Helaman 1:5 Textual Variants

The 1837 edition omitted the indefinite article a before chief judge. This omission was undoubtedly accidental. It was not marked by Joseph Smith in his editing of 𝓟 for the 1837 edition. Nearby the virtually identical expression has been left unchanged:

• Helaman 1:13
  • and now behold Pacumeni was appointed according to the voice of the people to be a chief judge and a governor over the people

The Book of Mormon text always repeats the article, if one exists, before both chief judge

and governor in conjoined structures:

• Alma 2:16 Alma he being the chief judge and the governor of the people of Nephi
• Alma 50:39 he was appointed chief judge and governor over the people
• Alma 60:1 which is the chief judge and the governor over the land
• Helaman 1:5 to be a chief judge and a governor over the people of Nephi
• Helaman 1:13 to be a chief judge and a governor over the people
• 3 Nephi 1:1 Lachoneus was the chief judge and the governor over the land

Thus the indefinite article a needs to be restored before chief judge in Helaman 1:5, making this passage specifically agree with Helaman 1:13 and, more generally, with usage elsewhere in the text.