Red sea book of mormon

But in 1995, a pair of lds explorers made a chance discovery of a valley with a small stream, which subsequent visits confirmed. This gloss signals that its meaning was not readily discernible to readers of the plates and was not in their language. After traveling in an easterly direction, as the book of mormon indicates 1 nephi 17. Critics of the book of mormon have jumped on this supposed addition to the text as a foolish geographical mistake by joseph smith, for the red sea is well to the south of galilee some 250 miles. Parker, professor of ancient scripture at brigham young university, said. The story of the book of mormon and lehis exodus from the old world begins in jerusalem, the capital of the kingdom of judah and the most prominent city in all israel. Even if the king james translation of red sea were in error, one would be unable to draw conclusions about the correctness of the book of mormon translation. Many mormon apologists point to central america for the location of book of mormon lands due to the mention of a narrow neck of landwhere the sea divides the land, however problems arise when one considers that the sea south and the sea north are irreconcilable with this limited geographical location for book of mormon. The book of mormon s opening scenes provide an excellent opportunity to test some of its geographic details. It is an abridgment by an ancient prophet named mormon of the records of ancient inhabitants of the americas. When israel got to the borders of the red sea, the pillar of fire came around behind them. Geography lessons needed for book of mormon life after ministry. O that thou mightest be like unto this river, continually.

Byu experts helped fill in all kinds of unknowns to bring the book of mormon videos to life. Why did the book of mormon think the sea of galilee was the red sea. Mar, 2017 after travelling 3 days along the coast of the red sea, nephi mentioned his family stopping in a river valley with a continually running river. The book of mormon begins with an account of a real family experiencing real struggles.

Red sea is the name of a body of water separating ancient egypt and africa from arabia and asia. What can we learn from the crossing of the red sea. This shows a remarkable understanding of israelite history which joseph smith could not have had. The river laman in the valley lemuel empties into the red sea. Wilderness of akish, jaredite refuge and battle area. Adapted from a general map of the area of the travels of george potter and craig thorsted. A biography is the first book that this college professor of english has written on the subject of mormonism. On other occasions, laman and lemuel were chastened by the voice of the lord, or shocked by divine.

The book of mormon contradicts the bible and was actually a work of fiction written by joseph. If such a river existed, evidence of it should be available river gravel, for example, or mention in ancient texts from the region. Geography lessons needed for book of mormon life after. Was the book of mormon really used as a geographical. But when we look at the entire description in isaiah 9. To morrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the red sea. Its not hard to find a byu student milling about the streets of jerusalem or wandering along the path to the tree of life in the longawaited book of mormon videos, the series released weekly online by the. Regarding the place name shazer, nigel grooms dictionary of arabic topography and placenames contains an entry for a similar word, shajir, giving the. Of these thirteen, eight passages are associated with the destruction of the armies of pharaoh in the days of moses, the other five occur in connection with the travels of lehi and his company from jerusalem b. This arid wasteland was perhaps the worst desert of all. Egypt, and caused that they should walk through the red sea on dry ground. Verse 5 says that lehi came down by the borders near the shore of the red sea.

An account written by the hand of mormon, upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. If smith was going to the trouble of plagiarizing isaiah, he shouldnt have inserted his own ignorance regarding geography into the mix. Asterisk denotes a featured version, which includes an introduction and annotation book of mormon, 1830 book of mormon, 1837 book of mormon, 1840 book of mormon, 1841. The family then traveled south until they reach the borders of the red sea. The exodus pattern in the book of mormon religious studies center. In poetic fashion,1 lehi named this river after his oldest son, laman, 1 nephi 2. Three subsequent book of mormon prophets reminded their listeners of the crossing of the red sea. Book of mormon authors and teachers such as nephi, alma, and limhi allude to. Is it possible that a single author wrote the book of mormon. Lehis family sojourned near the shores of the red sea until their departure southward.

Based on his explorations of the terrain from jerusalem to the red sea, the author proposes a likely route lehi and his family took as they fled jerusalem. Additionally, the book of mormon describes the sea as the red sea. One of the four volumes of scripture accepted by the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. The first six chapters of the book of mormon contain many references to sacred books, sacred records, and the word of the lord. The book of mormons opening scenes provide an excellent opportunity to test some of its geographic details. Bushman the book of mormon and the american revolution, brigham young university studies 17 autumn 1976. Jan 26, 2016 james gee, the nahom maps, journal of book of mormon and restoration scripture 17, no. A number of different etymologies have been proposed for irreantum, one semitic and four egyptian. Pray that the mormons who read this will pick up a map, and see the problem their prophet created for himself. Have the valley of lemuel and the river laman been found. River laman, river emptying into red sea lebanon, middle eastern country city of and land of lehi. The typology of the exodus pattern in the book of mormon. This family was living in a world of increasing wickedness, but the lord promised them that if they would follow him, he would lead them to safety. The parting of the sea by moses is confirmed in latterday revelation 1 ne.

Show that evidence of such a river exists in the same area near the red sea as described in the book of mormon. The problem with this is that a christ quoted isaiah in matt. There is an error in the bible translation and possibly the. The land all down the coast of the red sea is flat leaving us to question where lehi found a valley. There was first a separation of light and darkness. Oct 08, 2019 tvedtnes argues that the change to red sea derived from previous references in the book of mormon to the red sea. When joseph smith dictated isaiah passages from the king james bible, he made a few changes to make it look like the brass plates of laban. The group traveled for three more days after they had reached the borders near the shore of the red sea before making camp. The list of archaeological and historical claims of the book. Oct 30, 2019 nephi is filled with the power of god 1 nephi 17. There is a wilderness that extends along the coast of the red sea as far south as nahom. He also proposes a location for the book of mormons valley of lemuel. Jan 28, 2020 when lehi and his family travel south, they describe traveling both by the borders of the red sea, and in the borders of the red sea 1 nephi 2. Drawing upon this research, this video follows the likely route that nephi and his family took as they journeyed from place to place through israel.

There has never been a river that empties into the red sea. The lord miraculously parted the red sea so that the israelites under moses leadership could pass through on dry ground ex. And when my father saw that the waters of the river emptied into the fountain of the red sea, he spake unto laman,saying. A complete description of the book of mormon geography bomgeography, including an internal map model, external map model i. The book of mormon claims that a valley can be found between 2 to 3 days from the northernmost shore of the red sea. Irreantum is one of the few book of mormon names that is defined with a textual gloss in the book of mormon. However, there are no rivers in arabia and no river empties into the red sea. After traveling down to the red sea, lehi and his family pushed forward for another three days before setting up their first longterm camp in a valley with firm and steadfast, and immoveable walls, and a river continually running into the red sea 1 nephi 2. Aston, a history of nahom, byu studies quarterly 51, no. The recurrence of a deliverance pattern in the book of mormon has been noted by hugh nibley an approach to the book of mormon salt lake city. This, it must be confessed, was a most extraordinary journey.

Using clues embedded in nephis account of the familys journey in the wilderness, aston discusses the pros and. Presumably the story of hagoth made the cut mormon s editing process because launching a boat into the sea was so unusual. Rivers are rare in northwest arabia, and until recently no perennial rivers or streams had been found in the region. The book of mormon claims of the river of laman and valley. The publisher obviously decided to choose a neutral observer to analyze what joseph smith called the most correct book on earth. Aug 16, 2019 three subsequent book of mormon prophets reminded their listeners of the crossing of the red sea. Researchers george potter and richard wellington believe that borders may refer to mountains or cliffs adjacent to the red sea coast.

What one misses here by the literal translation is the midrash. And if the church has nothing more than jerusalem, the red sea, and the nahom. The lord miraculously parted the red sea so that the israelites under moses leadership could pass. And we did go forth again in the wilderness, following the same direction, keeping in the most fertile parts of the wilderness, which were in the borders near the red sea. Tvedtnes argues that the change to red sea derived from previous references in the book of mormon to the red sea. Its two northern gulfs form the coastline of the sinai peninsula. The book of mormons intent in referring to the crossing of the red sea is not to clarify the location of the crossing but to identify the miracle that occurred. The term, red sea, used in the kjv to designate what was crossed, also includes the gulf of aqaba 1 kings 9.

Byu experts field tough questions for the book of mormon. The book of mormon describes the sea as the red sea. In helaman 3, mormon twice mentions shipping but doesnt indicate if this was by river or by sea. And it came to pass that he called the name of the river, laman, and it emptied into the red sea. Book of mormon minimalists and the nhm inscriptions. In the book of mormon there are incidences of laman and lemuel beating or binding up nephi. Archaeological evidence for 7 locations on lehis journey. As you read 1 nephi 16, what do you learn about why the word of god is of great worth. In the book of mormon, laman and lemuel are the two eldest sons of lehi and the older. The name red sea may also include its northern extensions, the gulf of suez and the gulf of aqaba. Similarly, the lord guided the people of jared by a cloud, as recorded in the book of mormon ether 2. March 19 geography lessons needed for book of mormon. The story begins with lehigh family fleeing from jerusalem, which is in the same location today as it was in lehigh day.

When lehi and his family travel south, they describe traveling both by the borders of the red sea, and in the borders of the red sea 1 nephi 2. The examples in 1 nephi, however, do not show any particular similarity to the phraseology in 2 nephi 19. This site can be used as a study guide to help understand the book of mormon. Does the book of mormon incorrectly change isaiah 9. Church of jesus christ of latterday saints, 1957, 142 and richard l. On the first occurrence, when they were beating nephi and sam with a rod, it tells how an angel visited the brothers, and the angel rebuked laman and lemuel. James gee, the nahom maps, journal of book of mormon. This sea is mentioned by name thirteen times in the book of mormon. Just as the apostle pauls new testament writings used the language of the septuagint greek translation of the old testament, despite the existence of earlier, more.

A dictionary of the book of mormonred sea wikisource. How could lehi travel from jerusalem to the red sea in 3. This appears to be a case of scribal overcorrection, due to prior mention of the red sea in the book of mormon text. Byu experts field tough questions for the book of mormon videos. The book of mormon student should take note that the word red appears in 2 nephi 19. Presumably the story of hagoth made the cut mormons editing process because launching a boat into the sea was so unusual. It was light to the israelites going through the red sea, but it was darkness to the egyptians. Well, the literal translation is not adequate, and neither does the description of a red sea fit well into the body of water which is today called as it was in ancient times. The book of mormon claims to be a perfect translation because joseph smith supposedly used the crystal glasses the get the perfect wordforword translation, yet there have been over 4,000 changes in the book of mormon since the first edition came out.

The book of mormon adds, the labor which they had to perform was to look. Jerald and sandra tanner list 400 clear examples in their book the case against mormonism vol. Kent brown, new light from arabia on lehis trail, in echoes and evidences of the book of mormon, edited by donald w. Jun 12, 2019 drawing upon this research, this video follows the likely route that nephi and his family took as they journeyed from place to place through israel, along the borders of the red sea, and across. The book specifically claims that the valley is close to the shore of the red sea, and that a river which runs through it empties directly into the sea. Without the book of mormon account of this story, the reader would not see the important punch line, that many of the people died because they took lightly. It did merge, however, into a paradise by the sea which they named bountiful.

Ironically, despite its irrelevance for the issue of book of mormon accuracy, the reed sea claim is, itself, the product of a modern error in. Includes every geographical place mentioned in the book of mormon. Book of mormon, 1830, page 8 the joseph smith papers. Valley of alma, rest stop for alma and his followers. City of aaron, almas planned destination after rejection in ammonihah.

During this journey, the group also may have fished along the coasts of the red sea, as this body of water contains mackerel, tuna, sardines, and horgie. King limhi used the story to build the confidence of his people that the lord would help them escape from captivity mosiah 7. Alma referenced the event as evidence that god can deliver us from every obstacle, including death alma 36. And he came down by the borders near the shore of the red sea. To the inside front cover are affixed four clippings of descriptions of different versions of first edition copies of the book of mormon and of an 1854 edition of the doctrine and covenants, along with a clipping describing the origin of the text of the book of mormon and a bookplate of the shepard book company of salt lake city, utah. And when my father saw that the waters of the river emptied into the fountain of the red sea, he spake unto laman, saying, o that thou mightest be like unto this river. There is an error in the bible translation and possibly. Archaeological evidence for 7 locations on lehis journey to. Feeling blue about the red sea in the book of mormon.