Evidence #455 | July 17, 2024

Book of Mormon Evidence: Repeated Possessive Pronouns

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Scripture Central

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Abstract

The Book of Mormon features many lists in which the same possessive pronoun is repeated before each item in the list. This grammatical feature helps support the Book of Mormon as a Hebrew-influenced text.

In modern English, it is common to only insert a single possessive pronoun that applies to each item in a list. For instance, a teacher might tell a class of students, “Please get out your paper, pencil, book, and folder.” Hebrew grammar works a bit differently, though. According to John A. Tvedtnes,

In Hebrew, pronouns used for possession and direct object are ordinarily attached as suffixes to the noun (in case of possession) and verb (in case of direct object). In instances of possession, therefore, one cannot say “his house and family and friends, etc.,” but rather, one is obliged to say “his house and his family, and his friends,” attaching the pronominal suffix “his” to each noun.1

This grammatical form—where the same pronoun is repeated before each item in a list—is found throughout the English translation of the King James Bible. For example, in Genesis 36:6 we read, “And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his substance” (Genesis 36:6). Many similar biblical lists could be cited.2

Possessive Pronouns in the Book of Mormon 

Repeated possessive pronouns are also found throughout the Book of Mormon. Some examples are simple, as seen in 1 Nephi 22:11: “Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed to make bare his arm in the eyes of all the nations, in bringing about his covenants and his gospel.” A passage with more repetition is found in 1 Nephi 2:4: “And he left his house, and the land of his inheritance, and his gold, and his silver, and his precious things.” An even longer instance turns up in Helaman 3:14:

But behold, a hundredth part of the proceedings of this people, yea, the account of the Lamanites and of the Nephites, and their wars, and contentions, and dissensions, and their preaching, and their prophecies, and their shipping and their building of ships, and their building of temples, and of synagogues and their sanctuaries, and their righteousness, and their wickedness, and their murders

Mormon’s exhortations in 3 Nephi 30:2 offers a similar degree of repetition:

Turn, all ye Gentiles, from your wicked ways; and repent of your evil doings, of your lyings and deceivings, and of your whoredoms, and of your secret abominations, and your idolatries, and of your murders, and your priestcrafts, and your envyings, and your strifes, and from all your wickedness and abominations

Conclusion

It should be clarified that not every list in the Book of Mormon repeats the possessive pronoun for every item.3 Furthermore, because this feature was abundantly preserved in the English phrasing of the King James Bible, it means that it could possibly have been imitated by Joseph Smith. Thus, too much shouldn’t be made of this singular line of grammatical evidence.

That being said, the frequency of these types of lists in the Book of Mormon is not insignificant. In total, the possessive pronoun is repeated on more than 280 occasions. In more than 70 of these instances, the pronoun is repeated three or more times in short succession (see Appendix). Thus, if Joseph Smith was simply imitating the Bible, he did so to an impressive degree. One might also consider that, unlike most other authors in his day, Smith orally dictated the Book of Mormon in a single take in a fast-paced translation. He therefore didn’t have the luxury of revising and editing his text to make it sound more biblical.4

In the bigger picture, this is just one of many Hebrew-like features found in the Book of Mormon.5 When viewed collectively, they provide substantial evidence of the Book of Mormon’s Hebrew origins.6

Further Reading
Appendix
Endnotes