We cannot tell whether the “awful hell” is a reflection of Joseph Smith’s understanding of the wicked’s abode or whether that concept had entered Hebrew thought by Nephi’s time. Certainly Jewish theology understood the distinction between wickedness and righteousness, so the implication was available to Nephi whether or not the depth of expression was. Hebrew thought saw Sheol as the place of Satan, and Nephi’s assertion that the devil is the “preparator” of it is confirmed in Jewish legends collected after the time of Christ, but representing an earlier oral tradition. Robert Graves, a mythographer, and Raphael Patai, professor of Hebrew religion and history, note: “In the Last Days, the Prince of Darkness will declare, boasting: ‘Though God made Heaven and Light, I made Darkness and the Pit!’ His angels will support him; but the fires of Hell shall quench their arrogance.”
Variant: The 1837–1920 editions substituted “foundation” for “preparator,” probably to be consistent with the other changes to “foundation” (1 Ne. 13:6, 14:9, 14:17). However, it appears that the intended noun may have been “proprietor.” The original manuscript has “prepriator,” which Oliver Cowdery interpreted as “preparatory” in the printer’s manuscript. The problem with Oliver’s reading is that “preparatory” would have meant a preparer of medicines or specimens. Royal Skousen, a linguist and the head of the project to prepare a critical text of the Book of Mormon, suggests that “the difficulty with the word preparatory explains Joseph Smith’s varying attempts to come up with a better reading for the 1837 edition (first, father, then foundation).” Regardless of the word, the intent is to link Satan directly with the realm of Sheol.