Conference Talks: An Early Christian Context for the Book of Moses

David Calabro spoke at the 2021 Tracing Ancient Threads in the Book of Moses Conference on Saturday, April 24, 2021.

In an earlier study, I argued that the Book of Moses is a ritual text adapted to the architecture of the Temple of Solomon. This study further explores the ancient context of the Book of Moses. In contrast to my previous study, I argue that the Book of Moses was an early Christian text. Its language, literary genre, and references to its own production could fit with a date in the late first century AD. Further, I argue that a possible ritual context of the book was a baptismal ritual, as suggested by the detailed description of Adam’s baptism in Moses 6. A comparison between the content of the Book of Moses and early Christian sources on baptism shows some close resemblances, which may suggest that the Book of Moses was read aloud, and perhaps portrayed as a ritual drama, on sacred space during a baptismal ritual.

All of the conference presentations were filmed, and both video and audio recordings of each presentation are available. Videos, audio recordings and transcripts are available at https://interpreterfoundation.org/conferences/2021-book-of-moses-conference/videos/. The videos are also available on the Interpreter Foundation YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/theinterpreterfoundation. A YouTube playlist is available at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRMn4gyXMWLtulXZ-y4mAph138aNdAWlw.

Presented at:

2021 Tracing Ancient Threads in the Book of Moses Conference
Saturday April 24, 2021
https://interpreterfoundation.org/conferences/2021-book-of-moses-conference/

Conference Proceedings:

Tracing Ancient Threads in the Book of Moses: Inspired Origins, Temple Contexts, and Literary Qualities, Volumes I and II at https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/ancient-threads-in-the-book-of-moses/

Listen to an audio recording of this talk:

https://cdn.interpreterfoundation.org/ifaudio/2021-book-of-moses-conference-calabro.mp3

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