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Articles 1 - 30 of 114
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“Behold, I Went To Hunt Beasts In The Forest”: An Addendum On Enos, Esau, And The Symbolic Geography Of Seir, Matthew L. Bowen
“Behold, I Went To Hunt Beasts In The Forest”: An Addendum On Enos, Esau, And The Symbolic Geography Of Seir, Matthew L. Bowen
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Enos’s use of the onomastic wordplay in the Jacob and Esau cycle enables him to meaningfully allude to the symbolic geography of those stories and incorporate it into his New World setting (e.g., allusions to the river Jabbok and Peniel/Penuel, the site of Jacob’s “wrestle” with the divine “man”). A third instance of this type of allusion occurs with Enos’s recollection that he “went to hunt beasts in the forest[s]” (Enos 1:3), which appears to subtly allude to Mount Seir, the forested hill country in the land of Edom inhabited by Esau and his descendants.
King Benjamin’S Sermon As A Type Of Temple Endowment, Andrew I. Miller
King Benjamin’S Sermon As A Type Of Temple Endowment, Andrew I. Miller
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
To more permanently unify the Mulekites and the Nephites as a reunited kingdom of Israel, King Benjamin gathered his people at the temple, and in his role as a king and priest after the order of Melchizedek, imparted teachings that bear resemblance to the Latter- day Saint temple endowment ceremony first introduced in Nauvoo. Several of these similarities are explored in depth. Since the book of Mosiah is one of the earliest extant texts of Joseph Smith’s prophetic ministry, this finding adds to a growing body of literature that suggests that temple themes are apparent in the unfolding Restoration earlier …
“That They May Once Again Be A Delightsome People”: The Concept Of Again Becoming The Seed Of Joseph (Words Of Mormon 1:8 And Mormon 7:4–5), Matthew L. Bowen
“That They May Once Again Be A Delightsome People”: The Concept Of Again Becoming The Seed Of Joseph (Words Of Mormon 1:8 And Mormon 7:4–5), Matthew L. Bowen
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
In Words of Mormon 1:8, Mormon declares, “And my prayer to God is concerning my brethren, that they may once again come to the knowledge of God, yea, the redemption of Christ; that they may once again be a delightsome people.” The expression “that they may once again” plausibly reflects the Hebrew idiom wayyôsipû or wayyôsipû ʿôd. Mormon’s apparent double-use of the wayyôsipû (ʿôd) idiom in Words of Mormon 1:8 (or some Nephite scribal equivalent), like 2 Nephi 5:2–3, recalls language in the Joseph story (Genesis 37:5, 8). The original Lamanite covenant, as an extension of the Abrahamic covenant, involved …
Full Issue
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
No abstract provided.
Full Issue
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
No abstract provided.
Twenty Years After “Paradigms Regained,” Part 1: The Ongoing, Plain, And Precious Significance Of Margaret Barker’S Scholarship For Latter-Day Saint Studies, Kevin Christensen
Twenty Years After “Paradigms Regained,” Part 1: The Ongoing, Plain, And Precious Significance Of Margaret Barker’S Scholarship For Latter-Day Saint Studies, Kevin Christensen
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Twenty years ago, the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies published “Paradigms Regained: A Survey of Margaret Barker’s Scholarship and Its Significance for Mormon Studies” as its second FARMS Occasional Paper. The first part of this essay provides an overview of Doctor Barker’s scholarship and its wider reception through early 2022, and then includes a broad survey of Latter-day Saint interaction with her work to the present. Part 2 of this essay (forthcoming) will address specific criticisms and appreciations of Barker’s work.
The Dance Of Reader And Text: Salomé, The Daughter Of Jared, And The Regal Dance Of Death, Alan Goff
The Dance Of Reader And Text: Salomé, The Daughter Of Jared, And The Regal Dance Of Death, Alan Goff
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Modern readers too often and easily misread modern assumptions into ancient texts. One such notion is that when the reader encounters repeated stories in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, Herodotus, or numerous other texts, the obvious explanation that requires no supporting argument is that one text is plagiarizing or copying from the other. Ancient readers and writers viewed such repetitions differently. In this article, I examine the narratives of a young woman or girl dancing for a king with the promise from the ruler that whatever the dancer wants, she can request and receive; the request often entails a …
“They Shall Be Scattered Again”: Some Notes On Jst Genesis 50:24–25, 33–35, Matthew L. Bowen
“They Shall Be Scattered Again”: Some Notes On Jst Genesis 50:24–25, 33–35, Matthew L. Bowen
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
This article examines the extension of the etiological wordplay on the name Joseph (in terms of the Hebrew verbs ʾāsap and yāsap), recurrent in the canonical text of Genesis, into the JST Genesis 50 text, where Joseph learns about and prophesies of a future “Joseph” who would help gather Israel after they had been “scattered again” by the Lord. This article also analyzes the pairing of the prophetic and seeric roles of Moses and the latter-day “Joseph” at the beginning and ending of JST Genesis and explores the significance of this framing. The importance of Moses and Joseph Smith writing …
Full Issue
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
No abstract provided.
Twenty Years After “Paradigms Regained,” Part 2: Responding To Margaret Barker’S Critics And Why Her Work Should Matter To Latter-Day Saints, Kevin Christensen
Twenty Years After “Paradigms Regained,” Part 2: Responding To Margaret Barker’S Critics And Why Her Work Should Matter To Latter-Day Saints, Kevin Christensen
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Here I address specific criticisms of Margaret Barker’s work. First, I set the stage by discussing Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions as a map and compass for navigating this kind of controversy. I show how his observations cast light on debates about Jesus in the Gospel of John, which in turn resemble present debates. In this context, I then consider some notable criticisms of Barker’s work as “not mainstream” and consider an instructive appreciation of Barker by Father John McDade in his “Life of Jesus Research.” I then respond in detail to a recent BYU Studies essay that …
“Behold, He Was A Man Like Unto Ammon”: Mormon’S Use Of ʾMn-Related Terminology In Praise Of Moroni In Alma 48, Matthew L. Bowen
“Behold, He Was A Man Like Unto Ammon”: Mormon’S Use Of ʾMn-Related Terminology In Praise Of Moroni In Alma 48, Matthew L. Bowen
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
This article examines Mormon’s comparison of Moroni, the Nephite military leader, to Ammon, the son of Mosiah, in Alma 48:18 and how Mormon’s use and repetition of ʾmn-related terminology (“faithful,” “firm,” “faith,” “verily [surely]”) in Alma 48:7–17 lays a foundation for this comparison. Ammon’s name, phonologically and perhaps etymologically, suggests the meaning “faithful.” Mormon goes to extraordinary lengths in the Lamanite conversion narratives to show that Ammon is not only worthy of this name, but that his faithfulness is the catalyst for the transition of many Lamanites from unbelief to covenant faithfulness. Thus, in comparing Moroni directly to Ammon, Mormon …
“Upon The Wings Of His Spirit”: A Note On Hebrew Rûaḥ And 2 Nephi 4:25, Matthew L. Bowen
“Upon The Wings Of His Spirit”: A Note On Hebrew Rûaḥ And 2 Nephi 4:25, Matthew L. Bowen
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Nephi, in composing his psalm (2 Nephi 4:15–35), incorporates a poetic idiom from Psalm 18:10 (2 Samuel 22:11) and Psalm 104:3 to describe his participation in a form of divine travel. This experience constituted a part of the vision in which he saw “the things which [his] father saw” in the latter’s dream of the tree of life (see 1 Nephi 11:1–3; 14:29– 30). Nephi’s use of this idiom becomes readily apparent when the range of meaning for the Hebrew word rûaḥ is considered. Nephi’s experience helps our understanding of other scriptural scenes where similar divine travel is described.
Nephi Wanted To Be A Prophet Like Moses, Not A King Like David, Taylor Halverson
Nephi Wanted To Be A Prophet Like Moses, Not A King Like David, Taylor Halverson
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
While David is frequently held up as the standard for great kings in the Old Testament, examination of Nephi’s writings shows that he sought to imitate Moses the prophet rather than David the king. In fact, he never even mentions David. Relative to two major theological movements in Jerusalem in his day, “Zion theology,” in which David was the great hero, and “Deuteronomistic theology,” in which Moses was the hero, we see that Nephi was more aligned with Deuteronomistic theology, which was also more consistent with views in the Northern Kingdom, where Nephi’s ancestry originated.
Asymmetry In Chiasms, With A Note About Deuteronomy 8 And Alma 36, Stephen Kent Ehat
Asymmetry In Chiasms, With A Note About Deuteronomy 8 And Alma 36, Stephen Kent Ehat
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Some students of the Book of Mormon have claimed that chapter 36 of the book of Alma is structured as a chiasm. Some of the proposals depart from perfect symmetry, presenting elements of the suggested chiasm seemingly out of sequence. This has often been pointed to as a weakness in the proposed chiasm or as a problem arising from translation or editorial work, or even as evidence that no real chiasm exists over the text of the chapter. Perhaps, however, asymmetry may be a deliberate feature of ancient chiasmus. Understanding the presence and role of occasional asymmetry or skews, as …
Full Issue
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
No abstract provided.
Joseph Smith’S Education And Intellect As Described In Documentary Sources, Brian C. Hales
Joseph Smith’S Education And Intellect As Described In Documentary Sources, Brian C. Hales
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Although Joseph Smith has been credited with “approximately seven full school years” of district schooling, further research supports that his education consisted of basic instruction in “reading, writing and the ground rules of arithmetic” comprising “less than two years of formal schooling.” The actual number of terms he experienced in common schools in upstate New York is probably less critical since the curricula in district schools did not then teach creative writing, composition, or extemporaneous speaking. If Joseph Smith learned how to compose and dictate a book, extracurricular activities would likely have been the training source. Six of those can …
“The Lord God Will Proceed”: Nephi’S Wordplay In 1 Nephi 22:8–12 And The Abrahamic Covenant, Matthew L. Bowen
“The Lord God Will Proceed”: Nephi’S Wordplay In 1 Nephi 22:8–12 And The Abrahamic Covenant, Matthew L. Bowen
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Nephi quotes or alludes to four distinct Old Testament passages — Genesis 22:18; Isaiah 29:14; Isaiah 49:22–23; and Isaiah 52:10 — twice each in 1 Nephi 22:6, 8–12. These four texts form the basis of his description of how the Lord would bring to pass the complete fulfillment of the promises in the Abrahamic covenant for the salvation of the human family. These texts’ shared use of the Hebrew word gôyim (“nations” [> kindreds], “Gentiles”) provides the lexical basis for Nephi’s quotation and interpretation of these texts in light of each other. Nephi uses these texts to prophesy that the …
“We Might Have Enjoyed Our Possessions And The Land Of Our Inheritance”: Hebrew Yrš And 1 Nephi 17:21, Matthew L. Bowen
“We Might Have Enjoyed Our Possessions And The Land Of Our Inheritance”: Hebrew Yrš And 1 Nephi 17:21, Matthew L. Bowen
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
The verbal expression “we might have enjoyed,” as used in a complaint that Nephi attributes to his brothers, “we might have enjoyed our possessions and the land of our inheritance” (1 Nephi 17:21), reflects a use of the Hebrew verb yrš in its progressive aspect, “to enjoy possession of.” This meaning is evident in several passages in the Hebrew Bible, and perhaps most visibly in the KJV translation of Numbers 36:8 (“And every daughter, that possesseth [Hebrew yōrešet] an inheritance [naḥălâ] in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall be wife unto one of the family of the tribe …
Hannah’S Adversity And Peninnah’S Redemption, Loren Spendlove
Hannah’S Adversity And Peninnah’S Redemption, Loren Spendlove
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Most biblical students are familiar with the story of Hannah, who after years of barrenness, finally gave birth to the prophet Samuel. Some will remember her adversary, Peninnah, who allegedly tormented Hannah to tears. My objective in this article is to reclaim Peninnah’s good name by reinterpreting the passage found in 1 Samuel 1:6.
“For Their Good Have I Written Them”: The Onomastic Allusivity And Literary Function Of 2 Nephi 25:8, Matthew L. Bowen
“For Their Good Have I Written Them”: The Onomastic Allusivity And Literary Function Of 2 Nephi 25:8, Matthew L. Bowen
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Nephi’s writings exhibit a distinctive focus on “good” and divine “goodness,” reflecting the meaning of Nephi’s Egyptian name (derived from nfr) meaning “good,” “goodly,” “fine,” or “fair.” Beyond the inclusio playing on his own name in terms of “good” and “goodness” (1 Nephi 1:1; 2 Nephi 33:3–4, 10, 12), he uses a similar inclusio (2 Nephi 5:30–31; 25:7–8) to frame and demarcate a smaller portion of his personal record in which he incorporated a substantial portion of the prophecies of Isaiah (2 Nephi 6–24). This smaller inclusio frames the Isaianic material as having been incorporated into Nephi’s “good” writings on …
Lehi And Nephi As Trained Manassite Scribes, Noel B. Reynolds
Lehi And Nephi As Trained Manassite Scribes, Noel B. Reynolds
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
This paper brings together contemporary Ancient Near East scholarship in several fields to construct an updated starting point for interpretation of the teachings of the Book of Mormon. It assembles findings from studies of ancient scribal culture, historical linguistics and epigraphy, Hebrew rhetoric, and the history and archaeology of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Levant, together with the traditions of ancient Israel to construct a contextualized perspective for understanding Lehi, Nephi, and their scribal training as they would have been understood by their contemporaries. Lehi and Nephi are shown to be the beneficiaries of the most advanced scribal training available in …
“Unto The Taking Away Of Their Stumbling Blocks”: The Taking Away And Keeping Back Of Plain And Precious Things And Their Restoration In 1 Nephi 13–15, Matthew L. Bowen
“Unto The Taking Away Of Their Stumbling Blocks”: The Taking Away And Keeping Back Of Plain And Precious Things And Their Restoration In 1 Nephi 13–15, Matthew L. Bowen
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
In the latter part (1 Nephi 13–14) of his vision of the tree of life (1 Nephi 11–14), Nephi is shown the unauthorized human diminution of scripture and the gospel by the Gentile “great and abominable church” — that plain and precious things/words, teachings, and covenants were “taken away” or otherwise “kept back” from the texts that became the Bible and how people lived out its teachings. He also saw how the Lord would act to restore those lost words, teachings, and covenants among the Gentiles “unto the taking away of their stumbling blocks” (1 Nephi 14:1). The iterative language …
“But That Thou Wouldst Clear My Way Before Me”: A Note On The Personal And Emotional Rendering Of An Ancient Idiom In 2 Nephi 4:33, Matthew L. Bowen
“But That Thou Wouldst Clear My Way Before Me”: A Note On The Personal And Emotional Rendering Of An Ancient Idiom In 2 Nephi 4:33, Matthew L. Bowen
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
The biblical Hebrew collocation pinnâ derek or pannû derek (cf. Egyptian Ἰr wꜣ.t [n]), often rendered “prepare the way” or “prepare a way” in English, is an evident stylistic feature of Nephi’s writings. The most basic meaning of this idiom is “clear my way,” which is how it is rendered in 2 Nephi 4:33. Zenos’s use of “prepare the way” (Jacob 5:61, 64) in the context of “clear[ing] away” bad branches also reflects this most basic meaning.
Modern Near East Archaeology And The Brass Plates, Noel B. Reynolds
Modern Near East Archaeology And The Brass Plates, Noel B. Reynolds
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Contemporary Palestinian archaeology has produced two major threats to traditional interpretations of the history of ancient Israel. The first threat, which derives from scientific discomfort with the exodus story as an explanation for the sudden population expansion in southern Palestine at the beginning of the Iron Age (c. 1200 bce), has led to a wide variety of theories about how these Israelites could have been drawn from existing populations in the general area. This challenge is answerable in ways that preserve the exodus account, which is fundamental to the Book of Mormon as well as the Bible. The second threat …
Alma’S Prophetic Commissioning Type Scene, Alan Goff
Alma’S Prophetic Commissioning Type Scene, Alan Goff
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
The story often referred to as Alma’s conversion narrative is too often interpreted as a simplistic plagiarism of Paul’s conversion-to- Christianity story in the book of Acts. Both the New and Old Testaments appropriate an ancient narrative genre called the prophetic commissioning story. Paul’s and Alma’s commissioning narratives hearken back to this literary genre, and to refer to either as pilfered is to misunderstand not just these individual narratives but the larger approach Hebraic writers used in composing biblical and Book of Mormon narrative. To the modern mind the similarity in stories triggers explanations involving plagiarism and theft from earlier …
Contending Without Contention, Daniel C. Peterson
Contending Without Contention, Daniel C. Peterson
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
“Think not,” said the Savior at Matthew 10:34, “that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.” And this has in fact been the case — too often literally, but certainly figuratively. In the Old Testament, the Lord accurately foretold the situation that we commonly see: “I will take you one of a city,” he explained, “and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion” (Jeremiah 3:14). Unfortunately, those who aren’t so “taken” are often not entirely happy with the beliefs and practices of those who are. “Suppose …
“Can You Suppose That The Lord Will Spare You?”: Moroni’S Charged Rhetoric In Alma 60:30–32, Matthew L. Bowen
“Can You Suppose That The Lord Will Spare You?”: Moroni’S Charged Rhetoric In Alma 60:30–32, Matthew L. Bowen
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Under the duress of a lengthy war, and prompted by recent Lamanite military successes, as well as incensed at the government’s failure to resupply Helaman’s armies with provisions and to send men to reinforce the city Nephihah, Moroni sent a second scathing letter to the leaders of the Nephite nation in the Nephite capital city Zarahemla. As other scholars have noted, the name Zarahemla likely denotes “seed of compassion” or “seed of sparing.” In this article, I propose that Moroni’s rhetoric in the letter includes an acerbic word-irony involving the meaning of Zarahemla perhaps achieved in terms of the Hebrew …
The Language Of The Spirit In The Book Of Mormon, Noel B. Reynolds
The Language Of The Spirit In The Book Of Mormon, Noel B. Reynolds
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
This study provides students of the Book of Mormon with the first comprehensive analysis of the many ways in which the word “spirit” is used in that volume of scripture. It demonstrates how the titles “Holy Ghost,” “Spirit of God,” “Spirit of the Lord,” “Holy Spirit,” and “the Spirit” are used interchangeably to refer to the third member of the Godhead. It also shows that the Holy Ghost was understood to be a separate being. The analysis is thoroughly integrated with scholarly studies of references to the spirit (rûah) in the Hebrew Bible. The functions of the Holy Ghost are …
Lehi’S Dream, Nephi’S Blueprint: How Nephi Uses The Vision Of The Tree Of Life As An Outline For 1 And 2 Nephi, Noel Reynolds
Lehi’S Dream, Nephi’S Blueprint: How Nephi Uses The Vision Of The Tree Of Life As An Outline For 1 And 2 Nephi, Noel Reynolds
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
This essay harnesses the late twentieth-century discovery of Hebrew rhetoric by Bible scholars to identify Lehi’s dream as the foundation of the carefully constructed unity in Nephi’s writings and to identify previously unrecognized elements of that dream which are distributed throughout his final work. The teachings and prophecies in 1 and 2 Nephi are shown to derive from their shared dream/vision. Further, the entirety of Nephi’s writings in the Small Plates is shown to be a tightly designed rhetorical production that establishes the centrality of Christ’s identity, mission, and teachings for current and future generations of Lehi’s descendants and ultimately …
Putting Down The Priests: A Note On Royal Evaluations, (Wĕ)Hišbît, And Priestly Purges In 2 Kings 23:5 And Mosiah 11:5, Matthew L. Bowen
Putting Down The Priests: A Note On Royal Evaluations, (Wĕ)Hišbît, And Priestly Purges In 2 Kings 23:5 And Mosiah 11:5, Matthew L. Bowen
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
The historian who wrote 2 Kings 23:5 and Mormon, who wrote Mosiah 11:5, used identical expressions to describe King Josiah’s and King Noah’s purges of the priests previously ordained and installed by their fathers. These purges came to define their respective kingships. The biblical writer used this language to positively evaluate Josiah’s kingship (“And he put down [wĕhišbît] the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained”), whereas Mormon levies a negative evaluation against Noah (“For he put down [cf. Hebrew (wĕ)hišbît] all the priests that had been consecrated by his father”). Mormon employs additional “Deuteronomistic” language in evaluating …