Dealing with the first two arguments in part 1a, we have a closer look at the third and last argument today. According to John Hamer, the Book of Mormon is "Not knowledgeable about Jewish practice even as described in the Old Testament"
This claim is an easy one to just throw out there, but it’s also false. The Book of Mormon author(s) demonstrate much knowledge about Jewish practice, culture and language as described in the Old Testament. It even demonstrates knowledge about ancient Jewish culture and tradition not described in the Old Testament, which is of course more impressive. This list is by no means comprehensive, but it gives several examples of various aspects of ancient Jewish practice found in the Book of Mormon.
• The expression “river of water” is used in the Book of Mormon several times. A very curious expression for 19th century America, but not for an ancient Israelite who would be used to seasonal rivers with water only parts of the year. It’s also worth noting that this expression only is used while Lehi’s group is still in the Old World (4 times). After they arrive at the Americas, the expression completely disappears.
• In Mosiah 7:31 and 12:6 the “east wind” is mentioned. Ancient Jews associated it with God sending destruction over the wicked and this is exactly the use in the Book of Mormon.
• Mosiah 8:20: “how blind and impenetrable are the understandings of the children of men; for they will not seek wisdom, neither do they desire that she should rule over them!» In Hebrew, wisdom is a feminine noun and can be traced back to Asherah, the devine feminine. How did Joseph Smith know? In his day, it would certainly be strange to refer to wisdom as “she” instead of “it” and personify it.
• “Land of Jerusalem” is something critics used to make fun of. Everyone knows Jerusalem is a city and the Bible doesn’t have that expression. Later, however, this expression has been found in extra-Biblical sources, like the Dead Sea scrolls. Bethlehem is indeed part of the Land of Jerusalem, just as Alma 7:10 states.
• What would Joseph Smith have known about growing olive trees? The process described in Jacob 5 is very accurate for ancient olive cultivation and much more extensive than anything we have in the Bible. More information here: https://publications.mi.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=1140&index=22. One may also wonder how Joseph Smith knew that ancient Israelites used to grow olive trees in a vineyard.
• 1st Nephi 4:2: “let us be strong like unto Moses; for he truly spake unto the waters of the Red Sea and they divided hither and thither”. Nowhere in Exodus does Moses speak to the water. Nephi seems to be referring to an Israelite oral tradition in which Moses speaks to the sea before he uses his rod. This is found in Rabbi Ginsburg’s collection, 'Legend of the Jews': https://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/loj/loj303.htm
• In Alma 45:18-19, it is argued that Moses didn’t really die. This is odd because the opposite is indicated in the Old Testament. However, according to the Talmud (Sotah 13b): “Some say that Moses did not die, but rather is standing and ministering on high”. So the Book of Mormon is again referring to an old extra-Biblical Jewish tradition.
• The Book of Mormon describes repenting in “sackcloth” which is an ancient Jewish practice.
• Captain Moroni rent his coat, an ancient Jewish practice displaying great anguish.
• Mosiah 2 demonstrates detailed knowledge of the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles.
• The Book of Mormon shows an understanding of the Israelite practice of different kinds of sacrifices. More information here: https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/jerusalem-zarahemla-literary-and-historical-studies-book-mormon/what-were-those-sacrifices
• 1st Nephi 5:11-13: “And he beheld that they did contain the five books of Moses, which gave an account of the creation of the world, and also of Adam and Eve, who were our first parents; And also a record of the Jews from the beginning, even down to the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah; And also the prophecies of the holy prophets, from the beginning.” The Jews divide the Old Testament into three main parts: The Law (Torah), the Prophets (Neviim) and the Records/Writings (Ketuvim). Notice how this is exactly the way Nephi/Lehi divides it too.
• Alma 34:21: “Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening.” Praying three times a day is an important part of the Jewish faith: “Jewish Law makes it our duty to pray three times daily: in the morning, in the afternoon and at nightfall. These prayers are called morning prayer (shacharit), afternoon prayer (minchah) and evening prayer (arvith or maariv ). Our Sages tell us that the custom of praying three times a day was originally introduced by our Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Abraham introduced prayer in the morning, Isaac—in the afternoon, and Jacob added one at night.” Source
• In Joseph Smith’s time and in our time, it is common to pray before the meal. For ancient Israelites, it was common to pray after the meal. This is what Alma does in Alma 8:22.
• The first night of the Passover is celebrated with a feast inside a ritual. The recitation of the story about the Israelites’ deliverance from Egypt is the centerpiece of the evening and reason for the holiday. And, in addition to the story of deliverance and redemption, Jews always include prayers that all people may be free from oppression. Whenever the chips are down, whether it’s Passover, or not, Jews hearken back to the miracles God performed for them in the wilderness. When Laman and Lemuel become most belligerent and faithless, Nephi launched into the Passover recitation (see 1 Nephi 17:23-42). Source
• Nephi gives a specifically worded reason for his killing of Laban that exonerates him by referring to the Torah and oral traditions as later recorded in the Mishnah. More info here and here.
• The Israelites divided up the promised land as a heritance for the different tribes. This is what Nephi refers to when he goes to “the land of our father’s inheritance” (1st Nephi 3:16). Lehi was from the tribe of Manasseh and apparently had property in the lands assigned to that tribe, which was north of Jerusalem.
• In the above point, it’s also worth noting that they go “down to” their father’s inheritance. In the Book of Mormon, they always go “up to” Jerusalem and “down to” somewhere from Jerusalem. This is consistent with both geographical altitude and Jewish thought, i.e. Jerusalem as holy city, elevated in a spiritual sense. If someone asks a Jew when they arrived in Israel and when they left, they say, “I came up in this year, and descended in that one.” An immigrant to Israel is called an “ascend-er.”
• It’s a common ancient Israelite practice to associate the meaning of names with character traits or stories about the bearer of the name. The Book of Mormon is full of such examples. Just to mention some:
o Noah means ‘rest’ and the Book of Mormon describes how the wicked king Noah was resting while his people worked for him (Mosiah 11:11)
o Nahom is from a Hebrew root related to mourning and consolation. In the Book of Mormon, it is the name of the burial place of Ishmael where his daughters “mourned exceedingly” (1.Nephi 16:34-35).
o Mulek is mentioned in the Book of Mormon as son of King Zedekiah and is a play on the Hebrew word for ‘king’
o Jershon means ‘inheritance’ and is described as the land given to the people of Ammon for an inheritance (Alma 27:22)
o Ammon means ‘faithful’ and causes King Lamoni to exclaim: “Surely there has not been any servant among all my servants that has been so faithful as this man” (Alma 18:10)
As mentioned, these are only some examples. We could also go on about Hebrew poetry and linguistic features, attested extra-Biblical Jewish names, etc. but will leave that for now since the claim was about Jewish practice. But the question is: Is John Hamer aware of all these details in the Book of Mormon which demonstrates knowledge of ancient Jewish practices? Or was this just another case of an easy claim to throw out there without having to back it up?