Evidence #245 | September 27, 2021
Book of Mormon Evidence: Colophons (Antiquity)
Post contributed by
Scripture Central
Abstract
Editorial information found at the beginning and end of the Book of Mormon’s literary units has parallels with colophons found in various ancient Near Eastern texts.Colophons in the Book of Mormon
Beginning with the pioneering work of Hugh Nibley, scholars have noticed that the Book of Mormon contains editorial comments at the beginning and end of its literary units.1 Such markers in ancient texts are often referred to as colophons (from the Greek word kolophōn, meaning “summit” or “finishing touch”). According to some classifications, colophons are only situated at the conclusion of texts or literary units,2 but other definitions place them at the beginning as well.3
In general, colophons in the Book of Mormon help introduce, conclude, or summarize content, often presenting information about the text’s title, author, purpose, source documents, and so forth.4 Some features found in the Book of Mormon’s colophons can be favorably compared to scribal practices in antiquity. Particularly relevant are colophons found in Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and biblical texts.
Mesopotamian Colophons
Although early Mesopotamian colophons were fairly simple, those in later periods (Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian) “tended to be longer, and usually contained a great deal more information.”5 Like those found in the Book of Mormon, “their content and length vary considerably,”6 and they are “relatively free of formulas.”7 A late Mesopotamian colophon, for example, might contain anywhere between one and all of the following features:8
- The catch-line
- The name of the series and number of the tablet
- The number of lines on the tablet
- The source of the copy
- The name of the owner of the tablet
- The name of the scribe making the copy
- The reason for making the copy
- The curse or blessing
- The date
- Disposition of the copy
Most of these items (4–10) are analogous, although not necessarily identical, with features that show up in Book of Mormon colophons. Another similarity has to do with phrasing. As demonstrated in the following examples, several Book of Mormon colophons use forms of the word “end” in their concluding statements:
- “And now I make an end of speaking concerning the things which I saw while I was carried away in the Spirit” (1 Nephi 14:30).
- “And I make an end of speaking these words” (Jacob 3:14)
- “And I make an end of my writing upon these plates” (Jacob 7:27)
- “And I make an end” (Omni 1:3; cf. Omni 1:9, 11, 30).
- And thus ended the ninetieth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. And thus ended the book of Helaman, according to the record of Helaman and his sons (Helaman 16:24–25).
- “And now I make an end of my saying, which is of myself, and proceed to give my account of the things which have been before me” (3 Nephi 5:19)
- “Therefore for this time I make an end of my sayings” (3 Nephi 10:19).
According to John A. Tvedtnes and David Bokovoy,
This popular Book of Mormon technique proves especially significant in light of recent textual discoveries. In Akkadian (the language of Babylon and Assyria, distantly related to Hebrew), the scribal word qati, “ended or completed” appears as a standard literary term at the conclusion of colophons written in cuneiform. Therefore, these Book of Mormon statements provide a conclusion similar to Mesopotamian documents that terminate with the colophonic expression “ended or completed.”9
Egyptian Colophons
As first pointed out by Hugh Nibley, Nephi’s introductory colophon (1 Nephi 1:1–3) shares similarities to a colophon found in an ancient Egyptian manuscript called the Bremner-Rhind Papyrus.10 Tvedtnes explains,
The Bremer-Rhind papyrus opens with a colophon that gives the date, the titles of the author, genealogical information about his parents, and a curse upon anyone who might tamper with the document (in other words, an avowal that the record is true). These textual elements functioned in antiquity somewhat like a copyright or seal of approval.11
Prefaces to many other Egyptian literary texts similarly include the name and titles of the writer, as well as the subject of the narrative.12 As far as endings go, they very often feature either a short, formulaic colophon certifying that the text has been copied correctly or a longer colophon which also includes the identity of the scribe.13 Some Book of Mormon colophons similarly emphasize the authenticity and accuracy of its texts.14
Biblical Colophons
Most of the prophetic texts of the Old Testament begin with a sentence fragment that, like many examples in the Book of Mormon, identifies its author and provides other introductory information.15 For instance, the book of Isaiah begins: “The vision of Isaiah [authorship] the son of Amoz [parentage], which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem [content preview] in the days [chronology] of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah” (Isaiah 1:1).
Like some Book of Mormon examples, a few textual units in the Bible contain a colophon at the beginning and end. For instance, Habakkuk 3:1 opens with a colophon describing the text’s genre, its author, and his credentials, and then it closes in verse 19 with a formal colophon identifying the intended recipient or audience: “A prayer [source text] of Habakkuk [author] the prophet [credentials] upon Shigionoth (v. 1). … “To the chief singer [audience] on my stringed instruments” (v. 19).16
A few biblical texts contain even more formal concluding statements, using the term “ended,” such as the following: “The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended [conclusion]” (Psalm 72:20); “The words of Job are ended [conclusion]” (Job 31:40). These are comparable to the many formal endings found in the Book of Mormon and Mesopotamian texts (as discussed previously).17
Biblical colophons sometimes describe prophecies as being recorded literally “by the hand” (bĕ yad) of the prophet (cf. Malachi 1:1; Haggai 1:1). This feature is also found in Mesopotamian texts to identify the copyist (“by the hand of so-and-so”),18 in later Egyptian texts to indicate authorship (“written by his own hand”),19 and in Book of Mormon texts to identify authorship or the sealer of a text.20
There is some evidence that colophons in biblical texts resulted from scribal training and that they were part of a “well-established literary tradition. It should come as no surprise therefore to find colophons and superscriptions throughout the Book of Mormon.”21
Conclusion
Many of the Book of Mormon’s introductory and conclusory statements can be favorably compared to colophons found in ancient Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and biblical texts. Parallels can be seen in individual features, clusters of features, and overall function and purpose. This editorial practice is consistent with the text’s claimed ancient Near Eastern origins.
John A. Tvedtnes and David E. Bokovoy, “Colophons and Superscripts,” in Testaments: Links Between the Book of Mormon and the Hebrew Bible (Tooele, UT: Heritage Press, 2003), 107–116.
Thomas W. Mackay, “Mormon as Editor: A Study of Colophons, Headers, and Source Indicators,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 2, no. 2 (1993): 90–109.
John A. Tvedtnes, “Colophons in the Book of Mormon,” in Reexploring the Book of Mormon: A Decade of New Research, ed. John W. Welch (Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1992), 13–16.
John A. Tvedtnes, “Colophons in the Book of Mormon,” in Rediscovering the Book of Mormon: Insights You May Have Missed Before, ed. John L. Sorenson and Melvin J. Thorne (Salt Lake City and Provo, UT:
Deseret Book and FARMS, 1991), 32–37.
Hugh Nibley, Lehi in the Desert/The World of the Jaredites/There Were Jaredites (Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1988), 17–19.
- 1. See Hugh Nibley, Lehi in the Desert/The World of the Jaredites/There Were Jaredites (Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1988), 17–19. See also, John A. Tvedtnes and David E. Bokovoy, “Colophons and Superscripts,” in Testaments: Links Between the Book of Mormon and the Hebrew Bible (Tooele, UT: Heritage Press, 2003), 107–116; Thomas W. Mackay, “Mormon as Editor: A Study of Colophons, Headers, and Source Indicators,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 2, no. 2 (1993): 90–109; John A. Tvedtnes, “Colophons in the Book of Mormon,” in Reexploring the Book of Mormon: A Decade of New Research, ed. John W. Welch (Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1992), 13–16; John A. Tvedtnes, “Colophons in the Book of Mormon,” in Rediscovering the Book of Mormon: Insights You May Have Missed Before, ed. John L. Sorenson and Melvin J. Thorne (Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1991), 32–37.
- 2. See Tvedtnes and Bokovoy, “Colophons and Superscripts,” 107: “A superscript is an editorial comment at the beginning of a text, while a colophon refers to an editorial addition at the conclusion of a document.”
- 3. See, for example, Csaba Barlogh, The Stele of YHWH in Egypt: The Prophecies of Isaiah 18–20 concerning Egypt and Kush (Leiden: Brill, 2011), 69: “In antiquity, the beginning and/or the end of a literary text was often marked by colophons. The colophons as superscriptions and subscriptions contained various information about the published text (addressee, author, scribe, subject, chronological information, etc.).”
- 4. For a more thorough explanation of the variety and patterns found in Book of Mormon colophons, see Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Colophons (Complexity),” September 27, 2021, online at evidencecentral.org.
- 5. Erle Leichty, “The Colophon,” in Studies Presented to A. Leo Oppenheim, ed. Robert D. Biggs and John A. Brinkman (Chicago, IL: Oriental Institute, 1964), 147–155.
- 6. Alan Lenzi, An Introduction to Akkadian Literature: Contexts and Content (University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University, 2019), quote derived from a digital version of the text in which pagination wasn’t available.
- 7. Leichty, “The Colophon,” 147. See also Leila Avrin, Scribes, Script, and Books: The Book Arts from Antiquity to the Renaissance (Chicago, IL: American Library Association and The British Library, 1991), 79: “The tradition of the colophon … flourished in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. The colophon’s information and composition varied. It gave the standard title, that is, the book’s opening words, and the name of the scribe, at times with his patronym. Seldom was the book’s author named. Sometimes the colophon verified that this edition was a true copy of the original book, giving the name of the scribe of the prototype and its date and owner. Then the date of the copy would be given along with the name of the patron who commissioned the book and the nature of the work.”
- 8. Leichty, “The Colophon,” 147. Definitions and explanations of each of these features is provided throughout the article.
- 9. Tvedtnes and Bokovoy, “Colophons and Superscripts,” 116.
- 10. See Nibley, Lehi in the Desert, 17.
- 11. Tvedtnes, “Colophons in the Book of Mormon,” 13.
- 12. As a case in point concerning honorary titles, the opening lines of the venerable Story of Sinuhe read: “The hereditary noble and commander, warden and district officer of the estates of the sovereign in the lands of the Asiatics, this truly beloved royal acquaintance, the follower Sinuhe, said: I was a follower who followed his lord, a servant of the king’s harem and of the hereditary princess, greatest of praise, wife of [King] Senwosret in Khnumet-sut and daughter of [King] Amenemhet in Ka-nofru, Nofru, the possessor of an honored state.” William K. Simpson, “The Story of Sinuhe,” in The Literature of Ancient Egypt: An Anthology of Stories, Instructions, Stelae, Autobiographies, and Poetry, ed. William Kelly Simpson, 3rd ed. (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2003), 55.
- 13. The most common formulaic colophon reads that the text “is finished from its beginning to its end as found in writing,” or simply “it is finished.” In P. Leningrad 1115 (the Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor) the colophon includes the name of the scribe: “it is finished from its beginning to its end as found in writing. The scribe, excellent in his fingers, Imeni, son of Imena.” See the examples collected and discussed in Michela Luiselli, “The Colophons as an Indication of the Attitudes Towards the Literary Tradition in Egypt and Mesopotamia,” in Basel Egyptology Prize 1: Junior Research in Egyptian History, Archaeology, and Philology, ed. Susanne Bickel and Antonio Loprieno (Basel: Schwabe & Co., 2003), 346–347.
- 14. See, for example, Title Page; 1 Nephi 1:3; 1 Nephi 14:30; Omni 1:9; 3 Nephi 5:11, 18; 3 Nephi 8:1; Moroni 4:1.
- 15. See, for example, Nehemiah 1:1; Isaiah 2:1; Jeremiah 1:1; Hosea 1:1; Joel 1:1; Amos 1:1; Obadiah 1:1; Micah 1:1; Nahum 1:1; Habakkuk 1:1; Zephaniah 1:1; Malachi 1:1. On biblical colophons generally, see H. M. I. Gervaryahu, “Biblical Colophons: A Source for the ‘Biography’ of Authors, Texts and Books,” in Congress Volume Edinburgh, VTSup 28 (Leiden: Brill, 1975), 42–59; D. W. Baker, “Biblical Colophons: Gevaryahu and Beyond,” in Studies in the Succession Narrative: OTWSA 27 (1984) and OTWSA 28 (1985), ed. W. C. van Wyk (Pretoria: OTWSA, 1986), 29–61; Michael Fishbane, “Biblical Colophons, Textual Criticism and Legal Analogies,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 42, no. 4 (1980): 438–449; Tvedtnes and Bokovoy, “Colophons and Superscripts,” 107–116.
- 16. See Tvedtnes and Bokovoy, “Colophons and Superscripts,” 110.
- 17. Examples derive from Tvedtnes and Bokovoy, “Colophons and Superscripts,” 116–117.
- 18. See Karel van der Toorn, Scribal Culture and the Making of the Hebrew Bible (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007), 32.
- 19. See John Gee, “Were Egyptian Texts Divinely Written?” in Proceedings of the Ninth International Congress of Egyptologists, Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 150 (Leuvens: Peeters, 2007), 1:809.
- 20. See Title Page; 1 Nephi 1:3, 17; Jacob 3:14; Omni 1:9; 3 Nephi 3:5; 3 Nephi 5:11.
- 21. Tvedtnes and Bokovoy, “Colophons and Superscripts,” 114.