A note on Hebrew in the Book of Mormon

One of our readers asked why we look for Hebrew roots in the Book of Mormon. After all it was written in Reformed Egyptian. In case others wonder and because we are basing many of our blog posts these days on Hebrew roots, I wanted to make a note about that. 

We don't know exactly what Reformed Egyptian is. But most scholars agree that it is a variant of the Hebrew language expressed with Egyptian script. This article explains more.

Critics of the church make fun of Reformed Egyptian and claim that no such thing exists. But it's important to understand that this is just a label the Nephites used and a perfectly fine label for what is described in the linked article above. It is also important to understand the difference between spoken languages and a writing system. Some examples to illustrate this point:

• If I write "hallelujah", I can say that is a Hebrew word. But a Jew would not write it like that. I have expressed a Hebrew word with Latin script. In Hebrew, it would be הללויה, and impossible for me to read.
• English is a language but not a writing system. The writing system is actually Latin. You can use it to express English words, but you can also use it to express German, Italian, Spanish, even Vietnamese words, because they also use the Latin writing system.
• Yiddish is a dialect of German written with the Hebrew alphabet. 
• Japanese is written in a modified form of Chinese characters. Kanji literally means "Chinese characters."
• The Korean writing system "Hangul" was invented by Sejong the Great in 1443 to promote literacy. It suddenly replaced the Chinese writing system practically overnight, even though the spoken language didn't change at all.

As Mormon 9:32 states, it is the characters (writing system) that they call Reformed Egyptian. That makes sense since the language spoken by Lehi and Nephi in Jerusalem 600 BC was obviously Hebrew. So why did they not use the Hebrew writing system too? I think the answer is found in Mormon 9:33

And if our plates had been sufficiently large we should have written in Hebrew

Both Hebrew and Egyptian writing contain consonants only. But unlike Hebrew, Hieratic script (the ancient Egyptian writing system in use 600 BC) could also combine more than one consonant into one character. Therefore, it represented a more compact writing system. In addition, "reformed" may indicate other means to further contract the writing system. Considering Jacob 4:1 and other verses expressing the same sentiment, it is no wonder that this would be an objective for the Nephites.

...and I cannot write but a little of my words, because of the difficulty of engraving our words upon plates...

Another reason for using a form of Egyptian script might be the fact that the record they obtained from Laban and brought along to "preserve...the language" (1 Nephi 3:19) was also written in Egyptian. This is stated in Mosiah 1:4

For it were not possible that our father, Lehi, could have remembered all these things, to have taught them to his children, except it were for the help of these plates; for he having been taught in the language of the Egyptians therefore he could read these engravings, and teach them to his children, that thereby they could teach them to their children, and so fulfilling the commandments of God, even down to this present time.

Another reason why it is clear to me that primarily the characters were based on Egyptian and the language was based on Hebrew, is the numerous Hebrew meanings and wordplays we find in the Book of Mormon. When names are transliterated, their Hebrew origin usually shines through, even though they may be of Egyptian origin in some cases since the Israelites in 600 BC were also influenced by other cultures and languages. When you translate Hebrew-like words written in Egyptian script into English, the script totally changes and the Egyptian part is lost. 

Based on all that, we (the main bloggers, Lord Wilmore and me) think it can be meaningful to understand the underlying Hebrew origin of certain words or phrases in the Book of Mormon. It is a rich language full of connections and symbolism that can enhance our understanding of various principles. Since we only have the translated English word, this will inevitably be somewhat speculative. In addition, we know that

the Hebrew hath been altered by us also (Mormon 9:33)

How much, we don't know. Personally, I think that the Nephite spoken language must have developed quite a bit over time. 1000 years is a long time. See for instance how much English has changed over 1000 years. However, I cannot imagine the written language on the plates having changed too much. Mormon compiled the writings from the time of Nephi all the way down to his own time. Abbreviating from many different sources with completely different languages would be a really difficult task. Rather, the Nephite scribes were taught in the language of their fathers (see e.g. Mosiah 1:2).

Based on all the Hebraism we find in the Book of Mormon, including many elements from the Hebrew language identified and written about on this blog, I think the "learning of the Jews" (1 Nephi 1:2) has been preserved among the Nephite scribes. I don't know much Hebrew myself, but my impression is that those who do, and who know the Book of Mormon, tend to see Jewish/Hebrew fingerprints all over the book.

I think Reformed Egyptian is evidence of the authenticity of the Book of Mormon. Otherwise we would need to expect a young farmer with little education to understand the concept of different languages and writing systems, specifically know the characteristics of the Hebrew and Egyptian writing systems, ensure internal consistency between e.g. 1 Nephi 1, Mosiah 1 and Mormon 9, learn and use  transliterations of numerous Hebrew and some Egyptian names in the Book of Mormon, etc. That just does not seem plausible at all. In fact, when modern critics mock Reformed Egyptian and claim it is an invention by Joseph Smith, they reveal their lack of understanding of something that the young farmer in the early 1800s apparently understood better than them.

River of water and lake of fire

The Book of Mormon and especially Jacob keep mentioning a lake of fire and brimstone, as Lord Wilmore also just posted about. Not a very pleasant topic, perhaps, but I find it interesting nonetheless. I came across this article on the Book of Mormon central. Fire and brimstone are common symbols both in the Old and New Testament. But it was interesting to learn that the Egyptians specifically have this idea of a lake consisting of fire instead of water, prepared for those who are to suffer the "second death" in the afterlife. This imagery in the Book of Mormon is clearly rooted in ancient Israelite and Egyptian culture and language.

In addition to the connections to ancient Israelite and Egyptian thought, there is another interesting internal Book of Mormon connection. Lord Wilmore has previously written about the justice of God as a flaming fire in Nephi's vision. In 1 Nephi 12:18, we read

And a great and a terrible gulf divideth them; yea, even the sword of the justice of the Eternal God

The 's' is added to make it "sword" rather than "word" as it was in the original manuscript. When Nephi's brothers question him later, he expands on this in 1 Nephi 15:26-30

26 And they said unto me: What meaneth the river of water which our father saw?

27 And I said unto them that the water which my father saw was filthiness; and so much was his mind swallowed up in other things that he beheld not the filthiness of the water.

28 And I said unto them that it was an awful gulf, which separated the wicked from the tree of life, and also from the saints of God.

29 And I said unto them that it was a representation of that awful hell, which the angel said unto me was prepared for the wicked.

30 And I said unto them that our father also saw that the justice of God did also divide the wicked from the righteous; and the brightness thereof was like unto the brightness of a flaming fire, which ascendeth up unto God forever and ever, and hath no end.

In his dream, Lehi actually saw two waters. One was a fountain of living waters representing the love of God (1 Nephi 11:25). But there was also a river of filthy water, that Nephi explains in these verses. It is a bit hard to tell if Nephi is changing the topic in verse 28 or not, but I imagine that the filthy river is running in the bottom of that "awful gulf" in verse 28, that prevents the wicked to get to the tree of life. This in turn, is a representation of the justice of God. But Nephi now turns to a different image. Instead of filthy water, there is a "flaming fire, which ascendeth up unto God forever and ever". I wonder if perhaps Nephi's brothers were familiar with this image. As Nephi turns the river of filthy water into a flaming fire, perhaps that actually helped his brothers understand?

In any case, this imagery is associated with "filthiness", God's justice and eternity.

Now compare with Jacob's description of the river of fire in 2 Nephi 9:16

16 And assuredly, as the Lord liveth, for the Lord God hath spoken it, and it is his eternal word, which cannot pass away, that they who are righteous shall be righteous still, and they who are filthy shall be filthy still; wherefore, they who are filthy are the devil and his angels; and they shall go away into everlasting fire, prepared for them; and their torment is as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever and has no end.

This is an interesting link to 1 Nephi 15. Even though 1 Nephi 15 discussed a river of filthy water, Nephi ended up using the image of a flaming fire. And even though 2 Nephi 9:16 discusses a river of fire, it is associated with those who are filthy. Several other "river of fire and brimstone" descriptions are linked to God's justice as well, another topic in 1 Nephi 15. See for instance Jacob 6:10

10 And according to the power of justice, for justice cannot be denied, ye must go away into that lake of fire and brimstone, whose flames are unquenchable, and whose smoke ascendeth up forever and ever, which lake of fire and brimstone is endless torment.

Yet another topic from 1 Nephi 15 is associated with the lake of fire and brimstone. 2 Nephi 9:26

they are delivered from that awful monster, death and hell, and the devil, and the lake of fire and brimstone

That is a lot of quotes and color coded phrases, but let's try to summarize: In 1 Nephi 15, Nephi explains that the river of water is associated with:

• Filth, 
• "awful hell" 
• God's justice 
• a flaming fire.

When Jacob later talks about a sea of fire and brimstone, we see those exact same recurring topics.

What I take from this: Whether it is a river of filthy water or a river of fire, they stand in contrast to the fountain of living waters and mean essentially the same thing. They are rooted in both ancient Israelite and Egyptian imagery. The contrast looks something like this

Fountain of living water	River of filthy water / River of fire and brimstone
Christ	“Monster” / The Devil
Salvation	“Awful hell”
Mercy	Justice
Cleansing	Filth
Tree of life / Eternal life	Second death / Eternal death

"thus it is. Amen"

This phrase just caught my attention. We find 6 of them in the Book of Mormon in total (also counting "thus it is written. Amen" in Alma 6. They are very unique (we don't find them in the Bible for instance) and they always mark the end of a chapter, i.e. the original chapters/sections which seem to have been on the plates, not the modern BoM chapters.

I learned from Hugh Nibley that the "iw-f-pw" in Egyptian, which typically marks the end of ancient Egyptian literature, can be translated to "thus it is". Perhaps this was common on the brass plates which were written with Egyptian script (Mosiah 1:4)?

According to a Jewish Rabbi, the "Amen" afterwards means "truly" or "verily" but is also acrostic for the phrase, "El Melech Ne'eman", which means "God is a faithful king". The phrase fits very well in these passages when reading the context. For instance in Alma 13:9, the righteous people become high priests but God is the king. Also, the last word before this phrase is "truth", which is related to the word, "amen" in Hebrew.

"...and thus it is. Amen" seems to be a formal way for the Nephite record keepers to end a section, combining the Egyptian and the Hebrew phrases.

A list of these end-note phrases:

• 1st Nephi 9. Nephi ending his comments of the plates and possibly the abbreviation of Lehi's record
• 1st Nephi 14. Nephi ending the description of his vision
• 1st Nephi 22. End of 1st Nephi
• Alma 6. Conclusion of Alma's preaching in Zarahemla and introduction to his preaching in Gideon.
• Alma 13. This one is interesting. Mormon seems to copy directly from Alma's record. "I" in verse 1 would be Alma. So Alma is making this section break in the middle of his sermon to the people in Ammonihah. I don't know why...
• Helaman 12. The whole chapter is a "thus we see..." commentary by Mormon. He uses this phrase to conclude his remarks before he continues the narrative.