I should note that while some 1 Enoch parallels are striking, often the differences are quite glaring as well. And of course 1 Enoch is clearly a very late composite text likely composed between 100 BCE and 100 AD although presumably made up of reworked earlier traditions and texts. As such too much parallel could be seen as anachronistic for Nephi and a problem. For instance the question of the spirit world of the dead for the gloomy wilderness would be a problem. Of course Nephi doesn’t equate it with the underworld or the land of the dead.

There’s also a more apologetic debate over whether Joseph would have had access to 1 Enoch. (See this FPR post from last week for instance)

The difference in the “sin” river between Enoch and Nephi is intriguing. For Enoch the infernal river is of fire with more traditional “hell” imagery you associate with the second temple period.

There’s also a tower in the section called the animal apocalypse (85-90). There various animals and a shepherd symbolize Israel’s history. The house (temple) is made “great and spacious” (1 Enoch 89:50) Water, darkness and mist increases. Various symbolic events happen by wild beasts devouring the sheep and the house is destroyed (the exile). They rebuild the house and tower but offer polluted food. etc.

It’s not a perfect match and clearly reflects a relatively late (say 100 BCE) tradition. It’s more the symbolism that’s interesting. The this apocalypse the “great and spacious” sometimes is the temple and sometimes is a corrupt version. However it may reflect an earlier tradition that’d presumably have different use. There are other towers in the text as well that Enoch is taken to in order to see various destructions. So the use of a tower to represent pride is missing. Instead the tower is the temple and it’s height the ideal mountain (remnant of ideas from before the Josiah removal of high places most likely).

1. While the tree is equated with the tree of life, the tree of life itself is extremely symbolic in many ways
2. It’s worth comparing Nephi’s vision to Enochian literature. In particular a lot of the geography bears many similarities with 1 Enoch. (See the brief discussion in the comments to one of your earlier posts) So for instance 1 Enoch 17 has a “great river” and a place of “great darkness.” Many tie it to greek myths of the land of the dead. Broadly a dark region is typically the realm of the dead although a few suggest it’s the darkness on the otherside of the vault of heaven.
3. The filthy river isn’t in 1 Enoch although as anyone who has seen a desert flash flood knows, this is an easy metaphor to make. However there are two different rivers – one is a river of living waters and the other is clearly infernal
4. In 1 Enoch beyond the darkness is the Garden of Eden. (see 24-25) Typically (but not universally) scholars see this as a the tree of life.
5. Michael in 1 Enoch says the fruit of the tree of life is inaccessible until after judgment.
6. Reading 1 Enoch with Nephi suggests the vision is partially what we today would call Spirit Prison and Paradise while awaiting judgment/resurrection.
7. Michael Austin at BCC did an interesting post last year arguing Nephi’s vision is a corrective on Genesis 2. (We should note that it’s not clear what creation accounts Nephi had – typically Gen 2-3 is dated to the Babylonian exile.
8. The imagery paralleling the ocean separating new world from old is a good one. I’d never noticed it although the Exodus pattern also fits where the river Jordan has a similar role.

Robert: That’s a consistent way of interpreting the text, but one that goes well beyond what the text itself gives us.