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Difference between revisions of "Hebraisms in the Book of Mormon"
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* For example, in Alma 27:22, the Nephites give the land Jershon to the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's "for an inheritance." Jershon follows a common Hebrew practice of creating names by suffixing -on to the tri-consonantal root. In this case, we have the root y-r-sh, which means among other things, "to inherit." (Hebrew /y/ is usually represented in English with a j.) In other words, the Nephites give the land "Inheritance" to the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's for an inheritance. If making up names at random, one could eventually make some that fit Hebrew patterns. However, the extreme unlikelihood of an imaginary name making sense in a reconstructed Hebrew original argues against this being the case with Jershon. | * For example, in Alma 27:22, the Nephites give the land Jershon to the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's "for an inheritance." Jershon follows a common Hebrew practice of creating names by suffixing -on to the tri-consonantal root. In this case, we have the root y-r-sh, which means among other things, "to inherit." (Hebrew /y/ is usually represented in English with a j.) In other words, the Nephites give the land "Inheritance" to the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's for an inheritance. If making up names at random, one could eventually make some that fit Hebrew patterns. However, the extreme unlikelihood of an imaginary name making sense in a reconstructed Hebrew original argues against this being the case with Jershon. | ||
| − | * Other proper [[Book of Mormon anachronisms:Names|names]] within the Book of Mormon also qualify, since they are unknown in the Bible, but have | + | * Other proper [[Book of Mormon anachronisms:Names|names]] within the Book of Mormon also qualify, since they are unknown in the Bible, but have since been attested to in other ancient documents. |
* The use of colophones in the Book of Mormon reflects ancient practice unknown to Joseph.{{ref|colophone1}} | * The use of colophones in the Book of Mormon reflects ancient practice unknown to Joseph.{{ref|colophone1}} | ||
Revision as of 00:31, 5 November 2006
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Contents
Criticism
The Book of Mormon does not contain Hebraic or Semitic language, as one should expect.
Source(s) of the criticism
Response
Many LDS sources argue that Hebraisms exist. Some have been overly enthusiastic or operated using problematic methodology. For example, Hebrew and other Semitic languages frequently give give a verb a cognate direct object for emphasis, eg. "he dreamed a dream" or "He hit him a hitting." Since the KJV translators were frequently literal in rendering the Hebrew, the Old Testament contains many English examples of this. Thus, the presence of the cognate accusative throughout the Book of Mormon, though a valid Semiticism, cannot be used as strong evidence for the Book of Mormon. (An appreciation of such devices can enhance our appreciation of the text, however.)
For a Semiticism to be strong evidence it must be
- present in the Book of Mormon, but
- not common to Joseph's language environment (i.e. the KJV, or English of his day.)
Several such constructions exist.
- For example, in Alma 27:22, the Nephites give the land Jershon to the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's "for an inheritance." Jershon follows a common Hebrew practice of creating names by suffixing -on to the tri-consonantal root. In this case, we have the root y-r-sh, which means among other things, "to inherit." (Hebrew /y/ is usually represented in English with a j.) In other words, the Nephites give the land "Inheritance" to the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's for an inheritance. If making up names at random, one could eventually make some that fit Hebrew patterns. However, the extreme unlikelihood of an imaginary name making sense in a reconstructed Hebrew original argues against this being the case with Jershon.
- Other proper names within the Book of Mormon also qualify, since they are unknown in the Bible, but have since been attested to in other ancient documents.
- The use of colophones in the Book of Mormon reflects ancient practice unknown to Joseph.[1]
Conclusion
The Book of Mormon does indeed have authentic Semitic constructions in it, but LDS need to tread cautiously in establishing them. Each must be evaluated on its own merits. Hebraisms that could have been known to Joseph Smith may still be authentic, and may still enhance our appreciation of the text, but they are weak evidence for Book of Mormon antiquity.
Endnotes
- [note] John A. Tvedtnes, "Colophones in the Book of Mormon," in Rediscovering the Book of Mormon, edited by John L. Sorenson and Melvin J. Thorne (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Co.; Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1991), 32–37. GL direct link
Further reading
FAIR wiki articles
Template:BoMHebrewInfluencesWiki
FAIR web site
Template:BoMHebrewInfluencesFAIR
External links
Template:BoMHebrewInfluencesLinks