Saturday, December 7, 2019

1 Nephi 19:10, the "Isles of the Sea" and Three Days vs. Three Hours of Darkness at the Time of Christ's Death


In 1 Nephi 19:10, we read:

 And the God of our fathers, who were led out of Egypt, out of bondage, and also were preserved in the wilderness by him, yea, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, yieldeth himself, according to the words of the angel, as a man, into the hands of wicked men, to be lifted up, according to the words of Zenock, and to be crucified, according to the words of Neum, and to be buried in a sepulchre, according to the words of Zenos, which he spake concerning the three days of darkness, which should be a sign given of his death unto those who should inhabit the isles of the sea, more especially given unto those who are of the house of Israel.

Commenting in this text's use of "isles of the sea" Brant Gardner wrote:

The phrase "isles of the sea" is not unique to Nephi, but he uses it in a way that illuminates how he understands himself. Of the phrases' ten occurrences in the scripture, eight of then are in Nephi's writings. The ninth is in Esther 10:1: "Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea." These isles are obviously known. Although they could be either specific or generic (meaning "everywhere"), they are certainly part of the known world.

The tenth occurrence is in Isaiah 24:15: "Wherefore glorify ye the Lord in the fires, even the name of the Lord God of Israel in the isles of the sea." This passage seems less likely to mean specific location than to mean "everywhere."

Nephi, however, obviously considers himself to be on one of the "isles of the sea." 2 Nephi 10:21 reads: "But great are the promises of the Lord unto them who are upon the isles of the sea; wherefore as it says isles, there must needs be more than this, and they are inhabited also by our brethren." He identifies these promises as made to specific people in specific locales--not only himself but also on other isles ("more than this [isle]").

Nephi evidently shared the biblical understanding of "isles of the sea" meaning any land whose principal access was by the sea, even though a land route also might be available. The LDS Bible Dictionary indicates that "[isles] was frequently used to denote any lands washed by the sea, especially the islands and coasts of the Mediterranean (Gen. 10:5; Ps. 72:10; Isa. 20:6, 24:14, 66:19).

More importantly, Nephi had a theological reason for associating his people with the isles of the sea. He quotes a prophecy of gathering from Zenos in 1 Nephi 19;16: "Yea, then he will remember the isles of the sea; yea, and all the people who are of the house of Israel, will I gather in, saith the Lord, according to the words of the prophet Zenos, from the four quarters of the earth." Nephi interprets this scripture as applying to his own people, paralleling the promise gathering of Jerusalem's scattered inhabitants. This promise obviously strikes a strong emotional chord for him.

We see a similar process occurring in the Dead Sea Scrolls. In 4Q177 the commentator gives a verse from Psalms, followed by his explanation (brackets and ellipses indicate lacunae in the text):

[To the master singer,] to David. In the Lord I have taken refuge,] so how can You say to me, Free [to your mountain, little bird, for now the wicked are bending their bow,] and fitting arrows to [the string to shoot in the night at the honest in mind:] (Ps. 11:1-2).

[This means that] the men of [the Yahad shall flee [ . . .] [. . . like] a bird from its place and to be exiled [from the land.  . . they are written about] in the book of the [prophet Micah: Rise and go, this is not the right place to stay, impurity has married it, it is completely ruined.]

Here the Qumranic commentator has recontextualized two verses to his own experience in a community self-exiled from Jerusalem. This passage supported the theological basis for the community's existence in the desert. Nephi's use of the "isles of the sea" makes this same correlation of text to current circumstance.

Although Nephi makes this connection, the concept never appears again in the Book of Mormon. Apparently, relocating to the New World, a psychological burden Nephi felt keenly, was unimportant to later generations. Perhaps Nephi's correlation was intricately bound to his need to find continuity between his Old World roots and his New World life. (Brant A. Gardner, Analytical and Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Volume 1: First Nephi [Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2007], 366-67)

A related issue is how in the New World, there were 3 days of darkness after Christ died, while in the Old World, it was 3 hours. Some critics claim this is a contradiction between the Bible and the Book of Mormon, but such is naïve. It would be like my saying it was raining here in Ireland for a whole day contradicting someone saying that in Seattle it rained only for an hour—we are talking about different geographical areas. As Jeff Lindsay noted:

Critics claim that the Book of Mormon account contradicts the Bible. The Bible teaches that there were three hours of darkness when Christ died (Luke 23:44), while the Book of Mormon says that mists of darkness persisted on the land for three days after an intense three-hour storm (3 Nephi 8:19, 23). As is often the case, a closer look at this alleged Book of Mormon problem results in strengthened appreciation for the authenticity and divine origin of the Book of Mormon.

The "mists of darkness" apparently refer to volcanic ash that was present at this time in Central America (Book of Mormon territory) but not in Jerusalem. Many of the literally earth-shaking events described in the Book of Mormon at the time of Christ's death are consistent with what is now known about volcanic activity - quaking ground, cities being buried and burned, changes in water level or tidal waves associated with seismic activity (some cities were sunk), and intense lightning and storms. Most particularly, volcanic activity can result in thick volcanic ash that meets the descriptions of the "mists of darkness" in the Book of Mormon (3 Nephi 8:19-23)): the ash can be felt, it can overpower people (3 Nephi 10:13), it can make it difficult to light fires (especially when the ash is moist or is associated with rain), it can block out sunlight completely, and it can persist for days (three days, for example). Volcanic activity is strongly implied in the text and is accurately described (and Joseph Smith could not have known such things himself). The only question, then, is whether there is any evidence for volcanic activity in the New World at the time of Christ's death. The amazing answer is yes: there was significant volcanic activity in the New World near the time of Christ's death - and the location is Central America, the limited area that serious LDS scholars have concluded must be the region described in the Book of Mormon. For sources and more evidence concerning the significance of volcanism in the Book of Mormon, see my page on Book of Mormon evidences.