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Old Testament and Related Studies (The collected works of Hugh Nibley)

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Hugh Nibley is widely considered one of the top scholars that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) has produced. During his long career, he has written extensively on ancient history, Scripture, the Book of Mormon, comparative religion and other subjects. Prof. Nibley has been praised by non-Mormon as well as Mormon scholars, including some Evangelical Protestants, who consider him Mormonism's best apologist. (Incidentally, there are some scholars within the LDS Church that question certain aspects of his methodology and his use of sources.)

Fortunately, the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (which is associated with Brigham Young University) is publishing his collected works.

Volume One - Old Testament and Related Studies - contains a number of articles, essays and speeches that Prof. Nibley gave on the Old Testament. Some of the material is out-dated, but there is value in most of the pieces. There are interesting observations on the limits of archeology, evolution, the Mormon cosmogony, and other matters. Some of this work is apologetic in nature. Prof. Nibley seeks to show that Mormonism is the truest and oldest religion. Drawing on his knowledge of world religions, he argues that they contain similar myths and stories, thereby indicating that Mormonism -- with its ordinances and rituals - is the most "comprehensive" of all religions. (This attempt to find parallels reminds me of such scholars as James George Frazer. As one scholar put it famously, the "parallelmania" found in this type of literature has a tendency to get a little out of control.)

If this had been the first book of Prof. Nibley's I had read, I think I would have been a bit disappointed. There are too many generalizations and jabs at other scholars. Fortunately, I started with The Ancient State (Volume 10) and Temple and Cosmos (Volume 12), which are both outstanding. I recommend that non-Mormon readers start there.

Nibley compares modern Christianity with findings from the Dead Sea Scrolls and proves that second to none, the LDS Church is the keeper of the ancient philosophies, rites, and beliefs. It becomes also apparent that ancient science knew a lot more than is currently believed. Modern physics is only now unearthing some facts that the ancients knew (as demonstrated in the Scrolls) about the universe, its size, its underlying laws, etc.

The book is a collection of writings, lectures, and addresses by Hugh Nibley. Many of them relate to the Dead Sea Scrolls. About half of the chapters in the book are quite interesting and worth reading. The other half dawdle on about arcane languages and mythologies that have only limited appeal (that is, they will only appeal to a specific audience).

This book was very insightful in how the primitive church worked in Old testament times. In this book Nibley describes some of the writtings of the Dead Sea scrolls and other books which was nice. The first part is kind of dry but after the 3rd chapter or so it picks up. The rest of the chapters make this book worth every penny.

As a gradate in Near Eastern Studies I quite enjoyed these essays. They are thought provoking, well researched, and shed new light on the Bible. The essays strengthen my belief in the Bible and let you know that there is a lot more to be had.

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