For years, scholars have grappled with the apparent editing that seems to have taken place in the book of Jeremiah. Some have argued for varying degrees of what many of them called “Deuteronomistic” influences.[1]The “Deuteronomistic Editor” is a term used for the idea proposed in scholarship that much of theContinue Reading

Ether 6-11 take readers on a journey of the violent and turbulent world of the Jaredite kings. It is almost like the Book of Mormon in miniature: we have a heavenly ocean crossing, prophetic peoples ruled by kings, a series of wicked and righteous kings, secret Gadianton-esque societies, wars andContinue Reading

Understanding Deuteronomy’s treatment of the Divine Council The ways that the Tanakh (Old Testament) was read by followers of Yahweh (Jehovah) over the centuries leading up to the life of Jesus Christ changed over time. Because the early Israelites that wrote their sacred texts had a view of a divineContinue Reading

1 Nephi 8 and 11 outline a fight that was happening in the 7th century B.C. regarding how the Israelites viewed God, visions, ascension into heaven, and the temple. In other posts I will write more about this, but for now, know that this was a debate between the visionaryContinue Reading

Deuteronomy begins with the statement “These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the wilderness” (Deuteronomy 1:1, KJV) – something that can be confusing to readers. Why does it say “this side Jordan” and why is this such an important issue as itContinue Reading