|
|
| (20 intermediate revisions by 3 users not shown) |
| Line 1: |
Line 1: |
| {{FairMormon}}
| | #REDIRECT[[Isaiah_and_the_Book_of_Mormon#Were_the_Isaiah_passages_in_the_Book_of_Mormon_simply_plagiarized_from_the_King_James_Bible.3F]] |
| <onlyinclude>
| |
| ==Question: Were the Isaiah passages in the Book of Mormon simply plagiarized from the King James Bible?==
| |
| ===Nephi and Jacob generally make it clear when they are quoting from Isaiah===
| |
| | |
| If a Christian is making an accusation of plagiarism, then they are, by the same logic, indicting the Bible which they share with us. Close examination of the Old Testament reveals many passages which are copied nearly word for word including grammatical errors. Micah, who lived hundreds of years after Isaiah, copies word for word in {{b||Micah|4|1-3}} from Isaiah's prophecy in {{b||Isaiah|2|2-4}} without once giving him credit.<ref>See A. Melvin McDonald, ''Day of Defense'' (Sounds of Zion Inc., 2004[1986]), 49. ISBN 188647253X.</ref> We also find the genealogy from {{b||Genesis|5|10-11,36}} repeated in 1 Chronicles, much of the history in Samuel and Kings is repeated in Chronicles, and {{b||Isaiah|36|2}} through {{b||Isaiah|38|5}} is the same as {{b|2|Kings|18|17}} through {{b|2|Kings|20|6}}.
| |
| | |
| Although Old Testament scripture was often quoted by Old and New Testament writers without giving credit, Nephi and Jacob generally make it clear when they are quoting from Isaiah. Indeed, much of 2 Nephi may be seen as an Isaiah commentary. Of course, Nephi and Jacob do not specify chapter and verse, because these are modern additions to the text (as Joseph Smith somehow knew). It is ironic that critics of the Book of Mormon find fault with its "plagiarism," even though its authors typically mention their sources, while they do not condemn the Bible's authors when they do not.
| |
| | |
| Finally, it is obvious that the use of King James language for passages shared by the Bible and the Book of Mormon allows the Book of Mormon to highlight those areas in which the Book of Mormon's original texts were genuinely different from the textual tradition of the Old World which gave us the Holy Bible.
| |
| | |
| ===A closer look at these duplicate Isaiah texts actually provides us an additional witness of the Book of Mormon's authenticity===
| |
| Some question the presence of verses from Isaiah in the Book of Mormon, and assert that many Book of Mormon verses were copied from the King James Bible, which in their view, makes the Book of Mormon a fraud. While this might appear to be true to the casual Book of Mormon reader, a closer look at these duplicate texts actually provides us an additional witness of the Book of Mormon's authenticity.<ref>See {{AnsweringChallengingQuestions|start=193|end=196}}{{NB}}</ref>
| |
| | |
| The 21 chapters of Isaiah which are quoted (Chapters 2-14, 29, and 48-54) either partially or completely, represent about one-third of the book of Isaiah, but less than two and one-half percent of the total Book of Mormon. We also find that more than half of all verses quoted from Isaiah (234 of 433) differ from the King James version available to Joseph Smith.<ref>See Book of Mormon note to {{s|2|Nephi|12|2}}</ref> The Book of Mormon apparently follows the King James (Masoretic) text when it conveys the original meaning.
| |
| | |
| We often find differences in Book of Mormon Isaiah texts where modern texts disagree.<ref>See also {{FirmFoundation|start=70|end=72}}</ref> One verse ({{s|2|Nephi|12|16}}), is not only different but adds a completely new phrase: "And upon all the ships of the sea." This non-King James addition agrees with the Greek (Septuagint) version of the Bible, which was first translated into English in 1808 by Charles Thomson. <ref>The implications of this change represent a more complicated textual history than previously thought. See discussion in {{JBMS-14-2-6}} For earlier discussions, see {{TruthGodmakers1 | start=172}}; see also {{AncientAmericaBoM|start=100|end=102}}; {{Nibley7|start=129|end=143}}</ref> Such a translation was "rare for its time."<ref>"Thomson's Translation," Wikipedia (accessed 11 Feb 2015) {{link|url=http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomson%27s_Translation}}</ref>
| |
| | |
| It is also significant that the chapters of Isaiah actually quoted in the Book of Mormon (chapters 2-14 and 48-54) are those which modern scholars widely agree correspond closely to the original Isaiah collection and therefore would have been the most likely to have existed in Lehi's day.<ref>{{Nibley7|start=142|end=143}}</ref> Could Joseph Smith have known this? If Joseph or anyone else actually tried to plagiarize the Book of Mormon, critics have failed to show the source of the remaining 93% (when all similar texts are removed). A 100% non-biblical book of scripture wouldn't have been much more difficult to produce.
| |
| </onlyinclude>
| |
| {{endnotes sources}}
| |
| | |
| | |
| <!-- PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE -->
| |
| [[Category:An Insider's View of Mormon Origins]]
| |
| [[Category:Letter to a CES Director]]
| |
| [[Category:MormonThink]]
| |
| | |
| [[es:Pregunta: ¿Fueron los pasajes de Isaías en el Libro de Mormón simplemente plagiado de la Biblia King James?]]
| |
| [[pt:Pergunta: Foram as passagens de Isaías no Livro de Mórmon simplesmente plagiado da Bíblia King James?]]
| |
