“The Jews Shall Have the Words of the Nephites”

Brant Gardner

Verse 14 terminates Yahweh’s first-person message. While it certainly has import for the Book of Mormon, it is more a message of deliverance of the house of Israel than an announcement about the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. The modern Saints may read it as the latter-day restoration, but, for the Lord, it is confirmation that his covenants with the house of Israel and with Abraham are permanent. That is why Yahweh emphasizes the origins of the written texts and why he chastises the Gentiles who have hated his chosen people.

Apologetics: Given the generally negative view of Jews among many of the Gentile Christians of Joseph Smith’s day, the reader who sees Joseph Smith as the author of the Book of Mormon might expect it to contain the common historical view that the Jews were cursed for crucifying Jesus. Instead, the Book of Mormon adamantly opposes such an attitude, condemns those who revile the Jews, and reveres their covenant relationship with God. This is, of course, precisely what one would expect of Nephi, who considered himself a Jew and an inheritor of the covenant.

Text: The chapter does not end here in the 1830 edition.

Second Witness: Analytical & Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 2

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