Cognate accusatives
A cognate accusative is a grammatical occurrence very common in Semitic languages, in which a verb is followed by a noun of the same derivation. An example is: ‘I dreamed a dream.’ This peculiar word phrasing is common in Semitic languages but quite uncommon in English. If Joseph Smith was the author of the Book of Mormon, he would not have included this technique in his deceptive text. Since the Book of Mormon is translated ancient scripture, the accusatives are found often.
Cognate accusatives:
- The Bible:
- Genesis 1:26 — “… every creeping thing that creepeth…”
- Genesis 37:5 — “… Joseph dreamed a dream…”
- Genesis 37:9 — “… Joseph dreamed yet another dream…”
- Genesis 40: 5, 8 — “…dreamed a dream…”
- Genesis 41:11, 15 — “… we dreamed a dream in one night…”
- Exodus 36:1 — “… to know how to work all manner of work…”
- Exodus 36:2 — “…every wise-hearted man in whose heart the Lord had placed wisdom…”
- Deuteronomy 7:23 — “…and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they be destroyed.”
- Judges 2:14 — “And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them….”
- 1 Samuel 1:11 — “And she vowed a vow…”
- 1 Samuel 2:25 — “If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him…”
- Psalm 8:1, 9 — “O Lord, our Lord…”
- Psalm 11:7 — “For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness…”
- Psalm 13:3 — “…lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death…”
- Psalm 22:24 — “…the affliction of the afflicted…”
- Isaiah 5:6 — “…rain no rain…”
- Isaiah 5:23 — “…take away the righteousness of the righteous…”
- Isaiah 19:21 — “…and they shall vow a vow unto the Lord…”
- Isaiah 28:6 — “…for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment…”
- Isaiah 35:2 — “…and rejoice even with joy…”
- Isaiah 52:7 — “…that bringeth good tidings of good…”
- Daniel 2:3 — “… I have dreamed a dream…”
- Joel 2:28 — “…your old men shall dream dreams…”
- Habakkuk 1:5 — “…for I will work a work in your days…”
- Zephaniah 3:17 — “…he will rejoice over thee with joy…”
- Luke 2:32 — “…”A light to lighten the Gentiles…” (referring the the Savior)
- Luke 22:15 — “…with desire I have desired to eat this passover with you…”
- Acts 13:41 — “…for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall…”
- 1 Corinthians 10:10 — “…some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.”
- 1 John 3:7 — “…he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.”
- The Book of Mormon:
- 1 Nephi 1:4 — “…prophets…prophesy…”
- 1 Nephi 2:23 — “…cursed with a sore curse…”
- 1 Nephi 3:2 — “… I have dreamed a dream…”
- 1 Nephi 8:8 — “…have mercy on me according to … his tender mercies.”
- 1 Nephi 13:5 — “…yoketh them with a yoke of iron…”
- 1 Nephi 18:1 — “…we did work timbers of curious workmanship…”
- 2 Nephi 2:3 — “…thou are redeemed because of … thy Redeemer…”
- 2 Nephi 15:6 — “…rain no rain…”
- 2 Nephi 15:23 — “…take away the righteousness of the righteous…”
- 2 Nephi 26:20 — “…stumbled because of … their stumbling block…”
- 2 Nephi 26:31 — “…the laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion…” (my favorite!)
- 2 Nephi 27:4 — “…cry out, and cry…”
- 2 Nephi 27:26 — “…the wisdom of their wise…shall perish…”
- 2 Nephi 30:18 — “…all things which have been revealed…shall…be revealed…”
- 2 Nephi 33:3 — “… I have written what I have written…”
- Jacob 3:3 — “… they are cursed with a sore cursing…”
- Enos 1:13 — “…this was the desire which I desired of him…”
- Omni 1:4 — “…now I, Amaron, write the things whatsoever I write…
- Omni 1:26 — “…offer your whole souls as an offering to him…”
- Mosiah 1:10 — “… proclaim… a proclamation…”
- Mosiah 7:15 — “…we are taxed with a tax…”
- Mosiah 11:10 — “… workmen work all manner of fine work…”
- Mosiah 12:20 — “…that bringeth good tidings of good…”
- Mosiah 23:5 — “…and began to build buildings…”
- Mosiah 27:30 — “…he remembereth every creature of his creating…”
- Mosiah 27:37 — “…they did publish good tidings of good…”
- Mosiah 29:43 — “… he did judge righteous judgment…”
- Alma 1:1 — “…warred a good warfare…”
- Alma 2:19 — “…and did slay them with much slaughter…”
- Alma 3:1 — “…now the number of the slain were not numbered because of the greatness of the number…”
- Alma 5:4 — “…rejoiced…joy...”
- Alma 11:1 — “…they labored to judge those who were brought before them to be judged.”
- Alma 13:4 — “…they have been called to this holy calling…”
- Alma 13:8 — “…being called with a holy calling…”
- Alma 13:8 — “…being…ordained with a holy ordinance…”
- Alma 13:25 — “…of his coming, for the time cometh…”
- Alma 16:10 — “…wild beasts of the wilderness…”
- Alma 16:11 — “…bodies were heaped up upon the face of the earth…”
- Alma 18:5 — “…nevertheless, Lamoni began to fear exceedingly with fear lest he had done wrong…”
- Alma 19:6 — “…the light which did light up his mind…the light of everlasting light was lit up in his soul..”
- Alma 29:4 — “… he decreeth unto them decrees…”
- 3 Nephi 21:9 — “… the Father shall work a work…”
- 4 Nephi 1:46 — “… and they did traffic in all manner of traffic.”
- Ether 10:5 — “…he did tax them with heavy taxes…”
- Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price:
- Doctrine and Covenants 42:40 — “…let all thy garments be plain, and their beauty the beauty of the work of thine own hands…”
- Moses 2:26 — “…and over every creeping thing that creepeth…”
- Moses 7:56 — “…and the saints arose and were crowned…with crowns of glory;”
- General Conference, April 2022, Elder Quentin L. Cook — “The revelation contained in the 76th section [of the Doctrine and Covenants] provides a glorious vision of the degrees of glory…”
All of the above is further evidence that the Book of Mormon is indeed sacred, translated scripture, and not the crafty deceptions of a cunning, sinister young man, as the critics would propose.
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