Enallage in the Book of Mormon

Authors

Kevin L. Barney, Katten, Muchin, and Zavis in Illinois

Keywords

Bible, Language, Book of Mormon, Hebraisms

Abstract

Thomas W. Brookbank long ago suggested that enallage, meaning the substitution of the singular for the plural or vice versa for rhetorical effect, is present in the Book of Mormon. Enallage appears to exist as a prominent, meaningful rhetorical figure in the Bible, but its presence in the Book of Mormon is more difficult to demonstrate given the pronominal variation found in the Book of Mormon, a factor that Brookbank did not account for in his study. Nevertheless, a careful reading of contextual and verbal clues reveals that enallage does indeed seem to exist in some passages in the Book of Mormon. An awareness of this usage is important for a full under- standing of such passages.

BYU ScholarsArchive Citation

Barney, Kevin L. (1994) "Enallage in the Book of Mormon," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies: Vol. 3: No. 1, Article 9.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jbms/vol3/iss1/9