Textual Criticism and the Book of Moses: A Response to Colby Townsend’s “Returning to the Sources,” Part 1 of 2

Review of Colby Townsend, “Returning to the Sources: Integrating Textual Criticism in the Study of Early Mormon Texts and History.” Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies 10, no. 1 (2019): 55–85.

Abstract: Textual criticism tries to understand the “original” or “best” wording of a document that may exist in multiple, conflicting versions or where the manuscripts are confusing or difficult to read. The present article commends Colby Townsend’s efforts to raise awareness of the importance of textual criticism, while differing on some interpretations. These include the question of whether to read Moses 7:28 as “God wept” or as “Enoch wept.” A dialogue with Colby Townsend and Charles Harrell demonstrates the potential impact of the different answers to such questions by different scholars. A separate discussion on the spelling difference between the names Mahujah and Mahijah in the Book of Moses highlights the potential significance of handwriting analysis to textual criticism.