Behold I

Authors

Kent P. Jackson

Keywords

Bible, Old Testament, Language, style, English, Versions, Smith

Abstract

On two occasions while he worked on his New Translation of Genesis in 1830, the Prophet Joseph Smith dictated to his scribe Oliver Cowdery a word combination that in English is awkward and ungrammatical, though in the Hebrew it is not: "Behold I." The first occurrence reads, "Behold I I am the Lord God Almighty." The second reads, "Behold I send me." Both passages are in the Book of Moses in the Pear of Great Price, but "Behold I" is not found in either of those passages today because, after the time of Joseph Smith, each was edited out of the text:

"Behold, I am the Lord God Almighty" (Moses 1:3; from 1867 to present)

"Behold, here am I, send me" (Moses 4:1; from 1902 to present)

Recommended Citation

Jackson, Kent P. (2005) "Behold I," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 44: Iss. 2, Article 7.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol44/iss2/7