Evidence: And I, Even I—Emphatic Pronoun

Ed J. Pinegar, Richard J. Allen

To emphasize a subject or object, the Hebrew language of the Bible often repeats a personal pronoun that is the subject of a sentence or phrase. For instance, we read in Genesis 6:17, “Behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth” (emphasis added). This also occurs on many occasions when the pronoun is the object, as in Esau’s injunction to Jacob: “bless me, even me also, O my father” (Genesis 27:38, emphasis added). The emphatic pronoun is used in the Book of Mormon as well. For example, we read in Mosiah 2:26, “And I, even I, whom ye call your king, am no better than ye yourselves are” (emphasis added). Thus ancient patterns of expression occur in the Book of Mormon, reminding us again of its authenticity. (See Echoes, 180).

Commentaries and Insights on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 1

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