A Word in Season

Isaiah’s Reception in the Book of Mormon

Author: Joseph M. Spencer

A groundbreaking look at the relationship between two sacred texts

Cloth – $125

978-0-252-04552-3

Paper – $30

978-0-252-08763-9

eBook – $19.95

978-0-252-05515-7

Publication Date

Paperback: 11/21/2023
Cloth: 11/21/2023

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About the Book

The Book of Mormon’s narrative privileges Isaiah over other sources, provocatively interpreting and at times inventively reworking the biblical text. Joseph M. Spencer sees within the Book of Mormon a programmatic investigation regarding the meaning and relevance of the Book of Isaiah in a world increasingly removed from the context of the times that produced it. Working from the crossroads of reception studies and Mormon studies, Spencer investigates and clarifies the Book of Mormon’s questions about the vitality of Isaiah’s prophetic project. Spencer’s analysis focuses on the Book of Mormon’s three interactions with the prophet: the character of Abinadi; the resurrected Jesus Christ; and the nation-founding figure of Nephi. Working from the Book of Mormon as it was dictated, Spencer details its vital and overlooked place in Isaiah’s reception while recognizing the interpretation of Isaiah as an organizing force behind the Book of Mormon.

About the Author

Joseph M. Spencer is an associate professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University.

Reviews

Blurbs

“The most in-depth study of the Isaiah question in Book of Mormon studies. It is also the first study of its kind to assess the Book of Mormon as it was dictated rather than as it was printed. The result is a truly original reading of the text.”--Elizabeth Fenton, author of Old Canaan in a New World: Native Americans and the Lost Tribes of Israel