Joseph 'The Languagemeister' Smith wrote:I have an old edition of the New Testament in the Latin, Hebrew, German and Greek languages. I have been reading the German, and find it to be the most [nearly] correct translation, and to correspond nearest to the revelations which God has given to me for the last fourteen years. It tells about Jacobus, the son of Zebedee. It means Jacob. In the English New Testament it is translated James. Now, if Jacob had the keys, you might talk about James through all eternity and never get the keys. In the 21st. of the fourth chapter of Matthew, my old German edition gives the word Jacob instead of James.
It looks like Joseph Smith thought that Jacob was a different person than James, and that the English translation of the New Testament was wrong to call Zebedee's son "James". Note in particular the bolded and italicized part. Joseph is pretty clear here that James is the wrong guy: it really should be Jacob.
Well, yeah, except that James is just the English version of the name that is rendered as Jacobus in German and the other languages Joseph Smith cites. Same guy though.
This looks like another Elijah/Elias thing by Joseph Smith. Am I missing something here?
Mormonism ceased being a compelling topic for me when I finally came to terms with its transformation from a personality cult into a combination of a real estate company, a SuperPac, and Westboro Baptist Church. - Kishkumen
Joseph 'The Languagemeister' Smith wrote:I have an old edition of the New Testament in the Latin, Hebrew, German and Greek languages. I have been reading the German, and find it to be the most [nearly] correct translation, and to correspond nearest to the revelations which God has given to me for the last fourteen years. It tells about Jacobus, the son of Zebedee. It means Jacob. In the English New Testament it is translated James. Now, if Jacob had the keys, you might talk about James through all eternity and never get the keys. In the 21st. of the fourth chapter of Matthew, my old German edition gives the word Jacob instead of James.
It looks like Joseph Smith thought that Jacob was a different person than James, and that the English translation of the New Testament was wrong to call Zebedee's son "James". Note in particular the bolded and italicized part. Joseph is pretty clear here that James is the wrong guy: it really should be Jacob.
Well, yeah, except that James is just the English version of the name that is rendered as Jacobus in German and the other languages Joseph Smith cites. Same guy though.
This looks like another Elijah/Elias thing by Joseph Smith. Am I missing something here?
We need to cut him some slack. He had a lot going on with trying to keep polygamy a secret from Emma, do fake translations of the Book of Abraham and Kinderhook plates, run from angry mobs, etc. It's understandable he would have some mental slip ups like this with all the crap he was trying to keep straight in his head.
"We have taken up arms in defense of our liberty, our property, our wives, and our children; we are determined to preserve them, or die." - Captain Moroni - 'Address to the Inhabitants of Canada' 1775