{"id":84988,"date":"2020-05-09T14:16:08","date_gmt":"2020-05-09T20:16:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=84988"},"modified":"2020-05-09T15:18:16","modified_gmt":"2020-05-09T21:18:16","slug":"some-notes-on-olive-cultivation-and-the-book-of-mormon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/05\/some-notes-on-olive-cultivation-and-the-book-of-mormon.html","title":{"rendered":"Some notes on olive cultivation and the Book of Mormon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Gethsemane<\/a>
A portion of the Garden of Gethsemane as it appears today, with its ancient olive trees
(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

This entry draws upon John W. Welch, et al., eds. \u00a0Knowing Why: 137 Evidences That the Book of Mormon Is True<\/em> (American Fork: Covenant Communications, 2017), 156-164:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of the single most famous chapters in the Book of Mormon is Jacob 5, which recounts a lengthy olive tree allegory that it credits to a pre-Lehite Old World prophet, unknown to the Bible, that it identifies as Zenos. \u00a0(As a matter of fact, Zenos is cited elsewhere in the Book of Mormon as well. \u00a0He seems to have been popular among Nephite religious leaders.) \u00a0Various inconclusive attempts have been made to identify him in surviving ancient extrabiblical records. \u00a0Symbolic use of imagery derived from olive cultivation also exists throughout the Old and New Testaments. \u00a0With that fact in mind, David Rolph Seely and John W. Welch of Brigham Young University have argued that \u201cit is reasonable to postulate the existence of a fuller account of the olive tree allegory that predates most or all of these diverse and more partial uses\u201d (159). \u00a0And perhaps Zenos\u2019s version is<\/em> that \u201cfuller account.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

In any event, Jacob 5 plainly has roots deep in the ancient world.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Further, with its references to grafting, transplanting tender young branches, balancing the growth of the branches with the roots, nourishing, digging about, burning, weeding, and pruning, it also accurately represents many of the practices and scientific principles associated with growing and cultivating olives in the Mediterranean basin.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to an article by several professional botanists:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nearly all of the allegory in Jacob 5 corresponds exceptionally well with both ancient and modern botanical principles and horticultural practices. . . . \u00a0It is hard to imagine that its author was not personally familiar with the minute details and practices involved in raising good olives in a Mediterranean climate. \u00a0(163)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Moreover, although some very limited information about olive cultivation might be derivable through careful, focused study of the Bible and a few other books that were available during Joseph Smith\u2019s early years (though likely not anywhere near where he lived), they contained only sparse details. \u00a0And here\u2019s another problem:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Joseph Smith probably had little knowledge of olive trees in New York, as they will not grow in the northeastern United States. \u00a0(163)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

For further reading, see:<\/p>\n

John W. Welch, \u201cThe Last Words of Cenez and the Book of Mormon<\/a>,\u201d in Stephen D. Ricks and John W. Welch, eds.,\u00a0The Allegory of the Olive Tree: The Olive, the Bible, and Jacob 5<\/em>\u00a0(Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1994), 305\u2014321.<\/p>\n

David Rolph Seely and John W. Welch, \u201cZenos and the Texts of the Old Testament<\/a>,\u201d in Stephen D. Ricks and John W. Welch, eds.,\u00a0The Allegory of the Olive Tree: The Olive, the Bible, and Jacob 5<\/em>\u00a0(Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1994), 322\u2014346.<\/p>\n

David Rolph Seely, \u201cThe Allegory of the Olive Tree and the Use of Related Figurative Language in the Ancient Near East and Old Testament<\/a>,\u201d in Stephen D. Ricks and John W. Welch, eds.,\u00a0The Allegory of the Olive Tree: The Olive, the Bible, and Jacob 5<\/em>\u00a0(Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1994), 290\u2013304.<\/p>\n

James E. Faulconer, \u201cThe Olive Tree and the Works of God: Jacob 5 and Romans 11<\/a>,\u201d in Stephen D. Ricks and John W. Welch, eds.,\u00a0The Allegory of the Olive Tree: The Olive, the Bible, and Jacob 5<\/em>\u00a0(Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1994), 347\u2013366.<\/p>\n

John W. Welch and J. Gregory Welch, Charting the Book of Mormon: Visual Aids for Personal Study and Teaching<\/em> (Provo, UT: FARMS, 1999), charts 81<\/a>, 82<\/a>, 83<\/a>, and 95<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Wilford M. Hess, \u201cRecent Notes about Olives in Antiquity,\u201d BYU Studies<\/em> 39\/4 (2000): 115-126.<\/p>\n

Wilford M. Hess, Daniel J. Fairbanks, John W. Welch, and Jonathan K. Diggs, \u201cBotanical Aspects of Olive Culture Relevant to Jacob 5<\/a>,\u201din Stephen D. Ricks and John W. Welch, eds.,\u00a0The Allegory of the Olive Tree: The Olive, the Bible, and Jacob 5<\/em>\u00a0(Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1994), 484\u2013562.<\/p>\n

Wilford M. Hess, \u201cBotanical Comparisons in the Allegory of the Olive Tree,<\/a>\u201d in Jacob through Words of Mormon, To Learn with Joy<\/em>, Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate Jr., eds. (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1990), 87\u2013102.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 This entry draws upon John W. Welch, et al., eds. \u00a0Knowing Why: 137 Evidences That the Book of Mormon Is True (American Fork: Covenant Communications, 2017), 156-164: \u00a0 One of the single most famous chapters in the Book of Mormon is Jacob 5, which recounts a lengthy olive tree allegory that it credits […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[11461,56,11470,11467,11452,11464,10573,788,55,11449,11458,243,11455,271],"class_list":["post-84988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-allegory","tag-book-of-mormon","tag-botanist","tag-botany","tag-cultivation","tag-horticulture","tag-jacob","tag-mormon","tag-mormonism","tag-olive","tag-orchard","tag-science","tag-vineyard","tag-zenos"],"yoast_head":"\nSome notes on olive cultivation and the Book of Mormon<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    This entry draws upon John W. 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