2 Nephi 18 corresponds to Isaiah 8.
Literature: The “great roll” may or may not have been literal. As a metaphor, it simply emphasizes the importance of the message. As a literal description, it describes writing in a specific format. Without question, this spoken statement by the Lord was reduced to written text at some point or it would not be part of our received text. Thus, it shares preservation in writing with the rest of Isaiah’s words that have survived, even those that do not begin with the command that they be written on a scroll.
The King James Version phrase “with a man’s pen” is “ordinary pen” in the NIV and “common script” in Gileadi. Lamsa proposes “man’s hand,” arguing:
“Take a large scroll and write on it plainly” is symbolic of the importance of the message. “With a man’s pen” is an Eastern idiom which means with large letters. At times, the term “man” signifies strength. There were no women scribes in those days. The writing was to be plain and large, so that it could be easily read and understood. King’s decrees and edicts were written plainly and with large letters so that they might be easily read and understood.
The correlation with the “strong hand” in verse 11 in this chapter suggests a poetic parallel. Blenkinsopp notes that the word translated as “pen” is an engraving tool, like the tool Aaron used in creating the golden calf. He therefore renders this phrase as “a stylus of a man” or “common stylus.” However, he also adds that “the context suggests easy legibility.”
Translation: The idea of a scroll as a writing surface is correct, but the text does not refer to a writing surface that could be rolled such as a scroll. The Hebrew is gillayon. Blenkinsopp notes: “The tablet (gillayon), not a scroll but a writing surface or placard made of stone or wood, was intended for public display since Isaiah is no longer dealing with the ruler alone but with the people at large.”
There is no connotation of paper that could be rolled in the term gillayon. This same word is translated as “mirror” in Isaiah 3:23. (See commentary accompanying 2 Nephi 13:23.) This alternate meaning presents the rather subtle possibility that the record was to be written on some shiny surface, perhaps similar to plates of metal. While that reading is certainly not required, the suggestion that important writings appear on a shining surface harmonizes with the existence of brass plates only one hundred years later.
Scripture: This prophecy names Maher-shalal-hash-baz, which, like all Hebrew names, has a specific meaning. In this case, Maher-shalal-hash-baz means “quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil.” Verse 3 will identify Maher-shalal-hash-baz as a person, but verse 1 uses the name without a connection to a specific person. The message of the tablet (“scroll” in the Book of Mormon) clearly refers to the Assyrian invasion, which will be “quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil.” Isaiah made this prophecy perhaps two years before Tiglath-Pileser’s invasion of Syria and Israel in 732 B.C.