Parallels between 3 Nephi 19 and the Gospels -- Part 2

In part 1, we looked at several parallels between 3 Nephi 19 and the Gospels. The connections are undeniable, but this part will be more speculative as I will try to discuss what this all might mean. As mentioned, the learning points are perhaps found in the differences and the major difference is how the disciples respond to the Savior's invitation to watch and pray. 

In Gethsemane, the disciples ironically failed to follow Jesus' instructions while he literally paid the price for their sins. They did the exact opposite of what he commanded and fell asleep instead of staying awake. As a consequence, they were gently rebuked for not even being able to "watch one hour".

In America, the disciples not only prayed as Jesus instructed, but they prayed "without ceasing" and were "filled with desire" (3 Nephi 19:24). As a consequence they were blessed.

Fulfillment of the Priestly/Aaronic blessing

Speaking of parallels. By taking a closer look at the blessing that the disciples received in 3 Nephi 19, we notice similarities to a passage in Numbers in the Old Testament. In the Book of Numbers, there are lots of instructions concerning the tabernacle. Aaron and his sons had a special role as high priests in the tabernacle and later in the temple. In Numbers 6, they were instructed to give a special blessing to the people of Israel.

23 Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,

24 The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:

25 The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

26 The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

27 And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.

In 3 Nephi 19, when Jesus had prayed to the Father, he returned to his disciples and found them still praying. Verse 25 describes what happened next

And it came to pass that Jesus blessed them as they did pray unto him; and his countenance did smile upon them, and the light of his countenance did shine upon them, and behold they were as white as the countenance and also the garments of Jesus; and behold the whiteness thereof did exceed all the whiteness, yea, even there could be nothing upon earth so white as the whiteness thereof.

It seems at this moment, that Jesus as the High Priest after the order of Melchizedek fulfilled the Aaronic blessing on his disciples. I have seen several Bible commentators suggest that the traditional Christian belief of the holy trinity is hidden in the threefold repetition of "the Lord" in Numbers 6. I think that is a stretch, but regardless we see the repetition of three again, as also manifest in the number of times Jesus prayed and interacted with his disciples both in 3 Nephi 19 and in Gethsemane.

The impact of the Holy Ghost

In part 1, I quoted the last two verses of 3 Nephi 19, which indicated that faith made the difference. We do observe in the Gospels that Jesus rebukes the Apostles several times for their lack of faith ("O, ye of little faith"). Still it may seem puzzling that the Apostles in the New World had so much more faith than the Apostles in the Old World. 1 Nephi 12:9 even teaches that the Apostles in the New World will be judged by the Apostles in the Old World. How to reconcile this apparent discrepancy?

We should realize that despite the parallel events, the circumstances were different. As the disciples in the Old World followed Jesus in his mortal ministry, the disciples in the New World saw him descend from heaven in his glory. The major difference, however, and perhaps the main takeaway from all this, is the difference made by the Holy Ghost. In John 16:7, before the intercessory prayer, Jesus told his disciples

Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

This is a bold statement. It was expedient for the disciples that Jesus left, because then the Holy Ghost would come. This did not happen until about 50 days later at the feast of Pentecost. Consequently, as the disciples were asked to watch and pray in Gethsemane, they had not yet received the Holy Ghost. In 3 Nephi 19, however, the disciples in America experienced a Pentecostal event of sorts as they received the Holy Ghost right before the events discussed in this series.

9 And they did pray for that which they most desired; and they desired that the Holy Ghost should be given unto them...

13 And it came to pass when they were all baptized and had come up out of the water, the Holy Ghost did fall upon them, and they were filled with the Holy Ghost and with fire.

14 And behold, they were encircled about as if it were by fire; and it came down from heaven, and the multitude did witness it, and did bear record; and angels did come down out of heaven and did minister unto them.

Realizing that the two sets of Apostles were at different stages in their conversion process, we should not judge Peter and the others too harshly. Rather, we should realize and learn about the importance of the Holy Ghost. The transformation of Peter and the other Apostles after the day of Pentecost is evident. They boldly testify of Christ under persecution and work great miracles. It is truly a gift to be "most desired". 

What 3 Nephi 19 is teaching us with its parallels to the Gospel, is that the Holy Ghost also helps and inspires us to watch and pray unceasingly. This, in turn, prepares us for marvellous blessings as promised to the people of Israel of old.

Checed, Geburah and Tipharah

The nerd in me got really excited when I just discovered the blog of a convert who was raised in the Jewish faith. I have long been interested in the Hebrew roots of the Book of Mormon and will definitely read more of his posts. But this one caught my immediate attention. It deals with the parallels between the Exodus narrative and Lehi leaving Jerusalem. This concept is not new. Just go to bookofmormoncentral.org and search "Lehi Exodus" for instance. But the particular connection made in this post is nothing I have ever heard about, and it requires familiarity with Jewish tradition. I recommend reading the whole linked post (it's actually important for the understanding of the rest of this post), but to put it very shortly, there are three terms in the Exodus story that, according to the Zohar, refer to the attributes of God. These same three terms are found in 1 Nephi 2.

The three attributes of God that Exodus 14 and 2 Nephi 2 refer to are

• Checed (kindness, related to mercy)
• Geburah (power, related to justice)
• Tipharah (beauty, relating to the idea of harmonization, creating a balance between the two above)

My thoughts immediately went to Alma 42 and the beautiful harmonization between justice and mercy. Next I also realized that I have actually identified and discussed this concept in 1 Nephi before, without understanding how it relates to the ancient Israelite understanding. In this post I identified a pattern with these three same terms. So what does this all mean? Let's have another look at the scriptures from 1 Nephi 1 in this new context:

the power [Hebr. geburah], and goodness [Hebr. tipharah], and mercy [Hebr. checed] are over all the inhabitants of the earth; and, because thou art merciful [Hebr. chacad], thou wilt not suffer those who come unto thee that they shall perish (1 Nephi 1:14)

The context is Lehi praising God after he has seen a vision. A personal manifestation of God leads to Lehi's exclamation of God's main attributes from an ancient Israelite perspective, it seems. By the way, since this was new to me, I had to check if this is a common Jewish understanding or just some stranger's claim in an obscure blog. But there are several other sources explaining this concept, like this one and this one. A few verses later, Nephi states

I, Nephi [Presumably the Egyptian equivalent of the Hebr. tipharah], will show unto you that the tender mercies [Hebr. checed] of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty [Hebr. gabar] even unto the power [Hebr. geburah] of deliverance. (1 Nephi 1:20)

(Note: In addition to the three word listed above, there is one additional link in each quoted verse because it is another variant of the word that shares the same root as one of the three). 

As I also pointed out in the earlier post about this, Nephi uses his own name in this mix in 1 Nephi 1:20 as a possible wordplay. It is assumed that his name comes from the Egyptian word for good or fair, somewhat equivalent to 'tipharah'. Thus, perhaps Nephi views his own life and story as a manifestation of God's balance between power/justice and kindness/mercy. 

Also, as I explain in the post, when using these terms in connection with the phrase, "I will show unto you", Nephi connects these attributes of God to their exodus. This new insight provides further support for that. The next verse reads, "For behold, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto my father, yea, even in a dream", marking the beginning of Lehi's exodus. What happens next is that they travel to the Red Sea, like Israel, and we get the word links to Exodus 14 that also refer to God's attributes brought up in 1 Nephi 1. Nephi is playing on a theme where the fundamental attributes of God are manifest in his family's exodus from a wicked environment to a promised land, just like Israel of old.

Even though Nephi rejoices in plainness and doesn't hide his writings in as much symbolism as, say, Isaiah, he still follows the Israelite scribal tradition where as much meaning is added into as few words as possible in a multi-layered text. This was not produced on a whim.

Day and night in the Book of Mormon

I don't even remember anymore which Book of Mormon verse gave me the idea to study the symbolic use of day and night in ancient Israelite tradition. One thing is clear: Day and night is used both literally and symbolically in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon. Searching the internet, I found surprisingly little on the ancient symbolic meaning of day/night. This was one of the few helpful sources. I will still try to share some takeaways from my study.

The day/night symbol is introduced very early in the Bible: In the creation account in Genesis 1. Some would perhaps argue that they are used literally and not symbolically. I find the literal interpretation as an earthly 24 hour period quite absurd, considering the fact that the sun was created on the fourth "day". The Hebrew word for day, yom, might as well be translated into "time" to designate a time period of unspecific length, but given the large amount of symbolism in the creation account and the play on opposites (light/darkness, heaven/earth, over the firmament/under the firmament, waters/land, animals on land/animals in the sky, etc.) I interpret the day/night in the creation account as something purely symbolic. The article that I shared above states:

In contrast to pagan mythology, where sunrise represents a daily contention between opposing forces, in Jewish monotheism, the day-and-night cycle is attributed to a single God who "forms the light, and creates darkness" (Isa. 45:7), "who changes the times," and "who removes the light from before the darkness and the darkness from before the light" (beginning of the evening prayer). The special religious significance attached to this periodicity can be observed in the Temple rites of regular morning and evening sacrifices and in the benedictions over the daily cycle in the morning and evening prayers (the benediction "Creator of the luminaries" in the morning prayer, and the benediction "Who brings the nights" in the evening prayer). Every morning, when darkness disappears before the light, the initial act of creation is renewed.

It also states that Jews perform their mitzvot (religious duties) during daytime only. This fits with an idea in the Book of Mormon, that night is a time when no work can be performed.

wide is the gate, and broad the way which leads to death, and many there be that travel therein, until the night cometh, wherein no man can work. (3 Nephi 27:33)

after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed. (Alma 34:33)

These verses also use the night as symbol of a time after our life when it is too late to repent. Another verse to go along with this idea

as he has desired to do evil all the day long even so shall he have his reward of evil when the night cometh (Alma 41:5)

This mortal probation is "day", a time where we can labor, repent, keep the commandments, etc. After that comes the night. Isaiah-expert, Avraham Gileadi, frequently interprets "night" in Isaiah as the Day of Judgment. See for instance his comments on Isaiah 21:11-12. The article I linked states the following:

Traces of the dualist theory are found in Jewish folklore and it may be assumed that the belief that Jewish redemption will come in an era when there is perpetual day derives from it. The concept was accepted, at least poetically and symbolically, both in the Bible (Zech. 14:7) and in the aggadah (Ḥag. 12a).

This creates a contrast between the judgment of the wicked associated with endless night and redemption associated with perpetual day. We see it in the New Testament too. In the description of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 22:5:

And night will be no more

How fitting in this context, that the sign of the birth of the Redeemer in the Book of Mormon was turning night into day! As we know, one day, one night and one day were as one long day where the night was bright and behaved like a day. Inevitable judgment turned into redemption when the Savior came into the world.

On this note, there was another thing I noticed while studying day/night symbolism in the Book of Mormon. Very frequency, night is connected to seeing, which seems counter-intuitive. I have not found any commentary on this, but we see it in the Bible too: In Daniel chapters 2 and 7, the prophet Daniel has "night visions", "God spoke to Israel in visions of the night" (Genesis 46:2), God appears to Solomon in a dream by night in 1 Kings 3:5, etc. Also, during the Exodus there is a pillar of fire to lead the people of Israel at night.

I don't know why that is, but my guess would be something along these lines:

• A vision at night is a manifestation of God's power. He breaks through the darkness to reveal himself to those he has elected.
• Often, visions are given to a prophet who stands out in the midst of difficulty or unrighteousness (like Daniel in Babylonian captivity). Though the surroundings are dark, the prophet is granted sight.

Below are examples from the Book of Mormon where night is connected to seeing.

the Lord their God, their Redeemer, going before them, leading them by day and giving light unto them by night (1 Nephi 17:30, referring to the Exodus already mentioned)

Behold, he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me knowledge by visions in the night-time (2 Nephi 4:23)

a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for upon all the glory of Zion shall be a defence (2 Nephi 14:5, quoting Isaiah also alluding to the Exodus)

For I pray continually for them by day, and mine eyes water my pillow by night (2 Nephi 33:3)

when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep (Alma 37:37)

he hid himself in the cavity of a rock by day, and by night he went forth viewing the things which should come upon the people (Ether 13:13)

The idea of seeing in the night also reminds me of the mist of darkness in Lehi's dream. Those holding on to the word of God were led through it safely and could partake of the fruit that "exceeded all the whiteness" Lehi had ever seen. 

Sometimes we are blessed to see in the night. Sometimes we need to have faith in the midst of darkness and just hold on. If we do, the Savior can turn night into day for us.

6 And so it is on the other hand. If he hath repented of his sins, and desired righteousness until the end of his days, even so he shall be rewarded unto righteousness.

7 These are they that are redeemed of the Lord; yea, these are they that are taken out, that are delivered from that endless night of darkness (Alma 41:6-7)

 

 

 

 

Subtle Isaiah references

I have studied and posted previously on the intricate way the Book of Mormon writers occasionally quote the brass plates. Some examples are here, here, here and here. I learned about a few Isaiah references that are not quotations but rather references or allusions used in passing by Book of Mormon authors. Isaiah was obviously held in high esteem and the Nephite prophets seemed very familiar with his writings. I will share these as, like I said, they are not direct quotes and just weaved into the text without any kind of announcement so they may easily go unnoticed. But once you compare with the actual verse in Isaiah it is quite clear nonetheless that the author has this reference in mind.

Book of Mormon		Isaiah
Helaman 12:16	And behold, also, if he say unto the waters of the great deep—Be thou dried up—it is done.	51:10	Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over?
1 Nephi 17:36	Behold, the Lord hath created the earth that it should be inhabited; and he hath created his children that they should possess it.	45:18	For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited
Alma 5:57	come ye out from the wicked, and be ye separate, and touch not their unclean things	52:11	Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing
2 Nephi 26:25	Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith: Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price.	55:1	Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price

The last one is also quoted by Jacob in 2 Nephi 9:50 but there as a more direct quote (e.g. "wine and milk" instead of "milk and honey"). There are probably several other examples. Obviously, Book of Mormon authors were very familiar with the Hebrew scriptures and often weaved them into their text, sometimes with their own twist as in these examples. Isaiah stands out but it also makes me wonder how much a prophet like Zenos is referenced without announcement in this way. We wouldn't be able to tell.

The creation account in Alma 32

I posted on allusions to the creation account in the Book of Mormon and based much of it on David Bokovoy's article. The main theme in his article is to show Biblical creation themes in Alma 32 in particular. This is particularly interesting considering previous posts on this blog on symbolism involving Alma 32. I will summarize the parallels between the creation account and Alma 32 from Bokovoy's article and then try to frame it in the context of previous posts on related symbolism.

• The basis for the allegory is "the word". In the creation account, God speaks. The prologue in John's gospel focuses on the "word" that was "in the beginning" and thereby draws on the creation account too, as has long been noted by commentators. The word, "word", is used 22 times in Alma 32. (See also Mormon 9:17)
•  This one goes deeper, but I'll try to make it short and just refer to the article for details: In Alma 32:28, the word "enlightens" and Alma 32:35 states that "light is good". Similarly, in Genesis 1:4, "God saw the light, that it was good". John 1 also brings up the topic of light (see verse 5).
• Alma 32:31: "every seed bringeth forth unto its own likeness". Compare with Genesis 1:11: "And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself,"
• Alma 32:37: "let us nourish it with great care".  "let us . . . ," seems to parallel the divine language of creation in Genesis 1:26: "Let us make man in our image . . .". 
• The "fruit tree yielding fruit" in Genesis 1 is exemplified in the tree of knowledge and the tree of life in Genesis 2. In Alma 32, the seed that is planted can grow into a tree and the tree of life is mentioned specifically, linking thematically to the Garden of Eden.
• The Hebrew, samah, that is used in Genesis 3:18, is translated into “bring forth” in the KJV, but literally means to “spring up”. In Alma 32:41, Alma talks about the seed becoming a tree “springing up unto everlasting life”.
• In Genesis 3:24, "[God] drove out the man" from the garden. In Hebrew, the verb translated as “drove out” (gāraš) literally means “to cast out”. Alma seems to play on this theme, as he uses this in conjunction with the Zoramites (Alma 32:12, 24), the seed (v.28) and the growing tree (v.38).

With all these references to the creation and Garden of Eden story, there is no doubt that Alma is creating an intentional parallell. In addition to the points summarized above from Bokovoy's article, we have posted similar connections on this blog before without realizing the full spectrum of references to the creation. For example:

• This and this post explain how the growth from ground/dust to tree/fruit symbolize the ascension from (natural) man to God. Alma 32 relates to this growth.
• This post explains how the preface to the creation account in the Book of Abraham also links to Alma 32 through the concept of using available room/space/place for creation
• This post explains how "tilling the ground" from Genesis 3 also links to Alma 32 and covenants. It also contrasts the "make room" and "cast out" themes.

Even though it is cool that links between the creation and Alma 32 that we have found and posted on this blog, also are found independently by a scholar much more knowledgeable than us, this is not the point of the post. But with this link established, the point is to examine what this all means. A couple of years ago, Alma 32 was one of my favorite chapters and I thought I had the symbolism pretty much figured out. Then I realize there are layers upon layers and I love the chapter even more. 

It is becoming clear to me that Alma 32 is a creation account. How? When God saw that there was room, he spoke and created the world. The whole purpose was to give man a chance to develop and become like Him. In order to achieve that, we have to go through a similar process. When the word of God finds a place in our heart, a creation process can start. We can practice becoming Gods by participating in this creation. Just like God planted a garden and let the tree of life grow there (Genesis 2:8-9), we can plant God's word in our hearts and grow a tree of life.

It is important that we practice and learn to become Gods by participating in this creation and growth.

22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. (Genesis 3)

When step one in becoming Gods, knowing good and evil, was achieved, step two (living eternally) could not follow immediately. Rather then just "put forth his hand", man was to till the ground and learn to become a creator and a gardner himself and produce his own tree of life, just like God had created, planted a garden and grown the tree of life (see Genesis 2:8-9). When we make room in our heart for the word of God, (the word that initiated all creation), then we can learn to be creators too and grow our own tree of life. As we discussed in the previous post, God has already shown in the creation account what his word can do. This means we can fully rely on the power of the word to grow the tree in us as long as we nourish it. When nourishment of the word has resulted in a tree of life to us, the purpose of being cast out of the garden and till the ground has been fulfilled. The way to the tree of life is not blocked anymore and we can freely participate of its fruit. This is what Alma 32 is teaching us.

I know I have been referring to these things a lot lately and am repeating myself at this point. But seeing all the connections to the creation account adds another dimension to the symbolism in Alma 32. I used to think about Alma 32 as a chapter on faith. It still is, but there is so much more. It is a chapter about creation and learning to become as God, among many other things.

Allusions to the creation account in the Book of Mormon

In this article, David E. Bokovoy gives several examples of Book of Mormon prophets and sermons drawing on creation imagery and language. In Hebrew tradition, the essence of the creation is to make order out of chaos. It demonstrates the power of God on which humans can rely. Therefore, in the Old Testament, we frequently see the authors refering to the creation to promote faith. One well-known example is Job 38:4-7

4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.

5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?

6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;

7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Another is Isaiah 45:12

I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.

The context here is freeing the captive exiles of Israel and the message is that God who has power to create the earth also has power to help his people. Here is Bokovoy's explanation of this ancient Israelite thought:

Since Israel’s God had assumed ownership over the unorganized primordial earth and miraculously provided that chaotic base with the structure manifested in the historical era, those encountering biblical references to creation should follow the example of chaos and obey the divine will. 

It seems that the Nephites carried on this tradition because we see many examples of this in the Book of Mormon. For instance, in Mormon 9:17

17 Who shall say that it was not a miracle that by his word the heaven and the earth should be; and by the power of his word man was created of the dust of the earth; and by the power of his word have miracles been wrought?

This fits the pattern from the Old Testament. We notice the chaos motif, dust, and we see how Moroni uses the creation to argue that God is a God of miracles. He miraculously created the earth and therefore can work miracles in our lives too. This is only one quite obvious example that fits this ancient Israelite thought. But Bokovoy argues that...

...while some Book of Mormon passages draw in a relatively vague manner on this broad biblical trend, certain Book of Mormon sermons can be shown to allude specifically to the creation stories in Genesis and to do so in a manner much more intricate in nature than what appears in comparable biblical sources. 

Mosiah 2:21 is an example of a more intricate and subtle allusion to the creation.

I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.

I haven't made this connection before, but it becomes apparent when the multiple parallels are pointed out

• "created you from the beginning" reminds us of Genesis 1:1: "In the beginning God created..."
• "day to day" reminds us of the daily sequence in the creation account
• "lending breath" is an allusion to the "breath of life" in Genesis 2:7
• "serve" is less obvious, but the word often translated as "tend" or "dress" in Genesis 2:15, comes from the Hebrew root, "abad", which means to serve

All this in just one verse. Only a few verses later, in Mosiah 2:25, we read

And now I ask, can ye say aught of yourselves? I answer you, Nay. Ye cannot say that ye are even as much as the dust of the earth; yet ye were created of the dust of the earth; but behold, it belongeth to him who created you.

The dust motif shows up again and King Benjamin talks directly about the creation. Later in his sermon, King Benjamin refers to the creation again.

Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend. (Mosiah 4:9)

We are back in Genesis 1:1 where God created "the heaven and the earth".

Like Moroni, King Benjamin uses the creation account to argue that God has infinitely more power and wisdom than us, his creations. We would therefore be wise to humble ourselves and rely on Him.

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.

Isaiah 52:7-10 in the Book of Mormon

It occurred to me how influential Isaiah 52 is in the Book of Mormon and really all scripture. Several parts of it is quoted in the Book of Mormon, sometimes more than once. I will focus on verses 7-10 because they seem to play a particular role in the Nephite culture. Ironically, it all starts with the wicked priests of king Noah quoting it.

20 And it came to pass that one of them said unto him: What meaneth the words which are written, and which have been taught by our fathers, saying:

21 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;

22 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;

23 Break forth into joy; sing together ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem;

24 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? (Mosiah 12)

So verses 21-24 are quoting Isaiah 52:7-10. As I have showed before, Abinadi comes back to themes and expressions from this passage all throughout his sermon. We know that Alma was the only one who believed in Abinadi and wrote down his words and preached them. Lord Wilmore has demonstrated how the role of Abinadi as doctrinal mentor for Alma influenced him and even his son, Alma the younger (like here and here). Therefore it is also interesting to note how Mormon in his abridgment of the early stages of both Alma-1 and Alma-2's conversions, alludes to this Isaiah passage.

First in Mosiah 18:30

And now it came to pass that all this was done in Mormon, yea, by the waters of Mormon, in the forest that was near the waters of Mormon; yea, the place of Mormon, the waters of Mormon, the forest of Mormon, how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how blessed are they, for they shall sing to his praise forever.

The color coded connections may not seem significant. But notice the "how blessed are they" expression again in conjunction with Alma-2's conversion and the unmistakable reference to Isaiah 52.

36 And thus they were instruments in the hands of God in bringing many to the knowledge of the truth, yea, to the knowledge of their Redeemer.

37 And how blessed are they! For they did publish peace; they did publish good tidings of good; and they did declare unto the people that the Lord reigneth. (Mosiah 27:37)

There is only one other place where this expression shows up in the Book of Mormon, in 4 Nephi 1:17-18

17 There were no robbers, nor murderers, neither were there Lamanites, nor any manner of -ites; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God.

18 And how blessed were they! For the Lord did bless them in all their doings; yea, even they were blessed and prospered until an hundred and ten years had passed away

There is no Isaiah quote here at all, only perhaps a description of a time like the one Isaiah was prophesying about. But prior to this, as Jesus is visiting the Nephites, there are more Isaiah 52:7-10 quotes as he speaks of the latter-day gathering of Israel. Once in 3 Nephi 16

17 And then the words of the prophet Isaiah shall be fulfilled, which say:

18 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.

19 Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.

20 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 God. 

...and once in 3 Nephi 20. Here he quotes almost all of Isaiah 52, but in a different order, see this post for details. Verses 7-10 are quoted as follows

32 Then shall their watchmen lift up their voice, and with the voice together shall they sing; for they shall see eye to eye (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 (Isaiah 52:9).

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(Isaiah 52:10); and the Father and I are one...

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! (Isaiah 52:7)

I think it's interesting to note that "the salvation of God" is replaced by "the salvation of the Father" with the addition "and the Father and I are one" in verse 35.

Why does Mormon use the "how blessed were they" expression when referring to Isaiah 52 at least twice? Isaiah 52 says nothing about being blessed. The answer may be found in 3 Nephi 20 just quoted above. A few verses prior to this, the Savior states:

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.

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— 

Before quoting Isaiah 52, Jesus quotes the promise to Abraham given in Genesis 12:3. The blessing associated with Isaiah 52 is a consequence of being part of a covenant people. Since 3 Nephi 20 probably is a direct quote from the large plates of Nephi, it's easy for me to imagine Mormon studying this, making the connection between the Abrahamic covenant and Isaiah 52 and applying this when writing about Alma the elder and younger. After all, Alma-1 and his followers truly were blessed by entering into the covenant through their baptism at the Waters of Mormon.