EVIDENCE: Many “Ands” (1 Nephi 11:30–32; 12:4, Alma 46:12–13, Helaman 3:14)

Ed J. Pinegar, Richard J. Allen

Biblical Hebrew employs the Hebraic version of and much more often than English uses and. To English speakers, the repeated use of the conjunction seems unnecessary, as in the following verses from the King James version. “And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock. And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by the beard, and smote him, and slew him” (1 Samuel 17:34–35; emphasis added). Book of Mormon language is similar, using many ands in historical sections and prose. For instance, there are twenty-two ands in 1 Nephi 11:30–32, twelve ands in 1 Nephi 12:4, and fifteen ands in Alma 46:12–13. (See Echoes, 177–179.)

Commentaries and Insights on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 2

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