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On page 5, you state: ‘In Ugaritic mythology, for example, the two terms phr m‘d “Great Assembly” and gér il the “Divine Mountain” appear as synonymous expressions (see KTU 1.2 I lines 19-21).’ In reading the Ugaritic expression, it is similar to the modern word ‘pyramid’. Is this a coincidence, or an etymology? It seems there is not full consensus on the etymology of the word ‘pyramid’, which leads me to wonder about this similarity. I realize that the Egyptian pyramids were built before the Ugaritic period, but sometimes ‘modern’ words are adopted for older objects.
So interesting, Brother Bokovoy, just like your Education Week talks. You give us countless things to think about. We love the connections you make between Old Testament-Book of Mormon (and D&C)!
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I just wanted to say thanks.
This is an excellent article. You did wonderfully at BYU Education Week too.
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David Bokovoy has given us a very thought provoking and informative paper on councils and witnesses. It has caused me to think more deeply on this topic. Here are a few sidebar thoughts that I have on his paper.
The second term in the Ugaritic phrase phr m‘d “Great Assembly” (p.3) is likely cognate with Hebrew môˤēḏ that is translated as “an appointed time, place, meeting” (BDB 417), and is used in the expression KJV “tabernacle of the congregation” and JPS “tent of meeting” to which Moses went to commune with God (Ex 33:7-11). The Septuagint refers to it as the “tent or tabernacle of testimony.” The translators of the Septuagint associated mˤd with ˤēḏ “witness, testimony” (BDB 729) rather than ˤēḏāh “congregation” (BDB 417), which in the Septuagint is translated as synagogue (connoting both a congregation and a place). The f. noun ˤēḏāh compares with the verb form yˤd that originally was *wˤd; the 1st consonant is elided in the feminine noun form. The other noun form môˤēḏ developed from *mawˤid; the *ma- prefix is attached to the verb “appoint” wˤd making it a substantive of location, “an appointed place” or an abstraction “an appointment,” i.e. a meeting (to meet at a particular time or place) (Waltke & O’Connor Biblical Hebrew Syntax p.90). The noun ˤēḏ “witness, testimony” derives from a nominal form *ˤid that compares to the verb form ˤwd “to return, repeat” (BDB 728). The interesting thing is that ˤēḏāh and ˤēḏ share common consonants ˤd and their different meanings “an assembly” and “a testimony or witness” are imbedded in the language (a paronomasia) and are also evident in the paper that the members of the assembly bear testimony and are witnesses both heavenly and earthly (p.8).
With regard to Deut. 33:2 (p.4) it might be helpful to look at the Septuagint translations. (Septuagint versions) Apostolic: “And he said, The Lord [from out of Sinai is come], and he appeared upon Seir to us. And he hastened from out of mount Paran with myriads of Kadesh [holy ones] at his right were angels with him.”
Brenton: “And he said, The Lord is come from Sina, and has appeared from Seir to us, and has hasted out of the mount of Pharan, with the ten thousands of Cades; on his right hand were his angels with him.”
Thomson: “The Lord came from Sina
And shined upon us out of Seir;
He hasted from mount Paran,
With myriads from Kades;
His angels with Him on his right.”
The last phrase of this verse Bokovoy translates as “the gods” or Cross as “the divine ones” (note #6). It is translated as angels in the Greek version, which fits nicely with the interpretation that angels are part of the divine assembly (p. 6, 9-11).
Psalm 82:1 (p.8) in the Apostolic Septuagint reads: “God stood in the congregation {synagogue} of gods and in the midst of gods he examines” (“judges” in Brenton & Thomson). Gods and angels are associated with the assembly; they accompany God and exercise judgment as indicated in the Septuagint translation. These verses further support the thesis of this paper.
Calvin D. Tolman