Alma 5:1 Textual Variants

Here scribe 2 of 𝓟 wrote throght, which could be interpreted either as through (with the t automatically but accidentally added because of the orthographically similar word thought) or as a shortened version of throughout. Oliver Cowdery corrected throght to throughout, apparently when he proofed 𝓟 against 𝓞.

As discussed under Mosiah 29:1, the text can have either through or throughout in the context of “the land”, although throughout is the expected form. In this part of the text, throughout is the form consistently used to refer to the extent of Alma’s preaching:

• Alma 5 preface
  • The words which Alma the high priest according to the holy order of God delivered to the people in their cities and villages throughout the land
• Alma 8:4
  • and he began to teach the people in the land of Melek according to the holy order of God by which he had been called and he began to teach the people throughout all the land of Melek
• Alma 16:15
  • and thus did Alma and Amulek go forth and also many more which had been chosen for the work to preach the word throughout all the land

Thus the critical text will accept Oliver’s correction of throght to throughout, the probable reading in 𝓞.