The testimony of the two witnesses of Christ, the Bible and the Book of Mormon, runs together. The flood of truth "shall grow together" "unto the laying down of contentions, and establishing peace" (2 Nephi 3:12). We do not take up Scripture to contend, for by Scripture comes the millennial peace.
Such rising scriptural convergence changes for all time the very nature of Scripture, even as it bursts open the sluices for yet "other books" to swell the tide. The Book of Mormon, in expression of its own witness, both signifies and clarifies the Bible and thus contains "the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ." That being so, can we ever truly separate, even in casual speech, what has so fruitfully grown together?
See Doctrine and Covenants 20:9; Boyd K. Packer, "The Reason for Our Hope," Conference Report, October 2014; Neal A. Maxwell, "The Book of Mormon: A Great Answer to 'The Great Question,'" The Voice of My Servants: Apostolic Messages on Teaching, Learning, and Scripture, 221-38.
Hugh Nibley felt the Book of Mormon to run deeper even than Shakespeare: We should not be surprised at finding traces and echoes on every side. Conjuring up enemies and apostates on every side is a different matter; the waters of life will inevitably flow into the dry patches, "unto the confounding of false doctrines," if we will keep up with our reading and sharing (2 Nephi 3:12).
To find and to trace, and to listen well, is inevitably to write--and to write well. But I hope readers of the Book of Mormon will dust off scholasticism and a clinging Alexandrian staleness. I hope those who take up the Book of Mormon as their theme will be so caught up into the heavens that their words will ring with a high beauty. I hope writers will let endless geographies alone, let insincere critics alone, let entirely alone online debates (see Titus 3:9; 1 Timothy 1:4).
May we teach, not tilt.
Latter-day Saints, by the millions, give themselves to daily study. Such spirited and spiritual absorption among the general membership partakes of more intellectual horsepower and yields more insight than do the methods of the schools. And how sophomoric to label someone else's reading devotional and one's own, academic (2 Nephi 9:28)--how close to sophistry. There is no advanced Book of Mormon scholarship beyond the scope of child or teen. Even so, none of us can daily approach the Book of Mormon from every angle or, daily, multiply comment beyond measure.
See Elder David A. Bednar, "Three Methods of Scripture Study," CES Fireside, 4 February 2007.
One method stands superior to the rest:
We must all discover the scriptures for ourselves.
Then we must walk in their light.
Showing posts with label Bible. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bible. Show all posts
Sunday, July 12, 2015
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Joseph Smith Translation Proverbs 16:29
The Prophet Joseph Smith in his New Translation of the Bible at times makes the thinnest of changes. Attentive readers may appreciate such changes, but the same readers will be hard pressed to find mention of them in books or articles.
For instance, Old Testament Manuscript 2 yields but three small corrections to Proverbs. Of these, Proverbs 16:29 shows a net change of just one word: the becomes a. A significant change? I'll leave that to the proverbial experts. One thing's for sure: the Prophet justifiably corrects "the way" to "a way," for the Hebrew reads veholikho bederekh lo-tov not baderekh lo-tov ("and directs him onto a path that is not good" not "the path that is not good"). The date of the change, 1833, predates Joseph Smith's study of Hebrew by nearly three years, yet the prophetic footing is sure.
In the KJV we read: "A violent man enticeth his neighbour, and leadeth him into the way that is not good." With the JST, we have "and leadeth him into a way that is not good" (or, dropping the crossed-out words in italics--a preliminary editorial sorting running throughout much of the Prophet's Bible--"into a way not good"). It's likely easier to entice your neighbor to join you in crime than anybody else; he sees the visible evidence of profit from ill-gotten gain. He sees that new car you're driving; he sees it trundling up the driveway every single day. The sense of the Proverb is: A man of violent will easily dupes a carefree and thoughtless buddy into going along with his schemes and thus quickly leads the fool down a bad and dangerous path. He dangles promises, while foregoing warnings of consequences.
In this case the translators slipped up (or went down the wrong path): baderekh not bederekh signals the demonstrative the. Does it matter either way in English? I don't know, but the preponderance of modern translations into English follow the Hebrew and translate "a path" or "a way" or "a bad path."
There are many proverbs. So why Proverbs 16:29? Something caught his eye. Erlebnis. Nights spent running through woods or vaulting carriages down lonely roads leads one to wondering Just who in their right mind chases people down at night and all night over preachment and baptisms? (Or anything else?) Brother Joseph shakes his head. What tomfool of a fellow breathless runs with a mob? And where snores the plotter who put him up to it?
For instance, Old Testament Manuscript 2 yields but three small corrections to Proverbs. Of these, Proverbs 16:29 shows a net change of just one word: the becomes a. A significant change? I'll leave that to the proverbial experts. One thing's for sure: the Prophet justifiably corrects "the way" to "a way," for the Hebrew reads veholikho bederekh lo-tov not baderekh lo-tov ("and directs him onto a path that is not good" not "the path that is not good"). The date of the change, 1833, predates Joseph Smith's study of Hebrew by nearly three years, yet the prophetic footing is sure.
In the KJV we read: "A violent man enticeth his neighbour, and leadeth him into the way that is not good." With the JST, we have "and leadeth him into a way that is not good" (or, dropping the crossed-out words in italics--a preliminary editorial sorting running throughout much of the Prophet's Bible--"into a way not good"). It's likely easier to entice your neighbor to join you in crime than anybody else; he sees the visible evidence of profit from ill-gotten gain. He sees that new car you're driving; he sees it trundling up the driveway every single day. The sense of the Proverb is: A man of violent will easily dupes a carefree and thoughtless buddy into going along with his schemes and thus quickly leads the fool down a bad and dangerous path. He dangles promises, while foregoing warnings of consequences.
In this case the translators slipped up (or went down the wrong path): baderekh not bederekh signals the demonstrative the. Does it matter either way in English? I don't know, but the preponderance of modern translations into English follow the Hebrew and translate "a path" or "a way" or "a bad path."
There are many proverbs. So why Proverbs 16:29? Something caught his eye. Erlebnis. Nights spent running through woods or vaulting carriages down lonely roads leads one to wondering Just who in their right mind chases people down at night and all night over preachment and baptisms? (Or anything else?) Brother Joseph shakes his head. What tomfool of a fellow breathless runs with a mob? And where snores the plotter who put him up to it?
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Joseph Smith's Polyglot New Testament
I'm intrigued by the Prophet's polyglot New Testament consulted in the 7 April 1844 general conference address (King Follett Sermon) and in a 12 May 1844 sermon. "A Bible in various tongues" is how visitor Josiah Quincy described it. For some Saints the book became an iconic way of remembering Brother Joseph. A lithograph depicting the April 1844 general conference shows the Prophet with his Testament on the pulpit; the book even surfaces in Wilford Woodruff’s dreams: "I met with Br Joseph Smith in the Congregation of the Saints. He had his old Hebrew and Jerman Bible, and preached to the Saints." As the dream continues, Joseph, "thronged by people," lifts a curtain into "another room and there he was going to teach the people" (19 August 1844; 2: 449, in ed., S. Kinney; Josiah Quincy, Figures of the Past).
Note what Brother Woodruff calls the book: "his old Hebrew and Jerman Bible."
Thomas Bullock reports Joseph as saying: “I have an old book [Clayton: ‘N.T.’] in the Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and German” (7 April 1844). The book comprises “the old German [Luther’s original], Latin, Greek, and Hebrew translations” (Bullock Report, 8 April 1844). The Prophet further terms his Testament “the oldest book in the world” (Woodruff Journal and Clayton Report for 7 April), which matches Samuel W. Richards’s characterization of it as “an ancient German Bible” (12 May 1844). Only one polyglot Testament fits the description and that is Elias Hutter’s Novum Testamentum harmonicum (Nuremberg, 1602).
I’ve examined the polyglot and compared its readings against published transcriptions of the sermons to understand how Joseph used this unique Testament to rhetorical effect. After giving a new interpretation of the first verse of Genesis, the Prophet turns to his Testament for evidence that English translators often got it wrong. The example chosen is simple: “James the son of Zebedee” should be rendered “Jacob the son of Zebedee” (Matthew 4:21). And to clinch the case, after giving the German form, Joseph reads the name from the three preceding columns: Hebrew, Greek, Latin. Now the rendering of Jacob varies from language to language, and the Clayton Report, which alone shows all four forms, transcribes these phonetically, but the evidence is conclusive: the Prophet was reading from a 1602 Hutter.
There’s some humor. A lithograph of Joseph Smith addressing the April 1844 conference was “respectfully dedicated” to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles by George Lloyd (Church History Library, catalog entry for Lloyd, George). The lithograph tells a story: Joseph, large Bible open before him, proclaims the pan-American Zion and the building of the temple. This story now becomes, as the dedication shows, the future story of the Twelve. But there’s something odd about the Clayton Report of 8 April 1844. Joseph, too weak in lungs to open the meeting, calls on Brigham Young to read 1 Corinthians 15. Brigham arises and announces: “[We] shall com[mence] by read[ing] [15] Cor.—from an old Bible—W. W. Phelps read[.] Prayer by E[lde]r B. Young.” What’s that all about? Brigham arose, took one look at the old Bible, remembered that Phelps was something of an adept—and voilà.
Update, 8 March 2010: Before publishing this post on the Prophet's polyglot Testament, I poked around BYU and the Joseph Smith Papers to see if others had already done research on the topic (I felt certain that such would indeed be the case), and even tried to search for posts about the polyglot on Google early last Fall. I also checked W.V. Smith's Book of Abraham Project Website, a fine resource for sermons of the Prophet Joseph and Book of Abraham studies. I was certain that if anyone had done research on the subject it would be he. I didn't find anything on the Web site but now see, on Google, under date of November 20, 2009, a note from Boap.org's Blog, entitled (just like my post!) "Joseph Smith's Polyglot New Testament," which states: "When Joseph Smith lived in Nauvoo, Ill., he had acquired a polyglot NT. One can narrow down which one it was by the languages it contained: Hebrew, Greek, German, Latin." Professor Smith further states that he has attempted to find the Prophet's own copy of the polyglot and asks: "Anyone out there know where this NT is?" I don't know where the Prophet's polyglot is but have confidence it will be located.
Note what Brother Woodruff calls the book: "his old Hebrew and Jerman Bible."
Thomas Bullock reports Joseph as saying: “I have an old book [Clayton: ‘N.T.’] in the Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and German” (7 April 1844). The book comprises “the old German [Luther’s original], Latin, Greek, and Hebrew translations” (Bullock Report, 8 April 1844). The Prophet further terms his Testament “the oldest book in the world” (Woodruff Journal and Clayton Report for 7 April), which matches Samuel W. Richards’s characterization of it as “an ancient German Bible” (12 May 1844). Only one polyglot Testament fits the description and that is Elias Hutter’s Novum Testamentum harmonicum (Nuremberg, 1602).
I’ve examined the polyglot and compared its readings against published transcriptions of the sermons to understand how Joseph used this unique Testament to rhetorical effect. After giving a new interpretation of the first verse of Genesis, the Prophet turns to his Testament for evidence that English translators often got it wrong. The example chosen is simple: “James the son of Zebedee” should be rendered “Jacob the son of Zebedee” (Matthew 4:21). And to clinch the case, after giving the German form, Joseph reads the name from the three preceding columns: Hebrew, Greek, Latin. Now the rendering of Jacob varies from language to language, and the Clayton Report, which alone shows all four forms, transcribes these phonetically, but the evidence is conclusive: the Prophet was reading from a 1602 Hutter.
There’s some humor. A lithograph of Joseph Smith addressing the April 1844 conference was “respectfully dedicated” to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles by George Lloyd (Church History Library, catalog entry for Lloyd, George). The lithograph tells a story: Joseph, large Bible open before him, proclaims the pan-American Zion and the building of the temple. This story now becomes, as the dedication shows, the future story of the Twelve. But there’s something odd about the Clayton Report of 8 April 1844. Joseph, too weak in lungs to open the meeting, calls on Brigham Young to read 1 Corinthians 15. Brigham arises and announces: “[We] shall com[mence] by read[ing] [15] Cor.—from an old Bible—W. W. Phelps read[.] Prayer by E[lde]r B. Young.” What’s that all about? Brigham arose, took one look at the old Bible, remembered that Phelps was something of an adept—and voilà.
Update, 8 March 2010: Before publishing this post on the Prophet's polyglot Testament, I poked around BYU and the Joseph Smith Papers to see if others had already done research on the topic (I felt certain that such would indeed be the case), and even tried to search for posts about the polyglot on Google early last Fall. I also checked W.V. Smith's Book of Abraham Project Website, a fine resource for sermons of the Prophet Joseph and Book of Abraham studies. I was certain that if anyone had done research on the subject it would be he. I didn't find anything on the Web site but now see, on Google, under date of November 20, 2009, a note from Boap.org's Blog, entitled (just like my post!) "Joseph Smith's Polyglot New Testament," which states: "When Joseph Smith lived in Nauvoo, Ill., he had acquired a polyglot NT. One can narrow down which one it was by the languages it contained: Hebrew, Greek, German, Latin." Professor Smith further states that he has attempted to find the Prophet's own copy of the polyglot and asks: "Anyone out there know where this NT is?" I don't know where the Prophet's polyglot is but have confidence it will be located.
To narrow down the choices, by sorting through articles and bibliographies on the publications of European Bibles, including polyglots, is not overly difficult. The Novum Testamentum harmonicum quickly emerges as the only possibility. Today, anyone can examine a copy on Archive.org.
Updates: 2012 and 2013: https://boaporg.wordpress.com/2012/04/16/joseph-smith-and-the-polyglot/ W.V. Smith, 16 April 2012, mentions finding my article on the polyglot in a Google search. He posts an image from the Gospel of Matthew. I was very glad to see W.V. Smith concur with my identification of the polyglot: "Joseph Smith had a polyglot New Testment, probably Elias Hutter's 1602 imprint. Here's an excerpt that figures in one of Joseph's sermons [two leaves from Matthew 24]." At the BYU Church History Symposium (2013), John Welch mentioned one of the editions of the Hutter Polyglot (in nine languages), that of 1599. He apparently did not know of the copy of the Hutter at BYU (1602): "Joseph Smith's Awareness of Greek and Latin," 317 ff. Talk published by BYU Religious Studies Center and found online. (Welch further quotes from a letter to the Nauvoo Neighbor. The letter refers to the polyglot used by the Prophet at the pulpit.) "It would be an interesting curiosity to know which polyglot Bible Joseph owned. One example of such multilanguage, parallel-columned printings is Elias Hutter’s remarkable polyglot Bible published in Nürnberg, Germany, in 1599, which gave parallel texts of the New Testament in Syriac, Greek, Latin, Hebrew, German, Italian, Polish, English, and Danish," 318-319.
Many copies of the Hutter Polyglot can be found in America's libraries, so it's possible the copy owned by the Prophet may be found. Quincy, Illinois has a Hutter, but the likelihood of any connection to the Prophet is slim; I was intrigued by BYU's copy because the page next to Matthew 24, cited by the Prophet, had been torn and repaired, but BYU's copy was obtained fairly recently. As for W.V. Smith's suggestion that Alexander Neibaur was the original owner of the polyglot, we can deduce from the Prophet's discourses that the polyglot was his lesson book for readings in German and Hebrew, and we know that Brother Neibaur was his teacher.
Many copies of the Hutter Polyglot can be found in America's libraries, so it's possible the copy owned by the Prophet may be found. Quincy, Illinois has a Hutter, but the likelihood of any connection to the Prophet is slim; I was intrigued by BYU's copy because the page next to Matthew 24, cited by the Prophet, had been torn and repaired, but BYU's copy was obtained fairly recently. As for W.V. Smith's suggestion that Alexander Neibaur was the original owner of the polyglot, we can deduce from the Prophet's discourses that the polyglot was his lesson book for readings in German and Hebrew, and we know that Brother Neibaur was his teacher.
A second printing of this particular polyglot was issued in Amsterdam in 1615. https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1615-bible-novum-testamentum-vellum-1460633396
Notes: 1) The George Lloyd lithograph is featured on the dust jacket of Glen Leonard's Nauvoo (2002); see also pages 332-33. Because the lithograph is privately owned, the color image on Leonard's book is a rare view of a cultural treasure. Update: 5 April 2016: The lithograph is on display at the Church History Museum, Salt Lake City. The lender is Mr. Jim Ostvig.
2) Special Collections at the Harold B. Lee Library at BYU has a copy of the 1602 Hutter Polyglot.
3) The book I consulted and followed (with a few editorial additions for 8 April 1844) for the Nauvoo discourses was Lyndon Cook and Andrew Ehat, The Words of Joseph Smith. I also compared Cook and Ehat with W.V. Smith's transcriptions found on his Book of Abraham Project Website, a fine resource for students of The Book of Abraham.
Notes: 1) The George Lloyd lithograph is featured on the dust jacket of Glen Leonard's Nauvoo (2002); see also pages 332-33. Because the lithograph is privately owned, the color image on Leonard's book is a rare view of a cultural treasure. Update: 5 April 2016: The lithograph is on display at the Church History Museum, Salt Lake City. The lender is Mr. Jim Ostvig.
2) Special Collections at the Harold B. Lee Library at BYU has a copy of the 1602 Hutter Polyglot.
3) The book I consulted and followed (with a few editorial additions for 8 April 1844) for the Nauvoo discourses was Lyndon Cook and Andrew Ehat, The Words of Joseph Smith. I also compared Cook and Ehat with W.V. Smith's transcriptions found on his Book of Abraham Project Website, a fine resource for students of The Book of Abraham.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)