Week of Study | Book of Mormon | Come, Follow Me Lesson Manuals | Study Aids for Understanding Isaiah in the Book of Mormon |
10-16 FEB | 2 Nephi 6–10 | •Individual and families •Primary •Sunday School | • 2 Nephi 7 / Isaiah 50—the Third Servant Song Like Nephi, Jacob loves Isaiah. Like Nephi, Jacob loves Isaiah. Jacob reads Isaiah 50 ( 2 Nephi 7), to testify of Christ. • Then in 2 Nephi 8, he continues by reading Isaiah 51-52:2, writing to awaken the Nephites to a remembrance of all that the Lord had done for them; he uses Isaiah’s writings as a second witness to his own vision. |
Before we begin our study, it seems like we should be asking what Nephi intended for us as readers in 1 Nephi Chapter 20? And further, what Jacob is trying to do in 2 Nephi 7–8, by adding these chapters from Isaiah
My guess is that it may have something to do with the format Nephi used in his whole second book, where he is trying to awaken the Nephites to a remembrance of all that the Lord had done for them.
The main body or “more sacred things,” as Nephi calls them, offer three discourses one after another. The first discourse is from his brother, Jacob, which is both this and the next chapter. Following those quotes from Isaiah, there are twelve more chapters from Isaiah and finally a conclusion by Nephi.
As Nephi opens his work in 2 Nephi 1 he leads with Lehi’s words to his sons as a preface, then moves to his own detailed vision of the tree of life, adding commentary as he writes. Then he uses Isaiah’s writings as a kind of second witness to his own vision. Second Nephi concludes with Nephi’s admonition regarding the gospel of Christ.
Joseph Spencer points out: “At the heart of things here is Isaiah, not just because the very chapters we’re considering now make up the central stretch of this most privileged portion of Nephi’s record, but also because Jacob and Nephi dedicate their contributions to quoting and explaining other Isaianic texts.”1
Other Posts to Help You with this Week’s Study Plan
- 2 Nephi 7 / Isaiah 50—the Third Servant Song
- 2 Nephi 8/Isaiah 51-52:2
- Jacob Quotes Isaiah & Nephi Quotes Isaiah More
- Jacob’s Commentary on Isaiah 50–1 (2 Nephi 7–8)
- What Did Jacob Think Of Isaiah?
SOURCES
1 Spencer, Joseph M., The Vision of All: Twenty-five Lectures on Isaiah in Nephi’s Record, Greg Kofford Books, p 141

Darryl Alder, blogs for Abigail’s Oven, The Voice of Scouting, The Boy Scout, EternalCore.org and SearchIsaiah.org. His hobbies include gardening vegetables, annuals, and perennials; and baking artisan sourdough bread. You can follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
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