How much of isaiah is in the book of mormon answers. Second isaiah, the unique product of some wise but anonymous sage who. The book of mormon contains material from deutero isaiah, particularly. Isaiah the church of jesus christ of latterday saints.
A little before its time stuff you missed in sunday school. Tsaiah, the unique product of some wise but anonymous sage who lived in babylonia. Bernhard duhm suggested in 1892 that isa lvilxvi is still later than second. A helpful listing is found in legrande daviess chart of isaiah citations in the book of mormon, in daniel h. Yet no chapters in the book of mormon are more difficult to understand than the isaiah passages quoted by nephi, jacob, abinadi, and christ himself. They emphasized this point by quoting extensively from isaiah in their own sermons and writings. In addition to this table below, at least 52 other verses from isaiah are found throughout the book of mormon. The book of mormon quotes extensively from the book of isaiah, including entire chapters, and in many cases verbatim to the king james translation. The book of isaiah is the first of the latter prophets in the hebrew bible and the first of the. The book of mormon quotes twentyone complete chapters of isaiah and parts of others.
The book of mormon quotes twentyone complete chapters of isaiah and parts of. It is identified by a superscription as the words of the 8thcentury bce prophet isaiah ben amoz, but there is extensive evidence that much of it was composed during the babylonian. From second isaiah on the plates of brass, the book of mormon attests only to chapters 4851, 53, and a few verses of chapters 40 and 55. 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. A complete identification of all chapters and verses of isaiah quoted in the book of mormon along with an analysis of each. The book of mormon quotes isaiah more than any other prophet. Ann madsen, joseph smith and the words of isaiah, in isaiah in the book of mormon, ed. The main nephite prophets who quoted isaiah were nephi, jacob, and abinadi. Sperry, doctrine and covenants compendium salt lake city. While the authors are anonymous, it is plausible that all of them were priests, and the book may thus reflect priestly concerns, in opposition to the. The isaiah problem in the book of mormon chap 11 shields.
Isaiah problem in the book of mormon byu scholarsarchive. Chapters 4055 were written by an anonymous author deuteroisaiah during the. 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. This is the text of the book of isaiah, the first and foremost o. The book of isaiah pocket canons by anonymous goodreads. Isaiah in the book of mormon religious studies center. How do we explain material from isaiah in the book of mormon. 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. However, i feel that the book of mormon can not only withstand the challenge, but the issue can actually be used to illuminate the nature of isaiah and shed light on why this is. Likewise the book of mormon and the doctrine and covenants quote from isaiah more than from any other prophet. The book of mormon is relies heavily on the 17th century king james version. It is to the variants that we will give our attention here.
What creates the problem for you is that most biblical scholars claim that the book of isaiah is a compilation of the work of several authors who lived over an extended period of time. The late nineteenth century saw a division of isaiah into three parts by critics, who. However, by applying various interpretive tools, the authors of the nineteen articles in isaiah in the book of mormon offer readers a clearer understanding of the. However, i feel that the book of mormon can not only withstand the challenge, but the issue can actually be used to illuminate the nature of isaiah and shed light on why this is such a profound book. Isaiah variants in the book of mormon religious studies. Quoted in the book of mormon are nearly all of isaiah chapters 214, 29, and 4854. A bible, we have got a bible, and we need no more bible. An earlier anonymous work, joachim and boaz, stated. It seems that if nephi had copied them from the plates of brass in hebrew onto his own record and that if joseph smith had then received the english translation by the gift and power of god, the isaiah passages would read more like the 1830 book of mormon and less. The book of isaiah was written by at least 2, possibly 3 different authors. The book of mormon as a modern expansion of an ancient source. However, many people call the words of isaiah too difficult to understand or. Some 58 are paraphrased and 11 others are variants and or paraphrases. 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.