Compound prepositions
Compound prepositions are very common grammatical occurrences in Semitic languages, in which two prepositions follow a verb. This type of grammar is very uncommon in the English language. Hebrew uses another compound preposition that would be translated literally as from before the presence of or from before the face of. English would normally use simply from. The influence of the Hebrew can be seen in these Book of Mormon passages: 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.
Compound prepositions:
- The Bible:
- Judges 11:23-24 — “…dispossessed the Amorites from before his people…”
- The Book of Mormon:
- 1 Nephi 4:28 — “…they fled from before my presence…”
- 1 Nephi 11:12 — “…he had gone from before my presence…”
- 1 Nephi 11:29 — “they were carried away . . . from before my face…”
- Mormon 4:20, 22 — “…flee from before the Lamanites…”
- Hebrew uses compound prepositions that would be translated literally as ‘by the hand of’ and ‘by the mouth of’. English would normally use just by.
- 1 Nephi 3:20 — “the words which have been spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets”
- Mosiah 17:18 — “ye shall be taken by the hand of your enemies”
- Alma 10:3 — “sold into Egypt by the hands of his brethren”
- Alma 10:4 — “I have also acquired much riches by the hand of my industry”
- Alma 13:22 — “by the mouth of angels doth he declare it.”
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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