The Book of Mormon: The Earliest Text

[Olavarria]

I just got it and I'm as giddy as a 15 yearold school girl(not really).

Does anyone else have it?

What do you think?

[HiJolly]

I just got it and I'm as giddy as a 15 yearold school girl(not really).

Does anyone else have it?

What do you think?

I have it. Just browsed it & stuck it on the shelf. There are probably 20 books ahead of it, to be read.

HiJolly

[Olavarria]

By using the Original Manuscript(Joseph's original English language translation, penned by Oliver Cowdery) and the Printer's Manuscript(a hand written copy of the original translation penned by Oliver Cowdery, Hyrum Smith and an unknown scribe), Royal Skousen has been able to recover the earliest English language text of Joseph's Book of Mormon translation. Published by Yale University Press, this book is a gold mine. Here is an example of our current English text and the earliest English language text:

Current Edition of The Book of Momron, Alma 11:16-17

16)And a shiblum is a half of a shiblon.

17)And a leah is the half of a shiblum.

The Book of Mormon, Earliest Text, Alma 11:16-17

16)And a shilum is a half of a shiblon.

17)And a leah is the half of a shilum.

Notice that the earliest English text uses shilum and not shiblum. Big deal, right? Not so fast!

In Biblical Hebrew, the word shlm(??????) means, among other things, pay(Exodus 22: and repay(Job 21:31). This fits nicely given the monetary context of these verses.

I stole this insight from Matthew Roper

[David T]

I was just about to begin a historical contextualizing study of the BoM (using the 1830 edition) right as this came available. Picked it up immediately, and found it very enlightening.

[oMtonic]

I hope to pick it up at some point myself. I greatly appreciate all that Skousen has done for Book of Mormon studies.

Enjoy.

[Doctor Steuss]

I just got it and I'm as giddy as a 15 yearold school girl(not really).

Does anyone else have it?

What do you think?

I

[Olavarria]

One of the beautiful things about the earliest text of The Book of Mormon(Original & Printer's Manuscripts) is that it preserves Hebraisms that were edited out in later editions. An interesting example of this is the use of an extra and between an initial subordinate clause and its following main clause; almost all of these were removed in earlier editings of the text:

1 Nephi 8:13 (the and was removed by Oliver Cowdery in the Printer's Manuscript)

13)And as I cast my eyes round about, that perhaps I might discover my family also, and I beheld a ariver of water; and it ran along, and it was near the tree of which I was partaking the fruit.

Helaman 13:28 (the and was removed in the 1837 edition)

28)and because he speaketh flattering words unto you, and he saith that all is well,and then ye will not find fault with him.

3 Nephi 23:8 (the and was removed in the 1830 edition)

8)And when Nephi had brought forth the records, and laid them before him, and he cast his eyes upon them and said:

Mormon 3:4 (the and was removed in the 1830 edition)

4)And it came to pass that after this tenth year had passed away, making, in the whole, three hundred and sixty years from the coming of Christ, and the king of the Lamanites sent an epistle unto me, which gave unto me to know that they were preparing to come again to battle against us.

Moroni 10:4 (the and was removed in the 1837 edition)

4)and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ,and he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

Notes

I totallly ripped this off Royal Skousen.

[Olavarria]

I

[LifeOnaPlate]

I wrote a review of it here:

http://www.lifeongoldplates.com/2009/09/review-royal-skousens-book-of-mormon.html