KnoWhy #478 - Why Are Later Jewish Sources Relevant to Texts in the Book of Mormon? (3 Nephi 4:28)

Sometimes, when reading the Book of Mormon, we find examples of things that exist in later Jewish sources, but that we have no evidence from Book of Mormon times. One reason for this is that these early Jewish texts may well preserve details from hundreds, if not thousands, of years before they were written. The works of a Rabbi known as Rav from the third century A.D. preserve allusions to Ugaritic material from roughly 1200 BC, as well as Babylonian material from before the time of Lehi. This suggests that ancient Jewish authors sometimes preserved things that go back to before the time of Lehi.