Sunday, December 8, 2019

Nephi's Addition of Material to Isaiah 49:1 in 1 Nephi 21:1


When Nephi quotes Isa 49:1, he adds some additional words (highlighted in bold):

And again, hearken, O ye house of Israel, all ye that are broken off and are driven out because of the wickedness of the pastors of my people, yea, all ye that are broken off, that are scattered abroad, which are of my people, O house of Israel. Listen, O isles unto me, and hearken, ye people, from far. (1 Nephi 21:1)

“And again” can be simply seen as Nephi’s introduction to this text from Isaiah, but the portion in bold is not attested in any text of Isaiah, such as the DSS, LXX, and other ancient texts.

John Tvedtnes on p. 73 of his The Isaiah Variants in the Book of Mormon argued this as inserted by Nephi to the Isaiah text and is an example of chiasmus, presenting this purported chiasmus thusly:

(A) Hearken, o ye house of Israel
(B) all ye that are broken off
(C) and are driven out
(D) because of the wickedness of the pastors of my people;
(B') yea, all ye that are broken off
(C') that are scattered abroad
(A') Who are of my people, O house of Israel

The proposed chiasmus is not that compelling, as Tvedtnes separated elements (B and B’) and (C and C’) into different lines. Brant Gardner proposes the following solution:

These sets do not reverse but are rather directly parallel. It is more probable that these elements (B, C and B’, C’) are intended to be internal parallels in the same line. If we collapse B/C and B’/C’ into the same lines, rather than separating them then the general reversal is restored (B+C reverses B’+C’). The entire preface stresses the theme of separation that would be so poignant for the Nephites. (Brant A. Gardner, Second Witness: Analytical and Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon Volume 1: First Nephi [Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2007], 398)