Responding to Christina Darlington on Evidence for the JST

In an attempted critique of the Joseph Smith Translation (AKA “Inspired Version”), Christina Darlington wrote:

. . . in the thousands of manuscripts of the Bible that have been uncovered, some dating as far back at the 2^nd Century B.C., not a single manuscript supports the changes that Joseph Smith made to the text of his Bible. (Christina R. Darlington, Misguided by Mormonism But Redeemed by God’s Grace: Leaving the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for Biblical Christianity [2d ed.; 2019], 212)

Darlington's comments here and elsewhere in her book are ignorant about the nature and function of the Joseph Smith Translation. The late Robert J. Matthews who revolutionised studies into the JST noted, the JST is many things, not a textual restoration of the Bible. As he notes in his essay "What is the New Translation of the Bible," the changes in the JST represent many things, including:

1. Restoration of original text

2. Restoration of what was once said or done but which was never in the Bible.

3. Editing to make the Bible more understandable for modern readers.

4. Edits to the KJV to bring biblical wording into harmony with truth found in other revelations or elsewhere in the Bible.

5. Changes to provide modern readers teachings that were not written by original authors.

See my post "The nature of the Joseph Smith Translation" where I reproduce Matthew's discussions of these five types of changes (cf. Did Joseph Smith finish his revision of the Bible in 1833? As Darlington seems confused on this point [pp. 208-10]).

Notwithstanding, there are instances where the JST rendition of verses are superior to the KJV, and in some instances, where the JST finds ancient textual support.

James 2:19

Jas 2:19 in the KJV reads:

Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

The 1867 Inspired Version (published by the then-RLDS Church) reads:

Thou believest there is one God; thou doest well; the devils also believe, and tremble; thou hast made thyself like unto them, not being justified.

As one LDS apologist noted:

This passage, as found in most printed texts, can be translated "You believe that there is one God"? or "You believe that God is one?" However, the underlying tone of the passage is not that of "doing well" by believing that God is one, or that there is one God, but rather it is the lack of value of belief alone. Even the demons also believe and tremble! Mere belief in God will do no better for those who claim faith than it would be for the demons! That is James' real point . . . D. Charles Pyle, I Have Said Ye are Gods: Concepts Conducive to the Early Christian Doctrine of Deification in Patristic Literature and the Underlying Strata of the Greek New Testament (Revised and Supplemented) [CreateSpace, 2018], 160, italics in original)

The JST adds the nuance that is part of the Greek that is missing in the KJV and many other translations. Consider the following from non-LDS sources:

But James insists that correct doctrine by itself is insufficient. With biting sarcasm he praises the objector’s theology: “You do well” (καλῶς ποιεῖς). Unlike the earlier use of this expression in 2:8, where it may have been genuinely positive or at worst mild irony, here he bitterly mocks the hollowness of their faith. “Such belief is indeed necessary, but not enough for salvation.”

To show that correct doctrine is not enough, James appeals to demonic “faith.” Satan and all his evil hordes are monotheists; even they know there is only one God and that his loyalties remain undivided. The demons do something about their belief: they tremble violently when faced with the one true God of the universe. The word “tremble” (φρίσσουσιν) means more than just slight shuddering; it refers to uncontainable, uncontrollable, violent shaking from extreme fear. James asserts that the demons can match the original challenger’s theology point for point, and they are overwhelmed by the truth of these doctrines, but they remain condemned. Thus one cannot have “workless” doctrine, because that leaves one salvifically in the same position as the demons! The comparison, however, should not be pressed to say that the objector is actually demonized. Rather, James uses an extreme example to make his point that the demons are so certain of the existence of the one God that they are horrified, but even that does not bring them to salvation (because their knowledge does not change their behavior?). (Craig L. Blomberg and Mariam J. Kamell, James [Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament vol. 16; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 135])

The confession is in accordance with true belief, so James adds a semi-ironic καλῶς ποιεῖς (the author certainly believed this truth with all his heart, following the tradition of Jesus, Mk. 12:29). Such belief is indeed necessary, but not enough for salvation. The demons themselves are quite orthodox, but they tremble in fear of judgment. That all things, including demons, shudder (φρίσσω) before God is clear in Jewish literature (Test. Abr. recension A, 9; Jos. War 5:378; Hermas Man. 4), but the special fear of demons before God is attested at least soon after the NT period and probably existed within it, as magical papyri, which use God’s name against demons, and Christian literature show (Leiden Magical Papyrus J 384, 239–240; Justin Dial. 49.8; Eth. Enoch 13:3; 69:1, 14; Heb. Enoch 14:2; Clem. Alex. Strom. 5.5; cf. Dibelius, 190; BAG, 873–874; Windisch, 18; Peterson, 295–299; Deissmann, 260). More importantly, the NT knows of the monotheism of demons (1:24; 5:7; Acts 16:17; 19:15) and their fear before Christ, whom they recognize (Mk. 1:23, 24; 5:7). The point is that the knowledge of who God is does not save them; in fact, it is this very knowledge which makes them shudder (and that very name which was used by exorcists to drive them out)! A faith which cannot go beyond this level is worse than useless (Peter H. Davids, The Epistle of James: A Commentary on the Greek Text [New International Greek Testament Commentary; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1982], 126)

Joseph of Egypt's Prophecy of Moses and Aaron

2 Nephi 3:17 in the Book of Mormon records a prophecy of Joseph of Egypt not found in the Bible:

And the Lord hath said I will raise up a Moses; and I will give power unto him in a rod; and I will give judgment unto him in writing. Yet I will not loose his tongue, that he shall speak much: for I will not make him mighty in speaking. But I will write unto him my law, by the finger of mine own hand; and I will make a spokesman for him.

This prophecy is also found in Genesis 50:29, 34–35 of the JST, adding that the name of the spokesman would be Aaron:

And I will make him great in mine eyes, for he shall do my work; and he shall be great like unto him whom I have said I would raise up unto you, to deliver my people, O house of Israel, out of the land of Egypt; for a seer will I raise up to deliver my people out of the land of Egypt; and he shall be called Moses. And by this name he shall know that he is of thy house; for he shall be nursed by the king's daughter, and shall be called her son . . . And the Lord sware unto Joseph, that he would preserve his seed for ever, saying, I will raise up Moses, and a rod shall be in his hand, and he shall gather together my people, and he shall lead them as a flock, and he shall smite the waters of the Red Sea with his rod. And he shall have judgment, and shall write the word of the Lord. And he shall not speak many words, for I will write unto him my law by the finger of mine own hand. And I will make a spokesman for him, and his name shall be called Aaron.

In his article Joseph's Prophecy of Moses and Aaron, John A. Tvedtnes, in an attempt to support 2 Nephi 3:17, appeals to Targum Neofiti of Gen 40:12 and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan of Gen 50:24-25. To make these sources more accessible, I will reproduce (1) the Aramaic and (2) a translation of these sources.

Gen 40:12 of Targum Neofiti:

 ואמר ליה יוסף דין פתרוניה תלתי שרביטיה תלתי אבהת עלמא אנון אברהם יצחק ויעקב דמן בני בניהון עתידין למשתעבדא בשעבודא דארעא דמצרים ועתידין למתפרקא על ידי תלתא פרנסין מהמנין משה ואהרן ומרים דמתילין בסגוליא ודי אמרת נסבית ענביה ועצרת יתהון בכסא דפרעה )ושוית( כסא בידוי דפרעה היא כסא דפורענתא דפרעה עתיד למשתי בסופא ואת רב מזוגיא לא מובדין אגרין דחלמת חלמא טבא הדין ברם פתרוניה דחלמא לא הוה יוסף אמר ופתר ליה יוסף היך מה דהוה שפר באפוי ואמר ליה יוסף דין פתרוניה תלתא שרביטא תלתא יומין אנון

Source: Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon, Targum Neofiti to the Pentateuch (Hebrew Union College, 2005), Ge 40:12.

And Joseph said to him: “This is its interpretation: The three branches are the three fathers of the world:' namely; Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the sons of whose sons are to be enslaved in the slavery of the land of Egypt and are to be delivered by the hands of three faithful leaders: Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, who are to be likened to the clusters of grapes. And as regards what you said: took the grapes" and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup and I placed the cup in the hands of Pharaoh,’ this is the cup of retribution " which Pharaoh is to drink in the end. And you, chief cupbearer, (your) reward shall not be lost, because you have dreamed this good dream.” But Joseph did not say the interpretation of the dream. And Joseph interpreted as seemed good in his sight. And Joseph said to him: “This is its interpretation; the three branches are three days.

Source: Martin McNamara, Targum Neofiti 1: Genesis, The Aramaic Bible, vol. 1A (Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 1992), 182.

Gen 50:24-25 of Targum Pseudo-Jonathan:

ואמר יוסף לאחוי הא אנא מיית וייי מידכר ידכר יתכון ויסק יתכון מן ארעא הדא לארעא דקיים לאברהם ליצחק וליעקב

ואומי יוסף ית בני ישראל למימר לבנהון הא אתון משתעבדין במצרים

Source: Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan to the Pentateuch (Hebrew Union College, 2005), Ge 50:24–25.

And Joseph said to his Brethren Behold, I die the Lord remembering will remember you and will bring you up from this land, into the land Which He sware to Abraham, to Izhak, and to Jakob. And Joseph adjured the sons of Israel to say to their sons Behold, you will be brought into servitude in Mizraim ; but you shall not presume to go up out of Mizraim until the time that two Deliverers shall come, and say to you, Remembering, remember ye the Lord. And at the time when ye go up ye shall carry up my bones from hence.

Source: http://targum.info/pj/pjgen47-50.htm

It should be clear that the Book of Mormon and JST Gen 50 has strong ancient support.

Two Sets of Tablets at Sinai

On this topic, Matthew B. Brown wrote:

The biblical story of the stone tablets made by Moses at Mt. Sinai indicates that there was no difference between what was written on the first set and the second set (see Exodus 32:15-16, 19; 34:1). But the Joseph Smith Translation of the episode indicates that there was a major difference between the two sets of tablets.

And the Lord said unto Moses, “Hew thee two other tables of stone, like unto the first, and I will write upon them also, the words of the law, according as they were written at the first on the tables which thou brakest; but it shall not be according to the first, for I will take away the priesthood out of their midst; therefore my holy order, and the ordinances thereof, shall not go before them; for my presence shall not go up in their midst, lest I destroy them.
But I will give unto them the law as at the first, but it shall be after the law of a carnal commandment; for I have sworn in my wrath, that they shall not enter into my presence, into my rest, in the days of their pilgrimage. Therefore do as I have commanded thee, and be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai” (JST Exodus 34:1-2; see also JST Deuteronomy 10:2).

The ancient Jews preserved traditions that closely correspond to the knowledge provided by Joseph Smith. In the Zohar, for instance, we read that the first set of tablets “emanated from the tree of life” while the second set “came from the side of the tree of good and evil.” And according to Jewish kabbalistic lore, the first set of tablets “were the light and doctrine of the Messiah, the outpouring of universal deliverance, the source of eternal life on earth” while the second set “represented the indirect or ‘fragmented’ manifestation of this light” (Leo Schaya, The Universal Meaning of the Kabbalah [London: George Allen and Unwin, 1971], 15-16). (Matthew B. Brown, All Things Restored: Evidence and Witnesses of the Restoration [American Fork, Utah: Covenant Communications Inc., 2000, 2006], 166)

For more, see:

John A. Tvedtnes, The Higher and Lesser Laws

1 Corinthians 4:4

1 Cor 4:4 in the KJV reads:

For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.

The JST renders this verse differently:

For though I know nothing against myself; yet I am not hereby justified; but he who judgeth me is the Lord.

The word "against" instead of "by" is used by a number of modern scholarly translations (e.g., NRSV; NASB; Lexham; ESV) as do many commentators (e.g., R.C.H. Lenski). As the Expositor's Greek Testament notes:

The negative clauses, οὐδὲν γὰρ … ἀλλʼ οὐκ, together explain, parenthetically, Paul’s meaning in 1Co 4:3: “For I am conscious of nothing against myself” (in my conduct as Christ’s minister to you: cf. 10, 18; 2Co 1:12-17)—nothing that calls for judicial inquiry on your part or misgiving on my own—“but not on this ground (οὐκ ἐν τούτῳ) have I been justified”.

For an interesting presentation on First Corinthians and the JST, see Kevin L. Barney, "The Joseph Smith Translation of 1 Corinthians: Toward an Eclectic Approach"

The Writing on the Wall

This is an interesting one. Dan 5:25-28 in the KJV reads:

And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

There is a slight change in the JST:

And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing; MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. UPHARSIN; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

In the KJV, the terms “MENE,” “TEKEL,” and “PERES” (the latter not appearing in the original list in v. 25) but in the JST, as v. 28 interprets UPHARSIN instead of PERES, the JST has an interpretation of all the terms that appear in v. 25.

The reason for the difference is that PERES is the singular form while UPHARSIN is the plural (the 'u' representing the conjunction 'w,' but many scholarly translations keep the 'U' and render it UPHARSIN [e.g., 1985 JPS Tanakh; NASB]).

Interestingly, the New English Bible, a modern scholarly translation, strongly mirrors the JST:

And these are the words of the writing which was inscribed: Mene mene tekel u-pharsin. Here is the interpretation: mene: God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; tekel: you have been weighed in the balance and found wanting; upharsin: and your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.

John 20:17: “Hold” or “Touch” me not?

John 20:17 in the KJV reads:

Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

The JST changes "touch" to "hold," suggesting that Mary Magdalene was touching/clinging to Jesus at that moment:

Jesus saith unto her, Hold me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

Modern translations of this verse capture the nuance one finds in the JST. Consider the following:

"Do not hold on to me" (NRSV)

"Stop clinging to Me" (NASB)

"Stop holding onto me" (Complete Jewish Bible)

"Do not cling to me" (NEB)

"Do not cling to me" (ESV)

"Stop holding on to me" (NAB)

"Don't hold on to me" (International Standard Version)

"Do not cling to me" (David Bentley Hart)

In Greek, Jesus' words to Mary are μη μου απτου. Commenting on the grammar of this command not to touch/cling (απτου being the second person imperative present middle singular of απτω), one Greek grammarian wrote:

απτου impv. Απτομαι τινος grasp; touch sth; durative, hold on to, μη μου απτου stop clinging to me! (Max Zerick, A Grammatical Analysis of the New Testament [trans. Mary Grosvenor; Rome: Biblical Institute Press, 1981, 1984], 345)

It is clear that JST John 20:17 has firm support.

JST Gen 14:35: Melchizedek and "the sons of God"


JST Gen 14:25-40 is a large addition to Genesis ch. 14 containing material about the person of Melchizedek. In v. 35, there is mention of "the sons of God" in reference to Melchizedek ("And hath said, and sworn with an oath, that the heavens and the earth should come together; and the sons of God should be tried so as by fire). In the Melchizedek Scroll (11Q13 [alt. 11QMelch]) from Qumran, we read the following in Column II line 14:

To his aid (shall come) all « the gods of [justice»; and h]e is the one w[ho …] all the sons of God, and … […](The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition, eds. Florentino García Martínez and Eibert J.C. Tigchelaar [Leiden: Brill, 1997], 1209)

Here is the Hebrew (note the use of בני אל beni el "sons of God/El" in bold):

14 ובעזרו כול אלי [הצדק

וה]ואה א[שר …]כול בני אל והפ[…]

Conclusion

It should be clear that Darlington has not done any research into the JST; furthermore, while the JST should not naively be understood as a pure textual restoration (see above), it does have a number of changes to the KJV that find support in light of Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic grammar, modern scholarly translations, and other sources.

For a listing of previous articles refuting Darlington’s book, Misguided by Mormonism, see:

Listing of Responses to Christina R. Darlington's "Misguided by Mormonism"