The book of isaiah is narrative history, prophetic oracle, and even a parable chapter 5. Chapters 9 sometimes represented by the greek letter pi. Second, some of the chapters of isaiah in the book of mormon are considered by scholars to have. God has a remedy to reveal to these ailing people which he will unveil in the following chapters.
The isaiah problem in the book of mormon chap 11 shields. Im going to focus on 2 nephi 9, which follows chapters 7 and 8 isaiah 50 and 51, more or less and presents itself as a commentary on those two chapters. The first part, chapters 9, with numerous additions, contains the work of isaiah. The recording is dramatized, from the king james bible. Oswalt presents a detailed, scholarly, evangelical commentary on chapters 9 of isaiah. These chapters deal with such things as the development of the assyrian empire. Oswalt provides an extensive introduction to the book along with an extensive bibliography using his own translation and a versebyverse commentary to examine the intricate details of this important prophet and his message. The traditional view is that all 66 chapters of the book of isaiah were written by one man, isaiah, possibly in two periods between 740 bc and c.
Isaiah 1 new american bible revised edition nabre i. Chapters 9 obviously deal with the assyrian threat and babylonian. The central theme of the book of isaiah is the nature of god and how he relates to his people. In the lds curriculum, we are now plodding through the isaiah chapters in second nephi. Kjv isaiah in the book of mormon why the lds church is.
In this volume, walter brueggemann writes on isaiah 9, which many scholars believe had a single author, isaiah, of the eighth century bce, who wrote in the context of the assyrian empire between 742 and 701. The book of mormon quotes twentyone complete chapters of isaiah and parts of others. The new testament quotes isaiah 66 times, surpassed only by the psalms. With respect to background considerations for isaiah authorship and the book of mormon, see john w. Multiple isaiah theory and stylometry search isaiah. Was isaiah written later than the book of mormon claims. Many nonlds scholars claim that the second half of the book of isaiah was. Watch our overview video on the first 39 chapters of the book of isaiah, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought.
Gods judgment has come and now restoration is the major theme. Joseph spencers book on typology and the book of mormon appears to be back in print and free, here. Comparison with the king james bible in english shows that there are. In this section, jacob is speaking by assignment on a topic from nephi, 2ne 6. The book of isaiah, as it now appears in our old testament, contains far more than can be attributed to the prophet. A prevalent belief exists among bible scholars that the book of isaiah was written by more than one person. A second major question is sometimes raised about the isaiah material in the book of mormon. This is the holy book of isaiah, known as the book of the prophet isaiah. What about the isaiah problem in the book of mormon. Jacksons essay focuses on two important questions dealing with isaiah in the book of mormon. Isaiah 9 nkjv judah called to repentance the vision. Within the text of the book of isaiah, isaiah himself is referred to as the prophet, but the exact relationship between the book of isaiah and any such historical isaiah is complicated. Book of mormonanachronismsbiblicaldeuteroisaiah fairmormon.
While the last 27 chapters of isaiah focus on comfort and the coming of the messiah, bearing a likeness to the themes of the 27 new testament books. Ellsworths article on the authorship of isaiah from an lds perspective was posted over at mormon interpreter. You can break isaiah down into roughly three parts. Oswalts twopart study of the book of isaiah for the nicot series, this commentary on chapters 9 combines theological acumen, literary sensitivity, philological expertise, and historical knowledge to present a faithful and accurate reading of one of. 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. To keep the map simple, i do not display a potential third division within isaiah. Isaiah 1 the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. Book of mormon prophets taught from the brass plate records, not only from chapters 9, which are usually assigned by scholars to the prophet isaiah of the eighth century b. The challenge to the book of mormon is that nephi quotes several chapters from. Isaiah is the first book in the section called major prophets. A few days after my recent post about the isaiah that nephi could not have known, daniel t. Most church members see the book of mormon as evidence of unity in isaiah, for them the discussion is mute. 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 isaiahs timein fact, after the time that lehi and his family left jerusalem. The example of isaiah 6 in sperry symposium classics.
Of course, if the book of isaiah only made it to protoisaiah chapters 9, lehi would not have had those final chapters on the brass plates, making it impossible to quote from. Of course, if the book of isaiah only made it to protoisaiah chapters 9, lehi would not have had those final chapters on the brass plates. Isaiah cliffsnotes study guides book summaries, test. So here is another installment on the book of mormon previous post on 1 nephi 1. Isaiah in the book of mormon religious studies center. Lesson 36 the glory of zion will be a defense isaiah 16. These chapters are generally seen as being written in the period of 750700 bc. Although only four days apart, the timing was accidental and in a way fortuitous, neither of us knowing that we continue reading the authorship of isaiah revisited. 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. John oswalt has noted that isaiah 24 runs in a full circle from the ideal to the real and back to the ideal again the book of isaiah. Welch, authorship of the book of isaiah in light of the book of mormon, in. A third of isaiah is quoted 2166 chapters and 4331292 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. How do we explain material from isaiah in the book of mormon. The book of the prophet isaiah, 9 cambridge bible commentaries on the old testament chapters 9 herbert, a. Remember, the only 2nd isaiah chapters that show up in the book of mormon are isaiah 4852 and we have just the one echo from tritoisaiah. As chapters 9 reflect isaiahs preaching and are obviously oral presentations, chapters 4055 reflect a new setting. Deuteroisaiah in book of mormon general discussions. The prophet isaiah wrote it at approximately 700 b. He is married to the former peggy rutta and they have three children and six grandchildren.
The book of mormon as a witness of the old testament. Lesson 36 the glory of zion will be a defense meridian. He has earned degrees from east texas baptist college, southwestern baptist theological seminary, and trinity evangelical divinity. A chapter in the book corresponds to each chapter in isaiah. Good stuff, and relevant to todays material as well as nephis interpretive isaiah material.
If you accept the book of mormon as true, there is no deuteroisaiah problem. In this volume, walter brueggemann writes on isaiah 9, which many scholars believe had a single author, isaiah, of the eighth century bce, who wrote in the. Books in the westminster bible companion series assist laity in their study of the bible as a guide to christian faith and practice. Religious studies center, brigham young university, and deseret book 2005, 209225. The first 39 chapters of isaiah contain strong themes of gods judgment, resembling the 39 old testament books.
The people of israel are apostate, rebellious, and corrupt. As a whole, the book is a rather large collection of writings that were produced by a number of different authors, some of whom were separated by relatively long periods of time. The first part protoisaiah prophesies death and destruction, but keeps lightening it up with cheery prophecies of a good and holy kingdom at the end of time. The book of the prophet isaiah, 9 cambridge bible commentaries on the old testament chapters 9. Isaiah begins by showing israels future where all people will hold god and his ways above all else in the world 2. Making sense or not of isaiah in the book of mormon. This is, in my opinion, the best and most beautiful recording of. In terms of literary style, theme, and vocabulary, the book of isaiah falls into three neat sections. Students of the book of mormon bm have recognized the problem of having explicit and lengthy quotations of isaiah chapters 4055 since at least the days of b. Deuteroisaiah and the book of mormon for thus it is. There is also the stylistic hint that these chapters are not so much oral as written.
The two parts of isaiah most often claimed to have been written by different authors, chapters 9 and 4066, were found to be more similar to each other in style than to any of. And it includes quotes from both the firstisaiah chapters isa. How to utilize this format is explained in the first six pages of the 659page volume. Isaiah 9 new king james version nkjv judah called to repentance. The nephite copy of the book of isaiah came to america in 600 b.