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Source:Echoes:Ch12:3:King installed with insignia
Installation of King in Office with Insignia
Installation of King in Office with Insignia
At the coronation of Joash, Jehoiada the priest conferred upon him two objects, called the nezer and the edût. The meaning of the first term is "crown" (see 2 Kings 11:12). The meaning of edût is far less certain. It may have been a piece of writing that affirmed the king's adoption by God and promised the new king victory over his enemies, as Psalm 2:7–9 suggests, or it may have been a document, one the ruler was to wear, containing the basic terms of Yahweh's covenant with the house of David (Israel's line of the kings).
The transfer of power to Mosiah involved something similar. Benjamin gave him certain objects, passing on the official records of the people (the plates of brass and the plates of Nephi), the sword of Laban, and the miraculous ball, also called the director or Liahona (see Mosiah 1:15–16). Of course, the royal documents were the most important records in the kingdoms of the ancient world, and a sword was a frequent sign of kingship in Europe and Asia.7 In addition, from the sixteenth century at least back to the Roman Empire, rulers in the Old World commonly held in one hand an orb or ball.8 Although the Bible does not mention such an object, it still might have been part of the Israelite coronation paraphernalia.[1]
Notes
- ↑ Stephen D. Ricks, "Converging Paths: Language and Cultural Notes on the Ancient Near Eastern Background of the Book of Mormon," in Echoes and Evidences of the Book of Mormon, edited by Donald W. Parry, Daniel C. Peterson, and John W. Welch (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 2002), Chapter 12, references silently removed—consult original for citations.