The impact of Manasseh and Josiah on the kingdom of Judah and its eventual fall

Biblical criticism’s contribution to increased learning

The apocryphal book Susanna.

Joseph Smith’s study of Hebrew is related to the translation of the Book of Abraham

Covenant and chosenness resonate deeply in both Mormon and Jewish traditions. For both of these communities, covenant and chosenness represent enduring interpretations of scriptural texts and promises, ever-present in themes of divine worship and liturgy. The chapters of this volume written by leading scholars of both communities, debate scriptural foundations, the signs of the covenant, the development of theological ideas about covenant, and issues of inclusivity and exclusivity implied by chosenness.

An Old Testament textbook for seminary classes

Several approaches to interpreting Joseph Smith’s use of the so-called Jewish and Christian apocryphal literature have been employed both by critics of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (hereafter LDS), and by those professing faith in the Church and whose interests may be classified as apologetic. These approaches span the range of being probative of Joseph Smith’s restoration of lost texts and scripture and being dismissive of Mormonism generally, because its sacred religious texts are founded on flagrant plagiarism of apocryphal literature.[1] Before one can answer the most important historical question at hand, how Joseph Smith used the Apocrypha and what relationship that body of literature had to early Mormon writings, it seems prudent to first of all establish some controls on the discussion. This is necessary because previous discussions have largely contented themselves with drawing out parallels between apocryphal writings and early Mormon publications without any discussion of whether or not Joseph Smith had access to the texts under discussion. Moreover, a wide variety of modern translations of ancient apocryphal texts are often employed when there is no possible way that someone living in the early nineteenth century could have known them. This is particularly important when citing phrases or words that Joseph Smith might have incorporated into the language of his revelations.

Review of Robert M. Price. The Pre-Nicene New Testament: Fifty-four Formative Texts.

Nephi’s adoration of the words of Isaiah has puzzled many readers of the Book of Mormon. What does Nephi’s reading and repurposing of the biblical prophet suggest about the nature of prophecy and scripture study? Six scholars of the Mormon Theology Seminar address these and other questions in Reading Nephi Reading Isaiah. By shedding new light on this particular scriptural text, these essays provide exemplary models for improved scripture study.

This book makes public the results of a project sponsored by the Mormon Theology Seminar. The question driving the papers collected in this volume is the following: How does the Book of Mormon prophet Nephi read, rework, and repurpose the writings of the biblical prophet Isaiah? Each essay in this volume addresses an aspect of the complex relationship between Nephi and Isaiah, ranging from the question of what is at stake when one prophet retools the work of another to the question of how Nephi uses the words of Isaiah to outline the significance of the sealed gold plates to which he contributed. Opening the question concerning the relationship between the Bible and the Book of Mormon, this volume extends an invitation to each reader to continue the conversation. [Publisher]

Support for the single authorship theory of Isaiah

A team of scholars analyze chiasmus in Akkadian, Ugaritic, Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Latin, and the Book of Mormon. Includes extensive bibliography and register of chiastic passages in many literatures.

A study of texts from biblical, classical, and other literatures

The study of ancient literature has been enriched in the second half of the 20th century by the growing awareness and understanding of chiasmus in ancient literature. This form of inverted parallelism has been found in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and in many other ancient writings. The essays in Chiasmus in Antiquity, first published in Germany in 1981, examine the use and effect of chiasmus in the Old and New Testaments and the Book of Mormon, as well as in Sumero-Akkadian, Ugaritic, Talmudic, Greek, and Latin literatures. These essays have been reprinted in this first American edition because of their lasting value for the study of this intriguing literary form.

Chiasmus in Exodus 21–23 and Leviticus 24

The essays in this book, written by some of the finest LDS scholars, take a variety of approaches to help readers make the most of the Isaiah passages in the Book of Mormon. These scholars use the prophets of the Book of Mormon as knowledgeable guides, examining how and why those ancient writers used and interpreted Isaiah in order to clarify for modern readers what the Isaiah sections in the Book of Mormon are all about.

Defines simple, compound, and complex chiasmus, surveys the use of chiasmus in Ugaritic epics, the Old Testament, Homer, and later Greek and Latin authors, and compares the appearance of chiasmus in those literatures with chiasmus in the Book of Mormon. The degree of use of chiasmus in the Book of Mormon is similar to that in the Old Testament.

The chronology of the use of plant imagery

Commentary on the Old Testament with study questions

Textbook with review questions

The Creation, premortality, and evolution

The Creation, premortality, and evolution

Abstract: This article highlights the striking resemblances between Moses 1 and a corresponding account from the Apocalypse of Abraham (ApAb), one of the earliest and most important Jewish texts describing heavenly ascent. Careful comparative analysis demonstrates a sustained sequence of detailed affinities in narrative structure that go beyond what Joseph Smith could have created out of whole cloth from his environment and his imagination. The article also highlights important implications for the study of the Book of Moses as a temple text. Previous studies have suggested that the story of Enoch found in the Pearl of Great Price might be understood as the culminating episode of a temple text woven throughout chapters 2–8 of the Book of Moses. The current article is a conceptual bookend to these earlier studies, demonstrating that the account of heavenly ascent in Moses 1 provides a compelling prelude to a narrative outlining laws and liturgy akin to what could have been used anciently as part of ritual ascent within earthly temples.

History of Aaronic Priesthood

History of Aaronic Priesthood

History of Aaronic Priesthood

Versions of this essay were presented at the American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts, December 1987, and at the Mormon History Association Annual Meeting, Logan, Utah, May 1988.
An examination of the role of the book of Daniel in early Latter-day Saint culture, both religious and political.

Includes questions and answers about Bible passages

The family of Abraham and missionary work

Theory that rather than Ramses II, it was Nemtyemzaf, son of Pepys II of the sixth dynasty, a minor pharaoh

One of the most frequently quoted Old Testament passages in scripture is Moses’s prophecy as re corded in Deuteronomy 18:15–19: The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; According to all that thou desiredst of the Lord thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. And the Lord said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.

The anthropomorphism of God and origin of man

The Old Testament concept of God’s glory

Similarities between LDS doctrines and the Dead Sea Scrolls do not prove that Qumran had the gospel

Includes three papers: \"Who Controls the Water? Yahweh vs. Baal\" (Fred E. Woods), \"Justice and Mercy in the Book of Deuteronomy (Is There Mercy in the Old Testament?)\" (Jared W. Ludlow) and \"Garment of Joseph: An Update\" (Brian M. Hauglid).