Linguistics and the Book of Mormon

According to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other Latter Day Saint denominations, the Book of Mormon is a 19th century translation of a historical record of the inhabitants of the American continents,
part of which was written in a script which the book refers to as "reformed Egyptian." There is generally no support for the historicity of the Book of Mormon, or the existence of "reformed Egyptian", amongst mainstream scholars.
 
The introduction to the modern LDS edition of Book of Mormon reads:
 
The book was written by many ancient prophets by the spirit of prophecy and revelation. Their words, written on gold plates, were quoted and abridged by a prophet-historian named Mormon. The record gives an account of two great civilizations. One came from Jerusalem in ca. 600 B.C., and afterward separated into two nations, known as the Nephites and the Lamanites. The other came much earlier when the Lord confounded the tongues at the Tower of Babel. This group is known as the Jaredites. After thousands of years, all were destroyed except the Lamanites, and they were the principal ancestors of the American Indians.

 
Both critics and proponents of the Book of Mormon have used linguistic methods to analyze the text. Proponents claim to have discovered stylistic forms that Joseph Smith and contemporaries are unlikely to have known about, as well as similarities to Egyptian and Hebrew. Critics of the Book of Mormon have pointed out places where the language could be anachronistic.

Chiasmus :

Chiasmus is a form of rhetorical parallelism wherein key ideas familiar to the reader are inverted, usually to make a point. It is found in the Bible and other ancient Middle Eastern poetry; for example, :
Whoever sheds the blood of man,
by man shall his blood be shed.

 
Chiasmus is also prominent in modern poetry and prose in many languages. The first lines of Keats' On First Looking Into Chapman's Homer, for instance, run,
Much have I traveled in the realms of gold,
and many goodly states and kingdoms seen.

 
Here "realms of gold" and "goodly states and kingdoms" are bookended by the verbs "traveled" and "seen" to form an ABBA pattern.

The Book of Mormon :


 
In 1969, LDS law and religion scholar John W. Welch, then a young missionary in Germany, discovered many instances of chiasmus in the Book of Mormon. The longest and most commonly cited example of chiasmus in the Book of Mormon is the prophet Alma's religious experience, as recorded in . Some LDS scholars consider Alma 36 to be the very best chiasm in the Book of Mormon. Welch offers the following caution regarding a tendency of enthusiastic readers to see chiasmus where it is not actually present:
Some people, of course, have gone overboard with this search, and caution must be employed; otherwise, it is possible to find chiasmus in the telephone book, and the effort becomes meaninglessOne must be careful in this quest, however, to avoid the problems of the "hammer syndrome"to the person holding a hammer, everything looks like a nail. To the person who knows only chiasmus and no other form of literary composition, everything may start looking like a chiasm.

 
Additionally, Hugh Pinnock, an LDS General Authority, stated:
"Because the study of Hebrew writing forms in the Book of Mormon can strengthen testimony and be quite exciting, a number of researchers and laypersons have become overly enthusiastic, much to the detriment of the subject and integrity of their studies."Hugh Pinnock, "Finding Biblical Hebrew and Other Ancient Literary Forms in the Book of Mormon," Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (1999): 11.

 
According to John Welch and others, it is unlikely that Smith knew about chiasmus at the time of the Book of Mormon's publication. This conclusion is disputed by non-LDS researchers.

Occurrence in other LDS scriptures :

Writings in the form of chiasmus are also found in the Doctrine and Covenants and The Pearl of Great Price, two other works of scripture in the LDS Church.Possible chiasmus in other LDS scripture: , , , and Some readers of these suggested examples of chiasmus see only sporadic repetition, as opposed to deliberate and complete chiasmus found in .
 
Charles G. Kroupa and Richard C. Shipp published their findings regarding chiasmus found in the Doctrine and Covenants in 1972. Shipp also produced a masters thesis out of BYU titled "Conceptual Patterns of Repetition in the Doctrine and Covenants and Their Implications" in 1975. This thesis shows evidence that writings found in the Doctrine and Covenants had both the rhythm of chiasmus and similar literary patterns.
 
In 2004, a study was published by LDS researchers which used statistical analysis to determine the likelihood that a chiastic structure in LDS works appeared by chance as opposed to being created deliberately. Mathematical formulas were used to calculate a set of probabilities that provided the ability to distinguish between strong and weak chiastic structures. The authors concluded (as published by BYU):
Based on these estimates, we conclude that the likelihood is high that chiastic structure appeared by design in the Pentateuch and in the Book of Mormon. Our estimates do not support such a conclusion for the Doctrine and Covenants, the Book of Abraham indicating instead that chiasms could have appeared in these works by chance.

 
It is relevant to note that BYU does not publish studies which contradict church doctrinal claims, and as a matter of policy, routinely discharges employees who attempt to do so, whether in their official capacity or privately (see Academic freedom at Brigham Young University). Any balanced view of the subject must consider the bias that this practice imposes on these types of sources.

Other works containing chiasmus :

Chiastic patterns have also been found in the Book of the Law of the Lord, a purported translation of an ancient text by James J. Strang, who is considered by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite) to be the true successor to Joseph Smith. This book is not considered authentic by most Latter Day Saints.
 
Critics point out that the presence of chiasmus in Strang's writing as well as in the literature of other cultures implies that the source could be non-Hebrew. Additionally, they claim that the examination of a post-translation text might make identifying chiasmus in the original language difficult, and that the presence of chiasmus is not necessarily indicative of ancient origins. See Ancient Chiasmus Studied (scroll to p 147) or Chiasmus and the Book of Mormon.

Stylometry (Wordprint Studies) :

Statistical analysis :

Stylometry is a method of statistical analysis used to determine authorship of various texts. It has been used to analyze disputed works of Shakespeare, contrast books of the Bible, identify the authors of twelve disputed Federalist Papers, and compare styles of various authors such as Jane Austen. In 1980, researchers at Brigham Young University used stylometric techniques they called "wordprint analysis" to examine the possible authors of the Book of Mormon. They reached the conclusion that none of the Book of Mormon selections they studied resembled writings of any of the suggested nineteenth-century authors, including Joseph Smith..
 
Jerald and Sandra Tanner challenged their findings on various points, most notably questioning the reliability of the data sources used and the methodology of the "wordprint analysis."
 
Church leaders teach that readers should pray to find confirmation of the Book of Mormon's divinity. One prominent Mormon scholar, John Tvedtnes, has rejected the use of wordprint evidence as the foundation for a testimony of the Book of Mormon's validity.

Parallels :

Non-Mormon Thomas Donofrio claims to have found hundreds of parallels between peculiar wordings in the Book of Mormon and the writings of well-known historical and religious figures of the 18th and 19th centuries. Unlike the earlier studies, Donofrio's research has not been peer-reviewed. Respondents to this study point out that the use of parallels to prove derivation can be used to illogical extremes. As an example, LDS apologist Jeff Lindsay composed a satirical documented essay "proving" the parallels between The Book of Mormon and Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, which was published 25 years after the Book of Mormon.
 
LDS scholars, however, say that the Book of Mormon is a translation, not originally written by Smith, but translated into the language with which he was familiar. While wordprint studies (by the same team used to verify the identity of the Unabomber in court) may be compelling, the inclusion of modern phraseology shouldn't surprise anyone. The word book, for example, was not used by the ancient Hebrews. Yet both in the King James Version of the Bible and the Book of Mormon, the word appears anachronistically. Scholars point out that this could well be the logical result of an ancient work translated by a modern man using the wording best suited to convey the ideas to a modern reader.

Proper Names :

The Book of Mormon contains over 300 proper names, which provide a potentially valuable line of evidence in attempting to determine the book's origins. Place names are commonly recognized in historical linguistics as some of the strongest preservers of earlier language, and they are often preserved phonetically by speakers of later languages even when the original meanings have been lost.
 
Most of the Book of Mormon is purportedly the work of Nephite authors of Israelite ancestry, who wrote in reformed Egyptian and whose spoken language, though not specified in the book, is generally assumed to have been derived from Hebrew, perhaps with Egyptian or Native American influences. The Nephites also had access to portions of the Hebrew Bible. The Book of Ether is a somewhat different case, purportedly being a Nephite translation and abridgment of an originally Jaredite record. The Book of Mormon states that the Jaredites' language was not confounded at the Tower of Babel. None of these languages was familiar to Joseph Smith at the time he wrote or translated the Book of Mormon. However, he had access to numerous Hebrew and Greek proper names through his reading of the Bible.

Hebrew names :

Many of the proper names in the Book of Mormon are Hebrew names found in the Bible (e.g. Lehi, Lemuel, Ammon, and Enos). In addition, there are a number of attested Hebrew names found in the Book of Mormon which do not appear in the Bible. Examples of these are Aha, Ammonihah, Chemish, Hagoth, Himni, Isabel, Jarom, Josh, Luram, Mathoni, Mathonihah, Muloki, and Sam. Richard Abanes, in his book One Nation Under Gods, suggests that "There are various Book of Mormon names such as 'Lemuel,' a wicked character. This may refer to Lemuel Durfee, a neighbor who in 1825 bought the Smith's farm when they could no longer afford it, thus forcing them to live as tenants." Abanes's reference for this information is a footnote in Vogel's Early Mormon Documents, vol. 1, p. 321, footnote #128 LDS scholars point out, however, that a land agent had deceptively acquired the deed to the family farm, and that "the Smiths were greatly relieved when they found that a Quaker named Lemuel Durfee would purchase their property from their antagonist."{{cite web|last=Brown| first=Matthew B| title=Smith's Golden Book Prophetic Autobiography| url=http://www.fairlds.org/apol/onug/pg072e.html| publisher=Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research|location=Provo, Utah}} Joseph Smith's mother Lucy's comments regarding Lemuel Durfee: "Mr. Durfee gave us the privilege of the place for one year with this provision-that Samuel, our 4th son, was to labor for him 6 months. These things were all settled upon and the conclusion was that if after we had kept the place in this way for one year and we still chose to remain we could have the privilege" (Lavina F. Anderson, ed., Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's Family Memoir Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2001, 372-73).
 
One question that arises is the occasional use of Biblical Hebrew names (e.g. Aaron, Levi, Ephraim) in the Book of Ether. This has been viewed by some as an anachronism, since the people of Ether are supposed to have originated from the time of the Tower of Babel, and no one knows exactly what their language would have been. However, some scholars suggest that Moroni, the Nephite abridger and translator of the Book of Ether, may have simply used a familiar (Nephite) form of the Jaredite names.
 
Some scholars have noted that some Jaredite names became a part of later Nephite culture, suggesting that there may have been survivors or refugees of the great Jaredite battle besides Coriantumr. LDS archaeologist Bruce V. Warren cites the names Kib, Kish, Shule, and Com as examples Jaredite names that have been found in ancient Mesoamerica. See also Blaine M. Yorgason, Bruce W. Warren, and Harold Brown. New Evidences of Christ in Ancient America, Book of Mormon Research Foundation. Provo: 1999, Chaper 2, Jaredite Connections with Mesoamerica, pp. 17-19).
 
Many non-biblical names found in the Book of Mormon resemble words from ancient Hebrew (e.g. Alma, Sariah, Aha, Ammonihah, Chemish, Hagoth, Himni, Isabel, Jarom, Josh, Luram, Mathoni, Mathonihah, Mosiah, and Muloki). Some, like Alma, are attested Hebrew names; others are unattested but plausible. These names are often interpreted as evidence in favor of the Book of Mormon, since Joseph Smith's knowledge of Hebrew was limited to names found in the Bible.

Egyptian names :

Some Book of Mormon names appear to be Egyptian. Paanchi and Pahoran are attested Egyptian names. The name Ammon could as easily be Egyptian as Hebrew. Less obvious Egyptian connections have been proposed for several other names, such as Cumenihah (cf. Egyptian Khamuni-ra) and Gidgiddoni (cf. Egyptian Djed-djhwt-iw-f-ankh).

Greek names :

The Book of Mormon also contains some names which appear to be Greek, some of which are Hellenizations of Hebrew names (e.g. Antipas, Archeantus, Esrom, Ezias, Judea and Zenos). Some of these are found in the New Testament and would have been known to Joseph Smith. Others are non-biblical and their presence in the book is puzzling to both believers and skeptics, since neither Smith nor the Nephites spoke Greek. One explanation has been offered by Brian D. Stubbs, who said that though the language of the Mulekites isn't put forward in the Book of Mormon, it could have consisted of Phoenician, Greek, or Arabic.

Word Choice in Translation :

The mechanics of the method by which the Book of Mormon was claimed to have been translated have been examined by various scholars in order to determine how words were chosen. Various accounts from witnesses to the translation process exist, including David Whitmer and Martin Harris, two of the Three Witnesses. Statements of the exact methods used in translation vary depending upon the account. A number of these accounts were written many years after the events occurred.

Method of translation :

Mormon Church authorities do not claim to know the exact method by which translation and word choice was accomplished. In an address given 25 June 1992 at a seminar for new mission presidents at the Missionary Training Center, Mormon Apostle Russell M. Nelson stated that the details of this miraculous method of translation are still not fully known. In order to illustrate this, Nelson quoted the words of Book of Mormon witness David Whitmer (who had not served as a Book of Mormon scribe), who wrote regarding the use of a seer stone in the translation process over 50 years after it had occurred,
Joseph Smith would put the seer stone into a hat, and put his face in the hat, drawing it closely around his face to exclude the light; and in the darkness the spiritual light would shine. A piece of something resembling parchment would appear, and on that appeared the writing. One character at a time would appear, and under it was the interpretation in English. Brother Joseph would read off the English to Oliver Cowdery, who was his principal scribe, and when it was written down and repeated to Brother Joseph to see if it was correct, then it would disappear, and another character with the interpretation would appear. Thus the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God, and not by any power of man.David Whitmer, An Address to All Believers in Christ, Richmond, Missouri: n.p., 1887, p. 12

 
Nelson also noted statements made by Joseph's wife, Emma Hale Smith, who gave her account of the translation method in 1856:
When my husband was translating the Book of Mormon, I wrote a part of it, as he dictated each sentence, word for word, and when he came to proper names he could not pronounce, or long words, he spelled them out, and while I was writing them, if I made any mistake in spelling, he would stop me and correct my spelling although it was impossible for him to see how I was writing them down at the time. Even the word Sarah he could not pronounce at first, but had to spell it, and I would pronounce it for him.(Edmund C. Briggs, A Visit to Nauvoo in 1856, Journal of History, Jan. 1916, p. 454.)

 
Emma also claimed that Smith would translate with the plates in front of him, wrapped in a cloth. This suggests that the process of translation involved viewing the Urim and Thummim or the seer stone rather than viewing the actual plates themselves..
 
Martin Harris (as quoted by Edward Stevenson in the Deseret News in 1881) described the translation process as follows:
By aid of the seer stone, sentences would appear and were read by the Prophet... when finished the Prophet would say "Written," and if correctly written that sentence would disappear and another appear in its place, but if not written correctly it remained until corrected, so that the translation was just as it was engraven on the plates, precisely in the language then used.Edward Stevenson, "One of the Three Witnesses," reprinted from Deseret News, 30 Nov. 1881 in the Millennial Star, 44 (6 Feb. 1882): 86-87

Word substitution :

One challenge in performing a linguistic analysis of the Book of Mormon is that no original text is available for analysis; only handwritten printers' copies transcribed from the original handwritten copies of the original English text, and a few pages of the original translation produced by Joseph Smith are available. As with any translation, the influence of the translator is inextricably part of the translated text in matters of word choice. Some Mormon scholars have theorized that when words are found in the Book of Mormon that seem anachronistic, or that refer to items not known to have existed in the pre-Columbian Americas during the period of time covered by the Book of Mormon (e.g. horse, elephant, chicken, cattle, swine, barley, bull, calf, and hilt), these words could be an approximation in translation to things that did exist in pre-Columbian America.
 
Contemporary accounts by Joseph Smith and his principal scribe, Oliver Cowdery, assert that inspiration, study, thought, and effort were required to translate the plates.Joseph Smith History and D&C 9
 
Some believe that if these accounts of the translation process are accurate, then there is very little room for error in the word choices used in the translation of the Book of Mormon (since each word was reportedly divinely approved and could not be written incorrectly). "Steel" must mean steel, "hilt" must mean hilt, "elephant" must mean elephant, and so forth. However, as Whitmer was never directly involved in the translation and Harris was involved for only a brief period of time, LDS scholars consider it unlikely that either of these accounts is as accurate as the accounts of Smith and Cowdery.

Concepts not believed to have existed during the Book of Mormon timeframe :

The Book of Mormon deals with certain concepts for which some scholars believe no evidence exists either in pre-Columbian America or in the Jewish world of Lehi's time.

"Christ" and "Messiah" :

The word "Christ" is the English transliteration of the Greek word (transliterated precisely as Christós); it is relatively synonymous with the Hebrew word rendered "Messiah." Both words have the meaning of "anointed," and are used in the Bible to refer to "the Anointed One".http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=510&letter=M In Greek translations of the Old Testament (including the Septuagint), the word "Christ" is used for the Hebrew "Messiah", and in Hebrew translations of the New Testament, the word "Messiah" is used for the Greek "Christ".http://www.biblegateway.com/ If you take any passage in the Bible that uses the word "Christ", you can substitute for it the word "Messiah" or "the Messiah" with no change in meaning (e.g. ).
 
The Book of Mormon uses both terms throughout the book. In the vast majority of cases, it uses the terms in an identical manner as the Bible, where it doesn't matter which word is used:
"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is (Christ/the Messiah), the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall" ().
"And after he had baptized (Christ/the Messiah) with water, he should behold and bear record that he had baptized the Lamb of God, who should take away the sins of the world." ().
Apologists state that the original Reformed Egyptian text certainly used Hebrew forms of names and titles exclusively, but when translating Joseph Smith simply used whichever form of the name ("Christ" or "Messiah") was more appropriate in English.http://www.jefflindsay.com/LDSFAQ/FQ_BMProblems.shtml#name
 
The Book of Mormon occasionally uses the word "Christ" in a way that is not interchangeable with "Messiah". For example in , the Book of Mormon prophet Jacob says an angel informed him that the name of the Messiah would be Christ:
"Wherefore, as I said unto you, it must needs be expedient that Christ--for in the last night the angel spake unto me that this should be his name--should come among the Jews" ()
The word "Messiah" was used frequently before this point, but here Jacob says the term "Christ" is a new term, and from this point on the word "Christ" is used almost exclusively in the Book of Mormon.

"Church" and "Synagogue" :

The word "church" first occurs in 1 Nephi 4:26, where a prophet named Nephi disguises himself as Laban, a prominent man in Jerusalem whom Nephi had slain:
"And he Laban's servant, supposing that I spake of the brethren of the church, and that I was truly that Laban whom I had slain, wherefore he did follow me" ().

 
According to the Book of Mormon, this exchange happened in Jerusalem, around 600 B.C. The meaning of the word "church" in the Book of Mormon is more comparable to usage in the Bible than Modern English. The concept of a church, meaning a convocation of believers, existed among the House of Israel prior to Christianity. For instance, Psalms speaks of praising the Lord "in the congregation of the saints"; the Septuagint contains the Greek word ecclesia for "congregation," which is also translated as "church" in the New Testament. The Book of Mormon using the word "church" in the same "style" as the Bible is seen by some apologists as support for the Book of Mormon.
 
A similar question regards the word "synagogue," found in Alma 16:13:
"And Alma and Amulek went forth preaching repentance to the people in their temples, and in their sanctuaries, and also in their synagogues, which were built after the manner of the Jews" ().

 
Scholars have said that synagogues did not exist in their modern form before the destruction of the temple and the Babylonian captivity. The usage in the Book of Mormon, instead, is comparable to that of the KJV. reads "the synagogues of God in the land." Similar to the use of the word "church," the word "synagogue" in the Bible generally refers to a place of assembly for religious worship.

The King James Bible :

Hebraisms in the Book of Mormon :

Hebrew idioms that are frequently found in the Book of Mormon are the repetitive use of the words yea, and, behold and the phrase it came to pass. LDS scholar Royal Skousen offers the following caution when attempting to compare languages in order to determine if they are related:
Just because two languages have similar syntactic constructions does not demonstrate that they are related languages. For instance, both Hebrew and Russian as well as pidgin English omit the present tense form of the be verb (thus producing sentences like "he the man" and "she good"). But this is not evidence that Russian is derived from Hebrewor that Hebrew is derived from Hawaiian pidgin. There are some close syntactic connections between Hebrew and the original language of the Book of Mormon, but some of these may be due to independent historical development rather than linguistic relationship.

"And it came to pass" :

In the present edition of the Book of Mormon, the phrase "it came to pass" occurs 1297 times. This phrase occurs 457 times in the KJV of the Old Testament. There, it is the English translation of the single Hebrew word, hâyâh. Jacob Weingreen, in his book Practical Grammar for Classical Hebrew, suggests that the phrase means "now it happened." Strong's Hebrew dictionary suggests "to exist" or "to become" as possible translations of hâyâh. Royal Skousen suggests that in a number of cases the phrase "and it came to pass" is used as a "discourse marker facilitating narrative cohesion." The Hebrew Old Testament has 1114 occurrences of the word hâyâh.Most of these have either been ignored or reduced to simply "and".Hebraisms in the Book of Mormon

Prepositions in the place of adverbs :

The Book of Mormon often uses a prepositional phrase in place of an adverb, which is consistent with the Hebrew language. Several examples of this construct as found in the Book of Mormon are:
"with harshness" instead of "harshly"
"with joy" instead of "joyfully"
"with gladness" instead of "gladly"
"with patience" instead of "patiently"
"with diligence" instead of "diligently"

 
John Tvedtnes states: "At least one adjective (harebeh, 'many, exceeding') is used adverbially, but more often a prepositional phrase is used. The Book of Mormon is replete with adverbial usage of the adjective 'exceeding' (as in 'exceeding great joy'--instead of 'exceedingly'--in 1 Nephi 8:12)."

The cognate accusative construct :

LDS scholars note that the Book of Mormon utilizes the "cognate accusative," a language construct "known from Hebrew and other ancient languages," which consists of a verb immediately followed by a noun that is derived from the same root. For example, the phrase found in Genesis 37:5 "Joseph dreamed a dream" instead of the usual English method of phrasing "Joseph had a dream."
 
The Book of Mormon contains many examples of the "cognate accusative" construct:Hebraisms in the Book of Mormon
: "they are cursed with a sore cursing" is used instead of "they are sorely cursed."
: "work all manner of fine work" instead of "do fine work."
: "and he did judge righteous judgments" instead of "he judged righteously."
: "Behold I have dreamed a dream" instead of "I had a dream."
: "taxed with a tax" Instead of "taxed."

 
The cognate accusative is also a common feature in languages linguistically unrelated to the Semitic languages, such as Ancient Greek (e.g. , "you see a sight") and Latin (e.g. vitam vivere, "to live life")Additional accusatives in Latin and Ancient Greek: Arguments against arguments. The cognate accusative also appears very commonly in both colloquial and non-colloquial English (e.g. "He talks the talk, but does he walk the walk?", and "I sing a song.").http://www.linguistlist.org/issues/9/9-1757.html

Plural Amplification :

In order to amplify or emphasize an idea, biblical Hebrew sometimes uses a noun in the plural when a singular is expected. In many instances the Book of Mormon contains Hebrew-like plural nouns instead of the expected singular:Hebraisms and Other Ancient Peculiarities in the Book of Mormon
 
there shall be bloodsheds (2 Nephi 1:12)
 
the understandings of the children of men (Mosiah 8:20)
 
great condescensions unto the children of men (Jacob 4:7)
 
labor with their mights (Jacob 5:72)
 
great slaughters with the sword (1 Nephi 12:2)
 
there were . . . magics (Mormon 1:19)
 
their cunning and their lyings (Alma 20:13)
 
mine afflictions were great above all (1 Nephi 15:5)
 
destructions of my people (1 Nephi 15:5)
 
foolish imaginations of his heart (1 Nephi 2:11)

Construct State :

"The construct state is a peculiar juxtaposition of two nouns, one following another in Hebrew." For example in Hebrew if we wanted to say "wooden house" we would say "house wood". This is most literally translated by inserting an "of" between the subject and the descriptive noun, "house of wood." This same construction is also used with possessive pronouns. "Book of me" not "my book". For example:Book of Mormon
 
Jacob 5:2 "Hear the words of me" not "hear my words"
 
2 Nephi 10:8 "The gentiles shall be great in the eyes of me" not "my eyes"
 
Jacob 4:8 "How unsearchable are the depths of the mysteries of him." not "his mysteries"
 
2 Nephi 9:25 "They are delivered by the power of him" not "his power"
 
Moroni 8:20 "Setteth at naught the atonement of him" not "his atonement"

Numbers :

1. The number without the noun. Often in biblical Hebrew, an expected noun does not follow a number.Hebraisms and Other Ancient Peculiarities in the Book of Mormon
 
Behold, he is a mighty man, and he can command fifty, yea, even he can slay fifty; then why not us?" (1 Nephi 3:31).
 
The number fifty, used twice in this passage, is not followed by a noun. Does fifty refer to men, warriors, princes, commanders of armies? The context does not make this certain.
 
Examples:
 
"my little band of two thousand and sixty fought most desperately" (Alma 57:19);
 
"Wherefore, by the words of three, God hath said, I will establish my word" (2 Nephi 11:3)
 
"And it came to pass that there were two hundred, out of my two thousand and sixty" (Alma 57:25).
 
2. Joining two or more numbers with the conjunction "and." It is common in biblical Hebrew to join two or more numbers with the conjunction and; for instance,
 
"thirty and two kings" (1 Kings 20:1)
 
rather than "thirty-two kings.
 
Examples in the Book of Mormon:
 
"an army of forty and two thousand" (Mormon 2:9)
 
"three hundred and twenty years" (Omni 1:5)
 
"being sixty and three years old" (Mosiah 17:6)

Many "Ands" :

Biblical Hebrew uses the equivalent of the conjunction and much more than English uses and, especially in historical narrative and prose but also in poetry and direct speech. Helaman 3:14, with its eighteen ands in a single verse, is a good example.Hebraisms and Other Ancient Peculiarities in the Book of Mormon
 
But behold, a hundredth part of the proceedings of this people, yea, the account of the Lamanites and of the Nephites, and their wars, and contentions, and dissensions, and their preaching, and their prophecies, and their shipping and their building of ships, and their building of temples, and of synagogues and their sanctuaries, and their righteousness, and their wickedness, and their murders, and their robbings, and their plundering, and all manner of abominations and whoredoms, cannot be contained in this work.
 
other verses with many ands: twenty-two ands in 1 Nephi 11:3032, 1 Nephi 12:4 contains twelve ands, Mosiah 10:8 contains eight ands, Alma 46:1213 contains fifteen ands

Repetition of the Possessive Pronoun :

In lists the Hebrew language repeats the possessive pronoun (e.g., their, our, your, thy, his, her) before each of the nouns to which it refers, a convention that is uncommon in English usage. For instance, the possessive pronoun your is used twelve times in 3 Nephi 30:2:Hebraisms and Other Ancient Peculiarities in the Book of Mormon
 
Turn, all ye Gentiles, from your wicked ways; and repent of your evil doings, of your lyings and deceivings, and of your whoredoms, and of your secret abominations, and your idolatries, and of your murders, and your priestcrafts, and your envyings, and your strifes, and from all your wickedness and abominations, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, that ye may receive a remission of your sins, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
 
Other examples of the repeated possessive pronoun in the Book of Mormon include your four times in Mosiah 4:30, their eight times in Mosiah 11:3, your three times in Alma 32:42, our nine times in Alma 44:5, thy four times in Alma 38:3, and their twelve times in Helaman 3:14.

Book of Mormon Parallelism :

Parallelisms are words, phrases, or sentences that correspond, compare, or contrast one with another, or are found to be in repetition one with another. Parallelisms rarely feature rhymes, the repetition of corresponding sounds; rather, they present the repetition of ideas. A few examples of three parallelistic structures: climactic forms, synonymous parallelisms, and alternating parallel lines.The Dynamics of Book of Mormon Parallelism

Climactic Forms :

An example of climax is found in Moroni 8:2526:
And the first fruits of repentance is
baptism; and
baptism cometh by faith unto
the fulfilling the commandments; and
the fulfilling the commandments bringeth
remission of sins; And the
remission of sins bringeth
meekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of
meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the
Holy Ghost, which
Comforter filleth with hope and perfect
love, which
love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God.

Synonymous Parallelisms :

Simple synonymous parallelism consists of two lines, line two being a synonymous repetition, an echo, or a symmetrical counterpart of line one.
Wo unto him that spurneth at the doings of the Lord; yea,
wo unto him that shall deny the Christ and his works. (3 Nephi 29:5)

Alternating Parallel Lines :

The Book of Mormon features scores of parallel statements. The alternating parallel lines may consist of synonymous or antithetical words, word pairs, or phrases.
 
Note the longer A-B-C-D-E-F/A-B-C-D-E-F pattern as recorded in 1 Nephi 9:34:
Nevertheless, I have received a commandment of the Lord
A that I should make these plates, for the special purpose that there should be an account engraven
B of the ministry of my people.
C Upon the other plates should be engraven
D an account of the reign of the kings,
E and the wars
F and contentions of my people;
A wherefore these plates
B are for the more part of the ministry;
C and the other plates
D are for the more part of the reign of the kings
E and the wars
F and contentions of my people.

Repeated Alternate :

In this form the parallel lines alternate, creating an AB, AB, AB pattern. 1 Nephi 19:10 is an example:Hebraisms and Other Ancient Peculiarities in the Book of Mormon
 
A the God of Jacob, yieldeth himself,
 
B according to the words of the angel,
 
A as a man, into the hands of wicked men, to be lifted up,
 
B according to the words of Zenock,
 
A and to be crucified,
 
B according to the words of Neum,
 
A and to be buried in a sepulchre,
 
B according to the words of Zenos

Antithetic Parallelism :

This form is characterized by an opposition or contrast of thoughts, or an antithesis between two lines. A common feature that joins the two lines is the conjunction and or the disjunction but. Often the second line is introduced with one of these two words and immediately follows the contrasting element. 1 Nephi 17:45 is an example:Hebraisms and Other Ancient Peculiarities in the Book of Mormon
 
Ye are swift to do iniquity
 
but slow to remember the Lord your God.
 
The contrast is apparent, the word swift standing opposite of slow and the phrase to do iniquity counterpointing to remember the Lord.
 
The following antithetic parallelism from Alma 5:40 contrasts good with evil and God with the devil. The expressions whatsoever is and cometh from are featured in both lines:
 
For I say unto you that whatsoever is good cometh from God,
 
and whatsoever is evil cometh from the devil.

Synonymia :

Repeated Words with the Same Meaning:Synonymia features the repetition of words or phrases that mean the same thing or have similar meanings and are almost always found close to each other in a scriptural passage, as are other repetitions that reinforce a particular message. I have cited Alma 5:4950. The synonymia in these two verses focuses on (1) various names by which Jehovah is known, (2) those to whom he will preach, and (3) how he will come:Forms of Parallelism
 
And now I say unto you that this is the order after which I am called,
 
yea, to preach unto my beloved brethren,
 
yea, and every one that dwelleth in the land;
 
yea, to preach unto all,
 
both old and young,
 
both bond and free;
 
yea, I say unto you the aged,
 
and also the middle aged,
 
and the rising generation;
 
yea, to cry unto them
 
that they must repent and be born again.
 
Yea, thus saith the Spirit: Repent, all ye ends of the earth,
 
for the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand;
 
yea, the Son of God cometh in his glory,
 
in his might,
 
majesty,
 
power,
 
and dominion.
 
Yea, my beloved brethren, I say unto you,
 
that the Spirit saith:
 
Behold the glory of the King of all the earth;
 
and also the King of heaven shall very soon
 
shine forth among all the children of men.

Synonymous Parallelism :

Words in a General Classification:Watson writes that "the main function of key words is to express the principal theme of a poem," or, in other words, the main theme of a verse or several verses.Moroni's father, Mormon, presents an interesting example of synonymous parallelism in Mormon 6:9:Forms of Parallelism
 
And it came to pass that they did fall upon my people
 
with the sword,
 
and with the bow,
 
and with the arrow,
 
and with the ax,
 
and with all manner of weapons of war.

Synthetic Parallelism :

Placing Two Things Together to Add Strength:"It is called synthetic because a synthesis, or coordination, between the two elements takes place." The synthesis signifies the placing of two things together.Forms of Parallelism

Simple Synthetic :

Simple synthetic parallelism is generally composed of two lines, and line two either explains or adds to the first line in some way. Example:
 
Adam fell that men might be;
 
and men are, that they might have joy.
 
(2 Nephi 2:25)

Extended Synthetic :

Extended synthetic parallelism involves two or more simple synthetic parallelisms that reinforce each other with common elements. The extended synthetic parallelism found in 2 Nephi 9:3138 is one of the most enlightening we have because the second element in each pair so clearly explains the consequences of the sin mentioned in the first element:
 
And wo unto the deaf that will not hear;
 
for they shall perish.
 
Wo unto the blind that will not see;
 
for they shall perish also.
 
Wo unto the uncircumcised of heart,
 
for a knowledge of their iniquities shall smite them at the last day.
 
Wo unto the liar,
 
for he shall be thrust down to hell.
 
Wo unto the murderer who deliberately killeth,
 
for he shall die.
 
Wo unto them who commit whoredoms,
 
for they shall be thrust down to hell.
 
Yea, wo unto those that worship idols,
 
for the devil of all devils delighteth in them.
 
And, in fine, wo unto all those who die in their sins;
 
for they shall return to God, and behold his face, and remain in their sins.

The Prophetic Perfect :

The "prophetic perfect" is the use of the past tense or past participle verb forms (present and past perfect tenses) when referring to future events in prophecy. On occasion, Old Testament prophets prophesied using these forms "to express facts which are undoubtedly imminent, and therefore, in the imagination of the speaker, already accomplished." Book of Mormon prophets also used the prophetic perfect in their prophecies. Lehi declared, "I have obtained a land of promise" (1 Nephi 5:5) long before he actually arrived in the promised land; and Nephi spoke of Jesus' baptism and reception of the Holy Ghost as though those events had already happened: "Wherefore, after he was baptized with water the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a dove" (2 Nephi 31:8).Hebraisms and Other Ancient Peculiarities in the Book of Mormon

Anabasis :

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term anabasis is derived from a Greek word that means "to go or walk up." Donald Parry defines it as "a poetical device where there is an apparent stepping up from one sense to another, until, at the pinnacle is a culmination of thought." An example is Moroni 10:35:Forms of Parallelism
 
I And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.
 
H he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
 
G and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ,
 
F I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true;
 
E ponder it in your hearts. And when ye shall receive these things,
 
D receive these things, and
 
C that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall
 
B if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them,
 
A Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things,

Catabasis :

Donald Parry explains, "Catabasis (Greek 'going down') is characterized by a lowering of the sense, from one level to another, with each succeeding line." Thus catabasis is defined as "descending or declining by degrees." An example is Helaman 11:3638:Forms of Parallelism
 
A And in the eighty and second year they began again to forget the Lord their God.
 
B And in the eighty and third year they began to wax strong in iniquity.
 
C And in the eighty and fourth year they did not mend their ways.
 
D And it came to pass in the eighty and fifth year they did wax stronger and stronger in their pride, and in their wickedness;
 
E and thus they were ripening again for destruction. And thus ended the eighty and fifth year.

Antimetabole :

Antimetabole is the name of a quite common writing form the ancient Hebrews used to emphasize an idea by stating the idea once, then restating an antithetical idea in reverse order. The Oxford English Dictionary states that antimetabole is "a figure in which the same words or ideas are repeated in inverse order." Further, it is "a sentence inverst, or turned back, or it is a form of speech which inverts a sentence by the contrary." An example is 2 Nephi 11:7:Forms of Parallelism
 
A For if there be no Christ
 
B there be no God; and if there be no God
 
C we are not,
 
C for there could have been no creation.
 
B But there is a God,
 
A and he is Christ, and he cometh in the fulness of his own time.

Exergasia :

In ancient Greek literature, exergasia literally meant "working out," or in other words "to work through for understanding." Exergasia involves saying the same thing another way so that the point is clarified and more fully developed. An example is Mormon 9:7:Miscellaneous Forms
 
And again I speak unto you who deny the revelations of God,
 
and say that they are done away,
 
that there are no revelations,
 
nor prophecies,
 
nor gifts,
 
nor healing,
 
nor speaking with tongues,
 
and the interpretation of tongues

King Benjamin's Speech :

A literary analysts, William S. Kurz's, has published a study of famous farewell speeches from biblical and classical times. His study identified twenty elements that he concludes are characteristics of great farewell speeches. While no address studied contained all of these elements, Kurz found that all of the speeches studied contained a significant percentage.Since Benjamin's speech is a farewell speech, it has been only natural that is should be analyzed against Kurz's 20 element criterion (all verses are in the Book of Mosiah).King Benjamin's Speech
Speech Characteristics Presence in Benjamin's Speech
(1) The summons of followers obviously present
(2) The speaker's own mission or example. obviously present (Example 2:18)
(3) Innocence and discharge of duty. obviously present (See 2:27-28)
(4) Impending death. yes (See 2:26)
(5) Exhortation. certainly (Example 4:9-10)
(6) Warning and final injunctions. obviously present (See 4:29-30)
(7) Blessings. yes (Examples 2:22, 24, 31, 41)
(8) Farewell gestures. hard to judge
(9) Task for successors. certainly (Example 2:31)
(10) Theological review of history. yes (See 2:12-14 & 3:13-14)
(11) Revelation of the future. yes (Best example 3:1-5)
(12) Promises. certainly (Examples 2:22, 31; 4:11-16; 5:9, & 15)
(13) Appointment of or reference to successor. obviously present
(14) Bewailing the loss. No (but Benjamin was not yet gone)
(15) Future degeneration. implied (positive & upbeat, but there are warnings)
(16) Covenant renewal and sacrifices. throughout (Example 5:1-7)
(17) Providing for those who will survive. yes (4:14-26)
(18) Consolation to the inner circle. yes (Example 4:4)
(19) Didactic speech. very
(20) The leaders view of death. Not a word (and not a general characteristic of biblical speeches)

Importance to Latter-day Saints :

Although some have spent significant time searching for historical evidence concerning the Book of Mormon, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints discounts the utility of such in determining the book's legitimacy. Dallin H. Oaks, one of the Twelve Apostles of the LDS Church, stated:
Our individual, personal testimonies are based on the witness of the Spirit, not on any combination or accumulation of historical facts. If we are so grounded, no alteration of historical facts can shake our testimonies."1985 CES Doctrine and Covenants Symposium," Brigham Young University, Aug. 16, 1985, page 26

 
Book of Mormon linguistic and textual issues are not discussed in missionary lessons or in Sunday School, but are typically addressed in LDS institute classes and religion classes at BYU, as well as in books and magazine articles published by the Church.

Notes :

References :

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External links :

See also :