The Waters of Judah

Isaiah 48 is addressed to the “house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah” (Isaiah 48:1). Israel is another name for Jacob, so the first clarifying phrase makes sense, but what are the waters of Judah?

Many English Bible translations make an interpretive leap, translating the word “waters” as “line,” “family,” or “loins,” on the assumption that the word “waters” in this passage is intended to represent lineage. But the subsequent verses imply that these people have self-selected, that they have intentionally declared their allegiance to God. He says that they “swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel,” and that “they call themselves of the holy city” (Isaiah 48:1-2). He goes on to reprove their hypocrisy and to call them to repentance, but how did they declare this commitment to God in the first place?

The Book of Mormon adds an important clarifying phrase to this passage:

Hearken and hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, or out of the waters of baptism, who swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, yet they swear not in truth nor in righteousness.

1 Nephi 20:1, italics added

The italicized phrase did not appear in the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon or in the 1837 edition. It was added by Joseph Smith in the 1840 edition and appeared in parentheses, suggesting that Joseph intended it as an editorial clarification, not as a correction. (The parentheses were dropped in the 1920 edition and have not appeared in subsequent editions.) Still, the interpretation seems appropriate given Nephi’s emphasis on baptism. His father (like the evangelist Mark) had begun his description of the life of the Messiah by describing His baptism (1 Nephi 10:4-10). Nephi’s own vision of the Savior’s life featured that event (1 Nephi 11:27). And Nephi urged his future readers to follow “your Lord and your Savior down into the water” (2 Nephi 31:13). Baptism was important to Nephi, and it would be natural for him to see baptism imagery in this passage about God’s covenant people.

Baptism is an important commitment. Nephi called it a gate, and added that after entering by the gate, we must continue on the path toward eternal life (2 Nephi 31:17-20). By equating the waters of Judah with the waters of baptism, the added phrase places all of Isaiah 48 within the context of a chosen covenant.

Today I will strive to keep my baptismal covenants. I will remember that God expects His children not only to proclaim their commitment to follow Him but also to fulfill that commitment.