Zenock
Encyclopedia
According to the Book of Mormon
, Zenock was an old world
prophet
whose pre-Christian era writings were recorded upon the plates of brass. Zenock is quoted or paraphrased a number of times by writers in the Book of Mormon, including Nephi
, Alma, son of Alma, Amulek
, Nephi, son of Helaman
, and Mormon
.
Zenock is reported to have written and prophesied about the divinity, death, and atonement of the coming Messiah
. In the Book of Alma (chapter 33 verse 17), Alma the Elder reports that Zenock was stoned
to death for preaching that the Messiah would be the "Son of God".
Outside of the Book of Mormon, there is no evidence that Zenock existed. However, there is evidence that writings of, and references to several ancient Israelite prophets were destroyed by the ruling class of the ancient Jews. There is a reference in the Dead Sea Scrolls
to an ancient prophet known as the Teacher of Righteousness
who was driven out of Jewish society because he preached of the coming of a Messiah. Outside of the Dead Sea Scrolls, there is no other reference to this person, and until 1950, there was absolutely no record of his existence. The scrolls state that the Teacher of Righteousness was descended from another mysterious prophet named Zadok, which might have been a transcribed or altered version of the Book of Mormon name Zenock .
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
, Zenock was an old world
Old World
The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....
prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
whose pre-Christian era writings were recorded upon the plates of brass. Zenock is quoted or paraphrased a number of times by writers in the Book of Mormon, including Nephi
Nephi
According to the Book of Mormon, Nephi was the son of Lehi, a prophet, founder of the Nephite people, and author of the first two books of the Book of Mormon, First and Second Nephi.- Early life :Nephi was the fourth of six sons of Lehi and Sariah...
, Alma, son of Alma, Amulek
Amulek
Amulek is a key figure from the Book of Alma, a section of the Book of Mormon.-Mission to Ammonihah:According to Alma, chapters 8-14, Amulek, in 82 B.C., accompanied the prophet Alma the Younger on a mission to the wicked city of Ammonihah, where he preached the Gospel and contended with the...
, Nephi, son of Helaman
Nephi, son of Helaman
According to the Book of Mormon Nephi , along with his brother Lehi, was a Nephite missionary. His father was Helaman, and his sons include two of the twelve Nephite disciples at the time that Christ visited the Americas. -Known genealogy:...
, and Mormon
Mormon (prophet)
Mormon is believed by followers of Mormonism to have been the narrator of much of the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which describes him as a prophet-historian and a member of a tribe of indigenous Americans known as the Nephites...
.
Zenock is reported to have written and prophesied about the divinity, death, and atonement of the coming Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
. In the Book of Alma (chapter 33 verse 17), Alma the Elder reports that Zenock was stoned
Stoning
Stoning, or lapidation, is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until the person dies. No individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject, yet everyone involved plainly bears some degree of moral culpability. This is in contrast to the...
to death for preaching that the Messiah would be the "Son of God".
Outside of the Book of Mormon, there is no evidence that Zenock existed. However, there is evidence that writings of, and references to several ancient Israelite prophets were destroyed by the ruling class of the ancient Jews. There is a reference in the Dead Sea Scrolls
Dead Sea scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of 972 texts from the Hebrew Bible and extra-biblical documents found between 1947 and 1956 on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, from which they derive their name...
to an ancient prophet known as the Teacher of Righteousness
Teacher of Righteousness
The Teacher of Righteousness is a figure found in some of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran, most prominently in the Damascus Document. This document speaks briefly of the origins of the sect, probably Essenes, 390 years after the Babylonian exile and after 20 years of 'groping' blindly for the way...
who was driven out of Jewish society because he preached of the coming of a Messiah. Outside of the Dead Sea Scrolls, there is no other reference to this person, and until 1950, there was absolutely no record of his existence. The scrolls state that the Teacher of Righteousness was descended from another mysterious prophet named Zadok, which might have been a transcribed or altered version of the Book of Mormon name Zenock .