Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Mosiah 11:1-15


Chapter 11

King Noah rules in wickedness—He revels in riotous living with his wives and concubines—Abinadi prophesies that the people will be taken into bondage—His life is sought by King Noah. About 160–150 B.C.

1 AND now it came to pass that Zeniff conferred the kingdom upon Noah, one of his sons; therefore Noah began to reign in his stead; and he did not walk in the ways of his father.
2 For behold, he did not keep the commandments of God, but he did walk after the desires of his own heart.  And he had many wives and concubines.  And he did cause his people to commit sin, and do that which was abominable in the sight of the Lord.  Yea, and they did commit whoredoms and all manner of wickedness.
3 And he laid a tax of one fifth part of all they possessed, a fifth part of their gold and of their silver, and a fifth part of their ziff, and of their copper, and of their brass and their iron; and a fifth part of their fatlings; and also a fifth part of all their grain.
4 And all this did he take to support himself, and his wives and his concubines; and also his priests, and their wives and their concubines; thus he had changed the affairs of the kingdom.
5 For he put down all the priests that had been consecrated by his father, and consecrated new ones in their stead, such as were lifted up in the pride of their hearts.
6 Yea, and thus they were supported in their laziness, and in their idolatry, and in their whoredoms, by the taxes which king Noah had put upon his people; thus did the people labor exceedingly to support iniquity.
7 Yea, and they also became idolatrous, because they were deceived by the vain and flattering words of the king and priests; for they did speak flattering things unto them.
8 And it came to pass that king Noah built many elegant and spacious buildings; and he ornamented them with fine work of wood, and of all manner of precious things, of gold, and of silver, and of iron, and of brass, and of ziff, and of copper;
9 And he also built him a spacious palace, and a throne in the midst thereof, all of which was of fine wood and was ornamented with gold and silver and with precious things.
10 And he also caused that his workmen should work all manner of fine work within the walls of the temple, of fine wood, and of copper, and of brass.
11 And the seats which were set apart for the high priests, which were above all the other seats, he did ornament with pure gold; and he caused a breastwork to be built before them, that they might rest their bodies and their arms upon while they should speak lying and vain words to his people.
12 And it came to pass that he built a tower near the temple; yea, a very high tower, even so high that he could stand upon the top thereof and overlook the land of Shilom, and also the land of Shemlon, which was possessed by the Lamanites; and he could even look over all the land round about.
13 And it came to pass that he caused many buildings to be built in the land Shilom; and he caused a great tower to be built on the hill north of the land Shilom, which had been a resort for the children of Nephi at the time they fled out of the land; and thus he did do with the riches which he obtained by the taxation of his people.
14 And it came to pass that he placed his heart upon his riches, and he spent his time in riotous living with his wives and his concubines; and so did also his priests spend their time with harlots.
15 And it came to pass that he planted vineyards round about in the land; and he built wine–presses, and made wine in abundance; and therefore he became a wine–bibber, and also his people.
Mosiah 11:1-15

Zeniff has passed the kingship to his son, Noah.  Even though we don’t know anything about the alternatives, we can still say that Noah was a disastrous choice.  Zeniff may not have been the greatest leader and made mistakes, but this one was a doozy!

However, as we will see, Noah’s rule (especially the selection of priests) will lead to major changes in the religious organization among the Nephites.

Mormon, resuming his abridgment of the Book of Mormon tells us, “[Noah] did not walk in the ways of his father … he walked after the desires of his own heart.”  He had many wives and concubines.  He caused the people to commit all manner of sins, including whoredoms, which are repugnant sins in the eyes of the Lord.

In the history of Israel, a king causing his people to sin was a common occurrence.  For example,

“And Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned over Israel two years.
“And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin” (1 Kings 15:25-26).

The prophet Ahijah went before the king of Israel and told him, “And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin” (1 Kings 14:16).  Describing king Noah, Mosiah said, “Yea, remember king Noah, his wickedness and his abominations, and also the wickedness and abominations of his people.  Behold what great destruction did come upon them; and also because of their iniquities they were brought into bondage” (Mosiah 29:18).

In telling the people about the concerns of a king, Mosiah told them, “For behold I say unto you, the sins of many people have been caused by the iniquities of their kings; therefore their iniquities are answered upon the heads of their kings” (Mosiah 29:31).

It was Nephite tradition a king supported himself.  Benjamin emphasizes he worked to provide for his and his family’s needs (see Mosiah 2:14).  Mosiah2 worked to take care of his family, following his father’s example.  Noah, on the other hand, decided the people should support him.  He followed Pharaoh’s example with his tax rate (see Genesis 47:24).  The people were required to pay a 20% tax, which was apparently unheard of at that time.  This was required of all their possessions; their gold, silver, copper, and ziff (a footnote in the Book of Mormon tell us “Ziff - HEB related words: adjective, "shining"; verb, "to overlay or plate with metal.”  They also paid on the animals and grains.  Noah failed to follow Solomon’s advice, “Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance” (Proverbs 29:3).

Noah was apparently the head of the local church.  One of the first things he did was to get rid of his father’s priests and replaced them with his choices.  They were just like Noah.  They were lazy, wicked, and lived off the taxes of the people. 

Under the leadership of Noah’s priests, they people became an idolatrous people.  Noah spent the tax money he collected not on the people, but rather on luxurious buildings.  They were adorned with wood and precious metals.  He also built a huge palace and fancy throne. 

The temple was a work of fine and expensive material outside the temple.  The inside was no different.  There was “all manner of fine work within the walls of the temple from fine wood, and of copper, and of brass.” 

The high priests had their own seats.  They were set apart from other seats in the temple.  They were very expensive seats.  They were “built … that they might rest their bodies and their arms upon while they should speak lying and vain words to his people.”  Mormon makes it very clear what he thinks about the type of men Noah selected to be high priests to his people.  They were just like him.

The Book of Mormon uses “high priest” in different ways, depending on the situation.  Daniel C. Peterson explains its use in verse 11.

“According to Mosiah 11:11, King Noah had ‘high priest.’ It may be that we are here referring to an office analogous to that of high priest (i.e., a priest of the higher priesthood, as opposed to a priest of the Aaronic order) in the contemporary church, which many are able to hold simultaneously.”[1]

Noah also built a high tower, one that was so high he could stand at the top and see the lands of Shilom and Shemlon and the land surrounding them.  This description gives us some idea of the area covered.  “A good deal of Nephite history takes place in a land so small that its whole expanse can be surveyed from the top of a high tower (Mosiah 11:12).”[2]

In Mormon’s Map, we also read, “Events in the reigns of the Zeniffite kings Noah and Limhi shed light on distances in the local land of Nephi and its vicinity (the land and city at that time were called Lehi-Nephi, probably at the insistence of the Lamanite overlords, but for simplicity we will use the old term, Nephi). Noah ‘built a tower near the temple [in the city of Nephi], even so high that he could stand upon the top thereof and overlook the land of Shilom, and also the land of Shemlon, which was possessed by the Lamanites’ (Mosiah 11:12).”[3]

Buildings were also built in Shilom.  A tower was also built there. 

Hugh Nibley tells us Noah was choosing poorly.  “There is one phrase occurring some fifteen times in the Book of Mormon that starts the alarm bell ringing and the red lights flashing; the fatal words are: ‘They set their hearts on riches.’”[4]

“Sometimes those focused on economic inequality and separation perverted the laws to achieve their ends … Noah placed a tax on his people of 20 percent on all products and income, including their ziff, copper, brass, iron, fatlings, and grain (see Mosiah 11:3). With these ill-gotten gains, King Noah created not a society where righteousness and prosperity could flourish but ‘elegant and spacious buildings,’ separate from the people, where he and his priests lived licentiously (see Mosiah 11:8, 14–15).”[5]

Noah and his priests lived a hedonistic lifestyle.  They had wives and concubines.  But that wasn’t enough for them.  They also spent time with painted women!  They also like their wine.  Plenty of wine was available, and they did their best to drink as much as possible.


[1] Authority in the Book of Mosiah, Daniel C. Peterson, Maxwell Institute.
[2] Strategy for Survival, Hugh Nibley, Maxwell Institute.
[3] Mormon’s Map – Distances and Directions, Maxwell Institute.
[4] Last Call: An Apocalyptic Warning from the Book of Mormon, Hugh Nibley, Maxwell Institute.
[5] "No Poor Among Them," Lindon J. Robison, Maxwell Institute.

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