Shall Surely Make Restitution

Exodus 22 contains a number of laws governing situations in which one Israelite will be required to make restitution to another (for instance, if your animal gets into someone else's field (v. 4), if a fire on your land spreads to a neighbor's (v. 5), if an animal in your care is stolen (v. 11)).

In English, this stuff is dry and doesn't seem relevant, but a look at the Hebrew shows something interesting.  "Restitution" comes from the root SH-L-M, and the repeated phrases in Exodus 22 are yeshalem (he shall make restitution) and shalem yeshalem (he's really going to make restitution, emphatic).  Restitution is paying back, making whole, redeeming.

This is really interesting, because I think that Matthew 5:48 in Hebrew, as Nephi knew it, had people pronounced shalems as they transitioned to the second room of the temple.  With Exodus 22 as the background, one of the associations the initiates made must have been that they were becoming redeemers.  Similarly, Melchizedek, melekh shalem, must have been heard to be the redeeming king, as well as the initiated king and the peaceable king.

Jerusalem

For another three weeks or so, there's a film called Jerusalem playing at Thanksgiving Point.  It's worth seeing for many reasons, two of which tie into things we've discussed in class:

1. Shalem.  The film says that the name Jerusalem is Jebusite, and means "City of Shalem," Shalem being a Jebusite deity.  This is one theory, and an interesting one -- from our point of view, the most interesting thing is the use of Shalem (the complete one, the perfect one, the initiated one) as a divine name / title.
2. The Rock of Matthew 7 is explained, discussed, and shown.  This alone is worth the modest price of admission.

He Did Rejoice and Glory

After the wicked wipe each other out, the Jaredites enjoy a succession of righteous kings.  We are given particular notice of Emer, who is identified as being virtuous in unmistakably shalemish terms:  he sees "peace," and the Son of Righteousness (a title that appears to combine the Son of God and the King of Righteousness, Melchizedek), he rejoices and glories.

They Called the Mount Shelem

The consonants SH-L-M occur in the most interesting places.  Here, "Shelem" is the "mountain" upon which the brother of Jared finally sees the Lord.  Remember that the visionary men become "Shalems," teleioi, peaceable ones, when they enter the second room of the temple, and in the second room of the temple they see the Lord.