Site:SS lessons/BOM lesson 8

From Feast upon the Word (http://feastupontheword.org). Copyright, Feast upon the Word.

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2 Ne 6:1-5

The Book of Mormon > Second Nephi > Chapter 6

Previous (2 Ne 5:31-34)

Next (2 Ne 6:6-10)

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Questions

v. 2: What is the difference between being ordained and being consecrated? (Or is there a difference?) Why does Jacob remind them that he was consecrated by Nephi when he tells them of his priesthood calling? Was Nephi their king or not? 2 Ne 5:18 says that Nephi didn’t want to be their king, but indicates that he might have been anyway? though 2 Ne 5:19 suggests that he was something other than a king. If Nephi wasn’t their king, why does Jacob speak of Nephi in this way? How could the Nephites depend on one person, Nephi, for safety? What does it mean to say that he was their protector?

vv. 4-5: Jacob says he is going to read them the words of Isaiah for they are meant for the house of Israel. What are the different senses of the phrase “house of Israel"? In what ways do they apply to each of the meanings of the phrase? In what ways might these words apply to us? In what ways do they apply to a narrower sense of “the house of Israel"?

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Lexical notes

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Exegesis

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Questions

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Verses 6-7

Jacob begins quoting Isaiah at Isa 49:22. The theme of Isa 49 is the redemption of Israel from captivity, and we understand the chapters from which Jacob reads (49-52) to be prophecies of the Messiah. Why does Jacob begin where he does rather than earlier? When the Lord says he will lift up his hand to the Gentiles (v. 6), what does he mean? What is the significance of lifting up the hand? What does “set up my standard” mean? As it is used here, a standard is a flag. Of what is it a symbol here? What does the Lord mean when he says he will set up his standard to the people? What service is it that the Gentiles will perform for Israel (v. 7)? What is the Lord promising the house of Israel?

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Verses 8-18

Compare what is in these verses to verses 6-7.

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verse 12

What is the content of these covenants? What have the Gentiles been promised?

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Lexical notes

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Verse 9

The question of whether a sixth-century BC reference to crucifixion is anachronistic is answered by reference to Deuteronomy 21:22-23, which describes hanging a man from a tree as a form of capital punishment. The reader is also referred to The History of Crucifixion, which describes crucifixion of Athenian pirates a century before this Book of Mormon record, as well as a nearly-contemporaneous mass crucifixion of Darius I's political opponents in 519 BC.

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Exegesis

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Questions

In verse 13 Jacob is interpreting the quotation from Isaiah in verse 7. What does Jacob mean in this verse? Who is licking the dust of whose feet?

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Lexical notes

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Exegesis

In the context of Hebraic culture, it is clear that the dust of one's feet represents the condemnation of the world (John 13:5, see also Matt 10:14, Mark 6:11, Luke 9:5). Removing the dust from one's feet is akin to shaking the iniquities of the world from one's garments (2 Ne 9:44). In 2 Nephi 6, Jacob declares that Gentile kings and queens who bear up Israel will "lick up the dust of [the House of Israel's] feet" (2 Ne 6:7) and that the Gentiles who fight against Zion will do the same (2 Ne 6:13). One possible interpretation of these verses is that the Lord will use both Israel's allies and her enemies to cleanse her from the stains of the world. In affliction as well as in triumph, Israel will be lifted out of Babylon.

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Questions

vv. 16-18: Jacob takes up his quotation from Isaiah again, taking up where he left off. (See Isa 49:24ff.) Notice that Jacob shifts back into quoting Isaiah without saying anything about the fact that he is doing so. Why not? Does that tell us anything about the office of a prophet?

vv. 16-18: The usual answer to the question of v. 16 would be “No,” but when speaking of the children of God, as v. 17 shows, the answer is, “Yes.” What is the point of vv. 16-17?

v. 18: What might the image of feeding on ones’ own flesh mean? It has an obvious literal meaning, but is there any other meaning as well?

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Lexical notes

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Exegesis

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Questions

v. 2: To whom is the Lord speaking in this verse and the next? To what time is the Lord referring when he says, “When I came, there was no man"? Who was absent? Who didn’t hear him? After speaking to them of his power to redeem and deliver, what might Israel think of when he mentions his power to dry up the sea?

vv. 4-9: There are two interpretations of these verses. According to one, the Lord is speaking; according to the other, Isaiah is speaking. What do we learn if we think of this as Isaiah speaking? What do we learn if we think of it as the Lord?

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Lexical notes

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Exegesis

v. 1: The Lord addresses Israel as if it were a child: Have I cast you off, or divorced your mother, or sold you? Fathers in dire circumstances have sometimes had to sell their children to satisfy their creditors. (See 2 Kgs 4:1 and Neh 5:5), but the Lord has no such creditors. Though Israel has been separated from the Father, the separation isn’t permanent. It is a consequence of their unrighteousness.

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Questions

vv. 10-11: These two verses compare those who trust God (v. 10) and those who do not (v. 11). What does it mean to say that those who trust in God walk in darkness? What does it mean that those who will have sorrow surround themselves with sparks and walk in the light? Usually the righteous are portrayed as walking in light and the unrighteous are portrayed as walking in darkness. Why is that imagery reversed here? What is the origin of the light in v. 11?

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Lexical notes

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Exegesis

Verse 11 is a warning to those who do not recognize their dependence on the Lord--people who are trying to follow their own light rather than the Lord's. To these people Isaiah is saying that if they follow their own light they will never find happiness. They will die in sorrow. Notice the LDS edition footnote references to similar verses:

"Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes." (Deut 12:8)

"In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes." (Judg 17:6)

"Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts." (Prov 21:2)

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Questions

vv. 1-25: How would this speech, a speech of consolation to Israel, be an appropriate thing for Jacob to repeat to the Nephites?

v. 1: What does it mean that the righteous should look to the pit (or quarry) from which they were cut?

vv. 2-3: Does this verse explain the pit and the hole of v. 1? How? How would one “look unto Abraham [. . .] and unto Sarah"? What is the Lord commanding here? Isaiah mentions that Abraham was called “alone,” in other words, when he was the only one in Israel, and that he was blessed. Presumably the blessing referred to is that of numerous posterity. How is it relevant that he was alone? In v. 3 the comparison is to v. 2: just as Abraham and Sarah were blessed when she was barren and supposedly beyond hope, so will Israel be blessed and made fruitful. Why the reference to Eden? What does it mean that the new Eden will be filled with gladness, thanksgiving, and song? What is the comparison?

vv. 4-6: These verses may help us understand 2 Ne 7:10-11 better: The Lord will give light to the earth by giving divine guidance, instruction, and salvation rather than that offered by the world. How do we distinguish between the two sources of light?

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Lexical notes

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Exegesis

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Questions

Verse 7: In Isaiah the word “law” could also be translated “instruction.” Presumably the same is true of whatever Nephite word Jacob used in quoting Isaiah. What does that say about the law? What does it teach? What does it mean to say that the righteous have the law/instruction written in their hearts? Why do those who are righteous need not fear the reproach of others?

Verse 6: Here it says that the Heavens shall vanish away and the Earth shall wax old like a garment in the last days. Why is this so? When we are resurrected, are we judged on Earth or in Heaven and if in Heaven, what is going to be the state of the Earth at that time?

Verses 9-11: Who is calling “Awake” (v. 9)? Who is being addressed? Do vv. 10-11 explain the references in v. 9? Notice how scripture refers to the type of Israel leaving Egypt, entering into the Promised Land. How is that type relevant to Lehi’s family? To the Nephites in particular? To us?

Verse 9: The verse asks "Art thou not he that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?" Who is Rahab and what is the "dragon" he refers to?

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Lexical notes

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Exegesis

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Questions

vv. 12-16: If vv. 9-11 are Israel’s prayer for deliverance, these verses are the answer to the prayer. How are that prayer and this answer relevant to the Nephites? To us?

v. 12: The word translated “comfort” in Isaiah (v. 12) originally meant “strengthen” as well as “soothe.” Does that change your understanding of the verse?

v.13: Why is it important in this context to remind Israel that the Lord is the Creator? (Verse 13 describes the man at the end of verse 12 “who shall die” and “who shall be made like unto grass.”)

v. 14: What is the contrast between the pit mentioned in v. 14 and that of v. 1?

v. 15: Here we see that the Lord has power over all nature. How does this compare to the power feared by those who have forgotten him?

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Lexical notes

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Exegesis

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Questions

v. 16: In whose mouth have the words of this verse been put? Israel’s? Isaiah’s? What does it mean to be covered in the shadow of God’s hand?

vv. 17-25: These verses describe the end of Israel’s captivity and their re-entry into the Promised Land. What historical event or events might this describe? The original return from Babylon? The gathering at the Second Coming? The entry of the latter-day church into the Salt Lake valley? Some incident in Nephite history?

v. 17: What does the cup of the Lord’s fury or anger stand for?

v. 18: What does it mean to say that Israel has no sons to guide her?

v. 19: The only two sons remaining are desolation and destruction--what does that mean?

v. 20: Does “rebuke” help us understand the meaning of “fury” in the previous clause?

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Lexical notes

v. 20 The “head” of the streets means the street corners.

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Exegesis

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Questions

vv. 21-23: Here we see that the oppressors will become the oppressed. Who are the oppressors? Who will oppress them? How?

vv. 21-23: If those the Lord is addressing are drunk with something other than wine (v. 21), what is it? (See v. 22 for some hints.)

v. 24: Notice that the first part of this verse is a repetition of the first part of v. 9. Who was speaking there? Who is speaking here? The prophet? The Lord? Israel?

v. 24: Who are the uncircumcised and unclean?

v. 25: What dust is Israel to shake off of itself? Does referring back to v. 23 give you any ideas? What would shaking the dust off be a symbol of? Does this reference help us understand references such as D&C 24:15; 60:15; and 75:20 (as well as Matt 10:14; Mark 6:11; Luke 9:5; Acts 13:51)?

Has Jacob used the chapters from Isaiah the way we might expect him to use them? We take them to be prophecies of Christ’s coming. How does he use them?

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Lexical notes

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Exegesis

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Questions

vv. 1-3: Why has Jacob read this passage from Isaiah to the Nephites? How will it help them to know that Israel will be restored in the last days? How could they apply this passage to themselves? How can we apply it to ourselves?

vv. 4ff: How is a discussion of the atonement an explanation of the passage from Isaiah? How are the two related? How does the prophecy of Isaiah typify the atonement? (Such things as bondage and redemption from bondage occur in both discussions. Thinking about how those are alike can help us understand the atonement better and thinking about the atonement can help us understand Isaiah better.)

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Lexical notes

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Exegesis

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Questions

What does Jacob mean by an "infinite atonement" (verse 7)?
Why is it that if we weren't resurrected we would become subject to the devil? What is the connection between Jesus' conquering of physical death and his conquering of spiritual death?

vv. 8-9: What would happen to us if there were no resurrection? Since there is a resurrection, what do we learn from v. 9? Does that teach us anything about the traditional Christian understanding of hell, where those not saved are punished by being eternally in the presence of Satan?

v. 9: What are “secret combinations"? Does secrecy make a combination bad? If so, why? If not, why is it the modifier used here? How are secret combinations antithetical to the gospel? (2 Ne 26:22-28 discusses this.) What kinds of things might count as secret combinations today? beyond the things that we sometimes hear mentioned in very conservative political discussions? Given the definition cited in Webster's 1828 dictionary (see lexical notes below), can we be part of a secret combination without knowing that we are? How do we avoid such combinations? How did the Book of Mormon people avoid them, when they did?

v. 10: When Jacob mentions “death and hell,” he seems to mean two things. (This doesn’t seem to me to be a repetition for emphasis.) What does he mean by “death"? What does he mean by “hell"? What does he mean by “death of the body"? by “death of the spirit"? How are these pairs of terms related to each other?

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Lexical notes

The word "infinite" (verse 7) appears in the King James Version of the Bible just three times, and in each case it is the translation of a different Hebrew word or words. ("Infinite" does not appear in the KJV New Testament.) In Job 25, the Hebrew qets means "without end" and refers to the iniquity of the wicked. In Psalm 147:5, the word micpar means basically "innumerable" and refers in that instance to the understanding or wisdom of the Lord. In Nahum 3:9 a pair of words is used that literally mean "without border" to refer to the limitless strength of Ethiopia (land of Cush) and Egypt.

v. 9: Webster’s 1828 dictionary says that a combination is an intimate union of several persons that has the purpose of bringing something about together.

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Exegesis

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Questions

v. 13: What is the paradise Jacob is talking about? What do we usually call it?

v. 14: What kind of symbolism do you see in the contrast between guilt, uncleanness, and nakedness on the one hand, and enjoyment and the clothing of purity and the robe of righteousness on the other hand? Does reference back to 2 Ne 4:33 add any meaning to this verse? Why does Jacob identify himself with the wicked at the beginning of the verse ("we shall have a perfect knowledge of our guilt")?

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Lexical notes

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Exegesis

The end of verse 13 says that after the resurrection people will have "a perfect knowledge like unto us in the flesh." This suggests that our knowledge is currently perfect. But it isn't, as affirmed by the following clause "save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect." An alternate punctuation might make the meaning more clear:

"...having a perfect knowledge; like unto us in the flesh, save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect."

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Questions

v. 18: What are the crosses of the world? Who are those who have endured those crosses? Does this verse and those that follow have any connection to the passage from Isaiah that Jacob read? Why is the cross an important symbol in the Book of Mormon?

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Exegesis

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vv. 21-22: Does this prophecy help us understand better the promises made to Israel by Isaiah? What does “hearken” mean? How do we hearken to the voice of the Lord? Is it possible to have faith but not to hearken or to hearken but not to have faith?

v. 22: We often consider the Atonement to consist of two almost separate parts--the suffering for our sins to make possible repentance, and the resurrection to make possible immortality. However, v. 22 links the two by stating that the suffering of sins took place to make possible the resurrection. How does Christ's suffering make the resurrection possible?

Verse 23 implies that we are commanded to have "perfect faith" in Chist--how do we obtain "perfect faith"?

v. 24: What reason does this verse give for the damnation of those who refuse to repent? Why is that the appropriate explanation for this discussion? In fact, what are we to make of an explanation like that?

vv. 25-26: We sometimes speak as if the atonement is required because there is a law that God must obey. Does Jacob speak that way? What does he say? Who has given the law? Whose justice is it that must be satisfied?

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Lexical notes

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Exegesis

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Questions

vv. 28-33: What part of Isaiah’s prophecy do these refer to and amplify?

vv. 28-29: What kind of “wisdom” does Jacob warn against? What makes that supposed wisdom foolishness?

v. 29: What does it mean to "hearken unto the counsels of God"?

v. 30: How might a wealthy person "despise the poor"? How might a wealthy person "persecute the meek"? How might wealthy people have their hearts "upon their treasures"?
v. 30: What does it mean to make treasure your god?
v. 30: Why doesn't Jacob give the rich an out here in the same way he does the learned in v. 29? --Why doesn't he say here "to be rich as to the things of the world is good if they ..."
v. 30: Why does Jacob warn the rich? Does he warn all of those who are rich or only some? What does it mean to be “rich as to the things of the world"? How much does one have to have to be described that way? Does this verse give us any understanding of such scriptures as Matt 19:21-26 and Mark 10:21-27? Together, vv. 29-30 seem to connect learning with riches. Why might they do so? What is the connection?

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Lexical notes

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Exegesis

Verse 26 tells us that the atonement removes the guilt of those who don't obey the law because they don't know the law. We might have thought that such a transgression of the law doesn't require an atonement because the transgressor is not culpable. But it seems from the way Jacob understand the atonement that without the atonement such people would be guilty for transgressing laws they did not know.

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Questions

vv. 34-37: Does Jacob’s warning turn to a different kind of sin here? If so, what is the difference? What is the similarity of the sins of these verses to those of 28-33?

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Exegesis

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v. 37: In what sense is this verse the culmination of the list that began in v. 28?

v. 38: What does it mean to die in one’s sins? How do we avoid that?

v. 39: Compare this verse to Rom 8:6 and 1 Cor 2:11-16. What does it mean to be carnally-minded? to be spiritually-minded?

v. 40: When Jacob asks us to remember the greatness of The Holy One of Israel, what kinds of things does he want us to remember? What kinds of things which show that greatness did he mention in the quotation from Isaiah? What other things has he mentioned?

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Exegesis

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Questions

What does it mean to knock (verse 42)?
Where in LDS practice do we knock to enter into the presence of the Lord?

vv. 41-43: What do the various types or symbols Jacob use show us? How do they connect his prophecy to other prophecies, specifically to what he has quoted from Isaiah? Notice that Jacob once again connects learning and wealth in v. 42, as he did in vv. 29-30.

v. 44: Might Jacob’s shaking of his garment have anything to do with 2 Ne 8:23 and 2 Ne 8:25, and 2 Ne 9:14?

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Lexical notes

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Exegesis

v. 45: Notice how the command to shake off our chains resonates with the previous verse (and its reference to other verses) to tie these things together.

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Questions

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Verses 47-48

What does Jacob imply about our feeling that we mustn’t ever say harsh things to one another? Under what circumstances would such harshness be permitted? How do we avoid using verses like this as an excuse for unnecessary and unkind harshness?

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Verse 50

Jacob quotes Isaiah again (Isa 55:1-2). Isaiah’s words seem never to be far from his thoughts as he delivers his sermon. Why might that be? The connection between the two seems to demand that we think about the relation of what he says to what Isaiah says if we are to understand fully Jacob’s message.

What is the point of this verse? How does it relate to such things as Paul’s letter to the Romans where he teaches us that salvation comes by grace?

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Exegesis

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Questions

v. 51: How does v. 50 help explain this verse? What is of value? What is free? What is of no worth?

v. 52: What is the relation of this verse to the two that immediately precede it?

v. 52: "pray unto him continually by day, and give thanks unto his holy name by night. Do you think that the day or night reference is task specific? Meaning, that we should be more "pray-oriented" ("ask-oriented?") in the day and then be more "thankful-oriented" at night?

v. 53: In what sense is this a repetition of everything that has been said in the last several chapters? Does thinking in terms of types and shadows throw any light on this verse? Is Jacob drawing a parallel between covenants and condescensions? If so, what does that parallel teach us?

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Questions

v. 2: What does Jacob mean when he says the promises that have been made are promises according to the flesh?

v. 3: How does the crucifixtion "behooveth our God"?

vv. 3ff.: The word “Christ” is a title, not a name. Why does Jacob speak of it as a name? Why does Jacob repeat once again the prophecy of Christ’s coming and death? Why does he feel the need to tell the Nephites of this over and over when they aren’t going to have part in it? Is there anything here that they can apply to themselves? How?

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Lexical notes

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Exegesis

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Verse 3

"Christ" is the Greek equivalent of "Messiah"--a term that Nephi and Jacob use earlier in the text. The implications are that (1) the angel spoke the Greek term, (2) Jacob was unfamiliar with the term, but recognized that it referred to the Messiah, (3) Jacob incorrectly inferred that the new term must be the Messiah's name, or (4) Joseph Smith translated the term Christ because this was commonly used in the religious language of his time and in the KJV Bible.

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Questions

v. 6: Are these verses teaching that the Jews will suffer because they killed Christ?

v. 7: This verse states that when the Jews believe in Christ "they shall be restored in the flesh." Since the Jews still do not recognize that Jesus is the Messiah, should we interpret the modern gathering of Jews to the State of Israel as partial fulfillment of this prophecy, or as something else?

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vv. 20-23: How do these verses help us understand why Jacob is talking about Christ's birth and death so much (cf. 2 Ne 10:3ff)? How? Why would knowing that our knowledge is from God mean that we ought not to hang down our heads? (Compare this to 2 Ne 4:26ff.) In v. 21, does Jacob assume that he is on an island? Why does Jacob connect his teaching to what his father taught (compare v. 23 with 2 Ne 2:27-29)?

v. 20: "hang down our heads" Is this per chance an attempt to describe symptoms of depression?

v. 24: What does Jacob mean when he says that it is only in and through the grace of God that we are saved after we are reconciled? How have we seen that explained in previous and later chapters? (Compare 2 Ne 25:23.)

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Site:SS lessons/BOM lesson 8

From Feast upon the Word (http://feastupontheword.org). Copyright, Feast upon the Word.

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