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 Our current chapters
12-24 of the Book of Mormon are nearly identical to chapters 2-14 of Isaiah as found in the King James Version
of the Bible. Before embarking on an analysis of such a lengthy section of straight copying of Isaiah, there are
some questions that should be asked about this quantity of text. Theses questions revolve around Nephi's process
of selection. Why does Nephi include so much of Isaiah, and if he includes this much, why not more? What are the
selection criteria used which resulted in the specific chapters of Isaiah we have in our Book of Mormon?Why does Nephi start with chapter 2 of Isaiah? Nephi copies so much
of Isaiah, the question is not only why he didn’t copy more, but why didn’t he start at the beginning? The first
section he copies corresponds to chapter 2 of Isaiah. Chapter 1 is not included in the Book of Mormon. Why not?There are two possible reasons. The first is that Nephi's copy of the Isaiah texts may not have begun with chapter one. "Most scholars agree that this chapter is not the first prophecy received by Isaiah, but that it heads his writings because of its profound, clear message." (Ludlow, Victor L. Isaiah: Prophet, Seer, and Poet. Deseret Book 1982, p. 70). Thus Nephi may have been starting at the beginning, but the text he was using had a different beginning. A second potential difference (as if the former were not enough) is that the text of chapter 1 of Isaiah is directed to a current population, where the text beginning in chapter 2 is more prophetic in outlook. This separation between an admonition to a people at a specific time, and the future prophecy of Isaiah (under which Nephi clearly saw his people as we have previously seen) is also a strong reason for the selection beginning at the current chapter 2. This second reason is perhaps the reason for beginning with chapter 2 even if it were not the first in the composite text. In other words, even if chapter 2 were the first in Nephi’s copy of the text (coming from the brass plates) we still need a reason for beginning at that chapter rather than any other. As chapter 2 is the beginning of a prophetic section which Nephi clearly sees as applicable to his people, that reason is the most likely reason for the selection of the text itself, regardless of its position in the manuscript. Why does Nephi end with chapter 14 of Isaiah? The termination of
the cited passages is much easier to understand. The beginning of Isaiah 15 shifts focus away from Jerusalem and
Israel, and specifically toward Moab. Therefore, there is a thematic shift that occurs at the beginning of Isaiah
15 that no longer matched Nephi’s selection criteria, and therefore he stopped.Why does Nephi cite the chaptes he does include? Understanding the specifics
of Nephi’s selection criteria requires a little more depth in the background of textual divisions. While we currently
have Nephi’s introduction to Isaiah in 2 Nephi 11, and the citations of Isaiah form chapters 12-24, in the 1830
edition what we now know as chapters 11-24 were chapters 8-10. Quite obviously, there is a major distinction in
the numbers of chapters devoted to the same text. Understanding the breaks in the text on the plates is the first
important area of understanding.John Gee has described much of the process of creating textual divisions as they relate to Isaiah in the Book of Mormon: "It should hardly surprise us that Nephi’s and Jacob’s quotations of Isaiah in the ancient text of the Book of Mormon do not break at our current chapter and verse designations. The Isaiah Scroll of the Dead Sea Scrolls, as well as Greek and other ancient biblical manuscripts, show that chapter and verse breaks were not present in ancient manuscripts. More recent hands, following the traditions of the rabbis and doctors, placed artificial divisions into the texts of these ancient scriptures. The division into chapters and verses that we now employ can be a subtle impediment to understanding the scriptures." (Gee, John. :Selection of the Isaiah Sections." In Isaiah in the Book of Mormon. FARMS 1998, p. 68) Of course, the current chapter and verse marking of the Book of Mormon was specifically done to match the Isaiah chapters and verses of the King James version of the Bible, but those breaks, while useful for comparisons, also hide the original divisions in the text. The Book of Mormon Isaiah text consisted of three segments, marked 8-10 in the original, and corresponding as follows: Unit 1: chapter 8 now is 2 Nephi 11-15 Unit 2: chapter 9 now is 2 Nephi 16-22 Unit 3: chapter 10 now is 2 Nephi 23-24 Why those three units? The separation of the units is based upon textual markers that show the reader where the text should be broken. Looking to all Isaiah passages rather than these three units, Gee notes: "When quoting lengthy passages, Book of Mormon prophets intentionally start and stop in certain specific places, reflecting natural breaks in Isaiah’s text. Nephite writers normally marked breaks in passages through a syntactic or phrasal marker at the beginning of a new section. One of these is a statement of acknowledging the presence of a quotation; such statements are common in ancient authors and we will refer to them as "inquit" statements, after the most common Latin phrase inquit, "he said." The most common inquit statement in Isaiah (occurring 66 times) is "(Thus) saith the Lord." A rhetorical question or an exclamation may also mark a section division (for example, see Mosiah 12:21; 14:1; 2 Nephi 27:25-35), as might other constructions, such as a simple noun phrase." (Gee, 1998, p. 69) In the specific case of the three units Nephi selects, the chapter breaks in the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon follow the natural syntactic and phrasal markers that set the original text into thematic elements. The single small exception to this is that Nephi’s introduction to Isaiah is attached to the first unit rather than being a separated literary unit, that is, there is no original chapter division corresponding to our current chapter 11/12 division. An examination of the boundary verses of each of the current chapters indicates that the 1830 edition follows a more natural break in the textual units, with each of the three Isaiah chapters in the 1830 Book of Mormon corresponding to a logical set, with identifiable breaks between the chapters. Note the first break between unit one and two, now located between the end of Isaiah 5 (2 Nephi 15) and Isaiah 6 (2 Nephi 16): Isa. 5:30 30 And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof. Isa. 6 Isa. 6:1 1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Verse 30 of chapter 5 is closing a series of descriptions occurring at a specific point in time. In the beginning of the next unit, Isaiah is shifting to a different time and theme. Likewise, the boundary between units 2 and 3 show the same shifting of concept: Isa. 12:6 6 Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee. Isa. 13:1 1 The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see. We can therefore explain a little more about Nephi’s selection. First, Nephi tended to select passages that correlated to whole units marked by the phrasal markers. Even in the shorter passages, he followed this tendency, citing a unit rather than just the specific text he might have needed, thus appearing to always cite more than a modern speaker would use as back up for an idea. Nephi used whole units rather than proof texts. In the case of these longer Isaiah sections, the unit selected was a large one indeed, corresponding to the entire thematic unit on the brass plates. We have so many chapters of Isaiah because those chapters are artificial divisions in the Isaiah’s themes, and Nephi chose whole themes. Why did Nephi choose the three units he selected? The best answer to
why Nephi chose the three units he did is to examine the way he uses those three units in his discourse that covers
2 Nephi 25-33. Nephi very specifically notes that what he is about to write is based on the texts that he has just
written:2 Ne. 25:1 1 Now I, Nephi, do speak somewhat concerning the words which I have written, which have been spoken by the mouth of Isaiah. . . The question is specifically how Nephi makes use of the Isaiah texts. We do ourselves a disservice when we suppose that Nephi makes a commentary on any cited text. He does not. We do ourselves a disservice when we suppose that Nephi explains any cited text. He does not. Even though he appears to be about to do just that in chapter 25, he explicitly does not. In verse 2 of chapter 25, Nephi explains that his people do not understand Isaiah well (a point on which we can easily empathize): 2 Ne. 25:2 2 For I, Nephi, have not taught them many things concerning the manner of the Jews; for their works were works of darkness, and their doings were doings of abominations. 2 Ne. 25:3 3 Wherefore, I write unto my people, unto all those that shall receive hereafter these things which I write, that they may know the judgments of God, that they come upon all nations, according to the word which he hath spoken. It certainly sounds like Nephi is going to explain Isaiah, but note what he says in the very next verse: 2 Ne. 25:4 4 Wherefore, hearken, O my people, which are of the house of Israel, and give ear unto my words; for because the words of Isaiah are not plain unto you, nevertheless they are plain unto all those that are filled with the spirit of prophecy. But I give unto you a prophecy, according to the spirit which is in me; wherefore I shall prophesy according to the plainness which hath been with me from the time that I came out from Jerusalem with my father; for behold, my soul delighteth in plainness unto my people, that they may learn. Nephi indicates that he is going to do some explaining, but rather than a specific explanation, Nephi says "but I give unto you a prophecy, according to the spirit which is in me…" He is even clearer in verse 7: 2 Ne. 25:7 7 But behold, I proceed with mine own prophecy, according to my plainness; in the which I know that no man can err; nevertheless, in the days that the prophecies of Isaiah shall be fulfilled men shall know of a surety, at the times when they shall come to pass. Nephi’s intent on writing is not to explain Isaiah, but to provide an explanation of his own prophecy. How does this relate to the Isaiah texts he has just cited? It relates in precisely the same way that Nephi and Jacob have used Isaiah in their public discourses. Both of them cite a unit from Isaiah (based on logical phrasal markers) and then proceed with an expansion on the theme of that unit rather than a specific explanation of it. The unit stands as is, with its own sacrality as its sole justification. The text is not there to be explained, but to provide a scriptural touchstone on which the discourse is to be based. Therefore, the expanded discourse that covers 2 Nephi 25-33 must have some thematic relationship to the three units, though it does not need to explain all, or even any of the three units. When Jacob and Nephi cite text, the purpose is to provide a sacred foundation. That foundation exists within logical units marked as John Gee has noted. The entire unit is cited, even when the desired theme is only a part of the unit. It is probably that the inclusion of the whole unit rather than a single proof text relates to the sacred nature of the text, where Nephi does not want to remove anything from the unit. While not removing any text, he nevertheless lifts the theme he wants to use as the springboard to expansion. The extracted theme of the first unit The first unit supplies
Nephi’s most popular theme from Isaiah, the dispersion of Israel. As has been noted before, Nephi sees his people
directly in the prophecies of the dispersion and the promises of the gathering. We have seen the very personal
interpretation of Isaiah’s "isles of the sea" phrase, which Nephi directly relates to their current location.
The first unit contains this theme:2 Ne. 13:4 4 And I will give children unto them to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. 2 Ne. 13:5 5 And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbor; the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honorable. 2 Ne. 13:6 6 When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, and shall say: Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let not this ruin come under thy hand— 2 Ne. 13:7 7 In that day shall he swear, saying: I will not be a healer; for in my house there is neither bread nor clothing; make me not a ruler of the people. 2 Ne. 13:8 8 For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen, because their tongues and their doings have been against the Lord, to provoke the eyes of his glory. Nephi has discoursed many times on the fall of Jerusalem because it is the very reason for their current existence. The fallen Jerusalem is therefore the touchstone that Nephi can use to begin his expansion: 2 Ne. 25:9 9 And as one generation hath been destroyed among the Jews because of iniquity, even so have they been destroyed from generation to generation according to their iniquities; and never hath any of them been destroyed save it were foretold them by the prophets of the Lord. 2 Ne. 25:10 10 Wherefore, it hath been told them concerning the destruction which should come upon them, immediately after my father left Jerusalem; nevertheless, they hardened their hearts; and according to my prophecy they have been destroyed, save it be those which are carried away captive into Babylon. 2 Ne. 25:11 11 And now this I speak because of the spirit which is in me. And notwithstanding they have been carried away they shall return again, and possess the land of Jerusalem; wherefore, they shall be restored again to the land of their inheritance. The extracted theme of the second unit The text of the second
unit is much longer, comprising 7 current chapters. Out of all of that text, the thematic extraction appears to
hinge on just two verses. Our current chapter 19 contains the following:2 Ne. 19:6 6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 2 Ne. 19:7 7 Of the increase of government and peace there is no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this. In the overall scheme of Isaiah, these verses might be minor. To Nephi, however, who had seen the Savior, they were of the highest importance, and supply the thematic connection between the second unit and the very long. The extracted theme of the third unit In the third unit of
Isaiah, Nephi sees the redemption of Israel:2 Ne. 24:1 1 For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land; and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. 2 Ne. 24:2 2 And the people shall take them and bring them to their place; yea, from far unto the ends of the earth; and they shall return to their lands of promise. And the house of Israel shall possess them, and the land of the Lord shall be for servants and handmaids; and they shall take them captives unto whom they were captives; and they shall rule over their oppressors. In Nephi, this theme of redemption is translated into the future history of Israel. Where in Isaiah it is a limited theme, limited specifically to a physical location of Israel, Nephi takes that redemptive theme and expands it into his vision of the restoration not just of Israel, but of the gospel to all the earth. Conclusion While numbingly long at times, the selections from Isaiah have a consistent logic for Nephi. They fit the pattern of citing whole units rather than the particular subset he is interested in, and the similarly form the sacred foundation upon which his personal expansion of information can rest. |
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| by Brant Gardner. Copyright 1998 |
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