One other thing, Nephi would have quoted Isaiah from the Brass Plates of Laban. Given Nephi was a descendant of Manasseh and Joseph (of Egypt), the Brass Plates would have been an article of the Northern Kingdom, probably carried to Jerusalem just before or immediately after Israel was carried of by Assyria.
The Northern Kingdom was attached to the "E" version of the Biblical text, which focused on Elohim, the Abrahamic covenant, wandering in the wilderness, wilderness altars, etc. These are things that disappeared or were lessened in importance post-Diaspora, as Yahweh absorbed Elohim, the focus turned to the Mosaic law and the Levite priests, and centralizing worship in the Temple of Jerusalem.
In the writings of Moses, for example, there are two trips by the wandering Israelites to Meribah. Both instances tell of Moses hitting a rock with his staff and bringing forth water. The E version has the Angel of the Lord's Presence stand on the rock directing Moses (Exodus 17). The other version lessens Moses' authority, having him mess up and losing his chance to enter into the Promised Land (Numbers 20). It should be noted that the Book of Mormon mentions the E version of the story (1 Ne 17:29).
It has been suggested by John Sorensen (IIRC) that the Brass Plates may be the source for E. Brought to Jerusalem by Laban's family after the Northern Kingdom was destroyed, then integrated into the writings already extant in Jerusalem. We see in the BoM how these records were important enough that the elders of Jerusalem would have Laban bring them to consult (even at night, as Laban's servant Zoram didn't seem it strange to follow the disguised Nephi through the streets of Jerusalem and outside its walls late at night).
|