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BYU Studies Quarterly

BYU Studies Quarterly

Abstract

In God's Image and Likeness is an incredibly ambitious undertaking, containing literally volumes within volumes--a cosmic scope that befits its Book of Moses and "JST Genesis" subject matter. Volume 1 covers the visions of Moses, the Creation, the Fall, and Adam the patriarch, as well as an extensive section of excursus that covers nearly everything imaginable related to these topics. Volume 2 covers Enoch, the city of Enoch, Noah and the Flood, and the tower of Babel, along with a likewise varied excursus. Volume 2 is nicely hardbound in a single book; volume 1 first appeared as a single volume but recently has been published in four separate tomes. The authors anticipate the volumes will appear in other formats as well.

Such bookly abundance testifies to the authors' accomplishment and their publisher's generosity. But the project may have been more digestible and accessible trimmed to a manageable size and published as one volume. The advantage of a press like Eborn is that it accommodates authors in pursuing such excesses, unchecked by editorial or peer review-imposed restraint. The advantage of taking scholarly projects to a university press is that it rarely accommodates authors in pursuing such excesses, unchecked by editorial or peer-imposed restraint.

I hope the complexity of its presentation does not put off readers, because great treasures are to be found within. The authors seem intent on, if not saying everything there is to say about the Book of Moses, then saying something about everything about which there is something to say in the Book of Moses. They also seem intent on reproducing almost everything that anyone else has said about the Book of Moses. Much of the work consists of collections of paragraph-length (or longer) quotations of other commentators, such as General Authorities and LDS and other Bible scholars.

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