There Is No Beauty That We Should Desire Him

by Loren Spendlove

Overview

Abstract: In two separate passages Isaiah appears to describe the mortal Messiah as lacking in physical beauty and perhaps as even having some type of physical disfigurement (see Isaiah 52:14 and 53:2–4). On the contrary, Joseph, David, Esther, and Judith — portrayed in the biblical text as physical saviors or deliverers of Israel — are represented as beautiful in form and appearance. In fact, their beauty seems to be a significant factor in the successful exercise of their power as physical saviors of Israel. Unlike Joseph, David, Esther, and Judith, Christ may have been foreordained to descend to his mortal state with a less than attractive physical appearance and as someone who experienced illness throughout his life so that "he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities" (Alma 7:12).

Product Details

BN ID:	2940186613930
Publisher:	Interpreter Foundation
Publication date:	08/25/2022
Series:	Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship , #53
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	352 KB

About the Author

Loren Spendlove (MA, Jewish Studies, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; PhD, Education, University of Wyoming; MBA, California State University, Fullerton; and, BS, Finance, Brigham Young University) has worked in many fields, including academics and corporate financial management. A student of languages, his research interests center on linguistics and etymology.