2 Nephi 19:9 Textual Variants

Royal Skousen
and all the people shall know even Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria

Isaiah 9:9 (King James Bible) and all the people shall know even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria

The King James Bible has the singular inhabitant here, as does the Hebrew (literally, “the one inhabiting Samaria”). In the Book of Mormon text, the plural inhabitants may be a copying error in 𝓟, although the plural usage seems to fit well with the preceding plural noun phrase “all the people”. In fact, this plural noun phrase could have triggered a copy error (inhabitants instead of inhabitant). Interestingly, both ancient and modern translations of this Isaiah passage translate this noun in the plural: the ancient Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate as well as the modern Revised Standard Version and the New International Version have the plural inhabitants. We do not have the original manuscript here in 2 Nephi 19:9, but since the plural works very well here and the earliest extant source (the printer’s manuscript) reads in the plural, the critical text will maintain the plural.

Summary: Maintain in 2 Nephi 19:9 the plural inhabitants, the reading of the printer’s manuscript; although the King James Bible and the Hebrew original have the singular inhabitant, this noun has been typically translated as a plural.

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

References