The Biblical Books of Kings and Chronicles: Their Value and Limitations for the Study of Ancient Israelite History

The so-called Taylor Prism, or Sennacherib’s Annals (circa 690 BCE), describing, among other things, Sennacherib’s siege of Jerusalem in 701 BCE. Introduction Any student of the Bible[1] must inevitably ask him or herself the question of how much credibility one can assign to the historical claims found therein. To many modern readers of the Bible, especially … Read more

Setting a Good Example

Facsimile 1 from the Book of Abraham. Passions can run high when discussing certain controversies within Mormonism. The debate over the Book of Abraham and the Joseph Smith Papyri, for example, can become especially vicious. (I’ve seen first hand just how low some people can sink.) Michael Frassetto, a professor of history at the University … Read more

Die vier Weltalter; or, Schiller as Proto-Mormon

Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (1759–1805).  The Council of Gods (1518) by Raphael. Next to the immortal Goethe, Friedrich Schiller stands as the great German polymath of Weimar Classicism and the Sturm und Drang (conventionally translated as “storm and stress”) literary movement. Schiller’s works include dramas, poetry, histories, and philosophical essays.  Schiller’s work has endured in popular culture, … Read more

Pre-Adamites in the Bible?

Death of Abel (1865) by Gustave Doré. I continue to be highly impressed by Ziony Zevit’s new book What Really Happened in the Garden of Eden? Zevit’s analysis of the Garden of Eden pericope in Genesis is very informative. Here is another instance of an insight that comes Zevit’s close reading of the text. The story … Read more

The Early Christians Were Communists! (Literally!)

Comrade Peter is seen here holding the keys to the State Wealth Re-Distribution Center (Acts 4:37) In Acts 4:32 we read of the early Christians, “Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in … Read more

Temple and Cosmos

The Nauvoo Temple. What Joseph Smith restored here is the crown jewel of his theology. No, I’m not referring to the awesome book in the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley (although I would recommend you pick it up if you haven’t already). I’m instead referring to the terms used by John H. Walton (following Moshe … Read more

Drink Deep: Resources on Early Mormon Plural Marriage

Look, we can’t kid ourselves or others by pretending this never happened. It happened, but there’s no reason to freak out about it. The early Mormon practice of plural marriage is one of the most controversial legacies of Mormonism. Understandably, many people, including members of the Church, are often troubled by what they hear are … Read more

Once Again: Joseph Smith, Richard Dawkins, and the Language of Translation

The King James Bible: the greatest monument of English literature or a work of charlatanry? [This is another follow-up post to these posts here, here and here. This blog post has been reposted at the Interpreter blog here.] At the risk of overkilling this topic, I want to return to Richard Dawkins’ arguments against the … Read more

E. A. Speiser on Creation

Ephraim Avigdor Speiser (1902–1965). Bob Smith, in a comment on this post of mine, drew attention to E. A. Speiser’s comments on the question of creation from pre-existing matter in Genesis. Here is what Speiser had to say. If the first sentence states that “In the beginning God created heaven and earth,” what ensued was chaos … Read more

Does the Bible Teach Creation Ex Nihilo?

Destruction of Leviathan (1865) by Gustave Doré Not according to Ziony Zevit. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” On the basis of this well-known rendering, it can be argued that the ancient Israelites believed in creation ex nihilo, that is, creation out of nothing. This happens not to be the case. … Read more

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