Interpreting Interpreter: A Man of the Forest

This post is a summary of the article ““Behold, I Went to Hunt Beasts in the Forest”: An Addendum on Enos, Esau, and the Symbolic Geography of Seir” by Matthew L. Bowen in Volume 63 of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship. All of the Interpreting Interpreter articles may be seen at https://interpreterfoundation.org/category/summaries/. An introduction to the Interpreting Interpreter series is available at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreting-interpreter-on-abstracting-thought/.

A video introduction to the Interpreter article is now available on all of our social media channels, including on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLHM-zBfkPI.

The Takeaway

Bowen highlights some additional ways in which the story of Enos echoes the cyclical narrative of Jacob and Esau, noting that Enos’ references to hunting and forests correspond with the description of Esau as “a cunning hunter” and a “man of [forest] overgrowth”.

The Summary

In this article, Matthew L. Bowen adds to his (here and here) and others’ previous work connecting the story of Enos in the Book of Mormon with the “Jacob-Esau cycle”, with the former invoking the imagery of Genesis 32:24. In addition to the shared term “wrestle” and Enos’ own name meaning “man” (in connection with the divine “man” who wrestled with Jacob), Bowen proposes that Enos may also be alluding to the description of Esau as “a cunning hunter” and an

ʾîš śāʿir, meaning “hairy man”, “man of Seir” or “man of [forest] overgrowth”. The place name Seir likely refers to a forested area in Edom, and the name itself indicating “thicket, or small wooded region”. Enos’ situating his prayer in the forest may thus be making use of the symbolic geography of Jacob’s wrestle with God. This is supported by further autobiographical parallels, such as both of them “hunger[ing]”, with Esau’s hunger being physical and Enos’ spiritual. As Bowen concludes:

“If the observations here are valid, we can again discern Enos’s skillful use of the onomastic wordplay of Genesis, even down to the symbolic geography and meaning of Seir. This masterful use of the biblical narrative’s Hebrew elements stands as strong evidence of the book of Enos (and more broadly of the Book of Mormon) as ancient literature, rather than modern.”

The Reflection

I must say, it does seem like it would’ve been difficult for Joseph to have included such layered allusions within what ends up as little more than an aside in the larger narrative of the Book of Mormon. Whereas Enos, who I imagine picked up a bit of scribal skill from his father and uncle, could’ve had good reason to layer in subtle references to Jacob and Esau, given his day-long wrestle in the forest. I’ll continue to enjoy Bowen’s incremental layering of these kinds of useful literary details.

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