Nephi quotes Isaiah for much of the text of Second Nephi. Over the years, I have met many folks who say that they “like to skip Isaiah” because they do not understand it. Many wonder why Nephi quotes so much from Isaiah. The purpose of this post is to showContinue Reading

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shallContinue Reading

Simply put, the Documentary Hypothesis is an explanation used in Biblical scholarship that helps to explain the difficulties experienced in the Old Testament. Evidence exists in the Old Testament that shows that the first five books in the Bible are not the product of one author, rather it is ofContinue Reading

Slave Laws in the Old Testament A comparison of Exodus 21, Deuteronomy 15, and Leviticus 25   Biblical law concerning slaves was similar to that of other Near Eastern nations. Slave labor was used for domestic service and thus made for a close relationship between the master and the servant.Continue Reading

The Jubilee Year is explained in Leviticus 25:8-24 where it is stated that 49 years are to be counted (it seems that there are discrepancies as to when this countdown actually began) 1 and every 50th year was to be declared a special year in which the land would remainContinue Reading

Nazirite The LDS Bible Dictionary states the following: A consecrated man. A man under a vow to abstain from wine, from any cutting of the hair, and any contact with the dead (Judg. 13:5; 16:17; 1 Sam. 1:11; Amos 2:11–12; for full regulations see Num. 6). The vow might beContinue Reading

Discovered in western Thebes, Egypt, in 1896 by W.F. Petrie, the hieroglyphic inscription on this stele from 1208 B.C.E. contains the earliest surviving reference to “Israel” outside of the text of the Bible. The text on the stele commemorates a military campaign against Libya in the fifth regnal year ofContinue Reading

Isaiah 22:15-25 The Prophecy about the Prime Minister Victor Ludlow writes: After portraying the unconcerned and sinful condition of Jerusalem’s inhabitants, Isaiah singles out a leading citizen and describes his selfish, vain actions. The individual selected is Shebna, the leader of the king’s court, a position similar to present-day secretaryContinue Reading

The Amarna Letters are diplomatic correspondence on cuneiform tablets, most of which were discovered in 1887 at Tel el-Amarna, about 180 miles south of Cairo, Egypt. The Egyptian king Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV, 1352-1336 B.C.) founded Amarna, called Akhetaten anciently, as his new capital city. While the majority of these 380+Continue Reading