jackal5096

I was having a discussion with the Bishop of the local LDS ward in my neighborhood (this thread is not any discussion on Mormonism), during which he commented that Ezekiel 36:15-19 prophesizes the Book of Mormon. Ezekiel 15-19 reads:

Thus the word of the Lord came to me: Now, son of man, take a single stick, and write on it: Judah and those Israelites who are associated with him. Then take another stick and write on it: Joseph [the stick of Ephraim] and all the house of Israel associated with him. Then join the two sticks together, so that they form on stick in your hand. When your countrymen ask you, "Will you not tell us what you mean by all this?", answer them: Thus says the Lord God [I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel associated with him, and I will jointo it the stick of Judah, making them a single stick; they shall be one in my hand

This Bishop asserted the sticks were references to papyri, which are made of papyrus reeds (sticks) pressed together. Mormons believe the Book of Mormon is the stick of Joseph, or stick of Ephraim, and the traditional Bible is the stick of Judah, and that together they make the word of God.

Be that as it may, as he quoted Ezekial, I was immediately struck with its similarity with the first leg of the Documentary Hypothesis (the JEDP theory). The Documentary Hypothesis first purports that the Book of Genesis was derived from two separate creation stories, thus explaining many of the doublets. The two versions of the creation story derived from the Two Kingdoms period, around the 10th - 8th centuries BC in the time between Solomon's death and the Assyrian conquest of the northern kingdom. During this time, the Hebrew people split into two kingdoms: the southern kingdom of Judah, including the tribe of Benjamin, and the Northern kingdom of Israel, comprising the other 10 tribes. According to the Documentary Hypothesis, these two versions were later combined and meshed together, thereby explaining the many doublets in Gensis.

Could it be that Ezekiel was referring to the Northern Kingdom's version of creation story as the stick of Ephraim, and the Southern Kingdom's version as the stick of Judah? Is Ezekiel 36:19 biblical confirmation of the first part of the Documentary Hypothesis?

John Kesler

The reference is actually in Ezekiel 37. The explanation of the unification of the two sticks is given later in the chapter:

Doug Shaver

Only, for a bare minimum, if there is some good reason to suppose that the author of Ezekiel knew of J, E, D, and P, and of their respective contributions to the Jewish scriptures.

Speculation about how he could have known does not constitute a good reason to suppose that he did know.

jackal5096

Why is knowledge of the full JEDP theory necessary? According to the theory, there were three redactions which led up to the Pentateuch. Only the first is of concern here, where J and E are redacted to form JE. According to the theory, J was set down about 950 BCE, E at about 850 BCE. The reaction of J and E to form JE is thought to have occurred around 750 BCE, after the defeat of the Northern Kingdom by the Assyrians. The later redactions of D and P are thought to have occurred after the Babylonian exile, after 538 BCE. Ezekiel is thought to have been written around or shortly after 571 BCE.

The point is, is Ezekiel 36:19 evidence of a redacted JE, consistent with Documentary Hypothesis?

jackal5096

Regardless of what it may have symbolized, do you agree that Ezekiel 36:19 could refer to what is now theorized as the redacted JE?

Doug Shaver

I'm not saying he had to know the whole story, but I don't see how any writer can confirm something about which he doesn't have a clue of some kind.

John Kesler

I don't see that, but maybe you could investigate more and let us know what you discover.