Part I. The Scapegoat Ritual) Orlov also noted that: Indeed, as many scholars have already noted, some motifs found in the Apocalypse of Abraham appear to reflect the peculiar details sur- rounding the reception of the Torah on Sinai by the great Israelite prophet. One of the distinctive hints here for establishing the connec- tion with the Mosaic traditions is the theme of Abraham’s forty-day fast. This motif is first introduced in Apoc. Ab. 9:7, where God orders Abraham to hold a strict fast for forty days.21 It is noteworthy that, as in the Mosaic traditions, so in the Slavonic apocalypse this fast coincides with the promise of a divine revelation on a high mountain: But for forty days abstain from every food which issues from fire, and from the drinking of wine, and from anointing [yourself] with oil. And then you shall set out for me the sacrifice which I have commanded you, in the place which I shall show you on a high mountain. The theme of the forty day fast on the mountain receives an even more distinctly “Mosaic” shape in chapter 12, where it coincides with another cluster of Mosaic traditions, including the reference to Horeb (a name for Sinai in some biblical passages) and information about the nourishment of a seer through the vision of a celestial being: And we went, the two of us alone together, forty days and nights. And I ate no bread and drank no water, because [my] food was to see the angel who was with me, and his speech with me was my drink. And we came to the glorious God’s mountains—Horeb. Scholars often see in this passage an allusion to Exodus 34:28,24 which reports that Moses was with God forty days and forty nights on Mount Sinai without eating bread or drinking water. The refer-ence to alternative nourishment through the vision of a celestial being again evokes the cluster of interpretive traditions associated in Second Temple and rabbinic literature27 with the figure of Moses. Kerry notes that the reason now this is so interesting, is because in later tradition, Jesus Christ himself took the role of the ***nourishing*** Shekhinah, and in fact, in the New Testament declared Himself to be the Bread and Water of life!

I have every single source this article lists. During the Superbowl, I looked up all the Egyptian and all the Hebrew. This is good enough that I am going to do a video and SHOW the actual Egyptian and Hebrew. It is very interesting in light of other ideas I have on the archaeological state of our knowledge of Judah 600 B.C. The new look at the history, politics, religion, and culture REALLY, ***REALLY*** give power to the BofM. That's why this extra little ditty is going into a new video. This stuff is just fantastic how it all interacts, interlaces, and supports our Book of Mormon. I'll keep ya posted on when my 2nd video (very POWERFUL) for Reformed Egyptian gets up on the You Tube, as well as the new one I will make on these ideas and themes. Through time, the BofM has just become more powerful, relevant, and exciting! We live in terrific times!

Thekabalist: The hilt of gold: The term “hilt” in Hebrew is ידית (yadit) which literally is the feminine form of the word יד (yad) which means “hand”. And the term “gold” in Israelite thought meant “pure spirituality”. The blade of steel: The term “blade” in Hebrew is להב (lahav) which means both “blade” and also “flame”. Because of this, the term is associated with judgement. And “steel” or “iron” in Israelite thought meant “destruction”. So what is Nephi telling us? That Laban received a judgement of destruction by the hands of someone who was spiritually pure. Kerry: Heh...... very nifty insight. I wonder if that is why they mentioned Og and his iron bed? And then, on the other hand, what does this do to the iron rod in the BofM? Ooooooo, that's interesting.

Thekabalist said: 1 And now I would that ye might know, that after my father, Lehi, had made an end of prophesying concerning his seed, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto him again, saying that it was not meet for him, Lehi, that he should take his family into the wilderness alone; but that his sons should take daughters to wife, that they might raise up seed unto the Lord in the land of promise. Not many people realize that the Hebrew idiom “raise up seed” (הקם זרע– hakem zerah) means literally to give someone descendants. This can be seen from Gen. 38:8: “And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.” When G-d says to Nephi that he wants them to raise seed unto Him this means that G-d wanted Nephi to give descendants unto G-d Himself. Kerry notes: YES! This is also why John Tvedtnes has found the etymology of the Book of Mormon city Zarahemla so interesting. It definitely has the Hebraic ZERA in it! This in the FARMS Updates for the 1990's. The name Zarahemla probably derives from the Hebrew zeraʿḥemlāh, which has been variously translated as “seed of compassion”1 or “child of grace, pity, or compassion.”2 It may be that the Mulekite leader was given that name because his ancestor had been rescued when the other sons of King Zedekiah were slain during the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem. To subsequent Nephite generations, it may even have suggested the deliverance of their own ancestors from Jerusalem prior to its destruction or the anticipation of Christ’s coming.

Hey Kabalist......GET BACK HERE AND TALK TO US! I am truly enjoying your posts, even though I may have questions, and perhaps disagree with you, this all is very fun to read and very instructive. Don't quit.....

Volgadon is precisely correct. From Michael D. Rhodes, we read Joseph Smith says that this is "Kolob, signifying the first creation, nearest to the celestial, or the residence of God." To the ancient Egyptians, this was symbolic of God, endowed with the primeval creative force, seated at the center of the universe. The name Kolob is right at home in this context. The word most likely derives from the common Semitic root *QLB, which has the basic meaning of "heart, center, middle." In fact the Arabic form of this word, qalb, forms part of the Arabic names of several of the brightest stars in the sky including Antares, Regulus, and Canopus. It is more than of passing interest that John Tvedtnes, Brian Hauglid, and John Gee in their magnificent text "Traditions About the Early Life of Abraham," FARMS, 2001: Appendix B show that the Sufi philosophers compared the heart (Arabic qalb) with the throne of God, while Abr 3:9 is said to be set nigh unto the throne of God......

Interesting... Orlov notes in his book The Enoch-Matatron Tradition some interesting things and correspondences with Noah and Melchizedek as well. Here is a minor section (pp. 310-316) Yes, I have his permission to quote this: Scholars have previously noted that Melchisedek’s birth in 2 Enoch bears certain parallels with the birth of Noah in 1 Enoch and in the Genesis Apocryphon.61 The Melchisedek narrative occupies the last chapters of 2 Enoch. It should be noted that initially this part of the apocalypse was considered to be an interpolation in the text of 2 Enoch. The earlier publications of Charles, Morfill, and Bonwetsch62 argued that 2 Enoch 69- 73 was a kind of appendix and did not belong to the main body of the text. Since then this view has been corrected, and these chapters are now considered as an integral part of the text.63 The content of the Melchisedek account is connected with the family of Nir. Sothonim, the wife of Nir, gave birth to a miraculous child “in her old age,” right “on the day of her death.” She conceived the child, “being sterile” and “without having slept with her husband.” The text relates that ————— ... and his eyes (were) beautiful; and when he opened his eyes, he made the whole house bright like the sun so that the whole house was exceptionally bright. And when he was taken from the hands of the midwife, he opened his mouth and spoke to the Lord of Righteousness. And his father Lamech was afraid of him....” Knibb, The Ethiopic Book of Enoch, 2.244. -------------------- 60 Scholars have previously remarked that these features of Noah’s story reflect priestly imagery. See Fletcher-Louis, All the Glory of Adam, 33ff. This connection will be investigated later. 61 M. Delcor, “Melchisedek from Genesis to the Qumran Texts and the Epistle to the Hebrews,” JSJ 2 (1971) 129; idem, “La naissance merveilleuse de Melchisédeq d’après l’Hénoch slave,” Kecharitomene: Mélanges René Laurentin (ed. C. Augustin et al.; Paris: Desclée, 1990) 217–229; M. Mach, Entwicklungsstadien des jüdischen Engelglaubens in vorrabbinischer Zeit (TSAJ 34; Tübingen: Mohr/Siebeck, 1992) 236, footnote 340; G. W. E. Nickelsburg, Jewish Literature between the Bible and the Mishnah (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1981) 185; A. de Santos Otero, “Libro de los secretos de Henoc (Henoc eslavo),” in: Apocrifos del Antiguo Testamento (ed. A. Dies Macho; Madrid: Ediciones Christiandad, 1984) 4.199; R. Stichel, Die Namen Noes, seines Bruders und seiner Frau. Ein Beitrag zum Nachleben jüdischer Überlieferungen in der außerkanonischen und gnostischen Literatur und in Denkmälern der Kunst (AAWG.PH 3. Folge 112; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1979) 42–54. 62 R. H. Charles and W. R. Morfill, The Book of the Secrets of Enoch (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1896); G. N. Bonwetsch, Das slavische Henochbuch (AGWG 1; Berlin, 1896). 63 For a detailed discussion of the subject, see A. Orlov, “Melchisedek Legend of 2 (Slavonic) Enoch,” JSJ 31 (2000) 23–38. Noachic Polemics 315 Nir the priest had not slept with her from the day that the Lord had appointed him before the face of the people. Therefore, Sothonim hid herself during all the days of her pregnancy. On the day she was to give birth, Nir remembered his wife and called her to himself in the temple. She came to him, and he saw that she was pregnant. Nir, filled with shame, wanted to cast her away from him, but she died at his feet. Melchisedek was born from Sothonim’s corpse. When Nir and Noah came in to bury Sothonim, they saw the child sitting beside the corpse with “his clothing on him.” According to the story, they were terrified because the child, marked by the sign of priesthood, was fully developed physically. The child spoke and blessed the Lord. The story mentions that the badge of priesthood was on his chest, glorious in appearance. Nir and Noah dressed the child in the garments of priesthood and fed him holy bread. They decided to hide him, fearing that the people would have him put to death. Finally, the Lord commanded His archangel Gabriel to take the child and place him in the paradise of Eden, so that he might become the high priest after the Flood. The final passages of the short recension describe the ascent of Melchisedek on the wings of Gabriel to the paradise of Eden. The details of Noah’s birth correspond at several points with the Melchisedek story: 1. Both Noah and Melchisedek belong to the circle of Enoch’s family. 2. Both characters are attested as survivors of the Flood. 3. Both characters have an important mission in the postdiluvian era. 4. Both characters are portrayed as glorious wonder-children. 5. Both characters are depicted as ones born by autogenesis, i.e. fully developed physically at birth.64 6. Immediately after their birth, both characters speak to the Lord. According to 1 Enoch 106:3, “when he (Noah) arose from the hands of the midwife, he opened his mouth and spoke to the Lord with righteousness.” In 2 Enoch 71:19 we read that “he [Melchisedek] spoke with his lips, and he blessed the Lord.”65 7. Both characters are suspected of being of divine/angelic lineage. M. Delcor notes that Lamech’s affirmation in the beginning of the Genesis Apocryphon, “Behold, then I thought in my heart that the conception was the work of the Watchers and the pregnancy of the Holy Ones....” can be compared with the words of Noah in 2 Enoch uttered at the time of the examination of Melchisedek: “This is of the Lord, my brother.”66 ————— 64 Crispin Fletcher-Louis observes that “the characterization of Melchizedek, as one born by autogenesis, who is ‘fully developed physically’ at birth (ch 71), recalls traditions associated with the angelomorphic Noah....” Fletcher-Louis, Luke-Acts, 155. 65 Andersen, “2 Enoch,” 207. 66 Delcor, “Melchisedek from Genesis to the Qumran Texts and the Epistle to the Hebrews,” 129. 316 Polemical Developments 8. Their fathers were suspicious of the conception of their sons and the faithfulness of their wives.67 In 1 Enoch 106 and the Genesis Apocryphon, Lamech is worried and frightened about the birth of Noah, his son. Lamech suspects that his wife Bathenosh has been unfaithful to him and that “the conception was (the work) of the Watchers and the pregnancy of the Holy Ones, and it belonged to the Nephil[in].”68 The motif of Lamech’s suspicion about the unfaithfulness of Bathenosh69 found in 1 Enoch and the Genesis Apocryphon seems to correspond to Nir’s worry about the unfaithfulness of Sothonim: “And Nir saw her, and he became very ashamed about her. And he said to her, ‘What is this that you have done, O wife? And why have you disgraced me in front of the face of all people? And now, depart from me, go where you conceived the disgrace of your womb.’”70 9. Their mothers were ashamed and tried to defend themselves against the accusation of their husbands. In the Genesis Apocryphon, the wife of Lamech responds to the angry questions of her husband by reminding him of their intimacies: “Oh my brother and lord! remember my sexual pleasure... [...] in the heat of intercourse, and the gasping of my breath in my breast.”71 She swears that the seed was indeed of Lamech: “I swear to you by the Great Holy One, by the King of the hea[vens...]...[...] that this seed comes from you, [...] and not from any foreigner nor from any of the watchers or sons of heav[en].”72 In 2 Enoch Sothonim does not explain the circumstances of the conception. She answers Nir: “O my lord! Behold, it is the time of my old age, and there was not in me any (ardor of) youth and I do not know how the indecency of my womb has been conceived.”73 10. Their fathers were eventually comforted by the special revelation about the prominent future role of their sons in the postdiluvian era. It is noteworthy that this information is given in both cases in the context of the revelation about the destruction of the earth by the Flood. In 1 Enoch 106:16–18 we read: “And this son who has been born unto you shall be left upon the earth, and his three sons shall be saved when they who are upon ————— 67 George Nickelsburg observes that the miraculous circumstances surrounding Melchisedek’s conception and birth are reminiscent of the Noah story in 1 Enoch, although the suspicion of Nir is more closely paralleled in the version of the Noah story in the Genesis Apocryphon. Nickelsburg, Jewish Literature between the Bible and the Mishnah, 188. 68 García Martínez and Tigchelaar (eds.), The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition, 1.29 69 On this motif, see: Nickelsburg, “Patriarchs Who Worry About Their Wives: A Haggadic Tendency in the Genesis Apocryphon,” 137–158. 70 Andersen, “2 Enoch,” 205. 71 García Martínez and Tigchelaar (eds.), The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition, 1.29 72 García Martínez and Tigchelaar (eds.), The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition, 1.29–31. 73 Andersen, “2 Enoch,” 205. Noachic Polemics 317 the earth are dead.”74 In 2 Enoch 71:29–30 the father is told: “And this child will not perish along with those who are perishing in this generation, as I have revealed it, so that Melchisedek will be ... the head of the priests of the future.”75 One cannot fail to note a host of interesting resemblances between the birth of Noah in the pseudepigrapha and the birth of Melchisedek in 2 Enoch. The author of 2 Enoch wants to diminish the extraordinary nature of Noah’s person and transfer these qualities to Melchisedek. The text therefore can be seen as a set of polemical improvisations on the original Noachic themes.

I found it! VERY INTERESTING!!!!!!! Here's the quote with the footnotes... "What Meaneth the Rod of Iron"? Matthew L. Bowen Insights Volume - 25, Issue - 2 Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute We note that the Egyptian word mdw means not only "a staff [or] rod"2 but also "to speak" a "word."3 The derived word md.t, or mt.t, probably pronounced *mateh in Lehi's day, was common in the Egyptian dialect of that time and would have sounded very much like a common Hebrew word for rod or staff, matteh.4 It is also very interesting that the expression mdw-ntr was a technical term for a divine revelation, literally the "the word of God [or] divine decree."5 The phrase mdw-ntr also denoted "sacred writings,"6 what we would call scriptures, as well as the "written characters [or] script"7 in which these sacred writings were written. Now consider Nephi's comparison of the word and the rod in the context of the Egyptian word mdw: I beheld that the rod [mdw/mt.t, Heb. matteh] of iron, which my father had seen, was the word [mdw/mt.t] of God.8 (1 Nephi 11:25) And they said unto me: What meaneth the rod [mdw/mt.t, Heb. matteh] of iron which our father saw, that led to the tree? And I said unto them that it was the word [mdw/mt.t] of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish. (1 Nephi 15:23—24) NOTES 2. Raymond O. Faulkner, A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian (Oxford: Griffith Institute/Ashmolean Museum, 1999), 122. 3. Ibid. Significantly, all mdw-derived words were originally written with the "walking stick"/"staff" (i.e., "rod") hieroglyph (see Sir Alan H. Gardiner, Egyptian Grammar [Oxford: Griffith Institute/Ashmolean Museum, 1999], 510). Thus "word" in its earliest Egyptian conception was literally identified with a "rod." 4. Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1951?), 641. (matteh) = "staff, rod, shaft." It is derived from the triliteral root NTH, which as a verb means "stretch out, spread out, extend, incline, bend." Thus I suspect that Lehi's first mention of the "rod of iron" might well constitute a polyptoton (words derived from the same root and used in the same sentence) on NTH: "And I beheld a rod [matteh] of iron, and it extended [nth] along the bank of the river, and led to the tree by which I stood" (1 Nephi 8:19). An Egyptian transliteration of the Hebrew matteh ("rod") and Egyptian mdw/mt.t ("rod, word") would have been graphically similar or even identical if written in demotic characters.

Did you ever get a chance to look this up?

Yeah it's coming along O.K., so far. A little new and different. I am thoroughly enjoying the iMovie software. I have a couple new vids up using it. My recent on Reformed Egyptian turned out quite good. The 2nd one I made hasn't made it up yet, probably because of the Super Bowl Hype going on.

Thank goodness we are not totally unique away from Judaism. Judah are our brethren in Israel as well!

Andrei Orlov in his fabulous book "Enoch-Metatron Tradition," Mohr-Siebeck. 2005, (p. 301) noted some fascinating discussions about HOW Moses was able to see God, the angels, the Glory, etc. This is an interesting Jewish expansion of our Book of Moses teaching the Spirit has to overcome a person to protect them. "...in 3 Enoch 15B:5 Enoch-Metatron points to Moses’ luminous face, while the reader has already learned earlier that the seventh antediluvian patriarch underwent an even more radical luminous metamorphosis during which not only his face but also his whole body was changed into a fiery extent. This polemical link between the radiance of Moses and the superseding radiance of Enoch’s transformed body is made in several rabbinic texts. Thus, in Midrash Gedullat Moshe the superiority of Enoch-Metatron’s radiance over the luminous transformation of the prophet becomes an important theme. In this text God commands Enoch- Metatron to bring Moses up to heaven. Metatron warns the Deity that the prophet would not be able to withstand the vision of angels, “since the angels are princes of fire, while Moses is made from flesh and blood.” God then commands Metatron to change the prophet’s flesh into torches of fire. The language here recalls Enoch-Metatron’s transformation in Synopse §19.200 Just as in 3 Enoch the context seems polemical, since in both texts Moses is depicted as inferior to the translated patriarch. The fact that it is not simply Metatron’s superiority, but the supremacy of the patriarch, that is at stake here, becomes clear from Metatron’s self-designation. Gedullat Moshe relates that when the exalted angel approached Moses, the latter became terrified and asked Metatron about his identity. Responding to the prophet’s question, Metatron introduces himself as Enoch, son of Jared, telling Moses that he is his ancestor. He further informs the prophet about God’s command to bring him to the Throne of Glory. Moses tries to object by claiming that he is a creature of flesh and blood and therefore would not be able to withstand the vision of angels. In response Metatron changes Moses’ flesh to torches of fire, his eyes to Merkabah-wheels and his tongue to flame. After this transformation Metatron was finally able to bring Moses to heaven."

Yer gonna LOVE Isaiah!

Jeff always stimulates and informs. He is a great presence on the net isn't he? (Just between you and me, he is so intelligent that I think he is just showin off....GRIN!)

Rameumptom: In Egyptian hieroglyphics, "iron rod" and "word" are synonymous. Kerry: I didn't know that. I will check this, it has interesting themes.....

yer doin fine.....