This is a super rough draft of a topic I hope to expand upon in the near future.
According to
some critics, 1 Nephi 22:15 anachronistically uses Malachi 4:1. Here are the
two texts in question:
For behold, saith the prophet, the time
cometh speedily that Satan shall have no more power over the hearts of the
children of men; for the day soon cometh that all the proud and they who do
wickedly shall be as stubble; and the day cometh that they must be burned. (1
Nephi 22:15)
For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn
as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble:
and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it
shall leave them neither root nor branch. (Mal 4:1)
Personally,
I believe a better case can be made that Nephi is quoting the words of a
now-lost prophetic writing (e.g., that of Zenos; Neum; Zenoch, or Ezaias—prophets
mentioned in the Book of Mormon from the Old World but whose writings are no
longer extant)
Parallel #1: 1 Nephi 22:15: "For behold
. .. the time cometh"
Malachi 4:1: "For behold, the day cometh
. . . "
This is a superficial
parallel. Why? The phrase “for behold” is very common in the Book of Mormon (260
occurrences in 251 verses) and in the KJV (28 occurrences in 28 verses). The
idea of an oracle giving a prediction of a then-future event is not unique to
Malachi, so those who rely on this parallel are engaging in parallelomania.
Indeed, this formula is evidence against, not for, borrowing from
Malachi. Notice how a similar introductory formula is used for the prophet
Zenos in chapter 19:
19:11: For thus spake the prophet
19:12: saith the prophet Zenos
19:13: saith the prophet
19:15: saith the prophet
19:17: saith the prophet
19:24: Hear ye the words of the prophet
In context, “the
prophet” in 1 Nephi 22:15, in light of the many dis-similarities between the Malachi text and Nephi’s, would
indicate Nephi is quoting a now-lost writing, perhaps that of Zenos, who is
quoted in great length in Jacob 5.
Parallel #2 1 Nephi 22:15: “the time cometh
. . . the day soon cometh that all the proud and they who do wickedly shall
burn as stubble . . . “
Malachi 4:1: “the day cometh . . . all the
proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble, and the day that cometh
shall burn them up . . .”
This is a
much better parallel, though it is far from proof, as one critic has stated, of
the Book of Mormon formally quoting Malachi. Why? True, there is some
interesting overlap; notwithstanding, there are significant differences, one
that creates problems for the argument of the critics. Why? Even bracketing
Book of Mormon historicity, the author of 1-2 Nephi, both before and after this
text, when they quote from the Old Testament, does so in large chunks that are
much more verbatim (the obvious examples being the Isaiah chapters in 1-2
Nephi).
Further,
there are shared elements in the Nephi and Malachi text in other extant Old
Testament texts, including:
Behold, they shall be
as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from
the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit
before it. (Isa 47:14)
Not only
does the Isaiah text have mention of fire and those consumed being “as stubble,”
it also has a similar introductory formula (“Behold . . .”).
In light of “fire”
and related concepts appearing in eschatological texts (e.g., Zech 13:9; 1
Cor 3:11-15) in the Bible, a better theory is that Malachi and Nephi are both
dependent upon a shared tradition/textual source.
