In 2 Nephi 28:30, we have Nephi reworking Isa 28:10 (alt. v 13):
For behold, thus
saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line,
precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those
who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall
learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that
shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they
have.
Isa 28:10, 13 read:
For precept must be
upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a
little, and there a little . . . But the word of the Lord was unto them precept
upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a
little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward and broken,
and snared, and taken.
There is a debate as to how to understand the terms translated as “precept” (צו) and “line” (קו). Some commentators have argued
that this is an example of infantile language. This is reflected in the 1985
JPS Tanakh:
That same mutter upon
mutter, Murmur upon murmur, Now here, now there . . . To them the word of the
Lord is: "Mutter upon mutter, Murmur upon murmur, Now here, now
there." And so they will march, But they shall fall backward, And be
injured and snared and captured.
There are many problems with practically all the proposals of Isa 28:10,
13. As one scholar noted:
The other primary theories regarding vv. 10
and 13 are unconvincing. It has been argued that these are a reflection of
Akkadian, for example, the commands of an Assyrian taskmaster leading the
people into exile. However, the translations produced on the basis of this
assumption do not suit the context well, and it is highly unlikely that the
Assyrians gave orders to the inhabitants of Palestine in Akkadian, since the
latter would not have understood that language, outside of perhaps a few
specially trained scribes at the court. Van der Toorn has recently lent support
to an older theory that 28:10 and 13 reflect “phrases spoken during séances”.
However, there is no good evidence of cognate sounds or phrases used in this
way. A third theory holds that it is Isaiah’s opponents who speak these words,
mocking the prophet with nonsense talk. However, the phrase is clearly
attributed to YHWH in vv. 11 and 13, and implicitly in v. 21. Finally, W. W.
Hallo lent his support to that theory that qaw
and ṣaw are names of consecutive
letters of the Hebrew alphabet, so that the phrase is the singsong of a teacher
speaking to children. However, in the first place, it is not at all clear why
two letters in the middle of the alphabet should have been chosen; furthermore,
there is no menace or judgment in the image of YHWH or the prophet as a
teacher, although the context calls for it. (Christopher B. Hays, "The
Covenant with Mut: A New Interpretation of Isaiah 28:1-22," Vetus Testamentum 60 [2010]:212-40,
here, pp. 234-35)
Assuming that the KJV is in error, does that mean the Book of Mormon is
in error, too? The answer is “no.” קו, according to scholarly sources such as the
Lexham Analytical Lexicon of the Hebrew
Bible, in the context of Isa 28:10, 13, denotes "a line usually used
for measuring" while צו means "human commands.” It is
important to note that Isa 28 is not being reproduced word-for-word, let alone
being exegeted by Nephi; instead, Nephi is engaging in a midrash-like interpretation
of various texts of Isaiah. As John Tvedtnes noted about the use of various
texts from Isa 28 and 29 in 2 Nephi 27-29:
Some of these are
direct quotes (often with variations), followed by commentary, while others are
paraphrases (also with commentary in many cases). Some critics have attacked
Joseph Smith, saying that he deliberately altered Isa. 29 in 2 Ne. 27 in order
to back his own story (e.g., Martin Harris' visit to Prof. Anthon, as recorded
in JS-H 1:63-65). But a careful reading of 2 Nephi 27 will reveal that this is
not a transcription of Isaiah 29, but, rather, a midrash or scriptural
commentary. After quoting Isaiah chapters 2-14 (2 Ne. chapters 12-24), Nephi proposes
to ''speak somewhat concerning the words which I have written . which
have been spoken by the mouth of Isaiah. For behold, Isaiah spake many things
which were hard for many of my people to understand .. . (but)
because the words of Isaiah are not plain unto you, nevertheless they are plain
unto all those that are filled with the spirit of prophecy; .. “ (2 Ne. 25:1,
4) The subsequent verses outline his intention to pursue the matter, giving Isaiah's prophecies meaning by use of his own revelations and
prophecies. Thus, in 2 Ne. 26:15-16, 18, he paraphrases Isa. 29:3-5, then
comments on the passages, while drawing another paraphrase from Isa. 55:1 (vs.
25). As we have said, the midrash continues into chapters 27 and 28. Because many of his Isaiah quotes are
paraphrased and intermingled with his own thoughts in these chapters, it should
not be surprising to see the BM version of Isaiah 29 quite at variance with
KJV. Nephi and some of the other prophets of the Book of Mormon were fully
aware of the purpose for which they were making their record. They knew of
Joseph Smith 's future
mission, and it is by no means accidental
that Nephi here refers in part to that mission, by drawing upon the prophecies
of Isaiah. (John A. Tvedtnes, The Isaiah
Variants in the Book of Mormon [Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient
Research and Mormon Studies, 1981], 61)
Therefore, there is nothing problematic with Nephi, in his prophetic
reworking of Isaiah, to use קו and צו to denote “line” and
“precept” as we find in the Book of Mormon text.
Additional Reading
Kevin L. Barney, Line Upon Line
