The Book of Mormon, a central text of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (also known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church), has been subject to a range of scholarly analysis, including analysis of its language structure. Some LDS scholars have pointed to Hebraisms, or features characteristic of the Hebrew language, as evidence of its ancient origins. Here are a few examples of such Hebraisms:
- Chiasmus: This is a form of parallelism where key ideas or words are presented in one order, then repeated in the opposite order (AB…BA). For example, the following verse from Alma 36 in the Book of Mormon is considered by some to be a chiastic structure:
“He said unto me: My son, give ear to my words, for I swear unto you that, inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land. I would that ye should do as I have done, in remembering the captivity of our fathers; for they were in bondage, and none could deliver them except it was the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he surely did deliver them in their afflictions. And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.”
This verse can be broken down into a series of parallel and contrasting elements, where A corresponds with A’, B with B’, and so on.
- Construct State: In Hebrew, possession is often indicated by putting two nouns next to each other, with the first in a special “construct” form. There are instances in the Book of Mormon where this Hebraic style of indicating possession seems to be used, for example “plates of brass” instead of “brass plates”.
- Cognate Accusative: This is a linguistic feature in which the verb and its direct object share the same root, a common characteristic in Hebrew. Some argue that such structures appear in the Book of Mormon. For example, in 2 Nephi 9:9: “…and he sought that which he could not obtain—death, for he was a creature”.
- Use of “And”: The Book of Mormon frequently starts sentences with “and,” which is a common feature of biblical Hebrew. This practice is uncommon in English.
- Repetition for Emphasis: In Hebrew, repetition often serves to emphasize an idea or theme. This technique is used quite often in the Book of Mormon. For example, in 1 Nephi 1:27: “And it came to pass that he saw One descending out of the midst of heaven, and he beheld that his luster was above that of the sun at noon-day”.
Please note that while these arguments are made by some believers and scholars of the Book of Mormon, they are not universally accepted. Critics argue that these features could also be the result of the influence of the King James Bible on Joseph Smith, the translator of the Book of Mormon, rather than evidence of the book’s antiquity or Hebraic origins.