“The Priests Were Not to Depend Upon the People for Their Support”

Brant Gardner

Redaction: This verse repeats the information in verse 24, but the repetition cannot be explained by structural or poetic parallelism. I hypothesize that this information was originally in two places that were much farther apart in Mormon’s source, but which his abridging brought close. The next verse begins “and again,” suggesting that Alma was reading a set of regulations for the community that Mormon is simply summarizing.

Second Witness: Analytical & Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 3

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