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Hebraisms in the Book of Mormon — Repeated conjunction

In the English language, a sentence containing a series of nouns simply lists the nouns, separated by commas. For example, ‘British royalty includes kings, queens, princes, princesses, dukes, and earls.’ In Hebrew or Semitic languages however, conjunctions are placed between the various nouns. The preceding sentence would be constructed thusly: ‘British royalty includes kings, and queens, and princes, and princesses, and dukes, and earls’. This Hebraic influence is seen repeatedly in the Bible and the Book of Mormon. Examples include:

From the Hebrew Bible:

Genesis 1:26 — “…and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”
Exodus 3:8 — “… of the Canaaites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.”
Deuteronomy 7:1 — “...the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites…”
Deuteronomy 7:13 — “…he will bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep…”
Deuteronomy 7:19 — “…and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm…”
Deuteronomy 8:8 — “A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey;”
Deuteronomy 16:11 — “And thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow…”
Joshua 7:24 — “And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor.”
Joshua 24:11 — “…and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Jebusites…”
Judges 3:3 — “…five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites”
Judges 3:5 — “And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites:”
1 Samuel 13:6 — “…the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits.”
1 Samuel 15:9 — “…the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good…”
1 Kings 18:38 — “Then the fire…consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and lucked up the water…”
2 Kings 5:26 — “…Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants?”
2 Kings 18:32 — “… a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive, and of honey…”
2 Kings 23:3 — “… and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statues, with all their heart and all their soul…”
Psalm 18:2 — “The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my strength…, my buckler, and the horn of my salvation…”
Isaiah 5:14 — “… and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp…”
Isaiah 22:12 — “And in that day did the Lord God of Hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:”
Isaiah 33:22 — “For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king…”
Ezekiel 36:4 — “…Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken…”
Daniel 3:2-3 — “…gather together the princes, the governors, the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers…the princes, the governors and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers…”
Hosea 4:2 — “…by swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery…”
Joel 2:12 — “…turn to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning…”
Joel 2:28 — “…and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions…”
Matthew 28:19 — “…baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost…”
Mark 12:30 — “…love the Lord thy God will all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength…”
Mark 13:35 — “…when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:”
Luke 8:14 — “…and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures…”
Luke 9:3 — “…Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money, neither have two coats…”
Luke 13:29 — “And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down…
Luke 14:21 — “…the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.”
Luke 14:26 — “…his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters…”
John 2:12 — “…he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples..”
Acts 1:8 — “…and ye shall be witnesses of me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the utmost part of the earth.”
Acts 14:15 — “…which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things therein.”
Ephesians 4:11 — “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers…”
Ephesians 4:31 — “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you…”
1 John 1:1 — “…which we have heard, which we have seen…, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled…”
Revelation 5:12 — “…the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing…”
Revelation 5:13 — “…Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne…”
Revelation 6:15 — “And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man…”
Revelation 7:9 — “… of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne…”
Revelation 7:12 — “…Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God…”
Revelation 9:20 — “…that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood…”
Revelation 9:30 — “…which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk…”
Revelation 9:31 — “Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.”
Revelation 11:19 — “…and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.”

From the Book of Mormon:

1 Nephi 2:4 — “And he [Lehi] left his house, and the land of his inheritance, and his gold, and his silver, and his precious things, and took nothing with him…”
1 Nephi 2:11 — “…to leave the land of their inheritance, and their gold, and their silver, and their precious things…”
1 Nephi 6:4 — “…come unto the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob…”
1 Nephi 12:1-23 — “… and I beheld … and I beheld … and I saw … and I saw … and I saw … and I beheld …”
1 Nephi 13:7-8 — “…I saw gold, and silver, and silks, and scarlets, and fine-twined linen, and…precious clothing, and …harlots.”
1 Nephi 18:25 — “…we did find upon the land of promise…that there were beasts in the forests of every kind, both the cow and the ox, and the ass and the horse, and the goat and the wild goat, and all manner wild animals…And we did find all manner of ore, both of gold, and of silver, and of copper.”
1 Nephi 19:9 — “…they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it…”
1 Nephi 19:11 — “…by tempest, by fire, and by smoke and vapor of darkness, and by the opening of the earth, and by mountains…”
1 Nephi 22:24 — “..the Holy One of Israel must reign in dominion, and might, and power, and great glory.”
2 Nephi 5:15 — “And I did teach my people to build buildings, and to work in all manner of wood, and of iron, and of copper, and of brass, and of steel, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious ores…”
2 Nephi 6:15 — “And they that believe not in him shall be destroyed, both by fire, and by tempest, and by earthquakes, and by bloodsheds, and by pestilence, and by famine.”
2 Nephi 11:5 — “…my soul delighteth in his grace, and in his justice, and power, and mercy…”
2 Nephi 15:14 — “… and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp…”
2 Nephi 21:2 — “…the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord…”
2 Nephi 24:3 — “…the Lord shall give thee rest, from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage…”
2 Nephi 26:32 — “…that they should not…” This phrase is repeated NINE times!
2 Nephi 27:2 — “… with thunder and with earthquake, and with a great noise, and with storm, and with tempest, and with the flame of devouring fire…”
2 Nephi 28:14 — “…and because of pride, and wickedness, and abominations, and whoredoms…”
2 Nephi 29:4 — “…Do they remember the travails, and the labors, and the pains of the Jews, and their diligence…”
2 Nephi 29:11 — “…I command all men, both in the east and in the west, and in the north, and in the south, and in the islands of the sea…”
2 Nephi 29:12 — “…I shall speak unto the Jews, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the Nephites and they shall write it; and I shall speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel,…and they shall write it; and I shall speak unto all nations of the earth and they shall write it.”
2 Nephi 29:13 — “…shall have the…shall have the…shall have the…”
2 Nephi 32:7 — “…I am left to mourn because of the unbelief, and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the stiffneckedness of men;”
Jacob 4:10 — “…he counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy…”
Jacob 5:4-5 — “…I will prune it, and dig about it, and nourish it, that perhaps it….he pruned it, and digged about it, and nourished it…”
Jacob 5:47 — “…have I not nourished it? Nay, I have nourished it, and I have digged about it, and I have pruned it, and I have dunged it, and I have stretched forth mine hand…”
Enos 1:20 — “…and their skill was in the bow, and in the cimeter, and in the ax.”
Enos 1:21 — “…and raise all manner of grain, and of fruit, and flocks of herds, and flocks of all manner of cattle, and goats, and wild goats, and also many horses.”
Enos 1:23 — “…prophesying of wars, and contentions, and destructions…”
Jarom 1:3 — “…because of the hardness of their hearts, and the deafness of their eras, and the blindness of their minds, and the stiffness of their necks…”
Omni 1:25 — “…and believe in prophesying, and in revelations, and in the ministering of angels, and in the gift of speaking with tongues, and in the gift of interpreting languages, and in all things which are good…”
Mosiah 1:16 — “…were engraven on the plates of brass, and also the plates of Nephi, and also, the sword of Laban, and the ball or director…”
Mosiah 4:30 — “…if ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments…”
Mosiah 5:15 — “…through the wisdom, and power, and justice, and mercy of Him who created all things…”
Mosiah 7:7 — “…and they were surrounded…, and were taken, and were bound, and were committed to prison.”
Mosiah 9:9 — “…even with all manner of seeds, with seeds of corn, and of wheat, and of barley, and with neas, and with sheum, and with seeds of all manner of fruits…”
Mosiah 9:16 — “…I did arm them with bows, and with arrows, with swords, and with cimeters, and with clubs, and with slings, and with all manner of weapons…”
Mosiah 10:8 — “…with their numerous hosts…with bows…with arrows…with swords…with cimeters…with stones…with slings…”
Mosiah 11:3 — “…he laid a tax of one fifth part of all they possessed, a fifth part of their gold and of their silver, and a fifth part of their ziff, and of their copper, and of their brass and their iron, and a fifth part of their fatlings, and also a fifth part of all their grain.”
Mosiah 11:4 — “…to support himself, and his wives, and his concubines, and also his priests, and their wives, and their concubines…”
Mosiah 11:8 — “…with fine work of wood, and of all manner of precious things, of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of ziff, and of copper…”
Mosiah 11:20 — “…I have seen their abominations, and their wickedness, and their whoredoms…”
Mosiah 12:2 — “…and the vultures of the air, and the dogs, and the wild beasts…”
Mosiah 15:5 — “…but suffered himself to be mocked, and scourged, and cast out, and disowned by his people.”
Mosiah 18:2 — “…brought to pass through the power, and sufferings, and death of Christ, and his resurrection, and ascension into heaven.”
Mosiah 22:12 — “…their gold, and silver, and their precious things…and also their provisions…”
Mosiah 24:1 — “…even over the people who were in the land of Shemlon, and in the land of Shilom, and in the land of Amulon…”
Alma 1:27 — “…to the poor, and the needy, and the sick, and the afflicted;”
Alma 1:29 — “…an abundance of flocks and herds, and fatlings of every kind, and also abundance of grain, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious things, and abundance of silk and fine-twined linen, and all manner of good homely cloth.”
Alma 1:30 — “…any who were naked, or that were hungry, or that were athirst, or that were sick, or that had not been nourished…”
Alma 1:30 — “…both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female…”
Alma 1:32 — “…in sorceries, and in idolatry or idleness, and in babblings, and in envyings and strife…”
Alma 2:12 — “…they did arm themselves with swords, and with cimeters, and with bows, and with arrows, and with stones, and with slings, and with all manner of weapons…”
Alma 2:25 — “…and they are fleeing before them with their flocks, and their wives, and their children… except we make haste they obtain possession of our city, and our fathers, and our wives, and our children be slain.”
Alma 3:1 — “… returned to their lands, and to their houses, and their wives, and their children.”
Alma 3:5 — “…and also their armor, … and their bows, and their arrows, and their stones, and their slings…”
Alma 4:2 — “…greatly afflicted for the loss of their brethren, and also for the loss of their flocks and herds, and also for the loss of their fields of grain…”
Alma 4:6 — “…because of their exceeding riches, and their fine silks, and their fine-twined linin, and because of their many flocks and herds, and their gold and their silver, and all manner of precious things…”
Alma 4:9 — “…there were envyings, and strife, and malice, and persecutions, and pride…”
Alma 4:12 — “…and those who were hungry, and those who were athirst, and those who were sick and afflicted.”
Alma 8:13 — “…and withstood…and reviled…and spit…and caused…”
Alma 9:19-22 — “…having had…having been…having been…having had…having been…having conversed…having been…having…having been…having been…having waxed…having been…having been…”
Alma 9:20 — “…according to their desires, and their faith, and prayers, of that which has been, and which is, and which is to come…”
Alma 9:21 — “…many gifts…the gift of speaking with tongues…the gift of preaching…the gift of the Holy Ghost…the gift of translation…”
Alma 10:11 — “…he hath blessed me, and my women, and my children, and my father, and my kinsfolk;…”
Alma 10:13 — “…they might…that they might…that they might…that they might…that they might…”
Alma 10:23 — “…then shall ye be smitten by famine, and by pestilence, and by the sword:”
Alma 14:27 — “…and the chief judge, and the lawyers, and priests, and teachers…”
Alma 15:16 — “…Amulek having forsaken all his gold, and silver, and his precious things…
Alma 16:13 — “…Alma and Amulek went forth preaching repentance to the people in their temples, and in their sanctuaries, and in their synagogues…”
Alma 16:18 — “…preach against all lyings, and deceivings, and envyings, and strifes, and malice, and revilings, and stealing…”
Alma 17:7 — “…and took their swords, and their spears, and their bows, and their arrows, and their slings;”
Alma 23:1 — “…on Ammon, or Aaron, or Omner, or Himni, nor either of their brethren…”
Alma 23:2 — “…nor smite…nor cast out…nor scourge…neither cast stones…”
Alma 23:3 — “…ought not to murder, nor to plunder, nor to steal, nor to commit adultery, nor to commit any manner of wickedness…”
Alma 23:9-12 — The phrase “…the people of the Lamanites who were in the land of ________…” is repeated five times!
Alma 26:16 — “…of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering…”
Alma 26:29 — “…we have been cast out, and mocked, and spit upon, and smote upon our cheeks, and we have been stoned, and taken and bound with cords, and cast into prison…”
Alma 26:35 — “…for he has all power, all wisdom, and all understanding…”
Alma 26:36 — “…this is my life, and my light, my joy, and my salvation, and my redemption…”
Alma 30:28 — “…their traditions and their dreams and their whims and their visions and their pretended mysteries…”
Alma 31:24 — “…their hearts were set upon gold, and upon silver, and upon all manner of fine goods…”
Alma 31:28 — “…their costly apparel, and their ringlets, and their bracelets, and their ornaments of gold, and all their precious things…”
Alma 31:32 — “…Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner, and also Amulek and Zeezrom, and also my two sons…”
Alma 43:20 — “…they had only their swords and their cimeters, their bows and their arrows, their stones and their slings…”
Alma 43:45 — “…fighting for their homes and their liberties, their wives, and their children, and their all, yea, for their rites of worship and their church.”
Alma 44:5 — “…by our faith, by our religion, by our rites of worship, and by our church, and by the sacred support which we owe to our wives…, by that liberty which binds us…”
Alma 46:12 — “…In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children…”
Alma 46:13 — “…his headplate, and his breastplate, and his shields, and girded on his armor…”
Alma 48:10 — “…support their liberty, their lands, their wives, and their children, and their peace…”
Alma 48:13 — “…to defend his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion, …”
Alma 50:21 — “…for it has been their quarrelings and their contentions, yea, their murderings, and their plunderings, their idolatry, their whoredoms, and their abominations…”
Alma 51:26 — “…the city of Nephihah, and the city of Lehi, and the city of Morianton, and the city of Omner, and the city of Gid, and the city of Mulek…”
Alma 58:10 — “…that we might retain our cities, and our lands, and our possessions…”
Alma 58:40 — “…observe to keep his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments continually…”
Alma 62:49 — “…notwithstanding their riches, or their strength, or their prosperity…”
Alma 62:50 — “…delivered them from death, and from bonds, and from prisons, and from all manner of afflictions…”
Helaman 3:9 — “…they might have timber to build their houses, yea, their cities, and their temples, and I synagogues, and their sanctuaries, and all manner of their buildings.”
Helaman 3:14 — “…the account of the Lamanites and of the Nephites, and their wars, and contentions, and dissensions, and their preaching, and their prophecies, and their shipping and their building of ships, and their building of temples and of synagogues, and their sanctuaries, and their righteousness, and their wickedness, and their murders, and their robbings, and their plundering, and all manner of abominations, and whoredoms, cannot be contained in this work.”
Helaman 3:17 — “…great contentions, and disturbances, and wars, and dissensions…”
Moroni 6:9 — “…for as the power of the Holy Ghost led them whether to preach, or to exhort, or to pray, or to supplicate, or to sing, even so it was done.”

From the Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price:

Doctrine and Covenants 43:25 — “How oft have I called upon you by the mouth of my servants, and by the ministering of angels, and by mine own voice, and by the voice of thunderings, and by the voice of lightnings, and by the voice of tempests, and by the voice of earthquakes and great hailstorms, and by the voice of famines and pestilences, and by the voice of judgment, and by the voice of mercy, and by the voice of glory and honor…”
Doctrine and Covenants 53:3 — “…to preach faith and repentance and remission of sins…and the reception of the Holy Spirit…”
Doctrine and Covenants 56:16 — “…in the day of visitation, and of judgment, and of indignation…”
Doctrine and Covenants 58:11 — “…then shall the poor, and the lame, and the blind, and the deaf, come in…”
Doctrine and Covenants 68:4 — “…shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord…”
Doctrine and Covenants 88:73-74 — “And I give unto you…a commandment that you assemble yourselves together, and organize yourselves, and prepare yourselves, and sanctify yourselves; yea, purify your heats, and cleanse your hands and your feet before me, that I many make you clean.”
Doctrine and Covenants 88:78 — “…instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain…”
Doctrine and Covenants 108:7 — “…strengthen your brethren in all your conversation, in all your prayers, in all your exhortations, and in all your doings.”
Doctrine and Covenants 122:5-7 — “If thou…, if thou…, if thou…” This phrasing is repeated FIFTEEN times in three verses!
Moses 2:26 — “…dominion of the fishes of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing…”

In General Conference??

Elder M. Russell Ballard in his October 2022 General Conference talk: “There is hope for all in this life. There is hope to overcome our mistakes, our sorrows, our struggles, our trials, and our troubles.”
Sister Michelle D. Craig, October 2022 General Conference talk: “…is to gradually receive His light, His strength, His love, His Spirit, His peace.”
And again, Sister Michelle D. Craig, October 2022 General Conference talk: “…can become so weighed down in sadness or hurt or discouragement or worry or loneliness or anger or frustration…”

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 in upstate New York in the 1820’s, as the critics would propose. It is also incredible that at times the Lord himself, when speaking in revelations recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants, uses Hebrew phrasing!

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