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:In Genesis 24, Abraham sent his servant to a foreign land to find a wife for Isaac. When he got there, he met a girl named Rebekah at a well, she drew water for him, she ran off to tell her family about it, and later she and Isaac were betrothed. Something similar happened to Jacob. He went to a foreign land to find a wife, he met Rachael by a well, he drew water for her, she ran to tell her family, and Jacob and Rachael were betrothed (see Genesis 29). As with all true stories, the author could have told these stories in many different ways.<ref>For a concrete example of this in the Book of Mormon, see Book of Mormon Central, “[https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/why-are-there-multiple-accounts-of-joseph-smith-and-almas-visions Why Are there Multiple Accounts of Joseph Smith's and Alma's Visions? (Alma 36:6–7)],” ''KnoWhy'' 264 (January 20, 2017).</ref> However, the reason these two stories are so similar is because they are both based on the same pattern, called a type-scene.<ref>For an introduction to type-scenes, see Michael Austin, “[https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.18809/jbms.2017.0102?seq=1 How the Book of Mormon Reads the Bible: A Theory of Types],” ''Journal of Book of Mormon Studies'' 26, (2017): 51–53. For one perspective on how type-scenes are a subtle witness for the authenticity of the Book of Mormon, see Alan Goff, “[https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/uncritical-theory-and-thin-description-resistance-history Uncritical Theory and Thin Description: The Resistance to History],” ''Review of Books on the Book of Mormon'' 7, no. 1 (1995): 187–190.</ref> | :In Genesis 24, Abraham sent his servant to a foreign land to find a wife for Isaac. When he got there, he met a girl named Rebekah at a well, she drew water for him, she ran off to tell her family about it, and later she and Isaac were betrothed. Something similar happened to Jacob. He went to a foreign land to find a wife, he met Rachael by a well, he drew water for her, she ran to tell her family, and Jacob and Rachael were betrothed (see Genesis 29). As with all true stories, the author could have told these stories in many different ways.<ref>For a concrete example of this in the Book of Mormon, see Book of Mormon Central, “[https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/why-are-there-multiple-accounts-of-joseph-smith-and-almas-visions Why Are there Multiple Accounts of Joseph Smith's and Alma's Visions? (Alma 36:6–7)],” ''KnoWhy'' 264 (January 20, 2017).</ref> However, the reason these two stories are so similar is because they are both based on the same pattern, called a type-scene.<ref>For an introduction to type-scenes, see Michael Austin, “[https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.18809/jbms.2017.0102?seq=1 How the Book of Mormon Reads the Bible: A Theory of Types],” ''Journal of Book of Mormon Studies'' 26, (2017): 51–53. For one perspective on how type-scenes are a subtle witness for the authenticity of the Book of Mormon, see Alan Goff, “[https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/uncritical-theory-and-thin-description-resistance-history Uncritical Theory and Thin Description: The Resistance to History],” ''Review of Books on the Book of Mormon'' 7, no. 1 (1995): 187–190.</ref> | ||
− | :A type-scene is an ancient storytelling technique where certain kinds of stories are told in certain ways.<ref>For a few examples other examples of type-scenes in the Book of Mormon, see Richard Dilworth Rust, “[https:// | + | :A type-scene is an ancient storytelling technique where certain kinds of stories are told in certain ways.<ref>For a few examples other examples of type-scenes in the Book of Mormon, see Richard Dilworth Rust, “[https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/recurrence-book-mormon-narratives Recurrence in Book of Mormon Narratives],” ''Journal of Book of Mormon Studies'' 3, no. 1 (1994): 42–43.</ref> The ancient audience expected that when a main character got engaged, for example, he would journey to a foreign land, encounter a woman at a well, and draw water from the well.<ref>Robert Alter, ''The Art of Biblical Narrative'', 2nd ed. (New York, NY: Basic Books, 2011), 62.</ref> Then the woman would rush home to tell the family, and the man and the woman would be betrothed.<ref>Ibid.</ref> However, each time the storyteller applied this type-scene to a new character, they would change the story slightly. This allowed the type-scene to fit each character’s historical circumstances, but also gave insights into the personalities of each character in the story.<ref>Ibid., 63.</ref> |
:For instance, biblical scholar Robert Alter noted that “it is only in [Isaac's] betrothal scene that the girl, not the stranger, draws water from the well.”<ref>Ibid., 64.</ref> This fits well with what we see Rebekah doing later, when she took “the initiative at a crucial moment in the story in order to obtain the paternal blessing for her favored son, Jacob.”<ref>Ibid.</ref> Ultimately, “Rebekah is to become the shrewdest and the most potent of the matriarchs, and so it is entirely appropriate that she should dominate her betrothal scene.”<ref>Ibid.</ref> The more these stories differ from the basic type-scene, the more one can expect that the characters in the scene will turn out differently than expected.<ref>For one example of this, see Ibid., 70.</ref> | :For instance, biblical scholar Robert Alter noted that “it is only in [Isaac's] betrothal scene that the girl, not the stranger, draws water from the well.”<ref>Ibid., 64.</ref> This fits well with what we see Rebekah doing later, when she took “the initiative at a crucial moment in the story in order to obtain the paternal blessing for her favored son, Jacob.”<ref>Ibid.</ref> Ultimately, “Rebekah is to become the shrewdest and the most potent of the matriarchs, and so it is entirely appropriate that she should dominate her betrothal scene.”<ref>Ibid.</ref> The more these stories differ from the basic type-scene, the more one can expect that the characters in the scene will turn out differently than expected.<ref>For one example of this, see Ibid., 70.</ref> |
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Critic Fawn Brodie claimed the following in her book No Man Knows My History: the Life of Joseph Smith
Passage forthcoming.[1]
So how can we reconcile this? Did Joseph Smith actually use chracters from the Bible as templates for the Book of Mormon characters?
This article seeks to answer this question.
Book of Mormon Central has produced an excellent article that may explain this type of “plagiarism” in the Book of Mormon. That article is reproduced in full, including citations for easy reference, below:
So how then does this literary device then work with different characters in the Book of Mormon? Let’s take the claims one by one.
[Analysis forthcoming]
The presence of similarities does not seem to do anything to belief in the authenticity of the Book of Mormon. More research is sure to be forthcoming on the type-scene in the Book of Mormon and readers are encouraged to pay attention for the arrival of that literature.
Notes
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