Moses 2 — JST

31 verses • Pearl of Great Price, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Preamble

Summary

Moses 2 parallels Genesis 1, presenting the six-day creation account and the seventh-day rest. The key distinction is that every creative act is attributed to God speaking to his Only Begotten, and the repeated formula shifts from 'And God said' to 'And I, God, said.'

What Is Remarkable

Smith reframed the creation as a dialogue between the Father and the Son. Where Genesis 1 uses the impersonal 'And God said,' Moses 2 consistently inserts first-person divine narration. The 'us' of Genesis 1:26 is clarified as the Father and Son acting together (2:26). Humanity is created 'in the image of mine Only Begotten' (2:27).

Points of Friction

The Masoretic Text and KJV present creation as monologue ('And God said'). Moses 2 makes it dialogical and christological. The added phrase 'mine Only Begotten' appears nowhere in Genesis. The first-person narration ('I, God') replaces the third-person narrator.

Connections

Parallels Genesis 1:1-31. The creation through the Son echoes John 1:1-3, Colossians 1:16, Hebrews 1:2. The 'us' of Genesis 1:26 is a long-standing interpretive crux; Smith resolves it as Father-Son collaboration.

1 Genesis 1:1 — In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Moses, saying: Behold, I reveal unto you concerning this heaven, and this earth; write the words which I speak. I am the Beginning and the End, the Almighty God; by mine Only Begotten I created these things; yea, in the beginning I created the heaven, and the earth upon which thou standest.

Greatly expanded from Gen 1:1. God self-identifies as 'the Beginning and the End' (cf. Rev 1:8) and specifies creation through the Only Begotten.

2 Genesis 1:2 — And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

And the earth was without form, and void; and I caused darkness to come up upon the face of the deep; and my Spirit moved upon the face of the water; for I am God.

Shifts to first person. Darkness becomes an act of God ('I caused') rather than a preexisting condition.

3 Genesis 1:3 — And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

And I, God, said: Let there be light; and there was light.

Identical to Gen 1:3 except for the first-person formula 'I, God.'

4 Genesis 1:4 — And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

And I, God, saw the light; and that light was good. And I, God, divided the light from the darkness.

First-person restatement of Gen 1:4. No substantive change.

5 Genesis 1:5 — And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

And I, God, called the light Day; and the darkness, I called Night; and this I did by the word of my power, and it was done as I spake; and the evening and the morning were the first day.

Adds 'by the word of my power, and it was done as I spake' — emphasizing creation by divine speech.

6 Genesis 1:6 — And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

And again, I, God, said: Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water, and it was so, even as I spake; and I said: Let it divide the waters from the waters; and it was done;

Follows Gen 1:6, adding the fulfillment formula 'it was so, even as I spake.'

7 Genesis 1:7 — And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

And I, God, made the firmament and divided the waters, yea, the great waters under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament, and it was so even as I spake.

Adds 'the great waters' — a small expansion. Otherwise follows Gen 1:7.

8 Genesis 1:8 — And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

And I, God, called the firmament Heaven; and the evening and the morning were the second day.

Identical to Gen 1:8 except for first-person framing.

9 Genesis 1:9 — And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

And I, God, said: Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and it was so; and I, God, said: Let there be dry land; and it was so.

Splits the command into two parts with separate fulfillment statements.

10 Genesis 1:10 — And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

And I, God, called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters, called I the Sea; and I, God, saw that all things which I had made were good.

Broadens 'it was good' to 'all things which I had made were good.'

11 Genesis 1:11 — And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

And I, God, said: Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, the fruit tree yielding fruit, after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed should be in itself upon the earth, and it was so even as I spake.

Follows Gen 1:11, adding the fulfillment formula 'even as I spake.'

12 Genesis 1:12 — And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

And the earth brought forth grass, every herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed should be in itself, after his kind; and I, God, saw that all things which I had made were good;

Broadens approval: 'all things which I had made were good.'

13 Genesis 1:13 — And the evening and the morning were the third day.

And the evening and the morning were the third day.

Identical to Gen 1:13.

14 Genesis 1:14 — And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

And I, God, said: Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven, to divide the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years;

Essentially identical to Gen 1:14.

15 Genesis 1:15 — And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth; and it was so.

Identical to Gen 1:15.

16 Genesis 1:16 — And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

And I, God, made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, and the greater light was the sun, and the lesser light was the moon; and the stars also were made even according to my word.

Smith adds explicit identification of sun and moon. Stars made 'according to my word' emphasizes divine speech.

17 Genesis 1:17 — And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

And I, God, set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

Identical to Gen 1:17, first-person framing.

18 Genesis 1:18 — And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

And the sun to rule over the day, and the moon to rule over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness; and I, God, saw that all things which I had made were good;

Names sun and moon explicitly. Broadens approval to 'all things which I had made.'

19 Genesis 1:19 — And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

Identical to Gen 1:19.

20 Genesis 1:20 — And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

And I, God, said: Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and the fowl which may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

Closely follows Gen 1:20, first-person framing.

21 Genesis 1:21 — And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

And I, God, created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind; and I, God, saw that all things which I had created were good.

Broadens: 'all things which I had created were good.'

22 Genesis 1:22 — And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

And I, God, blessed them, saying: Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the sea; and let fowl multiply in the earth;

Closely follows Gen 1:22. 'Sea' singular vs. KJV 'seas.'

23 Genesis 1:23 — And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

Identical to Gen 1:23.

24 Genesis 1:24 — And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

And I, God, said: Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their kind, and it was so;

Minor pluralization changes. Otherwise follows Gen 1:24.

25 Genesis 1:25 — And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

And I, God, made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and cattle after their kind, and everything which creepeth upon the earth after his kind; and I, God, saw that all these things were good.

Broadens to 'all these things were good.'

26 Genesis 1:26 — And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

And I, God, said unto mine Only Begotten, which was with me from the beginning: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and it was so. And I, God, said: Let them have dominion over the fishes of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

The most significant change in Moses 2: Smith resolves the 'us' of Gen 1:26 by inserting 'unto mine Only Begotten, which was with me from the beginning.' The divine plural is Father and Son.

27 Genesis 1:27 — So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

And I, God, created man in mine own image, in the image of mine Only Begotten created I him; male and female created I them.

Where Gen 1:27 says 'in the image of God,' Moses 2:27 says 'in the image of mine Only Begotten' — making the christological reading explicit.

28 Genesis 1:28 — And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

And I, God, blessed them, and said unto them: Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Closely follows Gen 1:28 with first-person framing.

29 Genesis 1:29 — And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

And I, God, said unto man: Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in the which shall be the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

Essentially identical to Gen 1:29.

30 Genesis 1:30 — And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein I grant life, there shall be given every clean herb for meat; and it was so, even as I spake.

'Wherein I grant life' replaces 'wherein there is life' — making God the active grantor. 'Clean herb' replaces 'green herb.'

31 Genesis 1:31 — And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

And I, God, saw everything that I had made, and, behold, all things which I had made were very good; and the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

The climactic approval: 'all things which I had made were very good.' Broadened from Genesis' 'it was very good.'