Isaiah 52:7-10 in other scripture

In the previous post about Isaiah 52, I wanted to include all references in our standard works but it became a bit long. Having discussed the influence of Isaiah 52:7-10 in the Book of Mormon only in the last post, I will focus on the other standard works in this post. We find references to these verses in the Old Testament, New Testament and D&C.

Of particular interest is Nahum 1:15, an Old Testament prophet whose name comes from the Hebrew root for "consolation" or "mourning". He shares his name with a location on the Arabian peninsula where Ishmael was buried, as we read in 1 Nephi 16. The verse reads

Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.

The first sentence is definitely related to Isaiah 52:7. Little is known about Nahum and I don't know if Wikipedia is the best source, but it states

Nahum's writings could be taken as prophecy or as history. One account suggests that his writings are a prophecy written in about 615 BC, just before the downfall of Assyria, while another account suggests that he wrote this passage as liturgy just after its downfall in 612 BC.

Whether it's 615 BC or 612 BC doesn't make that much of a difference to me. It is written perhaps a decade or two before Nephi took the brass plates and they headed to the promised land. Scholars who claim that Isaiah 52 was part of Deutero-Isaiah, written during the Jewish exile, must conclude that Isaiah 52 was based on Nahum, not the other way around. I think it makes more sense that Nahum borrowed from Isaiah based on the following reasons:

• Notice how this sentence is part of a longer clause in Isaiah 52:7. In Nahum 1:5, it is just this one sentence without further elaboration. It is natural for me to think that the longer clause is the original and someone borrowed a part of it, instead of one sentence being original and someone borrows it and expands on it. This is not hard proof of course, just something I find more likely.
• It is also natural to assume that the "small" prophet borrows from the "great", not the other way around.
• Since I believe in the historicity of the Book of Mormon, I am biased here, but we have noticed that Isaiah 52:7-10 is quoted multiple times in the Book of Mormon, not Nahum. If Nahum 1:15 was written shortly before Lehi and his group left Jerusalem and was based on Isaiah, it might further indicate that Isaiah in general and this passage in particular already had a prominent position in Lehi's religious environment.

In the New Testament, this is quoted once, in Romans 10:15.

And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Other parts of Isaiah 52 and Isaiah 53 are also quoted liberally in the New Testament. Those two chapters alone comprise 19% of all Isaiah quotes in the New Testament.

There are also two Isaiah 52:7-10 quotes in the D&C. D&C 84:98 quotes Isaiah 52:8-9:

Until all shall know me, who remain, even from the least unto the greatest, and shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, and shall see eye to eye, and shall lift up their voice, and with the voice together sing this new song, saying:

D&C 128:19 quotes Isaiah 52:7:

Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received? A voice of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven; and a voice of truth out of the earth; glad tidings for the dead; a voice of gladness for the living and the dead; glad tidings of great joy. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those that bring glad tidings of good things, and that say unto Zion: Behold, thy God reigneth! As the dews of Carmel, so shall the knowledge of God descend upon them!

These examples show this Isaiah passage used in various context. In Nahum, the feet belong to the messenger who announces the destruction of Judah's enemies and her deliverance. Romans is about preaching the gospel and missionary work. The context for the Isaiah quote in D&C 84 is the ultimate spiritual redemption of Zion in the latter days and D&C 128 is about the redemption of the dead.

The beautiful feet on the mountain belong to whoever proclaims redemption, whether it is physical redemption from your enemies, personal redemption from receiving the gospel in your life, the ultimate redemption of Zion in the latter days or the redemption of the dead. The feet can belong to missionaries, messengers, angels, prophets, and even Christ himself (Mosiah 15:18). More on the symbolism of beautiful feet in Lord Wilmore's posts here, here and here.

Springing up unto eternal life

The wording of the title is found in Alma 32:41

But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life.

When I read that the other day, it seemed familiar, and here is why

But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. (John 4:14)

Before I move on, let me just say something about intertextual connections like these in the Book of Mormon and New Testament, that can be off-putting to many. I believe that the translation of the Book of Mormon consisted of God revealing an English text to Joseph Smith, word for word. The text represents a translation of the Reformed Egyptian on the plates. The nature or mechanisms of that translation is unknown since we don't have the original text and probably wouldn't understand it if we did. But we do know by looking at the English text that God revealed a KJV type language, at least when creating the textual connections to the Bible. I believe the KJV to be a vehicle to gather the scriptures into one, not because there is anything special about this particular version, but just because it was the most common and available at Joseph Smith's time. The Book of Mormon and the Bible go hand in hand as the scriptures themselves state, and these quotes above is one example.

In one case it is the tree springing up to everlasting life. The "springing up" reminds me of yesterday's post with the "out of the ground" symbolism and the Hebrew verb "protrude" as basis for the tree. In the Gospel of John, it is water springing up into everlasting life. Like Alma's tree that starts with planting a seed in the heart, the water is also found within (the water shall be "in him").

Interestingly, just as both the Book of Mormon and the Bible contain this expression, associated with the tree of life and the living water, respectively, both also contain another passage with the idea that these two go together.

1 Nephi 11:25

And it came to pass that I beheld that the rod of iron, which my father had seen, was the word of God, which led to the fountain of living waters, or to the tree of life; which waters are a representation of the love of God; and I also beheld that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God.

Revelation 22:1-2

1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

We have looked at tree symbolism in the scriptures this week and related it to God, exaltation and covenants. It is not hard to imagine a fountain of running water carrying similar positive symbolism. In general in the scriptures and in ancient Israelite tradition, water carries a multitude of meanings. But running water as opposed to still or dirty water, is a symbol of cleansing and purity among other things.

I think there are some lessons that are learned when we consider these scriptures in the Bible and Book of Mormon together. For instance, we usually find living water and the tree of life in the scriptures as something external: 1 Nephi 8, Revelation 22, the Garden of Eden, Moses smiting the rock, Ezekiel's vision, etc. But Alma 32 and John 4 teach us that we can internalize both, they can become something in us, changing us from the inside.

Another thing we learn is that it is the word of God that brings about this fountain of living water and tree of life in us. The living water offered to the woman at the well was the gospel. The seed becoming the tree of life in Alma 32 symbolizes "the word". This is supported by the passage quoted above in 1 Nephi 11:25: "I beheld that the rod of iron, which my father had seen, was the word of God, which led to the fountain of living waters, or to the tree of life".

The Book of Mormon and the Bible support each other in beautiful ways.

"Hewn down and cast into the fire"

I'm not yet quite sure where I will be going with this, but I have started looking into all the "tree-language" in the Book of Mormon and other scriptures. Trees are commonly used as symbols and can mean different things, but I have also found that there are connections between many of these various tree references and considering them together can provide additional insight. These are preliminary findings as I have just started studying the subject.

One finding is that the Zenos allegory in Jacob 5 seems to be highly influential in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon. I will post more on that later. But one example is the expression, "hewn down and cast into the fire". This expression is used 14 times in the Book of Mormon. It is found 3 times in the New Testament and nowhere in the Old Testament, but "hew(n) down" as a general term is found several times, which shouldn't be all that surprising. Traditionally it is regarded as one of those textual connections between the Book of Mormon and the New Testament. There are many of those and they are interesting, but not the subject of this post. But in this case, it is obvious to me that the earliest source (that we know of) is Zenos (again!). Jacob 5 uses this expression 5 times and when Jacob comments on this in the next chapter, it is used once more.

I am very curious about when the knowledge of Zenos disappeared in the Old World. Since he was highly esteemed among the Nephites and this expression is used so much in the Book of Mormon, this seems to be originating from his olive tree allegory. But did Matthew and Luke know about Zenos? I would think that the knowledge of Zenos was lost at this point or otherwise we would have heard of him from other sources than the Book of Mormon. But perhaps his influence was not completely lost, even though his name was? At least the context in the New Testament is completely aligned with Jacob 5. It is always about trees and producing bad fruit. For instance:

every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. (Matthew 3:10)

And now these which have once brought forth good fruit have also become corrupted; and now all the trees of my vineyard are good for nothing save it be to be hewn down and cast into the fire. (Jacob 5:42)

If Jacob 5 were in the Old Testament, we would naturally conclude that Matthew was a reference to it.

When this expression is used in the Book of Mormon other than Jacob, it is not necessarily related to trees. But Jacob explains that the trees are really about us.

For behold, after ye have been nourished by the good word of God all the day long, will ye bring forth evil fruit, that ye must be hewn down and cast into the fire? (Jacob 6:7)

The other examples of "hewn down and cast into the fire" are aligned with this understanding. For instance:

whosoever repenteth the same is not hewn down and cast into the fire; but whosoever repenteth not is hewn down and cast into the fire (Helaman 14:18)

Yea, come unto me and bring forth works of righteousness, and ye shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire (Alma 5:35)

The Zenos influence is apparent even though they talk about people rather than trees or branches, because they are familiar with the symbolism. In fact, branches or trees symbolically representing people is common in the Book of Mormon and the Old Testament and might be the subject for another post.

The conclusion I draw from this is that Zenos once again is the original source of a Book of Mormon expression, and in this case perhaps also a New Testament expression. It wouldn't be the first time, and several of these Zenos related posts show other examples. I don't think the New Testament authors knew about Zenos, but since he was an important prophet in the Northern Kingdom, I don't find it unlikely that parts of Zenos influence and tradition survived the Assyrian and Babylonian destructions. Another possibility is that he was censored while going through the hands of "the great and abominable church" that Nephi saw in vision. Zenos was outspoken about the coming of Christ, which probably did not make him popular among a lot of Jews, presumably including those who were responsible for preserving and transmitting the scriptures.

Jesus quoting the Old Testament in 3 Nephi 20

There are several posts on this blog about unannounced quotations from Old Testament/Brass Plates prophets. Sometimes these quotations are also quite complex as the Book of Mormon text jumps in and out of the quoted passage like demonstrated here.

Another great example of complex Old Testament quotations is 3 Nephi 20 and 21 when Jesus himself is speaking. With "complex" I mean that you don't just memorize some Bible verses and dictate it on the fly. This post will focus on 3 Nephi 20. 3 Nephi 21 will be evaluated in a later post. In 3 Nephi 20:11, Jesus reminds the people of an Isaiah passage he said would be fulfilled in 3 Nephi 16:17 about the gathering of Israel. He elaborates on this over the next few chapters and from verse 16 and on, he begins to quote several Old Testament passages in between his own words. The color coding represents a match or close match with a passage in the Bible.

Book of Mormon	Bible	Reference
16 Then shall ye, who are a remnant of the house of Jacob, go forth among them; and ye shall be in the midst of them who shall be many; and ye shall be among them as a lion among the beasts of the forest, and as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he goeth through both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.	8 And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.	Micah 5:8-9
17 Thy hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.	9 Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.
18 And I will gather my people together as a man gathereth his sheaves into the floor.	12 But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor.	Micah 4:12-13
19 For I will make my people with whom the Father hath covenanted, yea, I will make thy horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass. And thou shalt beat in pieces many people; and I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth. And behold, I am he who doeth it.	13 Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.
20 And it shall come to pass, saith the Father, that the sword of my justice shall hang over them at that day; and except they repent it shall fall upon them, saith the Father, yea, even upon all the nations of the Gentiles.
21 And it shall come to pass that I will establish my people, O house of Israel.
22 And behold, this people will I establish in this land, unto the fulfilling of the covenant which I made with your father Jacob; and it shall be a New Jerusalem. And the powers of heaven shall be in the midst of this people; yea, even I will be in the midst of you.
23 Behold, I am he of whom Moses spake, saying: A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that every soul who will not hear that prophet shall be cut off from among the people.	15 The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; … 18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.	Deuteronomy 18:15,19
24 Verily I say unto you, yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have testified of me.	Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.	Acts 3:24 (!)
25 And behold, ye are the children of the prophets; and ye are of the house of Israel; and ye are of the covenant which the Father made with your fathers, saying unto Abraham: And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.	and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.	Genesis 12:3
26 The Father having raised me up unto you first, and sent me to bless you in turning away every one of you from his iniquities; and this because ye are the children of the covenant—
27 And after that ye were blessed then fulfilleth the Father the covenant which he made with Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed—unto the pouring out of the Holy Ghost through me upon the Gentiles, which blessing upon the Gentiles shall make them mighty above all, unto the scattering of my people, O house of Israel.	and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.	Genesis 12:3
28 And they shall be a scourge unto the people of this land. Nevertheless, when they shall have received the fulness of my gospel, then if they shall harden their hearts against me I will return their iniquities upon their own heads, saith the Father.	I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord God	Ezekiel 11:21
29 And I will remember the covenant which I have made with my people; and I have covenanted with them that I would gather them together in mine own due time, that I would give unto them again the land of their fathers for their inheritance, which is the land of Jerusalem, which is the promised land unto them forever, saith the Father.
30 And it shall come to pass that the time cometh, when the fulness of my gospel shall be preached unto them;
31 And they shall believe in me, that I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and shall pray unto the Father in my name.
32 Then shall their watchmen lift up their voice, and with the voice together shall they sing; for they shall see eye to eye.	8 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.	Isaiah 52:8
33 Then will the Father gather them together again, and give unto them Jerusalem for the land of their inheritance.
34 Then shall they break forth into joy—Sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Father hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.	9 Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.	Isaiah 52:8-9
35 The Father hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of the Father; and the Father and I are one.	10 The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
36 And then shall be brought to pass that which is written: Awake, awake again, and put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city, for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.	1 Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.	Isaiah 52:1-3
37 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit down, O Jerusalem; loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.	2 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
38 For thus saith the Lord: Ye have sold yourselves for naught, and ye shall be redeemed without money.	3 For thus saith the Lord, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.
39 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that my people shall know my name; yea, in that day they shall know that I am he that doth speak.	6 Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I.	Isaiah 52:6-7
40 And then shall they say: How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings unto them, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings unto them of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion: Thy God reigneth!	7 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!
41 And then shall a cry go forth: Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch not that which is unclean; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.	11 Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord.	Isaiah 52:11-15
42 For ye shall not go out with haste nor go by flight; for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel shall be your rearward.	12 For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the Lord will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rearward.
43 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently; he shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.	13 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.
44 As many were astonished at thee—his visage was so marred, more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men—	14 As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
45 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him, for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.	15 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
46 Verily, verily, I say unto you, all these things shall surely come, even as the Father hath commanded me. Then shall this covenant which the Father hath covenanted with his people be fulfilled; and then shall Jerusalem be inhabited again with my people, and it shall be the land of their inheritance.

Some reflections:

• I find it interesting that Jesus is quoting prophets so liberally. He seems to be demonstrating that their words are as good as his since he revealed it to them in the first place.
• He doesn't quote chronologically. Micah 5 is quoted before Micah 4. Isaiah 52:8-9 is quoted before Isaiah 52:1-3, etc. Still, the text is coherent. 
• The text displays a deep knowledge of the Old Testament. Try preparing a coherent and meaningful talk for sacrament meeting where half of it is various Old Testament passages interspersed. Not big enough of a challenge? OK, try dictating the words to a scribe on the fly instead without manuscript. For me, it's another one of many examples where the Book of Mormon text itself indicates that it was written by someone with a lot of time and notes and not Joseph Smith.
• One of the quotes is actually from the New Testament. Acts 3:24 is the Chapter after the day of of Pentacost, probably not too long after. We know from 3rd Nephi 8:5 and 10:18 that Christ visited the Americas almost a year after his death. The Day of Pentacost was 50 days after his resurrection. This means that Peter had presumably already uttered these words when Christ repeated them to the Nephites, although they probably hadn't been written down yet, at least not in the Book of Acts as we have it. Just a little oddity.