Zenock

Zenock was a preexilic Israelite prophet whose words were found on the plates of brass, a record carried from Jerusalem to the new promised land in the Western Hemisphere by the Book of Mormon prophet Lehi c. 600 B.C. Zenock is not known from the Hebrew Bible or other sources and is noted in only five passages in the Book of Mormon. It is possible that he was of the lineage of Joseph of Egypt and an ancestor of the Nephites (3 Ne. 10:16).

Each reference to Zenock refers to his teaching of either the coming or redemptive mission of Jesus Christ. Nephi₁, son of Lehi, in teaching from the words of previous prophets, stated that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Jesus Christ) would be "lifted up, according to the words of Zenock" (1 Ne. 19:10), referring to his crucifixion. Alma 33:16 contains the only direct quotation of Zenock's words, citing him as one of many Israelite prophets who foretold the mission of the Son of God (Alma 33:14—17; cf. 34:7) and quoting him on the mercies that God grants because of his Son. Alma₂ noted, however, that because the people "would not understand" Zenock's words, they "stoned him to death" (Alma 33:17). Nephi₂ cited Zenock and others who testified of the coming of the Son of God (Hel. 8:20). In the last reference to his work, Mormon wrote that Zenos and Zenock foretold the destruction that preceded the coming of Christ to the remnant of their posterity (3 Ne. 10:14—16).

Kent P. Jackson