Nephi's scripture journal

I recently read the Isaiah chapters in Second Nephi again. The more I read them, the more I like them. It really is a wonder how much space Nephi devotes to quoting scripture verbatim, especially scripture he knew we would already have, given the difficulty of engraving on plates, to say nothing of finding and refining the ore to make those plates in the first place.

I sometimes wonder whether Nephi quoted Isaiah so extensively in his own record to provide a concrete example of how to liken the scriptures unto ourselves. Nephi was the master of meaningful scripture study, and it seems to me that much of Second Nephi becomes a glimpse into Nephi’s study journal. I think we learn from his example that the scripture study can be a revelatory experience---in Nephi’s case, his commentary on Isaiah’s prophecies led his to make additional prophecies of his own. I think the same can be true for us---we can find hidden insights and messages in the scriptures that address our inner-most thoughts and problems.

I recently stumbled upon what may have been one of Nephi’s insights. Nephi’s point in quoting Isaiah is to show us that “there is a God, and he is Christ.” By this point in Nephi’s history, Jacob has already received a revelation that the Messiah, the Holy One of Israel will be known as Christ. Shortly after quoting Isaiah, Nephi reveals that “according to the words of the prophets, and also the word of the angel of God, his name shall be Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” This is the first time in the Book of Mormon where we’re told the name of the Messiah will be Jesus.

Nephi cites two sources for this piece of information: the words of the prophets and the word of an angel. Did he mean the words of Isaiah? I think so. I wonder whether the Spirit touched Nephi’s heart as he engraved these words from Isaiah 12: “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation.” The Hebrew word for salvation (which Nephi would have known, even though he was writing the record in reformed Egyptian) is yeshua. This word is part of the name Joshua or Jehoshua, which means God is salvation. The Greek transliteration of this name is Jesus. So it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to read this passage of scripture as saying “Behold, God is my Jesus….the Lord Jehovah…has become my Jesus.”

This is Nephi’s central message, and the message of The Book of Mormon: that God himself would condescend to be born into mortality as Jesus of Nazareth, who would overcome sin and death via his infinite atonement and resurrection, thus becoming our eternal salvation. Isaiah knew it, Nephi knew it, and I know it too!