Joseph Smith and the "Red Sea" in 2 Nephi 19:1

by E. Jan Wilson

Overview

Abstract: When Nephi quotes Isaiah 9:1 in 2 Nephi 19:1, Isaiah's the "way of the sea" (KJV translation) becomes "the way of the Red Sea" in the Book of Mormon, a change that is often said to reflect an egregious blunder by Joseph Smith or a scribal error. However, there may be a scenario in which it could reflect a reasonable interpretation of an authentic ancient passage.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940185954201
Publisher:	Interpreter Foundation
Publication date:	01/25/2024
Series:	Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship , #60
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	291,708
File size:	333 KB

About the Author

E. Jan Wilson is a physician (D.O.) who also has a Ph.D. in Hebrew and Cognate Studies from Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio. He and his wife Eileen spent several years in Germany (training as an eye surgeon), several years in Israel (studying at Hebrew University and participating in archeological excavations), and a year in Lebanon (researching ancient manuscripts). They both participated in the creation of an electronic Dead Sea Scroll database (initially for F.A.R.M.S., then for BYU, where Dr. Wilson was an Associate Professor). He has published translations of ancient documents written in Akkadian, Sumerian, Hebrew, Karshuni (Arabic language written in the Syriac alphabet), and Aramaic (primarily the Syriac dialect of Aramaic). In 2010 the Vatican published his translation of one of their manuscripts, which was a medieval medical document written in Syriac and Arabic. His two-volume translation of the earliest Syriac Gospels (published in 2003) is now cited in the authoritative Nestle-Aland publication of the Greek MSS of the New Testament.