In my last post, I mentioned that someone who left the Church cited the alleged plagiarism of Peter in Acts 3 as the first evidence in his list of objections to the Book of Mormon. He immediately followed with Nephi’s alleged quotation of Malachi 4:1 as another reason to reject the Book of Mormon. Malachi hadn’t been born when Nephi was writing. This issue has been a popular attack on anti-Mormon websites. Is this another case of utterly incompetent plagiarism by Joseph Smith? If so, it’s puzzling and almost inexplicable because Joseph definitely was aware that the Nephites would not have Malachi’s words on the brass plates. In fact, a section in 3rd Nephi, probably translated before Nephi’s writings on the small plates appended to the Book of Mormon, makes a big deal about this point. When the resurrected Christ visits the Nephites, He gives them some of Malachi’s prophetic words in 3 Nephi 24 and 25, then refers to them in 3 Nephi 25:2 as “These scriptures, which ye had not with you….” Those recited scriptures include Malachi chapter 4, the very chapter that Nephi is allegedly quoting. So if Joseph Smith was the author, clearly he knew that Malachi was not part of the brass plates with the scriptures the Nephites brought. So why on earth would he then flip open his Bible to Malachi to grab a phrase or two? Perhaps he was just randomly snatching memorized phrases from his mind without stopping to think about the source? Such incompetent plagiarism is, again, puzzling, and almost inexplicable once you study the text and realize how carefully crafted the Book of Mormon is. So what’s up with a ridiculous quotation from Malachi?

Well, it may not be a quotation at all. If Nephi said, “Here is a passage from Malachi” and then gave a lengthy verbatim section, then we would clearly have a quotation. What we have are a few common elements that are mentioned, and perhaps famous language in the KJV that fit as good language to use in a discussion of related concepts. Look, there is no question that King James language is used heavily in the Book of Mormon, and many times it seems that when a KJV phrase or passage fits, it is used as a matter of style. This does not mean that impossible quotations of nonexistent text were taking place in the Book of Mormon narrative. Sometimes the issue is one of confusing the style of the translation with alleged anachronistic plagiarism of specific passages.

Let’s get into the details and take a look. Here are the relevant passages:

The critics ask how it is possible that a Nephite could quote Malachi before the prophet was even born? But wait a moment. How clear is this quotation? A day will come … proud, wicked, burned…like stubble. Is mentioning that the wicked will be punished and burned as stubble really enough to show Nephi is quoting anybody in particular? If you talk about tacos and hot sauce, are you quoting Taco Bell?

Nephi’s discussion about the destruction of the wicked involved some very common elements in the writings of Isaiah and older prophets: the fall and destruction of the proud and wicked. Isaiah 2 and 5 come to mind, for example, as chapters that warn the proud. Isaiah 5:23,24 has the elements of punishment of the wicked, fire, stubble, and the Lord of hosts:

23 Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!

24 Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

Related imagery is used in Isaiah 33:11-12 to warn the wicked:

Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath, as fire, shall devour you.
And the people shall be as the burnings of lime: as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire.

See also Psalm 83.

And this goes back to Exodus 15:

6 Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.

7 And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble.

So the concept of the wicked being burned by the Lord as stubble is an ancient one from both Isaiah and Moses. It is possible that Nephi used ancient language to describe this, and that the specific phrasing was close enough to what we have of Malachi in the KJV that it was a suitable fit for translating Nephi’s words. It does not mean that Nephi was quoting future passages.

To forestall the allegedly “standard defense” that there might have been an older original source, some critics say that such theories fail because Nephi quotes other nearby parts of Malachi as well. Here is the smoking gun:

The “Son of righteousness” phrase may have been lifted from Malachi as a suitable term that fit Nephi’s words, although if meant to use Malachi’s words as a close fit (or similar words from an earlier prophet Malachi is quoting?) it has a mistake by using “Son” instead of “Sun.” On the other hand, it is possible Nephi may have said something extremely close to what we have in the Book of Mormon. Yes, certainly the translation process of the Book of Mormon relied heavily on the KJV text and there is frequently a human touch, including errors like a scribe hearing “Sun” and writing “Son.” But in this case, a few words or a small phrase or two does not make a solid case for plagiarism.

Understanding the details of the Book of Mormon text and its close relationship to the Bible raises some questions, certainly, but is no reason to reject the Book of Mormon. Rejecting the Book of Mormon over Nephi’s non-quotation of Malachi is an unjustified over-reaction, I’m afraid.