2 Nephi 17:2 Textual Variants

Royal Skousen
Syria is confederate with [Ephraim 1ABCDEFGHIJKLNOPQRST|Ephriam M]

Isaiah 7:2 (King James Bible) Syria is confederate with Ephraim

Here the 1905 LDS edition intentionally changed the spelling of the name Ephraim to Ephriam. This spelling appears to be the result of the name’s pronunciation in English as /ifrißm/ (rather than a more Hebrew-like pronunciation, /efraijim/). In all, the name occurs 11 times within the long Isaiah quotation, and each time it is spelled as Ephriam in the 1905 edition. This same name, although with a different referent, is found in Ether 7:9 (“he came to the hill Ephraim”), but there the 1905 edition left the spelling Ephraim unchanged.

Summary: Maintain the King James spelling Ephraim throughout the long Isaiah quotation and in Ether 7:9.

Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon, Part. 2

References