Jacob chapter 5 quotes an allegory told by the Hebrew prophet Zenos. The Nephite prophets really seemed to like Zenos, but outside of the Book of Mormon we have had scant information on him. The Pseudo-Philo mentions a Hebrew prophet named Cenez or Zenez, which would be the same as Zenos (this had been translated from Hebrew to Greek to Latin, and then into English, and you have to guess at vowels, so Cenez might just as well be Zenos). One can't know for sure that this is the same Zenos, but he was regarded as a prophet and a great warrior. This Zenos was an active prophet just after the death of Joshua and was greatly concerned over the sinful state of Israel his entire life. He did some incredible things, including taking out an entire army single-handedly with the blessings of the Lord, and made a curious prophecy before he died, which culminates with a particular individual whose name is mysteriously missing from the text. According to the Pseudo-Philo, his last words were: "if the rest of the righteous be such after they are dead, it is better for them to die to the corruptible world, that they see not sin."

Well, there's the background of a possible match for our Zenos, but let's get on to the olive trees, shall we? We catch one thing that should raise some questions right away, in Jacob 5:3: "For behold, thus saith the Lord, I will liken thee, O house of Israel, like unto a tame olive-tree, which a man took and nourished in his vineyard; and it grew, and waxed old, and began to decay." So the tame olive tree is Israel, and we'll get to that soon, but olives don't grow on vines. Why is this parable taking place in a vineyard? Well, around the time of Joshua the same Hebrew word was used for both vineyard and orchard (this may offer support for the Pseudo-Philo's Cenez being the Book of Mormon's Zenos). Though the Book of Mormon was not written in Hebrew, the Nephites were much more comfortable with Hebrew than the language used on their plates (Mormon 9:33), and Jacob probably took Zenos' allegory from its original Hebrew. In any case, it's a great testament to the authenticity of the parable.

So why olive trees? The Hebrews would have loved this type of parable. A lot has been written about Mediterranean olive culture, so we won't go too much into it here, but olives were very important to the Hebrew people in many ways. They didn't have soap at the time, so olive oil was used when they washed themselve. This made it a representation for cleanliness and purity, and carried over into religious life. We've all heard of washing and anointing, etc. To this day, when performing blessings for the sick, we usually precede the blessing with an anointing with consecrated oil. We also recognize the olive branch as a symbol of peace, and it's good to note that an olive tree requires a lot of care in order to produce good fruit.

We've already noted that this olive tree, which is starting to go downhill, represents Israel. We can get through this allegory a bit easier if we understand the vineyard (orchard) to be the world, and the master of the vineyard to be Jesus Christ. Let's start from there and see where it leads us.

Well, the master of the vineyard is getting concerned over the decaying tree, so in verse 5 he starts putting a lot of work into it, but it still isn't doing to well. So he's going to graft in some branches from a wild olive tree, and take a lot of the good branches from the dying tree and graft them in other places. In other words, Israel's being scattered, you see. The branches from the wild tree are the gentiles.

Verse 17: "And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard looked and beheld the tree in the which the wild olive branches had been grafted; and it had sprung forth and begun to bear fruit. And he beheld that it was good; and the fruit thereof was like unto natural fruit." So the gentiles were doing well, at least for a little while. This places emphasis on the fact that God is not a respecter of persons. It doesn't matter who you are, or what family you're from; you're afforded the same opportunity for salvation as anyone else.

Zenos' allegory is very extensive, and we can go on and see past, present, and future events in some detail, but for our present purposes it is appropriate to just touch on a few key points. We get a vivid pictureof the nature of God here, something that's important for us to understand if we are to exercise faith. When the servant (the prophets) expresses shock at the fact the Lord plants one of the branches on poor ground, the response comes in verse 22: "Counsel me not; I knew that it was a poor spot of ground; wherefore, I said unto thee, I have nourished it this long time, and thou beholdest that it hath brought forth much fruit." We have to trust in the Lord's omniscience. Notice the amount of work put forth by the Lord to get his vineyard to produce good fruit, and how the term "grieve" is used over the corrupted trees. Verse 41: "And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard wept, and said unto the servant: What could I have done more for my vineyard?" This should cause us to reflect on the worth of souls in the sight of God. His children are precious, and He does everything He can to save them, and weeps for those who will not be saved.

In verse 70 we get into our dispensation. The Lord brings in other servants to nourish the vineyard one last time, though "they were few." In verse 71 he gives them instructions: "And the Lord of the vineyard said unto them: Go to, and labor in the vineyard, with your might. For behold, this is the last time that I shall nourish my vineyard; for the end is nigh at hand, and the season speedily cometh; and if ye labor with your might with me ye shall have joy in the fruit which I shall lay up unto myself against the time which will soon come." It would be appropriate to reflect upon who these other servants are, and how we can help in the final nourishing in the Lord's vineyard. The servants are said to have labored diligently, and we read in verse that "the Lord of the vineyard saw that his fruit was good, and that his vineyard was no more corrupt."

We finish Zenos' parable by reading verse 77, the last verse: "And when the time cometh that evil fruit shall again come into my vineyard, then will I cause the good and the bad to be gathered; and the good will I preserve unto myself, and the bad will I cast away into its own place. And then cometh the season and the end; and my vineyard will I cause to be burned with fire."

After quoting the parable, Jacob expands on the last part with the servants and the burning of the vineyard. In chapter 6, verses 2 and 3: "And the day that he shall set his hand again the second time to recover his people, is the day, yea, even the last time, that the servants of the Lord shall go forth in his power, to nourish and prune his vineyard; and after that the end soon cometh. And how blessed are they who have labored diligently in his vineyard; and how cursed are they who shall be cast out into their own place! And the world shall be burned with fire."

As always, Jacob pleads with the Nephites to turn away from sin and to be righteous. He is a great example of magnifying one's calling -- he does everything he can to persuade the Nephites to believe in Christ and to repent and "come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you" (verse 5). He warns of the penalties of rejecting Christ and his atonement, and he sums up his teachings with the succinct phrase we read in verse 12: "O be wise; what can I say more?"

In chapter 7 it mentions that a few years have passed away, and along comes this Sherem character who preaches that there will be no Christ. Verse 3: "And he labored diligently that he might lead away the hearts of the people, insomuch that he did lead away many hearts." He was successful, and we read that "he was learned, that he had a perfect knowledge of the language of the people; wherefore, he could use much flattery, and much power of speech, according to the power of the devil." So he was a smooth talker. He was good with his words, and he was charismatic. He was one of those documentary filmmakers that you just have to believe.

Well, Sherem wants to debate Jacob. He knows he's a smart guy, and thinks that if he can outwit the recognized spiritual leader, it would be good publicity. But notice how he debates: he's not an atheist, he claims to practice the beliefs of the people. So it's not the atheists we need to worry so much about -- we already know what they stand for. Sherem appears to be very moral and pious, and even pushes the guilt for screwing up the religion over onto Jacob in verse 7: "And ye have led away much of this people that they pervert the right way of God, and keep not the law of Moses which is the right way." This is very relevant: the worst criticism of the Church comes from those who claim to be Christian. "Look, you believe in Christ, I believe in Christ, but don't listen to those people. It's blasphemy. How could you really believe that God speaks to a prophet today?" It's perfectly analagous to Sherem, who actually accuses Jacob of blasphemy: "And now behold, I, Sherem, declare unto you that this is blasphemy; for no man knoweth of such things; for he cannot tell of things to come" (verse 7). When we hear people proclaiming that "religion is evil, all we need to do is confess Christ and shun religion," we hear Sherem the anti-Christ coming through. These are the common cries of much of the so-called Christian world today.

Jacob was able to prevent the loss of many souls, however, with the help of the Lord. In verse 8: "But behold, the Lord God poured in his Spirit into my soul, insomuch that I did confound him in all his words." (Notice here another key about the nature of God -- the Spirit increases intelligence, it doesn't make you incoherent like some would have you believe). We're familiar with the story: Sherem demands a sign, and is smitten by God. He is out of it for several days, and is on the verge of death. He gathers up the people, confesses that he had been deceived by the devil, and remarks that the scriptures "truly testify" of Christ. In verse 23 we find out that this was very persuasive to the Nephites, who began to search the scriptures once again.

Verse 24 is interesting: a true testimony instills in you the desire for all to share in the blessings of heaven. We read: "And it came to pass that many means were devised to reclaim and restore the Lamanites to a knowledge of the truth; but it all was vain, for they delighted in wars and bloodshed, and they had an eternal hatred against us, their brethren."

In verse 26 Jacob waxes poetic: "And it came to pass that I, Jacob, began to be old; and the record of this people being kept on the other plates of Nephi, wherefore, I conclude this record, declaring that I have written according to the best of my knowledge, by saying that the time passed away with us, and also our lives passed away like as it were unto us a dream, we being a lonesome and a solemn people, wanderers, cast out from Jerusalem, born in tribulation, in a wilderness, and hated of our brethren, which caused wars and contentions; wherefore, we did mourn out our days."

In the next and final verse we read that Jacob passed the plates on to his son Enos: "And I Jacob saw that I must soon go down to my grave; wherefore, I said unto my son Enos: Take these plates." Enos promises to be obedient to the commandments of Nephi regarding the plates, and Jacob bids us farewell: "Brethren, adieu."

Stephen D. Ricks and John W. Welch, eds., The Allegory of the Olive Tree: The Olive, the Bible, and Jacob 5 (Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1994).

Hugh Nibley, Teachings of the Book of Mormon, Part 1 (Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 2004).

Church Educational System, Book of Mormon Student Manual (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1996).