Isa 9:2 (9:1 in the Hebrew) reads in the KJV as:
The people that walked in darkness have seen
a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them
hath the light shined.
This is quoted in the Book of Mormon at 2 Nephi 19:2 without any
variation.
The Hebrew translated as "shadow of death" is צַלְמָוֶת. On this term and how it can relate to the concept of death, not
darkness merely, note the following:
II. Contexts
1. Death and the
Underworld. In Job 10:21–22 ṣalmāweṯ
refers to or characterizes the underworld. The underworld is described here as ʾereṣ ḥōšeḵ weṣalmāweṯ (v.
21), recalling the use of ḥōšeḵ in 1
S. 2:9; Job 15:30; 17:13, where it similarly refers to the underworld.
The MT of Job 10:22 is corrupt and contains a
doubling in ʾereṣ ʿêp̱āṯâ kemô
ʾōp̱el ṣalmāweṯ (BHS:
homoioteleuton). Perhaps ṣalmāweṯ is
to be supplied at the end of the verse, or is to be deleted entirely given the
concentration of terms for “darkness.”
Job 3:5 similarly uses ṣalmāweṯ in connection with the underworld. Here Job wishes that
darkness and gloom might blot out the day he was born (gāʾal, actually “claim” it) so that it sinks into the underworld.
The parallelism šaʿarê ṣalmāweṯ
and šaʿarê māweṯ in 38:17
focuses even more unambiguously on the underworld; these gates open only for
the dead, which is why Job cannot possibly have seen them. The same applies to
28:3, where the expression “miners search out to the farthest bound the ore in
gloom and deep darkness” means that the human intellect is able to penetrate
even into the depths of the underworld.
The “valley of gloomy darkness” (gêʾ ṣalmāweṯ) in Ps. 23:4 is not
entirely clear; the use of gayʾ has
prompted some interpreters to understand the valley of darkness as the valley
of idolatry. The counterpart to gêʾ ṣalmāweṯ
is the maʿgelê ṣeḏeq (v.
3), a reference to the path that does not lead a person astray. Reference to
the valley of darkness not only evokes the notion of dark or gloomy places in
general, but also symbolizes the ultimate threat to human existence, namely,
death.22 In Isa. 9:1(2) the expressions hālaḵ beḥōšeḵ and yāšaḇ
beʾereṣ ṣalmāweṯ are parallel. The construct relation ʾereṣ ṣalmāweṯ in a sequence of several nomina recta to ʾereṣ also appears as nomen
regens in Jer. 2:6 and Job 10:21. Job 10:21 refers to the underworld, while
Jer. 2:6 refers to the inhospitable nature of the wilderness as ʾereṣ ṣîyâ weṣalmāweṯ. This
description characterizes the wilderness as precreation chaos associated with
the motifs of darkness and the utter absence of human beings. The term ṣalmāweṯ conjures up the notion of death
caused by the thirst and hunger to which the wanderer is subject. Isa. 9:1(2)
is further illuminated by Ps. 107:10 (yōšeḇê
ḥōšeḵ weṣalmāweṯ), where, as the parallelism ʾasîrê ʿonî ûḇarzel
shows, the terms ḥōšeḵ and ṣalmāweṯ refer to imprisonment. Compared
with Job 10:21 and Ps. 107:10, however, Isa. 9:1(2) does not make clear whether
it refers to imprisonment or to the underworld. This particular terminology was
chosen to show how closely imprisonment resembles life in the underworld.
Job 16:16 is similarly obscure in its
assertion that Job’s face is red with weeping and that ṣalmāweṯ is on his eyelids. Is this statement merely pointing out
the difference between weeping eyes and the radiant gaze of a joyous person?
Has Job “descended into darkness,” a reference to his ultimate isolation? Or is
death already upon him? (H. Niehr, “צַלְמָוֶת,” in G. Johannes Botterweck, Helmer Ringgren, and Heinz-Josef
Fabry, eds., Theological Dictionary of
the Old Testament, 15 vols.
[trans. Douglas W. Stott; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2003], 12: 397–399)
Brant Gardner offered the following commentary on “the shadow of
death” in 2 Nephi 19:2//Isa 9:2:
The second image is those under “the shadow
of death.” On the literal level, the Assyrian invasion has brought death and
destruction. Metaphorically, this shadow represents spiritual death. Thus,
Isaiah has intentionally written a prophecy capable of both literal and
metaphoric fulfillment. As a result, this passage was not only meaningful at
the time it was given but can still speak eloquently to modern people. (Brant
Gardner, Second Witness: Analytical and Contextual Commentary on the Book of
Mormon, 6 vols. [Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2007], 2:268)
