“Raca”

Alan C. Miner

Some scholars have suggested that the word "Raca" (3 Nephi 12:22) is Greek. Raca is, however, to be derived from Aramaic and Hebrew. The Hebrew reqim is used in the Old Testament for good-for-nothings. In Judges 11:3 the "worthless fellows" who associated themselves with Jephthah are called reqim; in 2 Samuel 6:20 Michal despised David because he uncovered himself as one of the reqim (RSV "vulgar fellows"). [Tyndale House, The Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Vol. 3, p. 1315]

Step by Step Through the Book of Mormon: A Cultural Commentary

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