The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a
Prophet from the midst of thee, of my 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.
According to
Jesus Himself in the Book of Mormon, Deut 18:15-18 is a prophecy he fulfilled.
Behold, I am he of whom Moses spake, saying:
A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto
me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it
shall come to pass that every soul who will not hear that prophet shall be cut
off from among the people. Verily I say unto you, yea, and all the prophets
from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have testified
of me. (3 Nephi 20:23-24)
Some critics
have argued that the Book of Mormon is dependent upon Peter's paraphrase of
Deut 18:
For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A
prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto
me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it
shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be
destroyed from among the people. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and
those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of
these days. Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God
made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the
kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son
Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his
iniquities. (Acts 3:22-26)
My friend Bill
Hamblin, in response to "The Dude" on the Mormon Dialogue Board some
time ago, wrote the following in response to such (I saved this on a word
document for future reference; the original URL is no longer available):
Dude gave a fantasy version of what he thinks
should be the LDS argument concerning quotations of Dt 18:15 Acts 3:22-23 and
the BOM. (Incidentally, the text is from Peter, not Paul as Dude claimed.) Of
course, nothing he claims the LDS would say has actually ever been argued by
any LDS. This is a classic straw man. Here is what I would argue.
1- The idea of using Dt 18:18-19 as a
messianic prophecy precedes Christianity. It is so used in the Dead Sea
Scrolls, 4Q175 Testimonia
2- Acts 3:23 is actually quoting Lev 23:29,
not Dt 18:19 as Dude claims.
3- Acts is quoting (with some variations) the
Greek Septuagint version of both Dt 18:15 and Lev 23:29, not the Hebrew
version. (It should be noted that the DSS have demonstrated that there existed
an independent Hebrew version(s) behind the Septuagint, because Hebrew
scripture quotations in the DSS often agree with the Septuagint against the
surviving Masoretic text of Rabbis. See Enc. Dead Sea Scrolls 2:863-8.) Thus,
comparing Acts with the KJV of Deut 18 is pointless, since KJV Dt 18 is
Masoretic, not Septuagint
What we see is that the BOM and NT generally
agree with the Septuagint against the Masoretic Hebrew. This can, of course, be
explained as either A- the BOM Hebrew version of the brass plates included
proto-Septuagint readings, or B- the BOM is quoting the NT as Dude claims.
These lists give phrase by phrase parallels,
with a few extra variations added. K = KJV; G = Greek Old Testament, or
Septuagint; H = Hebrew.
Dt 18:15 K The Lord thy God will raise up
unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee
Dt 18:15 G A prophet shall the Lord your God
raise up unto you
Acts 3:22 A prophet shall the Lord your God
raise up unto you
Acts 7:37 A prophet shall the Lord your God
raise up unto you
1 Ne 22:20 A prophet shall the Lord your God
raise up unto you
3 Ne 20:23 A prophet shall the Lord your God
raise up unto you
JSH 1:40 (precisely as they stand in [Acts 3:22-23
in] our New Testament)
Dt 18:15 K of thy brethren, like unto me
Dt 18:15 G of your brethren, like unto me
Acts 3:22 of your brethren, like unto me;
Acts 7:37 of your brethren, like unto me;
1 Ne 22:20 like unto me
3 Ne 20:23 of your brethren, like unto me;
JSH 1:40 (precisely as they stand in [Acts 3:22-23
in] our New Testament)
Note that 1 Ne 22:20 disagrees with the
NT/Septuagint here, while 1 Ne 20:23 agrees.
Dt 18:15 K unto him ye shall hearken
Dt 18:15 G him shall ye hear in all things
whatsoever you asked
Acts 3:22 him shall ye hear in all things
whatsoever he shall say unto you
Acts 7:37 him shall ye hear.
1 Ne 22:20 him shall ye hear in all things
whatsoever he shall say unto you
3 Ne 20:23 him shall ye hear in all things
whatsoever he shall say unto you
JSH 1:40 (precisely as they stand in [Acts
3:22-23 in] our New Testament)
Here the BOM agrees with the NT against the
Septuagint. This would support Dude’s position.
Dt 18:19 K And it shall come to pass
Dt 18:19 G And it shall come to pass
Acts 3:23 And it shall come to pass
Acts 7:37 --
1 Ne 22:20 And it shall come to pass
3 Ne 20:23 And it shall come to pass
JSH 1:40 (precisely as they stand in [Acts
3:22-23 in] our New Testament )
Dt 18:19 K that whosoever will not hearken
unto my words
Dt 18:19 G that the man who will not hear
whatever that prophet
Lev 23:29 G every soul [that shall not be
humbled in that day]
Acts 3:23 that every soul, which will not
hear that prophet
Acts 7:37 --
1 Ne 22:20 that all those who will not hear
that prophet
3 Ne 20:23 that every soul who will not hear
that prophet
JSH 1:40 they who would not hear his voice
Here 1 Ne 22:20 disagrees with the
NT/Septuagint.
Dt 18:19 K which he shall speak in my name
Dt 18:19 G shall say in my name
Lev 23:29 G --
Acts 3:22 --
Acts 7:37 --
1 Ne 22:20 --
3 Ne 20:23 --
JSH 1:40 --
Note the NT is not quoting Dt 18:19 here (as
Dude claims), nor in the next passage.
Dt 18:19 K I will require it of him
Dt 18:19 G I will require it of him
Lev 23:29 G shall be destroyed
[eksolethreuthesetai] from among the people
Lev 23:29 H shall be cut off [nikretah] from
among the people
Acts 3:23 shall be destroyed
[eksolethreuthesetai] from among the people
Acts 7:37 --
1 Ne 22:20 shall be cut off from among the
people
3 Ne 20:23 shall be cut off from among the
people
JSH 1:40 should be cut off from among the
people
This last is the most interesting phrase.
Here the NT uses precisely the word found in the Septuagint of Lev 23:29:
eksolethreuthesetai. Both BOM readings, however, disagree with the NT and
Septuagint reading, but agree with the Hebrew of Lev 23:29, correctly
translating the Hebrew nikretah as cut off. This clearly demonstrates that JS
was not slavishly following the KJV in his translation, and furthermore that
the BOM sometimes gives variant readings that accurately reflect differences in
ancient manuscripts.
Now the ancient theory can explain why the
BOM seems to follow NT readings by either positing that there were Hebrew
proto-Septuagint readings on the Brass Plates, or that Joseph translated/interpolated
the text using culturally authoritative KJV language from the more familiar
Acts version instead of the rather obscure Deuteronomy version (i.e. more Bible
readers in 1830 would be familiar with Acts rather than Deuteronomy.)
However, the modern theory cannot explain:
1- Why did JS change destroyed to cut off?
Note that this change is found consistently in 1 Ne 22:20, 3 Ne 20:23 and in
JSH 1:40.
2- Why does this change precisely reflect the
difference in meaning between the Greek and Hebrew versions of Lev 23:29?
This little exercise clearly demonstrates
that, contra Dude’s claim, Joseph Smith did NOT just borrow Paul's [sic]
paraphrase of Deuteronomy from the King James New Testament.
On the
question of whether the Book of Mormon (and Acts of the Apostles) is correct in
stating that Deut 18 is indeed Messianic, let us quote from a recent scholarly
work on the Jewish background of Christianity:
[S]ome have suggested that Deut 18:15 is not
a messianic prophecy (contrary to the New Testament’ interpretation). This
conclusion fail to grasp of the importance of this passage in the larger
storyline of the Torah (Moses the prophet-redeemer). It also fails to consider
the way in which Deut 18:15 is interpreted in the final chapter of the Torah
(Deut 34:10), as well as in the remainder of the Hebrew Bible, particularly in
Isaiah’s famous Servant Songs in Isa 40-55.
Exile . . . in the antithesis of God’s
ultimate purpose to bless his people by making them fruitful and giving them
land (Gen 1:28; 9:1; 28:3-4; 35:11-13; see also Exod 1:7). Adam and Eve’s disobedience
resulted in curses and exile from the land. God’s choice of Abram (and his
seed) with its promise (Gen 12:1-3; 15:1-20) is strategically aligned with God’s
purposes to redeem creation from Adam and Eve’s sin. In light of the earlier
chapters of Genesis (1-11), God’s decision to bring Abram and his seed back to
the land from whence Adam and Eve were exiled (cf. Gen 2:10-14 with 15:18) and
to conquer it by defeating their enemies (Gen 22:17; 24:60) can be traced back
to the acorn-like promise in Gen 3:15: “And I will put enmity between you and
the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will strike you in the head,
and you will strike him on the heel.” The seed of the woman, which in storyline
of the Torah includes both the collective and singular aspects, is called,
among other things, to return to the land and conquer the people’s enemies.
Moses’ calling must be understood within this larger perspective. Moses is
portrayed as a seed of the woman whom God chooses to bring his people out of
exile and back to the promised land.
Given the end of the Torah’s focus on the
certainty of exile from the land as well as a future return, the obvious
implication is the need for another Moses-like figure to bring Israel back from
exile. It come as no surprise therefore, that the Torah concludes with a couple
of rather strategic allusions to this Moses-like figure. In Deut 30, for
instance, we see a clear prophecy that God would scatter Israel among the
nations (30;1), but at some future point (Deut 4:30 identifies this period ass “the
last days”), God will regather the people and circumcise their hearts to obey
(30:2-10). Deuteronomy 30:11-14 speaks about “this commandment,” presumably to
love God with a circumcised heart (30:6), as something quite different than
what the Israelites experienced during the days of Moses. This commandment will
“not b far” (v. 11), a likely allusion to the distance between the people of
Israel and the burning mountain in Exod 20:18. It will also “not be heaven,” so
they will need to ask for someone to “go up” and get it so that they can hear
it and “do it”; again, these are all strong allusions to Moses going up Mount
Sinai to bring the law to his people (see Exod 19:3, 8, 2-24; 31:18(.
Furthermore, this commandment will be beyond the sea to that someone would need
to cross the sea and bring it to the people, once again an obvious allusion to
the crossing of the Red Sea. Targum
Neofiti, an early Aramaic targum of the Torah, translates Deut 30:12 with a
clear allusion to Moses: “The Torah is not in the heavens, saying, ‘O that we
had one like Moses the prophet who would go up to the heavens and taken it to
us and make us hear the commandments and keep them.’”
Deuteronomy 34:10, another allusion to Deut
18:15, makes it clear that the prophet like Moses had not yet come. Two things
are quite striking about this verse. First, Moses is long dead (Deut 34:6). We
do not know how long after Moses’ death this passage was written, but enough
time passed for the author to state categorically that a prophet like Moses had
never arisen (Blenkinsopp, Prophecy and
Canon [1977]). This statement could only have been made by someone who had
compared all the prophets to Moses. Second, Deut 34:10 makes it clear that in
spite of the promise in Deut 18:15 that God would raise up a prophet like Moses
this prophet had never come. In other words, the author of Deut 34 provides
invaluable insight into how later biblical authors interpreted Moses’ words in
Deut 18:15. They did not understand this as a general reference to the
prophets, but as a specific reference to an individual.
Support for this understanding of Deut 34:10
can be found in Isa 40-55, commonly known as Isaiah’s “new exodus.” Gordon P.
Hugenberger (“The Servant of the Lord in the ‘Servant Songs’ of Isaiah [1995])
has convincingly argued that the servant of the Servant Songs (Isa 42:1-4;
49:1-6; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12) may best be understood with reference to the
promise of the prophet like Moses. It is clear this figure’s primary role is to
provide spiritual and physical redemption for exiled Israel. Hugenberger not
only points to the number of allusions to the exodus narrative in Isa 40-55,
but also shows how the Servant Songs, like the Torah passages, portray a royal,
priestly prophet who will be God’s instrument in redeeming Israel from their
physical and spiritual exile. Therefore,
when we consider Deut 18:15, it is clear this passage is best interpreted
messianically in its larger literary and canonical context. This prophet, like Moses, like the
messianic king in the Torah’s poems, is the hero of the Torah story, not
because of how frequently he appears but because of his vital importance for
resolving one of the major conflicts in the plot of the Torah. (Seth D.
Postell, "The Messiah in the Torah" in Craig A. Evans and David
Mishkin, eds. A Handbook on the Jewish
Roots of the Christian Faith [Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers,
2019], 53-55, emphasis added)