Hear Thou in Heaven Their Prayer

David, King

Norman J. Barlow

Encyclopedia of Mormonism (1992)

David was perhaps the greatest king of Israel. His strength and reliance on the Lord marked him as an exceptional leader and hero. His name is linked with that of the Messiah. His sins are apparent, yet he sought to take responsibility (see 2 Samuel 24:15–17).

Limhi’s Discourse: Proximity and Distance in Teaching

Loren Blake Spendlove

Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture, no. 8 (2014)

Enallage is an intentional substitution of one grammatical form for another. This technique can be used to create distance or proximity between the speaker, the audience, and the message. The author demonstrates how King Limhi skillfully used this technique to teach his people the consequences of sin and the power of deliverance through repentance.

Old Testament Bibliography: Latter-day Saint Publications, 1997–2005

David Rolph Seely, W. Kenneth Hamblin, Erica Lamb Holland

BYU Studies 45, no. 1 (2006)

These two bibliographies are a comprehensive list of books and articles written from 1830 to 2005 by Latter-day Saints for Latter-day Saints about the Old Testament. The information is presented in three ways: by author’s last name, by canonical categories (Old Testament books), and by select subject categories (beginning with Aaron, Abraham and Sarah, Adam and Eve, adversity, etc.) The list draws from BYU Studies, Church Educational System symposia and manuals, Church study manuals, Contributor, Dialogue, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Ensign, The Evening and the Morning Star, Improvement Era, Millennial Star, New Era, Sperry symposia, Sunstone, theses and dissertations at BYU, and Young Woman’s Journal.

Jachin and Boaz in Religious and Political Perspective

Carol L. Meyers

The Temple in Antiquity: Ancient Records and Modern Perspectives (1984)

Two pillars (Jachin and Boaz) flanked the entrance to the sacred center of Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem. Aside from their utility and beauty they had symbolic meaning, as did many other structures and appurtenances of the ancient temple.

The Temple According to 1 Enoch

George W. E. Nickelsburg

BYU Studies Quarterly 53, no. 1 (2014)

During the Second Temple period (516 BC to 70 AD), most Jews in Jerusalem worshipped at the Jerusalem temple. But a separate community at Qumran decried the lack of ritual purity in the activity at the Second Temple and saw their community as an ersatz for the temple. Literature at Qumran included 1 Enoch, a collection of five tractates composed in the Aramaic language between the fourth century BC and the turn of the era and ascribed to the ancient patriarch Enoch, the head of the seventh generation after creation (Gen. 5:18–24). Some of the tractates are concerned about a dysfunctional Jerusalem cult and resolve the problem of how to worship by looking forward to the approaching eschaton. Other sections of 1 Enoch tell that the real action is already taking place in the true temple, which is the heavenly temple. There, variously, God is enthroned, and the Son of Man is being prepared to enact divine judgment so that God’s will may be done on earth as it is in heaven. He

Jachin and Boaz in Religious and Political Perspective

Carol L. Meyers

The Temple in Antiquity: Ancient Records and Modern Perspectives (1984)

Two pillars (Jachin and Boaz) flanked the entrance to the sacred center of Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem. Aside from their utility and beauty they had symbolic meaning, as did many other structures and appurtenances of the ancient temple.

The Garden of Eden, the Ancient Temple, and Receiving a New Name

Alex Douglas

Ascending the Mountain of the Lord: Temple, Praise, and Worship in the Old Testament, Sidney B. Sperry Symposium 43 (2013)

The stories of the Creation and the Garden of Eden are some of the best sources we have for understanding the ancient temple. The temple was viewed as a model of the cosmos, and we can clearly see both Eden’s paradisiacal state and the creation of the world reflected in its construction.

The Temple According to 1 Enoch

George W. E. Nickelsburg

BYU Studies Quarterly 53, no. 1 (2014)

During the Second Temple period (516 BC to 70 AD), most Jews in Jerusalem worshipped at the Jerusalem temple. But a separate community at Qumran decried the lack of ritual purity in the activity at the Second Temple and saw their community as an ersatz for the temple. Literature at Qumran included 1 Enoch, a collection of five tractates composed in the Aramaic language between the fourth century BC and the turn of the era and ascribed to the ancient patriarch Enoch, the head of the seventh generation after creation (Gen. 5:18–24). Some of the tractates are concerned about a dysfunctional Jerusalem cult and resolve the problem of how to worship by looking forward to the approaching eschaton. Other sections of 1 Enoch tell that the real action is already taking place in the true temple, which is the heavenly temple. There, variously, God is enthroned, and the Son of Man is being prepared to enact divine judgment so that God’s will may be done on earth as it is in heaven. He

Why Did the Wise Men Give Gifts of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh?

John W. Welch

BYU New Testament Commentary website (Dec. 2016)

John W. Welch explores the possible reasons behind the gifts of the wise men to Jesus, discussing their origin and significance.

“With strong hand and with outstretched arm” (Deuteronomy 4:34); “With outstretched hand and with strong arm” (Jeremiah 21:5): Chiasmus in Deuteronomy and Jeremiah

David Rolph Seely

“Chiasmus: The State of the Art,” BYU Studies Quarterly 59, supplement (2020)

Deuteronomy 1:1–5 and 4:44–49 form an “inclusio,” a rhetorical form of repetition that brackets a passage. Deuteronomy 4–11 form a chiasmus with exhortations to obey Yahweh. Several chiasms in Deuteronomy center on the Lord. Deuteronomy is significantly quoted in Jeremiah.

The Divided Kingdoms

Church Educational System

Old Testament Student Manual: 1 Kings–Malachi, (1981) (2003)

A summary of the two kingdoms along with charts listing the kings and a map.

"I Make This Small Abridgment"

John A. Tvedtnes

The Most Correct Book: Insights from a Book of Mormon Scholar (1999)

Through a comparison between the Book of Mormon and the Old Testament, Tvedtnes shows that the concept of abridging the records of former generations is a long-standing one in ancient Israel. Authors and redactors of the Old Testament abridged records similarly to how Mormon abridged the records in the Book of Mormon, and does not undermine the validity of the message.