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The Great Isaiah Scroll: A Translation and Study Aid
The discovery of The Great Isaiah Scroll among the Dead Sea Scrolls shed new light on the traditional text of Isaiah.
In Harmonizing Isaiah, Dead Sea Scrolls scholar Donald W. Parry provides his translation of the Isaiah Scroll combined with readings of other versions of Isaiah preserved in the Masoretic Text, the Book of Mormon, and the Joseph Smith Translation.
With the Isaiah passages rendered in modern English and formatted into parallel lines of poetry, Harmonizing Isaiah is a helpful resource for teachers and students of the book of Isaiah.
In Harmonizing Isaiah, Dead Sea Scrolls scholar Donald W. Parry provides his translation of the Isaiah Scroll combined with readings of other versions of Isaiah preserved in the Masoretic Text, the Book of Mormon, and the Joseph Smith Translation.
With the Isaiah passages rendered in modern English and formatted into parallel lines of poetry, Harmonizing Isaiah is a helpful resource for teachers and students of the book of Isaiah.
286 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 4, 2011
In this book, Dr. Parry combines four sources to "harmonize" this single translation of Isaiah. He draws from (1) the book of Isaiah we have in our Old Testament (or the Masoretic Text), (2) the Great Isaiah Scroll from the Dead Sea Scrolls, which is one of the oldest complete Hebrew texts of Isaiah, (3) the Joseph Smith Translation of Isaiah from the Inspired Version of the Bible, and (4) the passages of Isaiah quoted in the Book of Mormon. When these four sources conflict, Dr. Parry gives precedence to the the Book of Mormon version, then the JST, then the Great Isaiah Scroll, and finally the Masoretic Text.
This book is a great study help for the book of Isaiah, but it has some formating issues. The variances and conflicts in the text are only revealed in endnotes, which makes it cumbersome to actually see which text the translator is relying on. It would have been much more convenient to have footnotes. That way, as you read, you wouldn't have to flip to the end of the book, thereby interrupting your concentration on what you are trying to read (Isaiah isn't the easiest to understand -- even when you are reading a simplified translation). I think the ideal presentation of the translation would have been to have three or four lines (the JST and Book of Mormon versions conflict only very rarely) for each textual source, lined one on top of the other, but that may have made the book too voluminous, and would have been very difficult to read if the text would have been kept in the poetic lines in which it is currently given.
Also, I did not understand the point of Appendix 1 of the book, "Archaic Words and Expressions in Isaiah," which is exactly just that -- a list of words that are difficult to understand or no longer mean what they meant when our King James Version was translated. There are NO definitions given for these words. There are citations given for where the word FIRST appears in the book of Isaiah, but the word is not always translated into a word that is easier to understand, and occasionally, it isn't even clear which word in the cited verse is the translated word. In other words, the Appendix is simply a list of words and phrases that are hard to understand. Not much utility there at all.
Harmonizing Isaiah definitely helped me understand Isaiah better as I read it this time (in connection with my effort to read the Old Testament all the way through), but the formatting issues require me to give this 3 stars rather than 4.
This book is a great study help for the book of Isaiah, but it has some formating issues. The variances and conflicts in the text are only revealed in endnotes, which makes it cumbersome to actually see which text the translator is relying on. It would have been much more convenient to have footnotes. That way, as you read, you wouldn't have to flip to the end of the book, thereby interrupting your concentration on what you are trying to read (Isaiah isn't the easiest to understand -- even when you are reading a simplified translation). I think the ideal presentation of the translation would have been to have three or four lines (the JST and Book of Mormon versions conflict only very rarely) for each textual source, lined one on top of the other, but that may have made the book too voluminous, and would have been very difficult to read if the text would have been kept in the poetic lines in which it is currently given.
Also, I did not understand the point of Appendix 1 of the book, "Archaic Words and Expressions in Isaiah," which is exactly just that -- a list of words that are difficult to understand or no longer mean what they meant when our King James Version was translated. There are NO definitions given for these words. There are citations given for where the word FIRST appears in the book of Isaiah, but the word is not always translated into a word that is easier to understand, and occasionally, it isn't even clear which word in the cited verse is the translated word. In other words, the Appendix is simply a list of words and phrases that are hard to understand. Not much utility there at all.
Harmonizing Isaiah definitely helped me understand Isaiah better as I read it this time (in connection with my effort to read the Old Testament all the way through), but the formatting issues require me to give this 3 stars rather than 4.
May 5, 2018
It is helpful to have the various versions in one place--so much easier to read!
April 1, 2008
Who doesn't need help with Isaiah?
April 26, 2017
This one is a good way to read Isaiah with so many sources consulted and put together in one reading. No explanations.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews