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SpencerMarsh (talk | contribs) (→Book of Mormon Central on Type-Scenes) |
SpencerMarsh (talk | contribs) (→Book of Mormon Central on Type-Scenes) |
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:For instance, biblical scholar Robert Alter noted that “it is only in [Isaac's] betrothal scene that the girl, not the stranger, draws water from the well.”<ref>Ibid., 64.</ref> This fits well with what we see Rebekah doing later, when she took “the initiative at a crucial moment in the story in order to obtain the paternal blessing for her favored son, Jacob.”<ref>Ibid.</ref> Ultimately, “Rebekah is to become the shrewdest and the most potent of the matriarchs, and so it is entirely appropriate that she should dominate her betrothal scene.”<ref>Ibid.</ref> The more these stories differ from the basic type-scene, the more one can expect that the characters in the scene will turn out differently than expected.<ref>For one example of this, see Ibid., 70.</ref> | :For instance, biblical scholar Robert Alter noted that “it is only in [Isaac's] betrothal scene that the girl, not the stranger, draws water from the well.”<ref>Ibid., 64.</ref> This fits well with what we see Rebekah doing later, when she took “the initiative at a crucial moment in the story in order to obtain the paternal blessing for her favored son, Jacob.”<ref>Ibid.</ref> Ultimately, “Rebekah is to become the shrewdest and the most potent of the matriarchs, and so it is entirely appropriate that she should dominate her betrothal scene.”<ref>Ibid.</ref> The more these stories differ from the basic type-scene, the more one can expect that the characters in the scene will turn out differently than expected.<ref>For one example of this, see Ibid., 70.</ref> | ||
− | :Alan Goff has pointed out a radically different, but still recognizable, version of this type scene in Alma 17.<ref>Alan Goff, “[https:// | + | :Alan Goff has pointed out a radically different, but still recognizable, version of this type scene in Alma 17.<ref>Alan Goff, “[https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/reduction-and-enlargement-harold-bloom%E2%80%99s-mormons Reduction and Enlargement: Harold Bloom’s Mormons],” ''Review of Books on the Book of Mormon'' 5, no. 1 (1993): 105.</ref> Just as in the classic type-scene, Ammon went to a foreign land, but in this case, he went to preach the gospel (Alma 17:12).<ref>Ibid.</ref> Although Ammon did not meet a woman there, the king offered Ammon his daughter in marriage, but he declined (v. 24).<ref>Ibid.</ref> Shortly thereafter, Ammon went to the waters of Sebus, rather than a well, to water the flocks (v. 26).<ref>Ibid.</ref> Finally, instead of the woman returning to tell the family about the presence of a potential suitor, the servants returned to the king with the arms of the would-be sheep rustlers (v. 39).<ref>For more context on this story, see Brant A. Gardner, ''Second Witness: Analytical and Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon'', 6 vols. (Salt Lake City, UT: Greg Kofford Books, 2007), 4:275–276.</ref> |
:The differences between the basic type-scene and the Ammon story teach us much about Ammon and how we can be like him. Instead of going to a foreign land to find a wife, Ammon went to a foreign land to preach the gospel. When he got there and was offered the hand of the princess, he declined, stating that he wished to work for the king of the Lamanites instead. In addition to simply drawing water for the flocks, he saved them at the peril of his own life. Finally, those present at the watering of the flocks returned to tell the king not about Ammon as a potential suitor, but about the power of God that was with him. | :The differences between the basic type-scene and the Ammon story teach us much about Ammon and how we can be like him. Instead of going to a foreign land to find a wife, Ammon went to a foreign land to preach the gospel. When he got there and was offered the hand of the princess, he declined, stating that he wished to work for the king of the Lamanites instead. In addition to simply drawing water for the flocks, he saved them at the peril of his own life. Finally, those present at the watering of the flocks returned to tell the king not about Ammon as a potential suitor, but about the power of God that was with him. |
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Critic Fawn Brodie claimed the following in her book No Man Knows My History: the Life of Joseph Smith
Passage forthcoming.[1]
So how can we reconcile this? Did Joseph Smith actually use chracters from the Bible as templates for the Book of Mormon characters?
This article seeks to answer this question.
Book of Mormon Central has produced an excellent article that may explain this type of “plagiarism” in the Book of Mormon. That article is reproduced in full, including citations for easy reference, below:
So how then does this literary device then work with different characters in the Book of Mormon? Let’s take the claims one by one.
[Analysis forthcoming]
The presence of similarities does not seem to do anything to belief in the authenticity of the Book of Mormon. More research is sure to be forthcoming on the type-scene in the Book of Mormon and readers are encouraged to pay attention for the arrival of that literature.
Notes
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