Musings on the Making of Mormon’s Book: 1 Nephi 17 - Brant A. Gardner
1 And it came to pass that we did again take our journey in the wilderness; and we did travel nearly eastward from that time forth. And we did travel and wade through much affliction in the wilderness;...
View ArticleMusings on the Making of Mormon’s Book: 1 Nephi 18 - Brant A. Gardner
Our chapter 18 is not a separate chapter in the 1830 edition. 1 And it came to pass that they did worship the Lord, and did go forth with me; and we did work timbers of curious workmanship. And the …...
View ArticleMusings on the Making of Mormon’s Book: 1 Nephi 19:1-21 - Brant A. Gardner
Chapter 19 is not a separate chapter in the 1830 edition. However, in the 1830 edition, the chapter V in which it is included ends where we have verse 21. Because that was an original chapter break, I...
View ArticleUnderstanding Nephi with the Help of Noah Webster - Loren Blake Spendlove
Dictionaries, especially Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language, can be useful and informative resources to help us better understand the language of the Book of Mormon. This...
View ArticleNephi: A Postmodernist Reading - Benjamin L. McGuire
Authors inevitably make assumptions about their readers as they write. Readers likewise make assumptions about authors and their intentions as they read. Using a postmodern framing, this essay...
View ArticleNephi’s Good Inclusio - Matthew L. Bowen
As John Gee noted two decades ago, Nephi is best explained as a form of the Egyptian word nfr, which by Lehi’s time was pronounced neh-fee, nay-fee, or nou-fee. Since this word means “good,” “goodly,”...
View ArticleThe “Fiery Darts of the Adversary” in 1 Nephi 15:24 - Stephen O. Smoot
After receiving a revelation (1 Nephi 11–14) that clarified the meaning of his father Lehi’s dream (1 Nephi 8), Nephi explained to his rebellious brothers the significance of the various symbols of...
View ArticleNephi’s Change of Heart - Dennis Newton
How long did it take Nephi to compose his portions of the “small account?” Careful text analysis and data mining suggest that “Nephi’s” texts may have been composed across periods as great as forty...
View Article“O Ye Fair Ones” — Revisited - Matthew L. Bowen
The best explanation for the name “Nephi” is that it derives from the Egyptian word nfr, “good,” “goodly,” “fine,” “fair,” “beautiful.” Nephi’s autobiographical wordplay on his own name in his...
View ArticleNephi’s Use of Inverted Parallels - Dennis Newton
Did Nephi intentionally use chiasmus in his writings? An analysis of fifteen multi-level chiasm candidates in Nephi’s writings demonstrates a high statistical probability (99%+) that the poetic form...
View Article“Their Anger Did Increase Against Me”: Nephi’s Autobiographical Permutation...
Nephi’s record on the small plates includes seven distinct scenes in which Nephi depicts the anger of his brethren against him. Each of these scenes includes language that recalls Genesis 37:5-10, 20,...
View ArticleMusings on the Making of Mormon’s Book: Preliminary: Nephi as Author
As I was reading Karel Van der Toorn, Scribal Culture and the Making of the Hebrew Bible ((Karel Van der Toorn, Scribal Culture and the Making of the Hebrew Bible (Cambridge and London: Harvard...
View ArticleNephi the Good: A Commentary on 1 Nephi 1:1–3
The most often read passage in the Book of Mormon is almost certainly its very first verse—what Latter-day Saint is not familiar with the opening line, “I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents”?...
View ArticleUnderstanding Nephi with the Help of Noah Webster
Dictionaries, especially Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language, can be useful and informative resources to help us better understand the language of the Book of Mormon. This...
View ArticleNephi: A Postmodernist Reading
Authors inevitably make assumptions about their readers as they write. Readers likewise make assumptions about authors and their intentions as they read. Using a postmodern framing, this essay...
View ArticleThe Hilt Thereof Was of Pure Gold
Finding Laban drunk in the streets of Jerusalem, Nephi “beheld his sword, and [he] I drew it forth from the sheath thereof; and the hilt thereof was of pure gold, and the workmanship thereof was...
View ArticleLDS Perspectives Podcast: Nephi and Isaiah with Joseph Spencer
Listen to an interview with Joseph Spencer about his new book discussing Isaiah in the Book of Mormon. Second Nephi has a reputation for being a bit dry. Missing is the drama of the Book of Mormon....
View Article“And the Meek Also Shall Increase”: The Verb yāsap in Isaiah 29 and Nephi’s...
Abstract: Beyond his autobiographic use of Joseph’s name and biography, Nephi also considered the name Joseph to have long-term prophetic value. As a Semitic/Hebrew name, Joseph derives from the verb...
View ArticleLabor Diligently to Write: The Ancient Making of a Modern Scripture
[Editor’s Note: We are pleased to present the first installment from a book entitled Labor Diligently to Write: The Ancient Making of a Modern Scripture. It is being presented in serialized form as an...
View ArticleLabor Diligently to Write: The Ancient Making of a Modern Scripture —...
[Editor’s Note: We are pleased to present the second installment from a book entitled Labor Diligently to Write: The Ancient Making of a Modern Scripture. It is being presented in serialized form as an...
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