Glenn Scott notes that in the course of nearly every Book of Mormon class, the question arises, “What was the date of the earliest event recorded in the Book of Mormon?” Almost invariably someone will answer, “2200 B.C., at the Tower of Babel.” Now it is perfectly true that Moroni notes, in reference to the record of Ether (the Jaredite prophet and historian) that “the first part of this record … speaks concerning the creation of the world … even to the great tower” (Ether 1:3) It is also true that Ether, and subsequently Moroni, wrote that, “Jared came forth with his brother and their families … from the great tower when the Lord confounded the language of the people” (Ether 1:33). It is also true that for a long time, many [latter-day saints] have assume that this event took place in 2200 B.C. But where did this easy assumption come from?
The usual response is, “Well, isn’t it in the [Book of Mormon] itself?”
The confusing answer is yes and no.
The no part of the answer means that although the authors of the Book of Mormon did give some dates in the text, at no time did any of them say that the date of the great tower was 2200 B.C.!
The yes part is more complex. As early as 1888, LDS publishers began adding estimated dates in the margins of their editions of the Book of Mormon. Some of those dates were modified in 1906 and again in 1920. (Stanley Larson 1984, “I Have a Question,” FARMS paper ENS-84). [The present edition does not contain the footnote date of 2200 B.C.]
Our question is: Where did the publisher get those dates---especially the 2200 B.C. date? Very few Book of Mormon readers know, so let’s dig in and see what the facts reveal.
Those dates are based on the calculations of James Ussher, an Archbishop from Armagh, Ireland, who in 1654 published a two-volume work, Annales Veteris et Novi Testamenti (Annals of the Ancient and New Testaments). In this work, Archbishop Ussher claimed that the Creation took place in 4004 B.C… .
One might wonder how Ussher could presume to be so precise because determining exact dates of ancient events from the Bible alone is virtually impossible. Let us review just two of the reasons why this is so:
(1) The accuracy of biblical genealogies are dependent on the skill and judgment of the translator, e.g., in the original Hebrew, both son and descendant were written by the same word, BN (vowels were not introduced until the sixth century A.D.). Thus, in translating from the ancient Hebrew, there is no way to be sure whether the relationship expressed as BN originally meant son or descendant. To further confuse the situation, even if the term descendant is known to be correct, there is no way to know how many generations (nor their length) passed between the ancestor and that descendant.
(2) Another situation which baffles attempts to set definite dates is where various scriptural sources disagree with one another. For example, Genesis (7:85 IV) indicates that Shem was born 108 years before the Flood, but Genesis (11:7 IV; 11:10 KJV) indicates it was 98 years. Also the Hebrew Bible (Genesis 10:15 IV; 10:24 KJV) shows Salah as Arphaxad’s son, but the Greek Version (Genesis 10:2) shows he was his grandson. Now, it would be easy to dismiss the Greek version, except for the fact that an ancient Hebrew midrash, The Book of Jubilees (codified in the third century B.C.), also lists the name of this extra generation, as does the Testimony of St. Luke (3:43 IV; 3:36 KJV). Since is would be easier for any of a series of scribes to lose a name, than for three separate records to invent and insert the same name (Cainan), we accept this additional generation. [Glenn A. Scott, Voices from the Dust: New Light on an Ancient American Record, pp. 8-9]
Ether 1:3 The first part of this record, which speaks concerning the creation of the world … even to the great tower (Chronology) [[Illustration] Archbishop James Ussher (1561-1656) [Glenn A. Scott, Voices from the Dust: New Light on an Ancient American Record, p. 10]
“The First Part of This Record Which Speaks Concerning the Creation to the Great Tower is Had Among the Jews”
According to Roy Weldon and Edward Butterworth, the Nephite record mentions Adam 29 times; Eve, 3 times; Garden of Eden, 5 times; flood of Noah, 4 times; Tower of Babel, 6 times; Moses, 86 times; and numerous references to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. A bright golden thread runs through all Book of Mormon references to the book of Genesis. In every reference, the book of Genesis is treated as historical and not allegorical or traditional. The following quotation clearly and graphically illustrates this fact:
And now I, Moroni, proceed to give an account of those ancient inhabitants who were destroyed by the hand of the Lord upon the face of this north country. And I take mine account from the twenty and four plates which were found by the people of Limhi, which is called the book of Ether. And as I suppose that the first part of this record, which speaks concerning the creation of the world, and also of Adam, and an account from that time even to the great tower, and whatsoever things transpired among the children of men until that time, is had among the Jews, Therefore I do not write those things which transpired from the days of Adam until that time; but they are had upon the plates; and whoso findeth them, the same will have power that he may get the full account. But behold I give not the full account, but a part of the account I give, from the tower down until they were destroyed. And on this wise do I give the account. (Ether 1:1-5)
Jesus, himself, endorsed Genesis. Was He ignorant of the facts, or a pretender? If so, He must be discredited as the Son of God, whom He claimed to be.
In Matthew 19:4-6, Jesus said, “Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female … What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder.” Here we have a clear endorsement of Genesis 1:27 and 2:23. Jesus obviously believed the events recorded in the very first chapter of the Bible. He did not refer to the creation as a legend as many clergy-men do today.
In Matthew 23:35, Jesus referred to the “blood of Abel the righteous” demonstrating His belief in the account of Cain and Abel recorded in the fourth chapter of Genesis, verses 8-16.
In the same chapter (verses 37-39) He alluded to the Flood of Noah, indicating that He believed the entire account as recorded in the sixth to ninth chapters of Genesis.
p>In Matthew 11;24 He refers to the destruction of Sodom, substantiating His acceptance of Genesis nineteen in which that event is recorded.
There are numerous other evidences of His confidence in Genesis, although we cannot take time for them today. Suffice to say, Jesus treated that Book as factual throughout. He did not consider it unhistorical or mythical.
At this point I would refer you to something Dr. R.A. Torrey wrote bearing on this matter. Said he:
If we accept the teaching of Jesus Christ, we must of course accept everything upon which He sets His stamp of endorsement. To say that you accept the authority of Jesus Christ, and then throw overboard that upon which He sets His stamp of endorsement is to be utterly irrational.
[Roy E. Weldon and F. Edward Butterworth, Book of Mormon Claims and Evidences, Vol. 3, pp. 121-123]
Ether 1:3 The First Part of This Record, Which Speaks concerning the Creation … to the Great Tower … Is Had among the Jews:
Walter Kaiser writes that if we assume that the book of Genesis was written in the days of Moses, then Old Testament came to us over a period of a millennium-from somewhere around 1400 to 400 B.C. But if God spoke to the prophets through visions, dreams and their hearing the word of God, what was the first thing that God ever revealed to mortals?
In Genesis 5:1 the text specifically claimed that it was dependant on a “scroll” (Hebrew, sepher) as the basis for its construction of Adam’s lineage. Moreover, six times in the first eleven chapters the writer appealed to some named sources that he used for the construction of these chapters. He called these sources the “accounts” “generation” or “histories” of each of the events or individuals named. The Hebrew word was toledot, a noun associated with the verb yalad, “to give birth to, to bear,” and the like. The six notices were titled as follows:
1. “The account of the heavens and the earth when they were created” (Genesis 2:4)
2. “The written account of Adam’s line” (Genesis 5:1)
3. “The account of Noah” (Genesis 6:9)
4. “The account of Shem, Ham and Japheth” (Genesis 10:1)
5. “The account of Shem” (Genesis 11:10)
6. “The account of Terah” (Genesis 11:27)
The words “account of” (or “the histories of”) are clearly rubrics, headings for the material that followed and which seem to point to where the writer derived his material. Much more important is the fact that the writer does point to sources and that one of them is explicitly called a written source taken from a scroll or written source of some kind. That certainly allows us to assume that one or more of the other five rubrics or colophons may also have been derived from written sources if no convincing evidence exists either in the texts or outside them to point to an oral tradition.
These “accounts” represent the earliest record of source materials, which God was pleased to have his writer use as he wrote the book of Genesis. This would be a case of God guiding his writer to gather the materials together as the sources from which he then developed the history of these times that had preceded his own times by a wide margin. Therefore, as the writer was led to incorporate those parts from his sources into his inspired writings, with the parts being woven into a complete tapestry of divine revelation in that book, the resulting total composition was exactly what God had intended and wanted preserved for posterity as well as that day.
Such use of sources is no more startling to us than the similar case in the Gospel of Luke, where Luke made a careful investigation of all that had been handed down from the beginning of the story (Luke 1:1-4). [Water C. Kaiser Jr., The Old Testament Documents: Are They Reliable & Relevant?, pp. 16-17, 57-58] [See the commentary on 1 Nephi 5:11-13]
Note* This is the same process by which Mormon and Moroni made their abridgments. [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes]