Learning of the Jews
2 Nephi 11: 2 RE
“For I came out from Jerusalem,
and mine eyes hath beheld the things of the Jews, and I know that the Jews do
understand the things of the prophets. And there is none other people that
understand the things which were spoken unto the Jews like unto them, save it
be that they are taught after the manner of the things of the Jews.”
Nephi’s eyes beheld the things of
the Jews, and because he beheld the things of the Jews he had first hand, first
person knowledge of Jewish learning and its effect on the religious mind and in
turn the effect of that mind upon correct worship and correct religious belief.
Nephi says that the “Jews do understand the things of the prophets”. This
statement, outside the context of what Nephi says before and after it, appears
to be Nephi endorsing the “learning of the Jews”. We will look deeper to see
what Nephi says before and after this statement, and most importantly we will
look at what Nephi does with his firsthand knowledge of what the learning of
the Jews leads to and how to avoid those negative consequences.
As an aside, the scriptures are
not a series of sound bites that can be understood in a vacuum or in isolation
from the entirety of the Word of God. Scripture clarifies, often seemingly
contradicts itself, and qualifies meaning based upon the context of ideas and
thoughts God is attempting to communicate to mankind in a particular moment in
particular contexts to teach lessons, spread across the vastness of the
scriptural texts, and often hidden in parables and mystery writing. If you
remove this statement or any other from the context and complete meaning of the
passages in which they are placed, meaning can be corrupted or confounded. What
does Nephi mean when he writes about Jewish understanding of prophets? Is it an
endorsement of Jewish learning? As a ruler, Nephi is given of God to be the one
authorized to measure or weigh things and to draw out truth or discern between
two or more things. How does Nephi measure or weigh the learning of the Jews?
Let’s look deeper at the words:
“there is none other people that understand the things which were spoken unto
the Jews like unto them, save it be that they are taught after the manner of
the things of the Jews.” Let’s parse this. This is not an endorsement of Jewish
learning. It is simply saying that no one understands the prophecies the same
way the Jews understand the prophecies. There is no validation of the
learning of the Jews here, only a statement that Jews understand like Jews
understand, and if you are not a Jew you will not understand like they do
unless you are taught like a Jew. There is no implicit validation of the
learning of the Jews in Nephi’s statement.
It’s like saying, Englishmen
understand the things of prophets like Englishmen understand things, and unless
you are a Englishman or have been taught like a Englishman, you will not
understand the prophets like a Englishman. There is no value attached to the
learning except to say that unless you understand things a certain way you
won’t understand like those who understand them that way. Jews understand the
prophets like Jews or those who have been taught like Jews. That’s it. Jews get
Jewish learning that non-Jews don’t get. Whether Nephi endorses and vouches for
the learning of the Jews is not found in this statement alone about Jews
understanding prophets, rather, Nephi’s endorsement or ruling, is found in what
he states in the verses around this one, and in what he does!
Nephi is being clever, and how we read and interpret the words tells God about
what is in our hearts. Will we follow Nephi’s example and instruction? Or will
we seek the same learning of the Jews that has led to captivity and the Judgement
of God?
What source for your understanding
do you seek? For Gods ways are not man’s ways and true understanding of the
meaning of the Word requires the honest seeker of Gods Truth to seek Gods ways
and accept God’s definitions. The greatest and most trustworthy source of the
authentic Word of God that is True and Faithful to Gods mind, way, and
definitions, is found in the Book of Mormon. If more people trusted the
meanings given us in this book contention would disappear from among those
willing to do so. Don’t contend against the Word of God. Don’t do that. But if
you do, understand that Nephi is warning you that to do so is to risk God’s
judgement and you are going to find yourself in the dark and worshipping abominations
before Him.
I gave a talk on confounded
language that addresses this issue, go listen to it, or read it for more detail
on perception and understanding according to Gods ways. This is a continuation of that topic and was
edited out because of time restrictions put upon me in giving that talk. What
is your source for truth? The learning of the Jews? The Holy Spirit? The Book
of Mormon? What is Nephi, who saw our day, attempting to communicate to us?
That we must understand the prophets like Jews? If that is the case we need
Jewish commentators and scholars to come and teach us and educate us in Jewish
understanding so that we “get it”. If the learning of the Jews is not what
Nephi is testifying of, what is Nephi’s solution to fixing our awful situation?
