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Difference between revisions of "Book of Mormon/Authorship theories/View of the Hebrews/Analysis of scripture use"
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− | + | |L=Book of Mormon/Authorship theories/View of the Hebrews/Analysis of scripture use | |
+ | |H=Book of Mormon and <em>View of the Hebrews</em>: Analysis of scripture use | ||
+ | |S= | ||
+ | |L1= | ||
+ | }} | ||
+ | <onlyinclude> | ||
==Scriptures cited by both works== | ==Scriptures cited by both works== | ||
{| valign="top" border="1" style="width:100%; font-size:85%" | {| valign="top" border="1" style="width:100%; font-size:85%" | ||
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* And the redeemed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away" | * And the redeemed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away" | ||
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==={{b||Isaiah|11|12}}=== | ==={{b||Isaiah|11|12}}=== | ||
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===Analysis=== | ===Analysis=== | ||
− | The Book of Mormon and ''View of the Hebrews'' have only | + | The Book of Mormon and ''View of the Hebrews'' have only 30 verses from Isaiah in common, some of which are in Isaiah 11, which entire chapter Ethan Smith references but does not quote. Only ten chapters of Isaiah are mentioned by both works. |
==Isaiah cited only by Ethan Smith== | ==Isaiah cited only by Ethan Smith== | ||
Line 252: | Line 251: | ||
|- | |- | ||
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− | ==={{b||Isaiah|18||}}=== | + | ==={{b||Isaiah|18|2-7|}}=== |
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*58 | *58 | ||
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|- | |- | ||
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− | ==={{b||Isaiah|60||}}=== | + | |
+ | ==={{b||Isaiah|60|1,3,8,9|}}=== | ||
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* 58 | * 58 | ||
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|- | |- | ||
| | | | ||
+ | ==={{b||Isaiah|54|5}}=== | ||
+ | || | ||
+ | * 162 | ||
+ | || | ||
+ | * For thy Makers is thy husbands | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | ==={{b||Isaiah|59|19}}=== | ||
+ | || | ||
+ | * 176 | ||
+ | || | ||
+ | * Mr. Edwards apprehended this passage of Isaiah might allude to America; "So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west"<ref>This scripture is claimed to be about America, yet if he was borrowing, Joseph Smith omits it. Why?</ref> | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==={{b||Isaiah|18|8-9}}=== | ||
+ | || | ||
+ | * 176 | ||
+ | || | ||
+ | * Not quoted, just cited. | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==={{b||Isaiah|18|7}}=== | ||
+ | || | ||
+ | * 176 | ||
+ | || | ||
+ | * "in that time shall the present be brought unto the Lord of hosts of a people scattered and peeled, (the very people of the ancient covenant in manifest descriptions repeatedly given) to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, the Mount Zion" | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==={{b||Isaiah|63|}}=== | ||
+ | || | ||
+ | * 179 | ||
+ | || | ||
+ | * No citation, just referenced. | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | |||
==={{b||Isaiah|18|}}=== | ==={{b||Isaiah|18|}}=== | ||
|| | || | ||
− | * | + | * 175–176 |
|| | || | ||
* Verses 1-7 have extensive exegesis. | * Verses 1-7 have extensive exegesis. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | | ||
+ | |||
==={{b||Isaiah|43|1-2}}=== | ==={{b||Isaiah|43|1-2}}=== | ||
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− | * | + | * 179 |
|| | || | ||
− | * But now, thus saith the Lord, that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee. | + | * But now, thus saith the Lord, that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee.<ref>Note the complex mix of scriptures on pp. 179–180; some are in the Book of Mormon, but most are not. Why would Joseph pick out Isaiah 11 in the midst of this complex argument, and ignore Isaiah 43 and Isaiah 60, which are a much larger part of Ethan Smith's argument?</ref> |
|- | |- | ||
| | | | ||
==={{b||Isaiah|43|4}}=== | ==={{b||Isaiah|43|4}}=== | ||
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− | * | + | * 179–180 |
|| | || | ||
* I have loved thee {with an everlasting love} [Curly brackets not in Isaiah, but {{b||Jeremiah|31|3}}.] | * I have loved thee {with an everlasting love} [Curly brackets not in Isaiah, but {{b||Jeremiah|31|3}}.] | ||
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==={{b||Isaiah|43|4}}=== | ==={{b||Isaiah|43|4}}=== | ||
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− | * | + | * 179–180 |
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* therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. Fear not, for I am with thee. I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back; bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth. | * therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. Fear not, for I am with thee. I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back; bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth. | ||
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==={{b||Isaiah|43|16}}=== | ==={{b||Isaiah|43|16}}=== | ||
|| | || | ||
− | * | + | * 179–180 |
|| | || | ||
* Thus saith the Lord, who maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; | * Thus saith the Lord, who maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; | ||
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==={{b||Isaiah|43|19}}=== | ==={{b||Isaiah|43|19}}=== | ||
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− | * | + | * 179–180 |
|| | || | ||
* Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." | * Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." | ||
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==={{b||Isaiah|60|9}}=== | ==={{b||Isaiah|60|9}}=== | ||
|| | || | ||
− | * | + | * 179–180 |
|| | || | ||
− | * Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarnish first, (or a power expert in navigation,) to bring my sons from far." | + | * Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarnish first, (or a power expert in navigation,) to bring my sons from far."<ref> Note that Ethan Smith insists this is about America. Why not in Joseph’s work then, since this would be tailor made for the purpose which some claim motivates Joseph's cribbing?</ref> |
|- | |- | ||
| | | | ||
==={{b||Isaiah|66|18-21}}, &c.=== | ==={{b||Isaiah|66|18-21}}, &c.=== | ||
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− | * | + | * 180 |
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* No cite, just reference to it. | * No cite, just reference to it. | ||
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==={{b||Isaiah|36|19}}=== | ==={{b||Isaiah|36|19}}=== | ||
|| | || | ||
− | * | + | * 182–183 |
|| | || | ||
* Where are the gods of Hamah, and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? | * Where are the gods of Hamah, and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? | ||
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==={{b||Isaiah|18|1}}=== | ==={{b||Isaiah|18|1}}=== | ||
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− | * | + | * 183–184 |
|| | || | ||
* Ho, land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia." Our translators render this address, "Wo to the land."--But this is manifestly incorrect, as the best expositors agree. The Hebrew particle here translated Wo to, is a particle of friendly calling, as well as of denouncing. | * Ho, land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia." Our translators render this address, "Wo to the land."--But this is manifestly incorrect, as the best expositors agree. The Hebrew particle here translated Wo to, is a particle of friendly calling, as well as of denouncing. | ||
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==={{b||Isaiah|26|3}}=== | ==={{b||Isaiah|26|3}}=== | ||
|| | || | ||
− | * | + | * 185–186 |
|| | || | ||
− | * | + | * As peace, peace, means perfect peace |
|- | |- | ||
| | | | ||
==={{b||Isaiah|26|19}}=== | ==={{b||Isaiah|26|19}}=== | ||
|| | || | ||
− | * | + | * 187–188 |
|| | || | ||
* Thy dew is the dew of herbs," which in the spring shall vegetate. "And I will be like the fertile cooling cloud in the sultry heat of harvest." The Hebrews shall now become "as the tender grass springing out of the earth, by the clear shining after rain;" | * Thy dew is the dew of herbs," which in the spring shall vegetate. "And I will be like the fertile cooling cloud in the sultry heat of harvest." The Hebrews shall now become "as the tender grass springing out of the earth, by the clear shining after rain;" | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | ==={{b||Isaiah|18|7}}=== | ||
+ | || | ||
+ | * 189 | ||
+ | || | ||
+ | * "a nation of ''line, line'';" | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | ==={{b||Isaiah|18|2}}=== | ||
+ | || | ||
+ | * 189 | ||
+ | || | ||
+ | * Truely they are "a nation of ''line, line'';" | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | | ||
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* "a nation of line, line;" | * "a nation of line, line;" | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | ==={{b||Isaiah|61|9}}=== | ||
+ | || | ||
+ | * 198 | ||
+ | || | ||
+ | * that all who see them shall acknowledge they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed.... | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | ==={{b||Isaiah|65|23}}=== | ||
+ | || | ||
+ | * 198 | ||
+ | || | ||
+ | * that they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them.... | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | | ||
==={{b||Isaiah|60||}}=== | ==={{b||Isaiah|60||}}=== | ||
|| | || | ||
− | * | + | * 198 |
+ | || | ||
+ | * No cite, just reference to it. | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | ==={{b||Isaiah|65|3}}=== | ||
+ | || | ||
+ | * 198 | ||
|| | || | ||
* No cite, just reference to it. | * No cite, just reference to it. | ||
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==={{b||Isaiah|44|3-4}}=== | ==={{b||Isaiah|44|3-4}}=== | ||
|| | || | ||
− | * | + | * 198–199 |
|| | || | ||
* "I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessings upon shine offspring; and they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses;" | * "I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessings upon shine offspring; and they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses;" | ||
|- | |- | ||
− | |||
| | | | ||
==={{b||Isaiah|59|21}}=== | ==={{b||Isaiah|59|21}}=== | ||
|| | || | ||
− | * | + | * 198–199 |
|| | || | ||
* As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord. My Spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and forever; | * As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord. My Spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and forever; | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | | ||
− | ==={{b||Isaiah|40| | + | ==={{b||Isaiah|40|5}}=== |
+ | || | ||
+ | * 200 | ||
|| | || | ||
− | * | + | * No cite, just reference to it |
+ | |- | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | ==={{b||Isaiah|40|1-2}}=== | ||
+ | || | ||
+ | * 200 | ||
|| | || | ||
* Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, (a name here put for all the Hebrew family, as it was their capital in the days of David and Solomon,) and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins." | * Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, (a name here put for all the Hebrew family, as it was their capital in the days of David and Solomon,) and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins." | ||
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==={{b||Isaiah|35|1}}=== | ==={{b||Isaiah|35|1}}=== | ||
|| | || | ||
− | * | + | * 201 |
|| | || | ||
* The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, and the excellency of Carmel and Sharon; they shall see the glory of the Lord and the excellency of our God. | * The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, and the excellency of Carmel and Sharon; they shall see the glory of the Lord and the excellency of our God. | ||
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==={{b||Isaiah|35|5}}=== | ==={{b||Isaiah|35|5}}=== | ||
|| | || | ||
− | * | + | * 201 |
|| | || | ||
* Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped, then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing | * Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped, then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | | ||
− | ==={{b||Isaiah| | + | ==={{b||Isaiah|43|19-20}}=== |
|| | || | ||
− | * | + | * 203–204 |
|| | || | ||
* Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The beasts of the field shall honour me; the dragons and the owls; because I give water in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, to my chosen. | * Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The beasts of the field shall honour me; the dragons and the owls; because I give water in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, to my chosen. | ||
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==={{b||Isaiah|51|3}}=== | ==={{b||Isaiah|51|3}}=== | ||
|| | || | ||
− | * | + | * 203–204 |
|| | || | ||
* ...make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord.... | * ...make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord.... | ||
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==={{b||Isaiah|41|14}}=== | ==={{b||Isaiah|41|14}}=== | ||
|| | || | ||
− | * | + | * 204 |
|| | || | ||
* Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord God, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. I will open rivers in the high places, and fountains in the midst of vallies: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; and I will set in the desert the fir tree, the pine, and the box tree together, that they may see and know and understand together, that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it. | * Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord God, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. I will open rivers in the high places, and fountains in the midst of vallies: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; and I will set in the desert the fir tree, the pine, and the box tree together, that they may see and know and understand together, that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it. | ||
+ | |- | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | ==={{b||Isaiah|41|18-20}}=== | ||
+ | || | ||
+ | * 204 | ||
+ | || | ||
+ | * Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord God, the Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. I will open rivers in the high places, and fountains in the midst of vallies: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; and I will set in the desert the fir tree, the pine, and the box tree together, that they may see and know and understand together, that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it. | ||
|- | |- | ||
|} | |} | ||
− | |||
===Analysis=== | ===Analysis=== | ||
− | + | Nineteen chapters of Isaiah are used in Ethan Smith without being used in the Book of Mormon (almost twice the number of chapters they have in common), with reference to at least 65 verses (more than 68% of the total number of Isaiah verses cited by Ethan Smith). ''View of the Hebrews'' also cites the entire chapters of Isaiah 18, 60 (twice), and 63, which would raise the numbers even further. | |
==Questionable parallels== | ==Questionable parallels== | ||
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|} | |} | ||
− | == | + | ==A key omission== |
+ | |||
+ | Ethan Smith's volume relies heavily on Isaiah 18—readers of the book will note how important he feels this chapter is, since it applies to America. Ethan Smith focuses heavily on verse one ("ho, land shadowing with wings") as referring specifically to North and South America, with the two "wings" of North America and South America being divided by the Isthmus of Panama. Of course, the Book of Mormon doesn't refer to Isaiah 18 ''at all'', which, though interesting for a book that ostensibly very heavily relied on Ethan Smith, also at its core purports to also represent Israel in the Americas. And yet, the Book of Mormon does not avail itself of this at all. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Members of the Church would later find this type of reasoning persuasive: | ||
+ | |||
+ | *"But the stepping of the people on this side of the ship, ''or on the land shadowing with wings'', in such numbers, would, to use a figure, almost turn the world over; they would, in other words, overbalance it, the same as a ship would be overbalanced by the shifting of the cargo from one side of the vessel to the other" ({{JDfairwiki|author=Parley P. Pratt|vol=1|disc=23|start=142|date=July 4, 1853}}). {{ia}} | ||
+ | |||
+ | *"To show still more fully the place where this ensign or standard is to be raised, let me refer you to the 18th chapter of Isaiah, wherein you will find these words, "Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia." In the 3rd verse of that chapter, after uttering the prediction concerning the judgment to come upon that land beyond the rivers of Ethiopia from Palestine-a land that has the appearance of shadowing with wings, like North and South America, the prophet says, "All ye inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains, and when he bloweth with a trumpet, hear ye"-something that the Lord considered worthy of the attention of all the people of the earth." ({{JDfairwiki|author=Orson Pratt|vol=14|disc=9|start=67|date=March 26, 1871}}). | ||
+ | |||
+ | If ''View of the Hebrews'' was Joseph's source, why didn't he use this vital part of Ethan Smith's argument? | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==Summary== | ||
+ | {{:Question: Does the Book of Mormon rely primarily on those chapters from Isaiah mentioned in Ethan Smith's ''View of the Hebrews''?}} | ||
+ | |||
+ | </onlyinclude> | ||
+ | {{endnotes sources}} | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
− | + | [[pt:O Livro de Mórmon/Teorias de Autoria/Vista dos Hebreus/Análise do uso de escritura]] | |
− |
Latest revision as of 14:04, 13 April 2024
Book of Mormon and View of the Hebrews: Analysis of scripture use
Scriptures cited by both works
KJV scripture | VoH Page | BoM Use? | Comments and/or text (as it appears in View of the Hebrews) |
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Isaiah 6:11 |
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Isaiah 11:1 |
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Isaiah 11:11 |
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Isaiah 11:15 |
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Isaiah 14:1 |
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Isaiah 49:18-23 |
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Isaiah 49:18-22 |
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Isaiah 11:12 |
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Isaiah 11:12 |
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Isaiah 11:13 |
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Isaiah 49:21 |
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Isaiah 3:18-21 |
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Isaiah 3:24-25 |
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Isaiah 9:6 |
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Isaiah 11: |
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Isaiah 5:26 |
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Isaiah 7:18 |
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Isaiah 5:13 |
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Isaiah 7:8 |
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Isaiah 10:20-22 |
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Isaiah 49:1,11-13 |
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Isaiah 51:11 |
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Isaiah 11:12 |
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Isaiah 11:13 |
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Analysis
The Book of Mormon and View of the Hebrews have only 30 verses from Isaiah in common, some of which are in Isaiah 11, which entire chapter Ethan Smith references but does not quote. Only ten chapters of Isaiah are mentioned by both works.
Isaiah cited only by Ethan Smith
KJV scripture | VoH Page | Comments and/or text (as it appears in View of the Hebrews) |
---|---|---|
Isaiah 18:2-7 |
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Isaiah 60:1,3,8,9 |
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Isaiah 66:30 |
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Isaiah 65:7 |
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Isaiah 65:8-9 |
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Isaiah 56:8 |
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Isaiah 63:17-18 |
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Isaiah 63:1-6 |
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Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting. |
Isaiah 63:1-6 |
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Isaiah 63:16 |
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Isaiah 28:1,3,8 |
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Isaiah 28:5 |
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Isaiah 54:5 |
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Isaiah 59:19 |
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Isaiah 18:8-9 |
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Isaiah 18:7 |
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Isaiah 63: |
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Isaiah 18: |
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Isaiah 43:1-2 |
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Isaiah 43:4 |
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Isaiah 43:4 |
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Isaiah 43:16 |
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Isaiah 43:19 |
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Isaiah 60:9 |
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Isaiah 66:18-21, &c. |
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Isaiah 36:19 |
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Isaiah 18:1 |
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Isaiah 26:3 |
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Isaiah 26:19 |
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Isaiah 18:7 |
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Isaiah 18:2 |
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Isaiah 28:2 |
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Isaiah 61:9 |
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Isaiah 65:23 |
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Isaiah 60: |
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Isaiah 65:3 |
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Isaiah 44:3-4 |
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Isaiah 59:21 |
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Isaiah 40:5 |
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Isaiah 40:1-2 |
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Isaiah 35:1 |
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Isaiah 35:5 |
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Isaiah 43:19-20 |
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Isaiah 51:3 |
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Isaiah 41:14 |
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Isaiah 41:18-20 |
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Analysis
Nineteen chapters of Isaiah are used in Ethan Smith without being used in the Book of Mormon (almost twice the number of chapters they have in common), with reference to at least 65 verses (more than 68% of the total number of Isaiah verses cited by Ethan Smith). View of the Hebrews also cites the entire chapters of Isaiah 18, 60 (twice), and 63, which would raise the numbers even further.
Questionable parallels
A few scriptures are alluded to by View of the Hebrews, but it is difficult to see them as actual parallels in the use of scripture, since one is a grammatic example ignored by the Book of Mormon, and one is a reference to John the Baptist. Joseph Smith would be far more likely to know the reference to John the Baptist from the New Testament than he would to crib the idea from Ethan Smith's use of the Old Testament:
KJV scripture | VoH Page | BoM Use? | Comments and/or text (as it appears in View of the Hebrews) |
---|---|---|---|
Isaiah 40:3 |
|
| |
Isaiah 55:1 |
|
(VoH does not cite verse directly.) |
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A key omission
Ethan Smith's volume relies heavily on Isaiah 18—readers of the book will note how important he feels this chapter is, since it applies to America. Ethan Smith focuses heavily on verse one ("ho, land shadowing with wings") as referring specifically to North and South America, with the two "wings" of North America and South America being divided by the Isthmus of Panama. Of course, the Book of Mormon doesn't refer to Isaiah 18 at all, which, though interesting for a book that ostensibly very heavily relied on Ethan Smith, also at its core purports to also represent Israel in the Americas. And yet, the Book of Mormon does not avail itself of this at all.
Members of the Church would later find this type of reasoning persuasive:
- "But the stepping of the people on this side of the ship, or on the land shadowing with wings, in such numbers, would, to use a figure, almost turn the world over; they would, in other words, overbalance it, the same as a ship would be overbalanced by the shifting of the cargo from one side of the vessel to the other" (Parley P. Pratt, (July 4, 1853) Journal of Discourses 1:142.). (italics added)
- "To show still more fully the place where this ensign or standard is to be raised, let me refer you to the 18th chapter of Isaiah, wherein you will find these words, "Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia." In the 3rd verse of that chapter, after uttering the prediction concerning the judgment to come upon that land beyond the rivers of Ethiopia from Palestine-a land that has the appearance of shadowing with wings, like North and South America, the prophet says, "All ye inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains, and when he bloweth with a trumpet, hear ye"-something that the Lord considered worthy of the attention of all the people of the earth." (Orson Pratt, (March 26, 1871) Journal of Discourses 14:67.).
If View of the Hebrews was Joseph's source, why didn't he use this vital part of Ethan Smith's argument?
Summary
Question: Does the Book of Mormon rely primarily on those chapters from Isaiah mentioned in Ethan Smith's View of the Hebrews?
An analysis of the use of Isaiah in the Book of Mormon and View of the Hebrews does not suggest that the former relies upon the latter
Isaiah scriptures in both | Isaiah in View of Hebrews only | Isaiah in Book of Mormon only |
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TOTAL = 30 verses in common; 31.6% of VoH Isaiah verses and 8.3% of BoM Isaiah verses |
TOTAL = 65 verses only in VoH; 68.4% of VoH Isaiah verses |
TOTAL = 332 verses only in Book of Mormon; 91.7% of BoM Isaiah verses |
An analysis of the use of Isaiah in the Book of Mormon and View of the Hebrews does not suggest that the former relies upon the latter, for the following reasons:
- the Book of Mormon tends to quote large portions (i.e., complete chapters) of Isaiah and then provide commentary. View of the Hebrews uses short segments of Isaiah (at most a few verses; often only a phrase or few words) to make the argument that the Amerindians are the lost ten tribes. The style and pattern of usage is not analogous—merely claiming that both works quote Isaiah does not accurately reflect how Isaiah is used, and to what extent.
- The vast majority of the Book of Mormon's Isaiah verses are not found in View of the Hebrews; almost two-thirds of the View of the Hebrews references are not found in the Book of Mormon at all. If anything, the Book of Mormon avoids the texts which View of the Hebrews finds so compelling.
- Only 30 verses are shared between the two works. The actual text which they share is even less, since View of the Hebrews often cites fragments of the verses, while the Book of Mormon always reproduces the entire verse.
- The Book of Mormon neglects to use all of the verses which Ethan Smith claims refer to America—a strange omission for the Book of Mormon, which the critics believe represents Joseph's attempt to write a history of the Americas.
Notes
- ↑ This scripture is claimed to be about America, yet if he was borrowing, Joseph Smith omits it. Why?
- ↑ Note the complex mix of scriptures on pp. 179–180; some are in the Book of Mormon, but most are not. Why would Joseph pick out Isaiah 11 in the midst of this complex argument, and ignore Isaiah 43 and Isaiah 60, which are a much larger part of Ethan Smith's argument?
- ↑ Note that Ethan Smith insists this is about America. Why not in Joseph’s work then, since this would be tailor made for the purpose which some claim motivates Joseph's cribbing?