Religion Commons^™

Is The Bible Reliable?, Eric A. Eliason

BYU Studies Quarterly

The eighth article of faith proclaims, “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly.” This statement by itself suggests that the Bible as we have it may or may not be fully and reliably the word of God. In 1 Nephi 13:28, we read, “Many plain and precious things [were] taken away.” This passage more expressly indicates that the Bible we have now is indeed not as complete as originally intended. Joseph Smith elaborated on this theme with his statement that “ignorant translators, careless transcribers, or designing and corrupt priests have …

Biblical Hesed And Nephite Covenant Culture, Noel B. Reynolds

BYU Studies Quarterly

The devastating late-nineteenth-century attack on traditional assumptions concerning the preexilic dating of the Pentateuch may have provoked the eventual explosion of twentieth-century scholarly investigation of the covenant culture of the Old Testament. Covenantal texts related to Abraham, Moses, David, and others had long been assumed to be foundational for the religion of ancient Israel, however limited modern understanding of that covenant culture might have been. But the new scholarly paradigm that dated those texts to 621 BC or later gave rise to a wave of skeptical scholarship about the whole tradition of divine covenants as the basis for ancient Israelite …

The Bible In The Millennial Star And The Woman’S Exponent, Amy Easton-Flake

BYU Studies Quarterly

Despite the gradual erosion of the Bible’s significance in American consciousness after the Civil War, the Bible remained “the most imported, most printed, most distributed, and most read written text in North America up through the nineteenth century.”1 The Bible’s authority was not static but was continuously established as individuals and the nation turned to it for direction on living a Christian life as well as for the answers to religious, social, and political issues.2 For most members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout the nineteenth century, the Bible likewise remained their primary religious text even …

Chiastic Structuring Of The Genesis Flood Story: The Art Of Using Chiasm As An Effective Compositional Tool For Combining Earlier Chiastic Narratives, Steven R. Scott

BYU Studies Quarterly

The story of the flood is perhaps one of the best-known stories of the Bible, and its chiastic nature has long been recognized by scholars, most prominently by Yehuda T. Radday and Gordon Wenham.¹ These scholars’ theses will briefly be discussed before proceeding to a detailed analysis of the text, which will demonstrate that the biblical flood story is two chiasms combined—one by author “J” and another by author “P.”

The New Testament: A Translation For Latter-Day Saints: A Study Bible, Philip L. Barlow

BYU Studies Quarterly

Thomas Wayment, classics professor at Brigham Young University, has earned a reputation as one of the most capable and reliable Latter-day Saint scholars of the New Testament and the ancient classical world in which Christianity arose. Educated at the Claremont Graduate School of Religion, Wayment generally addresses Latter-day Saint audiences, whose faith he shares. His writing includes credible work on New Testament manuscript traditions, Joseph Smith’s translation of the Bible, and the historical lives of Jesus and Paul. Wayment has now accomplished his most ambitious project to date: a fresh translation, based on the best available Greek manuscripts, of the …

A Plain And Precious Part Restored: An Essay Based On Matthew Bates's The Birth Of The Trinity: Jesus, God, And Spirit In New Testament And Early Christian Interpretations Of The Old Testament, Paul Y. Hoskisson

BYU Studies Quarterly

Once every ten or twenty years, it seems, a book happens on the scene that promises to dislodge a long-held and often beloved paradigm. It is not that the old paradigm is necessarily abandoned, but rather it makes room for a different, equally valid one. The subtitle of The Birth of the Trinity announced such a shift and to my utmost delight delivered on that promise.

The Bible, Mormon Scripture, And The Rhetoric Of Allusivity, Jeffrey D. Tucker

BYU Studies Quarterly

Nicholas J. Frederick. The Bible, Mormon Scripture, and the Rhetoric of Allusivity.

Madison, N.J.: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2016.

Death Being Swallowed Up In Netzach In The Bible And The Book Of Mormon, David Larsen

BYU Studies Quarterly

One way to read the Book of Mormon is to be attentive to ways in which it comes across as a translated text. Being mindful of this is wise, because all translations—even inspired translations—lose something of the primary language, particularly as meanings shift when words are rendered into the vocabulary or idioms of the target language.

Textual And Comparative Explorations In 1 And 2 Enoch, David J. Larsen

BYU Studies Quarterly

Textual and Comparative Explorations in 1 and 2 Enoch by Samuel Zinner (Orem, Utah: The Interpreter Foundation; Salt Lake City: Eborn Books, 2014).

Santa Biblia: The Latter-Day Saint Bible In Spanish, Joshua M. Sears

BYU Studies Quarterly

After the release of the first Latter-day Saint edition of the Bible in 1979 and a new edition of the Triple Combination containing the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price in 1981, Elder Boyd K. Packer declared:

With the passing of years, these scriptures will produce successive generations of faithful Christians who know the Lord Jesus Christ and are disposed to obey His will. . . . The revelations will be opened to them as to no other in the history of the world. . . . They will develop a gospel scholarship beyond that …

Mormons And Midrash: On The Composition Of Expansive Interpretation In Genesis Rabbah And The Book Of Moses, Avram R. Shannon

BYU Studies Quarterly

One of the intriguing things about religious texts is how long of a life and how long of an afterlife they have. Once a text becomes a part of a “canon,” once it becomes in a way fixed, it becomes open to further discussion and elaboration. Different groups and religious traditions create different genres of interpretation to work with and understand their scriptures according to the needs of their traditions. One form of interpretation involves reopening the Bible and expanding on the narrative of the already canonized text, such as is found in the rabbinic genre of midrash and in …

A Narrative Approach To The Joseph Smith Translation Of The Synoptic Gospels, Jared W. Ludlow

BYU Studies Quarterly

One of the first projects Joseph Smith undertook after the organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in April 1830 was a translation of the Bible. Although it was not a typical translation from original Greek or Hebrew manuscripts, the project was often called a “translation” nonetheless. The Joseph Smith Translation, or JST as it is often called, was referred to by the Lord in the Doctrine and Covenants as “the new translation of my holy word” (D&C 124:89). At the top of the manuscript of the revision of Matthew, it reads, “A translation of the New …

Who Chose The Gospels? Probing The Great Gospel Conspiracy, Lincoln H. Blumell, C. E. Hill

BYU Studies Quarterly

In Who Chose the Gospels? Probing the Great Gospel Conspiracy, C. E. Hill, professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, challenges the seemingly pervasive view in scholarship that it was not until the fourth century, when Christian "orthodoxy" began to be firmly entrenched, that the four canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were selected by the church and raised to a status above all other competing Gospels. Hill argues that while this paradigm has become increasingly widespread in scholarship and is often propagated by the media or in popular culture (as in Dan Brown's The …

A New Pneumatology: Comparing Joseph Smith's Doctrine Of The Spirit With His Contemporaries And The Bible, Lynne H. Wilson

BYU Studies Quarterly

While Joseph Smith's teachings on the Holy Ghost appear to fall within the mainstream of the enthusiastic outbursts of the Second Great Awakening (circa 1800–1840), a closer look shows that his restored doctrines made an abrupt and radical departure from the pneumatology of his day. Many historians interpret Joseph's claim to revelation as a creative response to the cultural and religious stimulus of the "Burned-over District" in upstate New York. Focused research suggests that Joseph Smith's teachings on the Holy Ghost were not merely a product of his environment or a reaction to his culture. His biblical interpretations of the …

Now You See It, Now You Don't: Biblical Perspectives On The Relationship Between Magic And Religion, Shawna Dolansky, David A. Allred

BYU Studies Quarterly

Defining terms is a foundational task in academic studies, and a clear example of its importance is in the ongoing debates on the relationship between magic and religion. Because of the various ways in which magic has been defined over time and because of the negative connotations that can accompany some definitions, explorations of magic and religion are rife with misunderstanding and ethnocentrism, most famously dating back to the milieu of cultural evolution that characterized nineteenth-century anthropology, especially in the works of Edward B. Taylor and James G. Frazer. However, questions about the relationship between magic and religion go back …

God And Sex: What The Bible Really Says, Michael Coogan, Eric A. Eliason

BYU Studies Quarterly

Once, while serving as a military chaplain, I attended a training event in Colorado Springs. There we toured the world headquarters of the Evangelical "Focus on the Family" ministry. Our friendly guide explained to us that their organization existed to promote the "biblical model" of the family in the modern world. A cheeky question popped into to my mind: "By 'biblical model' do you mean the polygamy practiced in the Old Testament, or the celibacy encouraged in the New Testament?" But I held my tongue, as I wanted to be a polite guest. But since this event, I have often …

Robert J. Matthews And The Rlds Church's Inspired Version Of The Bible, Thomas E. Sherry

BYU Studies Quarterly

Matthews' developing reputation as a scholar, along with his persistent interest in and efforts to gain access to the original New Translation manuscripts, occurred during a period in RLDS Church history that included evolving views relative to the publication, assessment, and use of the Inspired Version. Those developments, along with advances in archival preservation of the original manuscripts, resulted in the phone call with RLDS Church Historian Richard Howard, allowing Matthews to study the documents. Ironically, as the RLDS Church's interest in and commitment to Joseph Smith's revelations decreased, they rose to new prominence in the LDS Church.

The Nature Of The Pen And Pencil Markings In The New Testament Of Joseph Smith's New Translation Of The Bible, Paul W. Lambert, Thomas A. Wayment

BYU Studies Quarterly

After Joseph Smith's death, Emma Smith kept the marked Bible and manuscripts of Joseph's New Translation of the Bible. These eventually became the property of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Because of random marks made on the pages of this collection, scholars have questioned whether or not any markings were added after Joseph Smith's death. The authors examine the notations made in the printed Bible Joseph used during his translation, and they conclude from the evidence that the manuscripts were not significantly changed after his martyrdom. They also point out that Joseph had finished translating …

The God Of Old: Inside The Lost World Of The Bible. By James L. Kugel, Scott H. Partridge

BYU Studies Quarterly

James L. Kugel. The God of Old: Inside the Lost World of the Bible. New York: The Free Press, 2003.

James L. Kugel. How To Read The Bible: A Guide To Scripture Then And Now, Eric A. Eliason

BYU Studies Quarterly

James L. Kugel. How to Read the Bible: A Guide to Scripture Then and Now. New York: The Free Press, 2007

Bible Gateway And The New Testament Gateway: Two Biblical Websites, Ryan Combs

BYU Studies Quarterly

BibleGateway.com is a website designed for online study and access of the scriptures. Unlike other sites that may have only one version of the Bible in one language, BibleGateway boasts thirty-five different languages and twenty-one versions of the Bible in English. Among the oldest are Jerome’s Vulgate (AD 405) in Latin, the Wycliffe New Testament (1382) in English, the Luther Bible (1545) in German, and the King James Bible (1611) in English. There are also many modern versions, such as the New International Version and modern translations in Chinese, Arabic, and Creole. For those who would prefer to listen to …

Whose Bible Is It? A History Of The Scriptures Through The Ages. By Jaroslav Pelikan, Gary P. Gillum

BYU Studies Quarterly

Jaroslav Pelikan. Whose Bible Is It? A History of the Scriptures through the Ages. London: Viking Penguin, 2005

The Psalm 22:16 Controversy: New Evidence From The Dead Sea Scrolls, Shon Hopkin

BYU Studies Quarterly

Few verses in the Bible have produced as much debate and commentary as Psalm 22:16: “For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.” The discussions center on the last character (reading right to left) of the Hebrew כארו‎ (“pierced/dug”), assumed to be the word from which the Septuagint Greek ὤρυξαν (“they have pierced”) was translated—assumed because the original Hebrew texts from which the Septuagint was translated are no longer extant. If the last character of the Hebrew word was a waw (ו), as the Greek seems to indicate, …

Behold I, Kent P. Jackson

BYU Studies Quarterly

On two occasions while he worked on his New Translation of Genesis in 1830, the Prophet Joseph Smith dictated to his scribe Oliver Cowdery a word combination that in English is awkward and ungrammatical, though in the Hebrew it is not: "Behold I." The first occurrence reads, "Behold I I am the Lord God Almighty." The second reads, "Behold I send me." Both passages are in the Book of Moses in the Pear of Great Price, but "Behold I" is not found in either of those passages today because, after the time of Joseph Smith, each was edited out of …

The Process Of Inspired Translation: Two Passages Translated Twice In The Joseph Smith Translation Of The Bible, Kent P. Jackson, Peter M. Jasinski

BYU Studies Quarterly

Since 1996, researchers from Brigham Young University—with the assistance of new photographs, scanned images, and much hands-on examination of the documents—have been engaged in a careful study of the text written on the original manuscripts of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible. The work has yielded the publication of a large facsimile transcription of all the original manuscript pages and much new information about how Joseph Smith prepared the text. Among the many new discoveries resulting from this research is an enhanced understanding of the sequence and chronology of the Prophet's work.

Understanding The Book Of Revelation Jay A. Parry And Donald W. Parry; The Book Of Revelation: Plain, Pure, And Simple Mick Smith, Robert L. Maxwell

BYU Studies Quarterly

Jay A. Parry and Donald W. Parry. Understanding the Book of Revelation. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1998. viii; 358 pp. Appendixes, bibliography, indexes. $19.95.

Mick Smith, The Book of Revelation: Plain, Pure, and Simple. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1998. xiv; 306 pp. Bibliography, index. $19.95.

The Allegory Of The Olive Tree: The Olive, The Bible, And Jacob 5 Edited By Stephen D. Ricks And John W. Welch, David B. Honey

BYU Studies Quarterly

Stephen D. Ricks and John W. Welch, eds. The Allegory of the Olive Tree: The Olive, the Bible, and Jacob 5. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, Utah: F.A.R.M.S., 1994. xiv; 624 pp. Illustrations, appendix, 2 indexes. $28.95.

Part Ii: Lds Writings On Acts Through Revelation, Byu Studies

BYU Studies Quarterly

No abstract provided.