Avraham Gileadi

Avraham Gileadi
Born	1940
Education	B.A. University Studies (1975) M.A. Ancient Scripture (1977) Ph.D. Ancient Studies (1981)
Alma mater	Brigham Young University
Occupation	Author

Avraham Gileadi (born 1940) is a Hebrew scholar and literary analyst specializing in the Book of Isaiah.

Biography

Early Life and Education

Gileadi was born in 1940 in the Netherlands during World War II. In the course of the war, his father served in the Dutch resistance whose local chapter helped a New Zealand pilot escape to England. After the war, many emigrated from war-torn Europe to new lands of opportunity. Although his father prospered, idealism led him to emigrate to New Zealand.

In New Zealand, Avraham Gileadi went through a period of introspection, reevaluating his priorities and internalizing spiritual principles by returning to his Catholic roots. After becoming religiously active and involved, he yet "sensed a lack of spiritual fulfillment." Israel's history in the Old Testament became the focus of his attention. He recognized what he believed to be "a partial fulfillment of prophecy in the modern State of Israel," which led to his desire to participate in it.

In 1968, Gileadi left New Zealand to settle in Israel, where he lived five years. Life in Israel soon involved him deeply in the Old Testament and its religious ties to Judaism. He states that "Judaism attracted me because of the unique manner in which the Jews view the Law and the Prophets. Among the Jews, I felt a depth of understanding that, as a Gentile, I had not hitherto known." In Israel, he settled in Jezreel. His studies in Israel also took him to an orthodox religious kibbutz, at which time he was formally received into the Jewish faith and became an Israeli citizen. The climax of his life as an orthodox Jew came when he studied at Yeshivat Hatfutzot, a rabbinic school in Jerusalem. While visiting a library in Israel, the librarian handed him a copy of the Book of Mormon and suggested he read it. Gileadi took the book to be polite and studied it out of curiosity, which led to his conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was baptized a member of the LDS Church in the Pool of Siloam, where Jesus healed a blind man by having him wash his eyes in the pool (John 9:5-7).

Gileadi received academic degrees from Brigham Young University: a B.A. in University Studies (1975), a M.A. in Ancient Scripture (1977), and a Ph.D. in Ancient Studies (1981). Hugh Nibley served as chair for his doctoral program, during which time Gileadi taught Hebrew, several Religion courses, and an Honors Philosophy class in literary analysis and analytical writing at the university. He also sought out and studied with Professor R. K. Harrison, a renowned Old Testament scholar of Wycliffe College, Toronto School of Theology, University of Toronto, Canada, who was noted for his conservative theological position. Being fluent in Hebrew, Gileadi worked with the Hebrew Masoretic Text, the Dead Sea Scroll of Isaiah and Septuagint Version to provide a translation of the Book of Isaiah into intelligible English that remained true to the Hebrew. He used lexical tools constantly in order to catch every nuance of meaning in the original language. He finished this new translation of Isaiah during his Ph.D. program.

University Career and Church Discipline

Gileadi was hired by BYU to produce footnotes clarifying translation problems in the Old Testament for the Latter-day Saint edition of the Bible, and he revised the Hebrew translation of the Book of Mormon for the Church's Translation Division.

In September 1993, Gileadi was disciplined by the LDS Church along with five others (the group known as the September Six). He was rebaptised a few years later and currently serves as high priests' teacher in his local ward.

Works

• The Apocalyptic Book of Isaiah (Provo: UT: Hebraeus Press, 1982), ISBN 0-910511-00-4.
• The Book of Isaiah: A New Translation with Interpretive Keys from the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1988), ISBN 0-87579-076-3.
• The Last Days: Types and Shadows from the Bible and the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1991), ISBN 0-87579-287-1; reprinted in a new edition with foreword by Hugh Nibley (Orem, UT: Argon Press, 1998), ISBN 0-910511-03-9.
• The Literary Message of Isaiah (New York: Hebraeus Press, 1994), ISBN 0-9626643-1-6.
• Analytical Commentary of Isaiah (Escondido, CA: Hebraeus Press, 2006), a 30-hour verse-by-verse commentary of the Book of Isaiah, ISBN 0-910511-15-2.
• Isaiah Decoded: Ascending the Ladder to Heaven (Escondido, CA: Hebraeus Press, 2002), ISBN 0-910511-07-1.
• Studies in the Book of Mormon (2005) ISBN 0-910511-10-1.

External links

• Article by Gileadi in Meridian Magazine