Book of Mormon Evidence: Extra “And” in Causal, Temporal, and Conditional Clauses

In the Book of Mormon, the word and shows up frequently, sometimes in ways that do not accord with English grammar but which do match a Hebrew or Semitic grammar. The word and corresponds to the Hebrew lexeme waw, which is found frequently in the Old Testament. Donald Parry notes that this “is the most common word in the Hebrew Bible, occurring an astonishing 50,524 times, representing about 12 percent of all the words in the Hebrew Bible” and that it “performs some thirty functions.”1

Because of its diverse functionality, explains Paul Hoskisson, waw is often translated as many different words, “including even, that is, even so, but, or, then, therefore, etc. These meanings are necessary when translating from Hebrew because and in English does not usually introduce the main clause, the apodosis, after a preceding dependent clause, the protasis.”2 The waw also “connects two or more clauses” and “may often be translated as a conjunction other than ‘and.’” In temporal clauses, this is often rendered as “and then,” and in conditional clauses it is often rendered as “then.”3

Remarkably, when found in certain types of clauses, many instances of and in the Book of Mormon appear to reflect the wider Hebrew usage of waw. Such instances can be included among the many proposed Hebraisms or Hebrew-like features identified in the Book of Mormon.4

Causal Clauses

One type of clause that utilizes this extra and is a causal clause (involving relationships of cause and effect), which is typically introduced with the word because. Although common in Hebrew, the extra and is often left untranslated in English, such as the following example: “Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, [original Hebrew: and] he hath also rejected thee from being king” (1 Samuel 15:23; emphasis added throughout).

Royal Skousen has identified one instance of this usage in the Book of Mormon. While included in the original 1830 publication, the and was removed in the 1837 edition to make the text more readable in English: “Because he speaketh flattering words unto you and he saith that all is well, and then ye will find no fault with him” (Helaman 13:28).5

Temporal Clauses

A second, more prominent use of and is found in temporal clauses (involving relationships in time). Like the causal clauses just mentioned, English often uses then in temporal clauses. For example, “When you go to the store, then I will go with you.” Or, in other cases, an English writer or speaker may simply omit the then, as follows: “When you go to the store, then I will go with you.” In Hebrew, however, the clause would use and to introduce the apodosis: “When you go to the store, and I will go with you.”

Because this extra and is generally not included in English translations of the Bible, most readers wouldn’t be aware of it. Note that these temporal clauses may be introduced with various prepositions, including when, before, after, or as.6 Consider the following examples from the Old Testament:

• “And when Esau heard the words of his father, [original Hebrew: and] he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry” (Genesis 27:34)
• “And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that [original Hebrew: and] the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake” (Genesis 39:5)
• And when he had made an end to offer the present, [original Hebrew: and] he sent away the people that bare the present” (Judges 3:18)
• “But ere [before] the messenger came to him, [original Hebrew: and] he said to the elders” (2 Kings 6:32)

Many of the temporal clauses in the Book of Mormon utilizing an extra and are introduced with when, making them more easily identifiable. For example, in the Printer’s Manuscript for 3 Nephi 23:8, a simple when/and statement is found that was not included in the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon: “And when Nephi had brought forth the records and laid them before him and he cast his eyes upon them.” According to Hoskisson, “The sense of the pericope is: ‘And when Nephi had brought forth the records and laid them before him, then (< and) he cast his eyes upon them.’”7

Another instance is found in Alma 8:13 in the Printer’s Manuscript: “Now when the people had said this and withstood all his words and reviled him and spit upon him and caused that he should be cast out of their City and he departed thence.” While this sentence is more complex, the final use of and is markedly different than preceding uses and should really be understood to mean then.8 An additional example of this when/and statement was introduced in the Book of Mormon’s rendering of Isaiah 2:2 found in 2 Nephi 12:2:

At first glance, the insertion of when into the Nephite text “seems to create an unresolved syntactical issue” in which “the dependent clause created by when does not seem to be resolved, at least not if an appeal to English syntax is made.”9 However, it does work in Hebrew grammar, with the final and taking the meaning of then: “and [then] all nations shall flow unto it.”

Other temporal clauses utilizing the word and have been removed at various points in the publication of the Book of Mormon. The following is a sample collected by Skousen:

• “As I cast my eyes around about . . . and I beheld a river of water” (1 Nephi 8:13; removed in the production of the Printer’s Manuscript)10
• “And after it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles . . . and thou seest because of the many plain and precious things which have been taken out of the Book” (1 Nephi 13:29; removed in the 1837 edition of the Book of Mormon)11
• “As my father arose in the morning, and went forth to the tent door, and to his great astonishment he beheld upon the ground a round ball of curious workmanship” (1 Nephi 16:10; removed in the 1830 edition)12
• “And it came to pass that while he was journeying thither . . . and it came to pass that while Alma was thus weighed down with sorrow, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared unto him” (Alma 8:14; removed in the 1837 edition of the Book of Mormon)13
• “And now after the church had been established throughout all the land . . . and thus ended the fourteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi” (Alma 16:21; removed in the 1837 edition)14
• “But behold, as the seed swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, and then ye must needs say, That the seed is good” (Alma 32:30; removed in the 1837 edition of the Book of Mormon)15
• “When the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it, and because it hath no root, it whithereth away” (Alma 32:38; removed in the 1837 edition)16
• “And it came to pass that when they cast their eyes about . . . and behold, they saw that they were encircled about, yea every soul, by a pillar of fire” (Helaman 5:43; removed in the 1920 edition of the Book of Mormon)17
• “Therefore, as Nephi had bowed himself upon the tower which was in his garden . . . and it came to pass that there were certain men passing by” (Helaman 7:10–11; as removed in the 1830 edition)18
• “And it came to pass that after three hundred and five years had passed away . . . and Amos died; and his brother, Ammaron, did keep the record in his stead” (4 Nephi 1:47; removed in the 1830 edition)19
• “After this tenth year had passed away . . . and the king of the Lamanites sent an epistle unto me” (Mormon 3:4; removed in the 1830 edition)20
• “And it came to pass that when they were all gathered together . . . and they did march forth one against another to battle; and they fought all that day, and conquered not” (Ether 15:15; removed in the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon)21
• “And it came to pass that when Coriantumr had leaned upon his sword, that he rested a little, and he smote off the head of Shiz” (Ether 15:30; removed in the 1830 edition)22

Concerning the printed text of the Book of Mormon, Skousen has observed that if the punctuation were to be changed or altered, then many examples of these temporal clauses could be made more visible or apparent. Other examples have been hidden because Mormon included one or more interrupting clauses that mask the Hebraic nature of the translated text. Consider the following verses:

• “Behold after that they were brought into bondage by the hands of the Lamanites in the wilderness; yea, I say unto you, they were in captivity, and again the Lord did deliver them out of bondage” (Alma 5:5)23
• “When I did cry unto thee in my field, when I did cry unto thee in my prayer, and thou didst hear me” (Alma 33:5)24
• “Yea, thou art merciful unto thy children when they cry unto thee, to be heard of thee and not of men, and thou wilt hear them” (Alma 33:8)25
• “When Moroni had armed all those prisoners . . . And then he caused the men who were with him to withdraw a pace from them, and surround the armies of the Lamanites” (Alma 55:17–21)26
• “And it came to pass that when the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the storm, and the tempest, and the quakings of the earth did cease . . . and then behold, there was darkness upon the face of the land” (3 Nephi 8:19)27
• “And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words unto Nephi, and to those who had been called . . . and behold, he stretched forth his hand” (3 Nephi 12:1)28
• “When they had gone through and hewn down all my people save it were twenty and four of us . . . and we having survived the dead of our people” (Mormon 6:11)29

Conditional Clauses

A third significant use of and in the Book of Mormon can be found in conditional clauses beginning with the word if. In English, conditional clauses typically utilize if/then statements, such as “If I read, then I will learn.” However, as Parry explains, “Biblical Hebrew often forms such clauses by using and instead of the expected then.”30 Thus, if we were following biblical Hebrew grammar, the above sentence would read “If I read, and I will learn.” Once again, this and is often translated as then in English translations of the Bible, as in the following examples:

• “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then [original Hebrew: and] I will spare all the place” (Genesis 18:26)
• “If the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then [original Hebrew: and] thou shalt be clear from this my oath” (Genesis 24:8)
• “If God will be with me, . . . then [original Hebrew: and] shall the Lord be my God” (Genesis 28:20–21)
• “If ye will obey my voice . . . then [original Hebrew: and] ye shall be a peculiar treasure” (Exodus 19:5)
• “If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you . . . then [original Hebrew: and] ye shall give them the land” (Numbers 32:29)

In some instances, the English translators forgo translating the and altogether, such as in Genesis 24:41: “And if they give not thee one, [original Hebrew: and] thou shalt be clear from my oath.” Ultimately, this Hebraic form of the conditional statement does not appear anywhere in the King James Version of the Bible or even most English translations as a whole.

However, Skousen has observed that this same form of conditional has been preserved in the Book of Mormon, primarily in the original manuscripts and 1830 edition. For example, in the Original Manuscript for 1 Nephi 17:50, the text reads, “if he should command me that I should say unto this water be thou earth, and it shall be earth.” Skousen notes that this “non-English construction was removed from this verse by Oliver Cowdery as he copied the original manuscript to produce the printer’s manuscript. He deleted the word and, making the text read better in English.”31

Skousen has identified fourteen instances of this conditional clause that were included in the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon but were edited out in the 1837 edition. This was done to make the text more readable per the standard rules of English grammar. Examples include:

• “If ye should serve him with all your whole soul, and yet ye would be unprofitable servants” (Mosiah 2:21)32
• “If thou wilt grant that my brethren may be cast out of prison. . . and then will I spare thee” (Alma 20:24)33
• “if ye will nourish the word . . . and it shall take root” (Alma 32:41)34
• “And thus, if ye shall say unto this temple, It shall be rent in twain, and it shall be done” (Helaman 10:8)35
• “And if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou cast down and become smooth, and it shall be done” (Helaman 10:9)36
• “if a man should lay his tool or his sword upon the shelf, or upon the place whither he would keep it, and behold, upon the morrow, he could not find it” (Ether 14:1)37
• “If ye shall ask with a sincere heart with real intent having faith in Christ, and he will manifest the truth of it unto you by the power of the Holy Ghost” (Moroni 10:4)38

Most notably, seven of the fourteen conditional statements occur one right after the other in Helaman 12:13–21:

13 Yea, and if he saith unto the earth, Move, and it is moved;

14 yea, if he saith 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.39

Skousen has also identified one instance of an if/and conditional that has not been edited out in later editions of the Book of Mormon: “If thou wilt show me a sign, . . . and then will I be convinced of the truth of thy words” (Alma 30:43).40 A related example likely remains in the current text because it utilizes an inverted verb-subject word order to offer a conditional clause without using if: “But had they awoke the Lamanites . . . and the Nephites could have slain them” (Alma 55:18).41

Conclusion

According to Parry, “In many ways, Book of Mormon usage of and matches that of the Hebrew Bible. The Book of Mormon has 16,349 occurrences of and, about 13 percent of all the words therein” (which is close to the 12 percent found in the Bible).42 In addition to this similar overall frequency, the specialized uses of and in each text support the claim that the Book of Mormon was translated from an ancient Hebrew-like record.

Regarding the unusual repetition of and, especially the series of back-to-back conditionals found in Helaman 12:13–21, Skousen concluded, “This use of and is not due to scribal error. . . . These observations support the idea that Joseph Smith’s translation was a literal one and not simply a reflection of either his own dialect or the style of early modem English found in the King James Version of the Bible. They also support the idea that the language from which the book was translated into English was Hebrew or Hebrew-like.”43

This, however, shouldn’t be construed to mean that the entire text of the Book of Mormon is a literal, word-for-word translation. In fact, based on other types of textual data, Skousen more recently characterized the Book of Mormon as a “creative and cultural translation of what was on the plates, not a literal one.”44 In other words, some aspects of the text seem quite literally translated, while others more likely involve functional equivalency or some degree of expansion or adaption of the original text.    

Whatever the precise mixture or ratio of translation types is in the text at large, Skousen has pointed out that these and constructions are “a literalistic translation of the Hebrew-language construction, but [do] not occur at all in the King James Bible.”45 As concluded by Parry, “This finding underscores the position that the Book of Mormon’s use of Hebraistic literary forms cannot simply be attributed to Joseph Smith’s familiarity with the English Bible.”46 In fact, as his edits to the 1837 edition of the Book of Mormon suggest, Joseph was apparently not aware of its significance and actively removed extra occurrences of and to help the Book of Mormon read better in English.47

Overall, the repeated use of and to connect causal, temporal, and conditional clauses—especially after intervening parenthetical clauses—may best be understood as a Hebraic element that has survived the translation process.48 Joseph Smith never brought any attention to this textual feature, highlighting that he was likely unaware of its significance.