Hyperbole

[inquiringmind]

Is hyperbole used in scripture?

(I mean scripture in general, and the Book of Mormon in particular.)

And can anyone give me any examples?

Edited August 15, 2011 by inquiringmind

[BCSpace]

Some might pick the fires of h e l l or some, the terms "eternal" or "everlasting"; but it's hard to exaggerate infinity (unless you understand the concept of smaller vs. larger infinities).

Edited August 15, 2011 by BCSpace

[inquiringmind]

What do Mormons mean by "eternities"?

I've heard you speak of "eternities past."

What does that mean?

If "eternity" is infinite, how can there be more than one "eternity"?

(And is that kind of language ever used in the standard works?)

Also, what do you think of this?

Some who question Church doctrine quote Moroni 7:22 and Mosiah 3:5 which read:

Moroni 7:22 – For Behold, God knowing all things, being from everlasting to everlasting…

Mosiah 3:5 – …who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity…

These scriptures are brought up and compared to an excerpt from Joseph Smith’s “King Follet Sermon” where Joseph states: We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may see...

It is claimed that Joseph’s ideas about God changed after the printing of the Book of Mormon and that he slowly evolved the faith to teach things different that originally “revealed”. I think this is a valid argument that deserves investigation so I will contribute some of my thoughts on this topic to the discussion.

Whenever topics like this come up, I think it is important to establish some solid premises before moving on.I think a good place to start is by examining the background of the words that we find in the scriptures to see if they actually mean what we think they mean...

The Book of Mormon states that Hebrew was the language spoken and understood by the people. This makes the Hebrew text of the Bible a good source to look to for understanding of some of these words. I think the Greek New Testament can be helpful too, because we can examine the Greek for insight into how these concepts were understood around the time of Christ. Let’s take a look at the word “eternal” first

Eternal

Deuteronomy 33:27 – …the eternal God is thy refuge.

The word “eternal” here is the Hebrew word “qedem” which means:

For Ever and Ever

Interestingly the word “forever” is actually not found anywhere in the Bible, it’s actually read separately as: “for ever”.

Galatians 1:4-5 reads: Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

The word “ever” is from the Greek word aiwn (aion) which means: properly, an age; by extension, perpetuity (also past); by implication, the world; specially (Jewish) a Messianic period (present or future):–age, course, eternal, (for) ever(-more), (n-)ever, (beginning of the , while the) world (began, without end). Compare cronoV – chronos

The word aion means simply “an age” and is used in several different contexts in the New Testament to describe the age of the world, a lifetime, or as indicated in the definition, a Messianic period of the present or future. Here we have the concept of an “age” appearing again. An “age” is indicative of a whole duration of a person, place, thing, etc. So the repetition of “for ever and ever” seems to indicate the idea of “age after age” which could be understood as a way to represent the idea of endless time, age after age, continuing perpetually.

http://oneclimbs.com...nd-eternal-god/

Edited August 15, 2011 by inquiringmind

[inquiringmind]

And I just found this interesting definition of "ever" in Webster's 1828 dictionary:

In a more lax sense, this word signifies continually, for an indefinite period.

His master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall serve him forever. Ex.21.

http://1828-dictiona...earch/word,ever

Edited August 15, 2011 by inquiringmind

[Robert F. Smith]

Is hyperbole used in scripture?

(I mean scripture in general, and the Book of Mormon in particular.)

And can anyone give me any examples?

The Book of Mormon sometimes seems to speak as though no other peoples existed in the New World, and as though there were no Nephite survivors. Despite the obvious hyperbole of some accounts of the Nephite demise, as John Sorenson has pointed out, there were Nephite (and Jacobite, Josephite, and Zoramite) survivors, even if primarily those who simply “switched allegiance and” went over to the Lamanites (Mormon 6:15; Moroni 1:2, 2:7-8, 9:24, D&C 3:17-20, 10:48, all cited by Sorenson, An Ancient American Setting, 351 – see all of his chapter 8, “The End of the Nephites”). The same consideration applies to the question of the survival of remnants of the earlier Jaredite civilization. Following Hugh Nibley, Sorenson notes that they could not have been rendered completely extinct (Ancient American Setting, 119-120, citing Nibley, Lehi in the Desert [1952], 238-247 = Collected Works V:237-252).

The question here of course is also one of literary custom. Hyperbole, or exaggeration for effect, was quite common in ancient Near Eastern literary tradition generally and in the Bible specifically: For example, if we take their inscriptions at face value, we must find Israel being wiped out first by Pharaoh Merneptah (“Israel is laid waste, his seed is not.” See J. Wilson’s translation in ANET, 376-378), and then later by Mesha, King of Moab (“Israel has perished forever!” See A. Lemaire’s translation in BAR, 20/3 [1994], 30-37). It is just silly to take such hyperbole as literally true.

Edited August 15, 2011 by Robert F. Smith

[inquiringmind]

The Book of Mormon sometimes seems to speak as though no other peoples existed in the New World, and as though there were no Nephite survivors. Despite the obvious hyperbole of some accounts of the Nephite demise, as John Sorenson has pointed out, there were Nephite (and Jacobite, Josephite, and Zoramite) survivors, even if primarily those who simply “switched allegiance and” went over to the Lamanites (Mormon 6:15; Moroni 1:2, 2:7-8, 9:24, D&C 3:17-20, 10:48, all cited by Sorenson, An Ancient American Setting, 351 – see all of his chapter 8, “The End of the Nephites”). The same consideration applies to the question of the survival of remnants of the earlier Jaredite civilization. Following Hugh Nibley, Sorenson notes that they could not have been rendered completely extinct (Ancient American Setting, 119-120, citing Nibley, Lehi in the Desert [1952], 238-247 = Collected Works V:237-252).

The question here of course is also one of literary custom. Hyperbole, or exaggeration for effect, was quite common in ancient Near Eastern literary tradition generally and in the Bible specifically: For example, if we take their inscriptions at face value, we must find Israel being wiped out first by Pharaoh Merneptah (“Israel is laid waste, his seed is not.” See J. Wilson’s translation in ANET, 376-378), and then later by Mesha, King of Moab (“Israel has perished forever!” See A. Lemaire’s translation in BAR, 20/3 [1994], 30-37). It is just silly to take such hyperbole as literally true.

Thank you Robert.

BTW: there seems to be something wrong with the link to the web site I quoted in my last post (and I can't seem to edit that post now), so here it is again.

http://oneclimbs.com...nd-eternal-god/

Edited August 16, 2011 by inquiringmind

[Robert F. Smith]

Thank you Robert.

BTW: there seems to be something wrong with the link to the web site I quoted in my last post (and I can't seem to edit that post now), so here it is again.

http://oneclimbs.com...nd-eternal-god/

Both these sites seem very useful. Thanks.

[Bill “Papa” Lee]

And I just found this interesting definition of "ever" in Webster's 1828 dictionary:

http://1828-dictiona...earch/word,ever

Read Luther's words

Hope this helps, "Eternity to Eternity, or everlasting to everlasting, these therms are not a Mormon thing only.