Book of Mormon Evidence: Korihor and Dumb Puns

Scholars and researchers have now proposed dozens of instances of wordplay in the Book of Mormon. For the most part, these have involved the meanings of names and terms in ancient Near Eastern languages.1 This research emphasis is understandable, as Nephite authors reported that they wrote in scripts such as Egyptian, Reformed Egyptian, and Hebrew (1 Nephi 1:2; Moroni 9:33).2

The text offers little information about any other languages that Lehi’s posterity may have adopted throughout their approximately thousand-year history in the Americas.3 Yet if they followed patterns typical of most other societies, their cultural contact with native peoples would likely have resulted in a significant degree of linguistic assimilation.4 This, in turn, opens up the possibility of detecting wordplay in the Book of Mormon involving languages native to the Americas. One enticing reason to pursue this line of inquiry specifically in a Mesoamerican linguistic environment is that wordplay is well-attested there, just as it is throughout the ancient Near East.5

In light of this proposed cultural and linguistic backdrop, Mark Wright and Neal Rappleye have proposed a remarkable instance of ironic punning in the story of Korihor. Before getting into the linguistic details, however, it should first be pointed out that this story is already filled with several layers of narrative irony.

Pervasive Irony in the Story of Korihor

Korihor's Curse

The most obvious example of irony pertains to Korihor’s speech-related curse. After reporting that Korihor “began to preach unto the people against the prophecies which had been spoken by the prophets, concerning the coming of Christ,” the narrator then immediately comments on the fact that “there was no law against a man’s belief” (Alma 30:7). The implication is that as long as Korihor actually believed the things he was teaching, there was nothing technically illegal about his public discourse, no matter how offensive or disruptive it was to the followers of Christ. In other words, this is at least partly a story about the legal limits of free speech in the relatively new system of judges established by King Mosiah.6

When Korihor was brought before the chief judge over the land of Gideon, the judge asked him, “Why do ye speak against all the prophecies of the holy prophets?” (Alma 30:22). Eventually, Korihor was bound and taken to Alma, the chief judge over all the land. Again, Korihor “went on to blaspheme. And he did rise up in great swelling words before Alma, and did revile against the priests and teachers” (Alma 30:30–31).

It is therefore no small irony that Korihor’s speech was eventually silenced—not through any legal measure but by God himself. After Korihor asked for a sign, Alma pointedly responded, “But behold, it is better that thy soul should be lost than that thou shouldst be the means of bringing many souls down to destruction, by thy lying and by thy flattering words; therefore if thou shalt deny again, behold God shall smite thee, that thou shalt become dumb, that thou shalt never open thy mouth any more, that thou shalt not deceive this people any more” (Alma 30:47).

This curse, which Korihor indeed brought upon himself by persisting in his request for a sign (Alma 30:49–50), offers a striking example of talionic justice, a legal principle that was widely implemented throughout the ancient Near East and was also prevalent in Mesoamerica.7 It essentially stipulates that “the punishment should somehow match, relate to, or balance out the nature of the crime or wrongdoing itself.”8 In this case, writes John W. Welch, “Korihor’s … curse befits his crime. Because he had spoken evil, he was punished by being made unable to speak.”9

Survival of the Fittest

Yet several other narrative inversions are also at play. For instance, Korihor argued that “there could be no atonement made for the sins of men, but that every man fared in this life according to the management of the creature; therefore every man prospered according to his genius, and that every man conquered according to his strength” (Alma 30:17). However, this survival-of-the-fittest worldview eventually turned to Korihor’s detriment, as the disability from his curse significantly disadvantaged him (Alma 30:58).

Divine Foreknowledge

Korihor also railed against the notion of prophecy and divine foreknowledge, arguing that “no man can know of anything which is to come” and “ye cannot know of things which ye do not see; therefore ye cannot know that there shall be a Christ” (Alma 30:15). However, this point was clearly refuted when Alma accurately predicted a miraculous future outcome, namely that Korihor would be struck dumb (Alma 30:47–49).

Bondage

Korihor asked the people, “why do ye yoke yourselves with such foolish things?” (Alma 30:13). He also claimed that it was the followers of Christ who were “bound down under a foolish and a vain hope” and (Alma 30:13) and that they were “in bondage” under their leaders (Alam 30:24). He later asserted again that the leaders of Christ’s church kept their followers “even as it were in bondage” (Alma 30:27), labeling them as those “who do yoke [the people] according to their desires” (Alma 30:28). Yet, ironically, it was Korihor himself who was repeatedly “taken and bound and carried” away to judgment (Alma 30:20–21, 29) and who was ultimately dragged “down to hell”—a domain of spiritual imprisonment (Alma 30:60).

Begging for Food

Addressing the leaders of Christ’s church, Korihor falsely asserted that “ye lead away this people … that ye may glut yourselves with the labors of their hands” (Alma 30:27). Later on, he again accused them of “leading away the people … for the sake of glutting on the labors of the people” (Alma 30:32). Alma then responded, saying, “Thou knowest that we do not glut ourselves upon the labors of this people; for behold I have labored even from the commencement of the reign of the judges until now, with mine own hands for my support” (Alma 30:32). Again, we see an inversion by the end of the story, as Korihor, after being cursed, ended up himself “begging for his food” and “begging food for his support”—essentially, the very thing he accused the priests of doing (Alma 30:56, 58). Mormon’s final remark that “the devil will not support his children at the last day” seems to interact with this same theme (Alma 30:60).

Children of the Devil

The discussion of children in the statement just mentioned (“the devil will not support his children at the last day”) is also interesting. At one point, Korihor explained that “the devil hath deceived me; for he appeared unto me in the form of an angel, and said unto me: Go and reclaim this people, for they have all gone astray after an unknown God. And he said unto me: There is no God; yea, and he taught me that which I should say. And I have taught his words” (Alma 30:53). In other words, Korihor wasn’t teaching his own doctrine but was perpetuating the false teachings of his metaphorical father, the devil. This stands in ironic contrast to Korihor’s repeated railing against the “traditions of your fathers,” when addressing the followers of Christ (Alma 30:14, 16, 23, 27, 31).

Downward-Upward Imagery

Korihor repeatedly emphasized that the followers of Christ had been “bound down under a foolish and a vain hope” and that unlike the priests, Korihor did not teach this people to “bind themselves down under the foolish ordinances and performances which are laid down by ancient priests, to usurp power and authority over them, to keep them in ignorance, that they may not lift up their heads, but be brought down according to thy words” (Alma 30:23). He also argued that “ye keep them down, even as it were in bondage” (Alma 30:27). This repeated downward imagery apparently wasn’t lost on Alma, who warned that if Korihor’s curse were removed, he would “be the means of bringing many souls down to destruction” (Alma 30). Mormon likewise reported that Korihor was “trodden down even until he was dead, … and thus we see that the devil will not support his children at the last day, but doth speedily drag them down to hell” (Alma 30:59–60).

Reinforcing the intentionality of this downward imagery is the repeated juxtaposition of corresponding upward language. Korihor asserted that the priests were trying to keep the people “in ignorance, that they may not lift up their heads” (Alma 30:23). He also said that because of this oppression, the people “durst not look up with boldness” (Alma 30:27). The opening of the narrative ensures that this imagery should be viewed unfavorably, as Mormon remarked that Korihor was “leading away the hearts of many, causing them to lift up their heads in their wickedness” (Alma 30:18). We also read that, at one point, Korihor himself “did rise up in great swelling words before Alma” (Alma 30:31).

This upward imagery is punctuated in a remarkable manner at the end of the story. This comes from the fact that it was the “Zoramites, being led by a man whose name was Zoram” who trampled Korihor to death (Alma 30:59). Although unremarkable in English, the significance of this statement becomes more apparent once the reader understands that the -ram element in these names corresponds to being “high” or “exalted” in Hebrew. Since similar wordplay on this name element appears to be developed extensively in other Book of Mormon narratives, it seems likely that these names weren’t randomly inserted at this juncture.10 In effect, the people who trampled down Korihor were themselves lifted up by the very type of self-exalting pride that Korihor was trying to instill among the followers of Christ.

Dumb Puns

From the analysis provided above, it should be abundantly clear that this narrative is filled with ironic inversions. A significant layer of irony, however, only becomes apparent once the story is placed in a Mesoamerican cultural and linguistic context.

Readers familiar with the Book of Mormon may have noticed that Korihor’s statements contain an unrelenting—and in some cases unique—register of terms denigrating the mental faculties of the followers of Christ. For instance, Korihor asked, “O ye that are bound down under a foolish and a vain hope, why do ye yoke yourselves with such foolish things? …  Behold, these things which ye call prophecies, which ye say are handed down by holy prophets, behold, they are foolish traditions of your fathers” (Alma 30: 13). He went on to say, “behold, it is the effect of a frenzied mind; and this derangement of your minds comes because of the traditions of your fathers” (Alma 30:16). In contrast, he argued that “every man prospered according to his genius” (Alma 30:17). Korihor further argued that the priests “usurp power and authority over” the people in order “to keep them in ignorance” (Alma 30:23) … “And thus ye lead away this people after the foolish traditions of your fathers” (Alma 3027). When brought before Alma, Korihor referred to these as “the silly traditions of their fathers” (Alma 30:31).

With Korihor’s specific language in mind, we can now turn to Mesoamerican societies, where “the people attributed any illness, disease, deformity, and even death to supernatural forces and interpreted them as signs of divine disfavor.”11 According to Wright and Rappleye,

A Colonial-era Yucatecan manuscript known as the Ritual of the Bacabs contains forty-two incantations used by Maya shamans, many of which are devoted to the healing of various maladies, both spiritual and physical. Roys found that “nearly one-third of the Bacabs manuscript is devoted to incantations for various so-called seizures. The term is tancas, a contraction of tamacas, which is the name of a number of complaints. Among these are madness, frenzy, numbness, spasm, and falling sickness. [Falling sickness] is defined as ‘a frenetic malady which strikes dumb, crazes, and deafens the person who has it.’” Significantly, being struck dumb is explicitly associated with other “symptoms” such as deafness, madness, and frenzy throughout the Ritual of the Bacabs. The phrase ten cħub a chi (or slight variants)—which Roys conceptually translates as “I curse you”—occurs some nineteen times throughout the manuscript. However, the phrase literally translates to “I cause your mouth to grunt” (or “mutter inaudibly,” “grumble to yourself,” “babble indistinctly”), or “I make your mouth small,” or “I deform your mouth.” In short, to “curse” someone is to strike them dumb.12

In other words, curses in this environment were often associated with being struck dumb, and dumbness was associated with madness and frenzy of thought. Wright and Rappleye go on to explain,

The association of “madness” and “frenzy” with muteness or deafness is widely attested to in Mayan languages due to the use of identical or closely homophonous terms for them. In Mopan, the root b’es means “mute, dumb” but also “silly, fool[ish],” and ajb’es means either “mute person” or “fool.” In Poqomchi’ and Kaqchikel, the root is mem or meem, and the associations are identical. In Quiché, the verb man -ta taj means “to be deaf,” and man -ta’ taj means “to be an idiot” (the only difference being the glottal stop in the latter). The exact same connotations hold true for other Mayan languages such as Chol and Tzotsil. In Yucatec Mayan, ah ch’uch’ means “enmudecer” (“to strike dumb”) as well as “tonto, loco, lunático” and “demente” (“silly, crazy, lunatic,” and “demented [or deranged]”).13

Conclusion

Wright and Rappleye dig deeper into these and other relevant sematic associations, but it should be clear by this point that Korihor’s diatribe against the church of Christ is filled with additional irony when set in a Mesoamerican context. Based on wide-ranging linguistic evidence, Korihor’s being struck dumb likely would have signaled to the people that he was hardly the genius that he seemed to think he was. Indeed, the onset of his curse-induced malady would have associated him with that which was foolish, ignorant, or silly, as well as with a frenzied and deranged mind—the very language that he had used to describe the followers of Christ and their traditional beliefs. The fact that some of these terms are unique within the Book of Mormon amplifies their significance in this particular narrative.14

As concluded by Wright and Rappleye, “When viewed through a Mesoamerican lens, the interplay between puns and talionic justice in Alma 30 becomes deeply ironic, perhaps even a bit sardonic. Korihor’s punishment fits his crime like a glove: he is cursed to become the very things he falsely and derisively accused the Nephites of being.”15

Even if one were to suppose (largely against the historical evidence) that Joseph Smith had the literary talent to dictate such a story in 1829,16 one would still have to explain the notable enhancements of irony through the integration of Semitic and Mesoamerican puns. Perhaps if this were just a one-off phenomenon, one could reasonably view it as mere luck or happenstance. Yet this recent proposal of wordplay in a Mesoamerican linguistic environment complements an already vast and ever-growing body of evidence for Semitic and Egyptian puns throughout the Book of Mormon.17 When viewed together, these sophisticated literary and linguistic elements significantly support the text’s ancient origins and divine translation.