Isaiah and Esaias in the Doctrine and Covenants

In an attempt to critique the Doctrine and Covenants, one recently published tract contains the following “criticism” on p. 47:

Isaiah and Esaias

Esaias is the Greek name for Isaiah of the Old Testament. Scripture search on lds.org reveals 21 New Testament and no Old Testament matches for Esaias, along with 32 Old Testament and no New Testament matches for Isaiah. The contexts show that they refer to the same individual. A few examples:

Isaiah 1:9 – “Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.”	Romans 9:29 – “And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha.”
Isaiah 42:1 – “Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.”	Matthew 12:17-18 – “17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, 18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.”
Isaiah 53:1 – “Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?”	Romans 10:16 – “But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?”

Here, Joseph refers to Isaiah and Esaias as two separate individuals:

Most Biblical scholars should have known that Esaias was Isaiah. Did someone ask Joseph why he referred to them as separate people? From a later revelation:

Abraham lived about 800 years before Greece existed. The name Esaias didn’t come about until the Greeks modified the Hebrew prophet’s name Isaiah. Why does someone from Abraham’s time have the same name as this Greek modification?

Actually, there is no problem.

There are actually many people other than the prophet Isaiah who has the name “Isaiah” (Heb: יהושׁוע ). Examples of this include:

Jesiah (1 Chron 12:6; 23:20)

Jesaiah (1 Chron 3:21; Nem 11:7)

These names are rendered Ησαΐας and Ιεσια and other terms in the LXX. These variations of the name in English translations are chosen, in part, to differentiate these Isaiahs from the prophet Isaiah. We see a parallel in this in the variations of Ιούδας in the New Testament, rendering it "Judas" for Judah, the brother of Jacob (Matt 1:2); Judas Iscariot (Matt 10:4); and one of Christ's brothers (Matt 13:55), while also rendering it as "Jude" for the author of the Epistle of that name (Jude 1:1).

The Bible often uses Greek names in the Old Testament for reasons of translation style. Examples include Moses, Solomon, Samuel, Job and Eve. Their Hebrew names are Mosheh, Shlomoh, Shmuel, ‘Eyob and Chawwah respectively.

In reality, there is no problem with Joseph Smith using Esaias to differentiate this Isaiah from the more well-known Isaiah of Jerusalem who penned the book of Isaiah.

Further Reading:

“Elias” as a “forerunner” in LDS Scripture