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.
