Why are there Hebraic conditionals (if/and) in the Book of Mormon?
The original manuscripts of the Book of Mormon contain expressions which are uncharacteristic of English. One example is that of Hebraic conditionals in which the word “and” is used rather than “then”.
An example of this is 1 Nephi 17:50 which says:
if he should command me that I should say unto this water be thou earth, and it shall be earth.
Oliver Cowdery changed this sentence when copying the original manuscript to create the printer’s manuscript. The word “and” was removed to make it sound more natural in English:
if he should command me that I should say unto this water be thou earth, it shall be earth.
Seven instances of this Hebraic conditional are included in Helaman 12: 13-21:
13 yea and if he saith unto the earth move and it is moved
14 yea if he say unto the earth thou shalt go back that it lengthen out the day for many hours and it is done
16 and behold also if he saith unto the waters of the great deep be thou dried up and it is done
17 behold if he saith unto this mountain be thou raised up and come over and fall upon that city that it be buried up and behold it is done
19 and if the Lord shall say be thou accursed that no man shall find thee from this time henceforth and forever and behold no man getteth it henceforth and forever
20 and behold if the Lord shall say unto a man because of thine iniquities thou shalt be accursed forever and it shall be done
21 and if the Lord shall say because of thine iniquities thou shalt be cut off from my presence and he will cause that it shall be so
We know of thirteen occurrences of this conditional printed in the first edition of the Book of Mormon which were later removed by Joseph Smith in the second edition of the Book of Mormon in 1837. Why would Joseph have included them in the first place?
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