Stand Still, and See the Salvation of the Lord

The Path of Angels: A Biblical Pattern for the Role of Angels in Physical Salvation

Taylor Halverson

The Gospel of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament (2009)

In Exodus 14, the angel of God saved the Israelites from the Egyptians by causing a cloud of darkness for the Egyptians and a light for the Israelites. This event may be the foundational event of Israelite identity: the Israelites are physically tested to their limit and saved while the Egyptians drown; they must trust Moses and God.

Biblical Style and Western Literature

Herbert N. Schneidau

Literature of Belief: Sacred Scripture and Religious Experience (1981)

On God’s opposition to kings leading his people: “In accord with a tradition of Yahweh as warrior, Israel maintained itself in the Judges’ period as a theocracy with no human king. Thus, the proposal to establish one presented them with what I have called an identity crisis. . . . The tradition is clear that would indicate powerful religious opposition to dynastic kingship. That is the major reason why the acts of Samuel, Saul, and David must be so scrupulously recorded and interpreted. Parts of this story were undoubtedly written down in the belief that in allowing David to succeed where Saul failed, Yahweh was validating and endorsing the monarchy. But other parts, such as 1 Samuel 8, were written to show that in allowing a king Yahweh was simply giving the people enough rope to hang themselves.”

Exploring Mark 2:17

Julie M. Smith

The Gospel according to Mark, BYU New Testament Commentary, excerpted on the BYU New Testament Commentary website (Sep. 2015)

This excerpt explores Mark 2:17 as Jesus’s subtle commentary on sin, punishment, and potential.

Rethinking the Rod of Iron

T. J. Uriona

BYU Studies Quarterly 61, no. 3 (2022)

Was the rod of iron like a handrail as often depicted in artwork by Latter-day Saints? This article examines the ancient Near Eastern and biblical background of the rod as a symbol of power, authority, and shepherding. It proposes that the rod of iron in Lehi’s dream can be understood as a shepherd’s rod extended by Christ to guide his people to the tree of life, rather than a handrail along the path.

Zenos and the Texts of the Old Testament

David Rolph Seely, John W. Welch

The Allegory of the Olive Tree (1994)

When Paul writes grace, as he does in Romans 11, he invokes the social system in which a benefactor gives something of value to another, and the receiver is obligated to give thanks, service, allegiance, and lesser value back to the benefactor. Scholars beginning in the fifth century changed the meaning of this word to mean something given with nothing required in return, but this is not what Paul and other NT authors intended.

Chart 94: 1 Nephi and the Exodus

John W. Welch, J. Gregory Welch

Charting the Book of Mormon (1999)

Lehi’s group saw themselves as reenacting the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. This chart shows twenty-seven parallels between the narratives in 1 Nephi and Exodus.

Luke 4:1–13

S. Kent Brown

The Testimony of Luke, BYU New Testament Commentary, excerpted on the BYU New Testament Commentary website (Jan. 2019)

Brown provides a detailed analysis of each verse in the narrative of the tempting of Jesus, exploring its significance and symbolism.

Symbolic Action as Prophecy in the Old Testament

Donald W. Parry

Sperry Symposium Classics: The Old Testament (2005)

In 2 Kings 13, Elisha and Joash together shoot an arrow, performing a symbolic action that described the prophecy that Joash would receive deliverance from Syria. This act is one of many in which Old Testament people used symbols as messages.