Let there be light. If you haven’t yet done so, I’d recommend you pick up a copy of Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, produced by the Jewish Publication Society and used in conservative Jewish synagogue worship. The commentary includes rabbinic interpretation(s) of the text of the Torah as well as modern critical notes. Here are … Read more
The first five verses of Genesis 1 in Hebrew. David Carr has some interesting things to say about the account of the creation in Genesis 1. His comments have significant overlap with Mormon cosmology, especially as it is found in the Book of Abraham. The first verse of Gen 1 is usually translated “in the … Read more
Facsimile 2 from the Book of Abraham. I am pleased to announce that my article “Council, Chaos, and Creation in the Book of Abraham,” published in the Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture, is now available online at the website of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. I presented … Read more
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
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
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