The last week of jesuss mortal life was a time filled with completions. Nevertheless, the prophet insisted that the book of mormon is the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to god by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book 1841. Welcome to my new isaiah in book of mormon blog nephi had a purpose in placing the isaiah scriptures on his plates as those scriptures were relevant and personal to nephi. The 21 chapters of isaiah which are quoted chapters 214, 29, and 4854 either partially or completely, represent about onethird of the book of isaiah, but less. Keller as students of the bible are aware, isaiah is not always an easy book to understand, and those portions of it that appear in the book of mormon can be equally difficult to interpret. These scholars use the prophets of the book of mormon as knowledgeable guides, examining how and why those ancient writers used and interpreted isaiah in order to clarify for modern readers what the isaiah sections in the book of mormon are all about. Isaiah variants in the book of mormon religious studies center. Were the isaiah passages in the book of mormon simply. The last prophet in the book of mormon, moroni, wrote the following in the middle of a list of admonitions to his modern readers. Plano and lamoni lamoni was actually published years later but kept the date as 1874, from what i understand. But latterday saints, with their testimony of prophecy and with the many evidences given in the scriptures, have long affirmed that isaiah, son of amoz, wrote the entire book of isaiah. That is, the book of mormon isaiah verses are closer to the greek ot septuagint from 3rd century bc and the hebrew masoretic texts. As a result of this, the isaiah chapters on nephis plates would have looked slightly different from the isaiah chapters that we have now in the book of mormon. This powerful call for the captive daughter of zion to rise up and shake off the dust and bands of bondage will be quoted again by jesus in 3 nephi 20.
Isaiah is the most quoted old testament prophet in the book of mormon volume, and this tome does justice to the essential role isaiah plays in the volume, with many essays dedicating to exegeting the nephite midrash of isaiah periocpe and whole chapters in the book of mormon text. Book of mormon evidence vs book of mormon central pop isaiah april 9, 2019 it was a year ago this week, i spent three days at two book of mormon conferences on the same weekend. I recommend trying this exercise on your own with any or all of the isaiah chapters in the book of mormon or the bible. In the book of mormon, the daughter of zion appears in quotations of isaiah. Clearly the brass plates of laban afforded them access to that prophets works and was part of their scriptural understanding, perhaps even part of their daytoday conversations. And by the time that week ended, he had in fact finished all that he had been sent to do and all that was necessary to allow the eternal plan of his father to succeed. Mormon chose to keep about one third of isaiah s writings. We read later in the book of mormon that the nephites set their hearts upon riches, rejecting christ and giving themselves up to the sin of pride helaman. Two large blocks of isaiah chapters 214 and 4854 are scattered among four books 1 nephi, 2 nephi, mosiah, and 3 nephi.
Finding doctrine and meaning in book of mormon isaiah. The main nephite prophets who quoted isaiah were nephi, jacob, and abinadi. In some cases, entire passages are duplicated in the book of mormon. In modern scholarship the theory that isa xllxvi were written later than the prophecies of isaiah of jerusalem isa ixxxix was proposed by two german scholars. The words of isaiah are scattered throughout the book of mormon. Tammy uzelac hall, the host of lds livings sunday on monday, shares an answer to this and other questions readers might have in their studies of the book of mormon this week. Filler in light of the size of the gold plates, all of the abridging, and the difficulty of engraving the plates. Interestingly, there are many other places in the book of mormon that isaiah is quoted. The gathering of israel and the book of mormon search.
Some book of mormon critics today question the need for so many similar verses in both the book of mormon and the bible. The isaiah problem in the book of mormon chap 11 shields. How do latterday saints account for the striking similarity in nearly half of the verses and the differences in the remainder of the verses. In the light of modern biblical criticism these quotations raise problems that have a serious bearing on the integrity of the nephite record as a whole. Most church members see the book of mormon as evidence of unity in isaiah, for them the discussion is mute. The differences between the book of mormon and the king james version support the authenticity and literary unity of isaiah. Remember, the only 2nd isaiah chapters that show up in the book of mormon are isaiah 4852. Isaiah variants in the book of mormon religious studies. Some doubt concerning the unity of the book of isaiah was first expressed in the twelfth century by rabbi ibn ezra a famous talmudic scholar. A brief discussion about how deuteroisaiah verses are in the book of mormon, and why that is a problem for the credbility of joseph smith and why the.
Underline words and phrases that speak about gods attributes, nature, actions, and covenantal obligations to his children. The book of mormon and the king james bible wikipedia. Parry published a book called poetic parallelisms in the book of mormon available to read for free online. Cyrus lived 200 years after lehi and was mentioned in isaiah. Tvedtnes, isaiah variants in the book of mormon, in isaiah and the prophets. The writings of isaiah in the book of mormon search isaiah. It contained the five books of moses, a record of the jews from the beginning, and the prophecies of the holy prophets down to his own time. A closer look at possible psalmlanguage in alma 60. A new archaeological excavation at the south of the temple mount in jerusalem has just barely uncovered an 8th century seal impression that. Tvedtnes of the 478 verses in the book of mormon quoted from the book of isaiah, 201 agree with the king james reading while 207 show variations.
Isaiah in the book of mormon book of mormon central. As students of the bible are aware, isaiah is not always an easy book to understand, and those portions of it that appear in the book of mormon. Some scholars believe that some of the chapters of the current book of isaiah were not written by that prophet but by one or more different authors long after isaiah s timein fact, after the time that lehi and his family left jerusalem. Kjv isaiah in the book of mormon why the lds church is. Early in the narrative of the book of mormon, the prophet nephi was led by revelation to obtain an ancient record he called the plates of brass.
Similarly, the things of the jews can help us understand the book of morm on. The problem this presents for lds is one of authorship dating. Nephi quotes isaiah for a whopping chapters straight in 2 nephi 1224, and continues to quote and refer to him throughout the small plates. Ive scoured the internet, emailed mormon book collectors and still cant find an answer to my question. Isaiah in the book of mormon religious studies center. This chart organizes important isaiah references in the book of mormon according to their order of appearance in the book of isaiah. Isaiah is the most quoted prophet in the book of mormon. They emphasized this point by quoting extensively from isaiah in their own sermons and writings. Indeed, the book of mormon is the book of books, as parley p. Whats going on in the book of mormon isaiah chapters. A twohundredyear era of peace followed that visit of christ. Now i, nephi, do speak somewhat concerning the words which i have written, which have been spoken by the mouth of isaiah. Segments of the book of mormon 1 nephi chapters 2021 and 2 nephi chapters 78 and 1224match nearly wordforword isaiah 48.
Sometimes the quotation is explicit, as in the second book of nephi, which contains 18 quoted chapters of the book of isaiah other significant connections between the two books include book of mormon words and phrases that only appear in. Full list of sidebyside comparisons i will update this list as i complete more sidebyside comparisons. These two chapters are accompanied by a lengthy and detailed commentary by the lord himself in 3 nephi 16 and 20 to 22. Isaiah was both a prophet and a poet, so one of the things you can do to make his prophecies easier to grasp is to read isaiah as poetry. The isaiah text in the book of mormon is an inspired rendering of text taken originally from the brass plates of laban and which consequently predates our current isaiah texts by several centuries. A second major question is sometimes raised about the isaiah material in the book of mormon. Anachronistic some scholars believe that isaiah chapters 40 to 55. Today, ive been pondering the following description of the saviors mortal life, given by the prophet alma. Deuteroisaiah in the book of mormon lds discussions. Briefly explain two specific examples of things of the jews that help us understand either isaiah or the book of mormon.
Nearly a third of the chapters from isaiah had already been recorded in the book of mormon. However, many people call the words of isaiah too difficult to understand or. Of course, if the book of isaiah only made it to proto isaiah chapters 9, lehi would not have had those final chapters on the brass plates, making it impossible to quote from. In my next article, although not officially part of the series, i will share how the book of mormon was an instrument in gathering me unto christ. The book of mormon quotes isaiah more than any other prophet. The last full isaiah chapters quoted in the book of mormon that discuss the restoration of the house of israel are isaiah 52 and 54. There were 2 editions published with the 1874 date. Prophets in the book of mormon, including the lord himself, repeatedly declared the importance of reading isaiahs prophecies.
Moroni, the last of the nephite prophethistorians, sealed up the abridged records of these people and hid them in about a. Ludlow reminds us why it is crucial that we study the writings of isaiah, and not simply plow through or skip over them in our scripture reading. Isaiah prophecies in book of mormon are relevant to the. And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind. Reading the covenantal purpose of isaiah in the book of. In the book of mormon, jacob, nephi, abinadi, and jesus all quote from different parts of isaiah, and each identifies the prophet by name. As his time drew near, he knew that many parts of his mission needed to be drawn fully to conclusion.
Why has 3 nephi been called the focal point, the supreme moment in the book of mormon. The book of mormon quotes twentyone complete chapters of isaiah and parts of others. The book of mormon records the visit of jesus christ to people in the americas following his resurrection. Other isaiah passages quoted in the book of mormon. However, many people call the words of isaiah too difficult to understand or even boring. The plain and more accessible writings of nephi, jacob, abinadi, and christ act as keys to illuminate isaiah, and the writings of isaiah in turn act as a key to fully unlock the profound nature of book of mormon prophetic thought. Because the text of the book of mormon illustrates nephite blindness so well, perhaps nephi does not spend as much time with this mist. It contains 19 chapters of the kjv of isaiah in their entirety, along with parts of a few other chapters. In total, some 478 verses in the book of mormon are quoted in some form from the kjv book of isaiah.
Book of mormon central, how did nephi read isaiah as a witness of christs coming. Book of mormon central, why do early nephite prophets speak about the scattering of israel. A commandment i give unto you that ye search these things diligently. Internal evidences of the unity of the book include imagery, repetition, expressions peculiar to isaiah, and song. Isaiah scriptures were personal and relevant to nephi i. New archaeological evidence for book of mormon prophet isaiah.
Book of mormon notes a collection of notes about the book of mormon, from a faithful perspective. This chart lists book of mormon passages that quote or paraphrase the words of isaiah, which held great meaning for the nephites and also apply to us today. What about the isaiah problem in the book of mormon. Isaiah in the book of mormon a sidebyside comparison of the text found in isaiah and the book of mormon. Plagiarism the book of mormon narrative says that the jews who left jerusalem for the new world had with them. Book of mormon central, what vision guides nephis choice of isaiah chapters.