Alma 44:13 Textual Variants

Royal Skousen
and it came to pass that the soldier which stood by which smote off the scalp of Zerahemnah took up the scalp from off the ground by the hair and laid it upon the point of his sword and [ 01ABCDEFGIJLMNOQRT|he HKPS] stretched it forth unto them

The 1874 RLDS edition added the subject pronoun he to the last conjoined predicate in this passage, and the RLDS text has maintained this intrusive he. For the previous conjoined predicate, the subject is also ellipted (“and laid it upon the point of his sword”). The critical text will maintain the earliest reading without the extra he. For another example where he was accidentally added in 𝓟 to a conjoined predicate (but only momentarily), see under Mosiah 3:19.

Summary: Maintain in Alma 44:13 the original series of conjoined predicates: “the soldier … took up the scalp … and laid it upon the point of his sword and stretched it forth unto them”.

Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon, Part. 4

References