KnoWhy #313 - Why Did Zenos Quote From Psalm 46 In His Prophecy Of Christ’s Death? (1 Nephi 19:11)

In 1 Nephi 19, Nephi related a series of prophecies concerning the events that would occur in association with the death of Christ. Drawing on the words of Zenos, Nephi related that at the time of Christ’s death there would be three days of darkness, thunderings and lightnings, tempest, fire, smoke, vapor of darkness, “the opening of the earth,” and “mountains which shall be carried up” (vv. 10–11). The specific phrasing of the last element, involving mountains being “carried” up, is rare in the scriptures. Although a number of biblical passages speak of mountains being “lifted up” or “removed,” Psalm 46:2 is the only passage that speaks of mountains being “carried.”

Although we cannot know if Zenos was, indeed, quoting Psalm 46 specifically, he was certainly in touch with the traditions that we find there and throughout the Old Testament regarding the “great and dreadful day of the Lord.”