Jan 23, 2020 while i was a missionary in tokyo in 198688, i got a hebrew translation of the book of mormon from the mission home office. In many places the words that have been used and the ways in which the words have been put together are more typical of hebrew than of english. The book of mormon has been translated into 88 languages, but latin and aramaic are not among them, even though latin is the prominent language for christianity, and aramaic was the primary language of the old testament. May 18, 2009 joseph smith began his role as a prophet with minimal traditional education. From that humble beginning, today the church prints over 3 million copies a year on large web presses. The book of mormon in hebrew was published by the latter day saints in 1981. Does chiasmus appear in the book of mormon by chance. Smith supposedly produced these revisions under divine inspiration. The missionaries of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints announce to the world that the plates of the book of mormon, as received and translated by the prophet joseph smith, were engraved in hebrewegyptian characters. A number of details from the book of mormon text appear to support a view of the book as a rather literal translation from an ancient document. As smith illustrates, a thin string or thread is the most common meaning of flaxen cord in the 19th century translation environment of the book of mormon p. While i was a missionary in tokyo in 198688, i got a hebrew translation of the book of mormon from the mission home office.
The original structure of the new testament is restored and highlights features such as quotations, hymns, and poetic passages. Critics of the book of mormon have claimed that a variety of linguistic anachronisms exist in it which cast doubt upon its historical authenticity. Hebrew edition book of mormon hebrew translations inc. I set a goal some years ago to read the book of mormon in hebrew. In many places the words that have been used and the. Sjodahl, the book of mormon plates, improvement era april 1923, reprinted here, drew 14 pages of english bom text translated into hebrew. Portions of the book have been translated into another 20 languages. Here is the first part of a transalation of the book of mormon in hebrew.
Mar 07, 2011 the plain english reference to the book of mormon is an interesting project, but it includes a lot of interpolations and interpretations. Book of mormon written in modernday english grace for grace. The book of mormon in hebrew a labor of love jewish journal. Is there a hebrew translation of the book of mormon, and. Some critics have disparaged the book of mormons language for being too repetitive. New and extensive notes provide alternate translations, commentary upon variant manuscript traditions, and historical insights.
Where applicable, the joseph smith translation has been included. For a solid explanation and critique of this theory, see gregory l. This may lead readers to wonder if it has any literary merit at all. Did you know that there isnt a hebrew translation of the. May 25, 2015 this is a private site which is not endorsed by the church of jesus christ of latterday saints.
Hebrew translations of the bom by common consent, a. The hebrew background of the book of mormon book of mormon. Its by no means an overstatement to say that the book of mormon is saturated with hebrew parallelism, but parallelism arent the only hebrew features in the text. To this day, the lds church does not produce a hebrew book of mormon. The historical record has yielded no direct evidence that joseph smith actually knew about chiasmus when he translated the book of mormon in 1829, although some other people at that time did. Deloy pack, hebraisms, in book of mormon reference companion, ed. Lesson learned from translating the book of mormon into hebrew. One scholar has identified more than 350 instances of kayak alone. The answer is yes there were at least two versions of the book of mormon in hebrew. Hebrew translations of the bom by common consent, a mormon blog. Why is the book of mormon written in king james english. May 22, 2019 some names in the book of mormon do have hebrew derivations and meanings to them, so far as they can be recovered at the present. For the book of mormon, first published in 1830, the translation language is english. These tables show all the versions of the book of mormon that have been translated.
Surprisingly, the book of mormon has a number of if and conditional sentences that somehow got preserved in the english translation. Isaiah variants in the book of mormon religious studies center. The book of mormon has the structure of a translation from the hebrew language. Book of mormon language the encyclopedia of mormonism. This influenced mark twain to describe the book of mormon as slow, sleepy, and insipid. Isaiah variants in the book of mormon religious studies. Aug 17, 2011 the joseph smith translation jst is the king james version of the bible with joseph smiths revisionsmostly in the form of additions, though with some other kinds of changes. There are, in fact, at least 922 chiasma in the book of mormon. If it came to pass were not prominent in the book of mormon, the hebrew claims for its origin would be absurd.
The missionaries of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints announce to the world that the plates of the book of mormon, as received and translated by the prophet joseph smith, were engraved in hebrew egyptian characters. Therefore, book of mormon scholars look for evidence of the book of mormons ancient hebrew origins by identifying phrases or expressions which are not typical for an english speaker of joseph smiths day which may reflect a direct translation of the underlying semiticstyle language of the book of mormon. The plain english reference to the book of mormon is an interesting project, but it includes a lot of interpolations and interpretations. A hebraism is a reflection of a hebrew idiom or word in a translation language. Hebraisms in the book of mormon judaicaworld archives.
When i heard that there was a rocket scientist in alabama who is working on a hebrew translation of the book of mormon, i knew that i had to find out more. The hebrew book of mormon should thus be as much value to lds members as it is for the jews. Is there a hebrew translation of the book of mormon, and if. The language of the book of mormon exhibits features typical of a translation from an ancient near eastern text as well as the stamp of nineteenthcentury english and the style of the king james version kjv of the bible. The book of mormon in hebrew a labor of love jewish. It was distributed free of charge around the world, especially in israel and new york city. For an in depth look at where book of mormon names came from, visit this page. Hebrew translations of the bom by common consent, a mormon. When it came time to translate the book of mormon, he did the translation, but friends and his wife served as his scribe, because he lacked the skills needed to write the translations well. I usually try to crossreference bom english words with the strongs exhaustive concordance and i have found many very interesting things.
Jeremy jacobs comments will be listed in green, the mormon apologists comments will be listed in purple, and mine will be in black. Book of mormon names attested in ancient hebrew inscriptions. Some names in the book of mormon do have hebrew derivations and meanings to them, so far as they can be recovered at the present. The following video demonstrates that the book of mormons redundancies are actually sophisticated literary features which, in many cases, are similar or identical to literary techniques used by ancient hebrew authors. It was not intended to be a translation of the book of mormon into modern english, and it would fit that role poorly. There are, however, some very good reasons behind the usage of the phrase. The book of mormon has been translated in its entirety into 97 languages. The language of the book of mormon exhibits features typical of a translation from an ancient near eastern text as well as the stamp of nineteenthcentury english and. Fwiw, sidney sperrys book of mormon compendium has a bit of information on the miller translation, including a letter from j. Tvedtnes, hebraisms in the book of mormon and names of people. Hebrew book of mormon general discussions mormon dialogue. Do names in the book of mormon have a hebrew meaning. Mormonevidence that joseph smith did not write a book in english but translated an ancient text and that his translation re ects the hebrew words and word. Literal translations of hebrew idioms are prevalent in the book of mormon.
Why did nephi say the devil leads sinners by a flaxen. Aug 27, 2008 the book of mormon has the structure of a translation from the hebrew language. That means that on average a proposed kayak shows up on at least every other page of the book of mormon. Book of mormon names attested in ancient hebrew inscriptions john a. Smith, gossamer thin, 335338 notes the parallels in 2 nephi 26.
The english translation of the hebrew word wayehi often used to connect two ideas or events, and it came to pass, appears some 727 times in the king james version of the old testament. The hebrew background of the book of mormon book of. Book of mormon central evidences of the book of mormon. But, there are also egyptian names in the book of mormon, as well as a semitic name related to arabic.
The book of mormon incorporates text which seems to be taken from the king james version, including passages which are now considered to be mistranslations in the king james version. Tvedtnes, john gee, and matthew roper journal of book of mormon studies 91 2000. We know that these arent accidental mistakes because this feature, which doesnt show up anywhere in the english language occurs seven times in a row in the original text of heileman chapter 12, a common editing. Generally, the hebraism is something that does not suit the translation language but is perfectly normal in biblical hebrew. The book of mormon mentions the word hebrew in only one verse, and even that passage, mormon 9. I then discovered that the lds distribution center does not currently offer one. Nov 28, 2007 i too am interested in studying the book of mormon in hebrew. Thus, it came to pass must be found as a common expression in any document that claims to be a translation from hebrew to english. The english translation of the book of mormon shows many characteristics of the hebrew language.
A few years later it was withdrew from public distribution and the remaining copies were kept by the lds archives. For instance, over 50% of the book is couched in chiastic structures. Download pdf here is the web site and more on the topic here at common. The book of hebrews and the joseph smith translation. But it was withdrawn so that the lds church could establish its byu jerusalem center.
Why is the phrase and it came to pass so prevalent in the. This is a private site which is not endorsed by the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. Book of mormontranslation errors from the kjv fairmormon. The book of mormon is published in 112 languages, and many of them are available in multiple formats online in march 1830, 5,000 copies of the book of mormon were printed in the e. I was commissioned to translate the dogma into latin, with a heavy emphasis on ciceronean style 100bce 100ce. The joseph smith translation jst is the king james version of the bible with joseph smiths revisionsmostly in the form of additions, though with some other kinds of changes. The most commonly recognized poetic style is parallelism. A scanned pdf of the arabic book of mormon can be found here, and a physical copy can be purchased from store a list of other lds materials in arabic can be found on. While the main lds church continues to teach that the book of mormon is an authentic translation, a breakaway group known as the community of christ stated at a 2007 world conference, while the church affirms the book of mormon as scripture, and makes it available for study and use in various languages, we do not attempt to mandate the degree. Hebrew idioms in the book of mormon byu scholarsarchive.
I gave it to one of the many israelis who were selling the jewelry and artwork theyd purchased cheaply in southeast asia. If the book of mormon is an accurate translation, some claim that it shouldnt contain these translational errors. So the lds church made an agreement that no proselyting would be conducted in israel. Sep 28, 2012 if it came to pass were not prominent in the book of mormon, the hebrew claims for its origin would be absurd. To my way of thinking, it makes more sense to examine substantive differences between the texts of the king james and book of mormon versions of isaiah. Is the writing in the book of mormon characteristic of the hebrew. Have a copy of it that i bought from the rlds bookstore. A few years later it was withdrew from public distribution and the. If hebrew was indeed the language of the book of mormon, the hebrew word here translated as counsel may have been sod, which can also mean secret. Parallcls can be found in the old and new testa ments, especially in the hebrew translation of the old testament.
The article is fairly brief and only superficially addresses the problem. Ultraorthodox jews at the time had protested that the byu center would be used for missionary work. Why is the phrase and it came to pass so prevalent in. A scanned pdf of the arabic book of mormon can be found here, and a physical copy can be purchased from storea list of other lds materials in arabic can be found on the full book of mormon is currently available in 88. The book of mormon has been translated into 88 languages, but latin and aramaic are not among them, even though latin is the prominent language for christianity, and aramaic was the. Is there a hebrew translation of the book of mormon, and if so, does. Hebrew is one of the few languages to have been revived from extinction or at least morbundity. The second impetus for my study came from an assignment given me to serve on the book of mormon hebrew translation committee. However, members of the reorganized church of jesus christ of latterday saints now known as the community of christ later in the decade produced a full translation of the book of mormon text in hebrew. Jeremy began the discussion below by responding to the claim that the book of mormon showed evidence of hebrew names and phrases. He did not know the language of the book of mormonreformed egygptianbut studied the materials and relied on the guidance of the holy ghost for confirmation. I dont know enough hebrew to get anything out of it yet.
Linguistic anachronisms in the book of mormon are words that represent concepts that are not believed to have existed in the americas between 2500 b. The lds church briefly offered a hebrew book of mormon in the early 1980s. One of my specific tasks was to examine all of the biblical quotes in the book of mormon to determine what changes, if any, would need to be made to the hebrew translations of those books when the passages were. When you complete the translation, do you plan to publish it. There are many hebrew literary forms found in the book of mormon. Unless otherwise indicated, the translation was financed and the resulting text published by the church of jesus christ.
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