The dead sea scrolls contain the entire book of isaiah as well as parts of every canonical book in the hebrew bible except for esther, along with several apocryphal writings. It brings all important versions of isaiahking james, book of mormon, joseph smith translation, dead sea scrolls, and the modern new revised standard versioninto comparison for readers to help them clearly see the similarities and differences in each one. One of the most important of the dead sea scrolls is a document inscribed on a copper plate that had been rolled up and hidden away. I will include a partial list of such similarities and parallels to mormon doctrine and practices that i have found in my studies of the various dead sea scrolls, and in books by many authors dealing with the subject of the scrolls.
The isaiah scroll found at qumran cave 1 should have caused a great deal of joy among mormon scholars, for here is a manuscript of isaiah which is hundreds of years older than any manuscript previously known. The scroll is written in hebrew and contains the entire book of isaiah from beginning to end, apart from a few small damaged portions. Book of mormonrelationship to the dead sea scrolls. Ive read the bible and gone through the some of the dead sea scrolls.
The book of mormon narrative says that the jews who left jerusalem for the new world had with them the scriptures written up until that point 600 b. Book of mormonrelationship to the dead sea scrolls fairmormon. All the corresponding words are found on the same numbered line in the scroll without exception. The book of mormon quotes twentyone complete chapters of isaiah and parts of others. Geza vermes, the complete dead sea scrolls in english new york, ny. 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. First, the dead sea scrolls have been found to differ considerably from texts of the same vintage. Matthews, chairman, department of ancient scripture, brigham young university first, we should remember that the isaiah passages in the book of mormon come from the brass plates of laban, which were compiled at least as early as 600 b.
One scholar has found that eightynine of these variances in the book of mormon, as compared to the king james version, are indeed included in the versions of isaiah as contained in the dead sea scrolls or in the other early versions of isaiah, which include the greek septuagint, the hebrew masoretic or. Words in regular black font are words in the scrolls matching the traditional text for that passage. Just as the writers of the dead sea scrolls quoted extensively from isaiah and devoted their attention to copying isaiah, so we find in the book of mormon extensive quotations from isaiah. Nephi frequently borrowed the language of isaiah 29 to describe his own visions and prophecies about the latterdays.
The first reason is that part of the dead sea scrolls are of questionable authenticity. The isaiah problem in the book of mormon chap 11 shields. Decoding nicea is a captivating look at the true story of the council of nicea. My newest book, romes audacious claim, was released december 1. The dead sea scrolls backs up the lxx version, not our masoretic bibles. Mistranslations of the king james version of isaiah have been corrected using the isaiah version. Most orthodox christians use the lxx for their old testament. The dead sea scrolls also the qumran caves scrolls are ancient jewish religious manuscripts that were found in the qumran caves in the judaean desert, near ein feshkha on the northern shore of the dead sea in the west bank. Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end. It is to the variants that we will give our attention here.
Ham, wayne, a textual comparison of the isaiah passages in the book of mormon with the same passages in the st. We western christians may worry about that, but eastern christians wont. It is clearly written and documents all of the nonbiblical writings found in the dead sea sea scrolls. The dead sea scrolls, for instance, should provide a great deal of evidence for the book of mormon if it is really an ancient record. Before the dead sea scrolls, the earliest texts we had of the old testament dated no earlier than the 10 th century ad the masoretic text. The isaiah scroll, designated 1qlsa and also known as the great isaiah scroll, is one of the seven dead sea scrolls that were first recovered by bedouin shepherds in 1947.
Mistranslations of the king james version of isaiah have been corrected using the isaiah version found with the dead sea scrolls. According to john gee, it should hardly surprise us that nephis and jacobs quotations of isaiah in the ancient text of the book of mormon do not break at our current chapter and verse designations. Remarkably, the only fully intact scroll displayed at the shrine of the book is the great isaiah scroll 1qlsa, which contains the entire book of isaiah that we. Using tovs theories, when 433 verses contain 370 variants, this fits the criteria of an independent or nonaligned text. Book of mormon isaiah is a proof text for his theories. Why do the book of mormon selections from isaiah sometimes. In isaiah scroll of the dead sea scrolls, as well as greek and other ancient biblical manuscripts, s. Im currently going through the bom for the first time. Why do the book of mormon selections from isaiah sometimes parallel the king james version and not the dead sea scrolls text.
Hugh nibley discusses broad patterns in an approach to the book of mormon, since cumorah, and the prophetic book of mormon, in cwhn, vols. Each verse begins with the next letter in the alphabet, but n is missing in the mt. Qumran is a streambed wadi in the judaean desert of the west bank near the northwest shore of the dead sea. The 54 columns contain all 66 chapters of the hebrew version of the biblical book of isaiah. In some cases, one or more of the dead sea scrolls versions of isaiah agrees with the book of mormon version.
Book of mormon isaiah contains approximately of the chapters in the masoretic text. Isaiah in the book of mormon religious studies center. My question regards how the bom quotes isaiah compared to the bible and dss. I have no opinion on the bom and am letting it present itself. To what degree do the dead sea scrolls of the book of isaiah match our version of the book of isaiah. The column numbers and the line numbers correspond to the pages and the corresponding lines in the scroll. He set the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of god bnei elohim. The isaiah source for the king james version was written much later. That the book of mormon quotes from isaiah is not a problem, except that joseph smiths 1830 translation reads nearly verbatim to.
Opening isaiah provides what has never before been provided to lds readers. It is 95% the same as the isaiah written around 916 a. So when it comes to understanding isaiah, next to the book of mormon, this may be our best resource. The translation to the left is based on the world english bible. It is perhaps the most thoroughly studied and widely quoted book that one finds in the dead sea scrolls. The great isaiah scroll and the book of mormon byu. The most valuable single book is undoubtedly the great isaiah scroll 1qisaa found intact in cave 1. The dead sea scrolls provide valuable information but also embrace notions contrary to. The dead sea scrolls70 questions and answers search isaiah. The book of mormon and other ancient documents book of.
Why is it that the quotes from isaiah contained in the book of mormon have the same translation errors contained in the king james version instead of matching the original. The isaiah passages in the book of mormon a non aligned text the above title and link refers to a 2001 masters thesis. A textual comparison of the isaiah passages in the book of. Marks isaiah scroll from cave 1 of qumran, was found to be marked, mainly in the margins, sometimes between the lines, sometimes in hebrew written backwards, called atbash, and most often by the mark of the tau, an x, later perhaps incorporated in to xmas. A second major question is sometimes raised about the isaiah material in the book of mormon. Marks isaiah scroll of the dead sea community 1961. A detailed description of the book of isaiah, the longest of the dead sea scrolls. One of the things that i noticed as i was looking through your publications, is that you had worked with other scrolls, not the isaiah scroll.
Isaiah variants in the book of mormon religious studies. The isaiah scroll, designated 1qlsa a and also known as the great isaiah scroll, is one of the seven dead sea scrolls that were first discovered by bedouin shepherds in 1946 from qumran cave 1. 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. Most of the differences are just obvious copying and spelling errors. Ann madsen and shon hopkins new book, opening isaiah. Of course, no autograph the original of any biblical book is available. It is important to note that the book of isaiah is one of the most frequently attested biblical books in dead sea scrolls collection. New book makes it easier to understand isaiah in the book. This means that it is possible for the isaiah scroll from the dead sea caves to be a copy made directly from isaiahs original scroll.
In addition, joseph qualified the sea as the red sea. When i first got the book, i was disappointed that the books of the bible and torah had been omitted from the work, but i soon learned in class that these were readily available in. While there are numerous spelling and grammatical differences, the dead sea scrolls are essentially the same as the masoretic texts for the most part. The are currently practicing with their new toy but hope to be able to put it to use on things like some of the dead sea scrolls which have been unable to be unrolled for fear of destroying them. The great isaiah scroll and the masoretic text ahrc. Isaiah 29 is one of the most often cited scriptural passages of the restoration. Doctrine and covenants, and contemporary documents such as the dead sea scrolls than any other old world prophet. Do the dead sea scrolls prove the book of mormon is true. Read dead sea scrolls, part 1 first dead sea scrolls the book of isaiah over 200 fragments from the dead sea scrolls are housed at the shrine of the book museum in jerusalem. In this interview, stephen ricks explains how the dead sea scrolls can help us to understand the book of mormon and isaiah. These three were later identified as a copy of the biblical book of isaiah. The book of mormon and the dead sea scrolls summary.
The dead sea scrolls contain a copy of isaiah dated back to 100 b. The dead sea scrolls version of isaiah and jeremiah. Why is it that the quotes from isaiah contained in the book of mormon have the same translation errors contained in the king james version instead of matching the original ancient text. Sperry of brigham young university on the significance, or otherwise, of the dead sea scrolls to mormon scholarship and theology. 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. For two reasons the isaiah passages in the book of mormon parallel the king james version rather than the dead sea scrolls. Full text of the dead sea scrolls complete english translation. Second, the translation in the book of mormon may not reflect the minute and highly detailed analysis of every word on. The dead sea scrolls dss like the magnificent isaiah scroll closely follow the masoretic text mt, but there are a few exceptions. The writers of the dead sea scrolls were deeply interested in isaiah. With that in mind, let me suggest two reasons why the isaiah passages in the book of mormon are more like those in the king james version than those in the dead sea scrolls. This means that the discovery of the entire book of isaiah in cave 1dated about 125 bcpredates the masoretic text by a. 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. Some 58 are paraphrased and 11 others are variants and or paraphrases.
The isaiah scroll from the dead sea caves has been dated to around 200 b. In 2 nephi 27, nephi borrowed extensively from the language of isaiah 29 to describe the coming forth of the book of mormon. A textual comparison of the isaiah passages in the book. In the middle of last century, members of the lds church were. The book of mormon contains twentyone chapters of the book of isaiah. In the translation of the great isaiah scroll which follows. The discovery of the dead sea scrolls is touted as the greatest. Why does nephi use isaiah 29 as part of his own prophecy. He set the borders of the peoples according to the number of the children of israel. Full text of the dead sea scrolls complete english. Kjv isaiah in the book of mormon why the lds church is. It is the largest 734 cm and best preserved of all the biblical scrolls, and the only one that is almost complete. Dead sea scrolls the great isaiah scroll chapter 1. It was in eleven caves this area that many scrolls were located, including the great isaiah scroll shown above with donald w.
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