| Avraham Gileadi | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1940 |
| Residence | Orem, Utah, USA |
| Education | B.A. University Studies (1975) M.A. Ancient Scripture (1977) Ph.D. Ancient Studies (1981) |
| Alma mater | Brigham Young University |
| Occupation | Author |
| Known for | Mormon scholar Member of the September Six |
| Religion | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |
Avraham Gileadi (born 1940) is a religious historian and former university professor. A Latter-day Saint Hebrew scholar and literary analyst, Gileadi specializes in the Book of Isaiah. He is also one of the September Six, who were excommunicated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in 1993. He has since been rebaptized into the church in full fellowship.
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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 Jewish 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.[1]
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).[2]
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).[3] During his doctoral studies, Gileadi had Hugh Nibley as his chair, and taught Hebrew and several Religion courses and an Honors Philosophy class at the university. He also sought out and studied with Professor R. K. Harrison, a renowned Old Testament scholar of Wycliffe College, University of Toronto, Canada, who was noted for his conservative theological position. Being fluent in Hebrew, he 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.
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, however, Gileadi was disciplined by the LDS Church along with five others (the group known as the September Six) for speaking against Church doctrine and leadership. Gileadi himself was terminated from BYU and excommunicated from the Church. According to Margaret Toscano, whose husband was among the September Six and who would also later be excommunicated, Gileadi's "books interpreting Mormon scripture challenged the exclusive right of leaders to define doctrine."[4] Unlike his counterparts in the group, however, Gileadi came back to the Church and was rebaptized in 1996.[5][6]
Gileadi continues to research Mormonism and the writings of Isaiah today. He has written The Literary Message of Isaiah and Isaiah Decoded: Ascending the Ladder to Heaven. As of October 2011, he resides in Orem, Utah, USA.[3]