A Lengthier Treatment of Length

Authors

Brian D. Stubbs

Keywords

Ancient Near East, Language, Bible, Old Testament, Books, Genesis, Book of Mormon, Mesoamerica, Civilization

Abstract

Book of Mormon language frequently contains lengthy structures of rather awkward English. Some may consider these to be instances of poor grammar, weakness in writing (Ether 12:23–26), or the literary ineptness of a fraudulent author; however, I see them as potentially significant support for a translation from a Near Eastern language in an ancient American setting. Many of these examples of awkward, lengthy structures in English parallel Semitic (and Egyptian) patterns, particularly the circumstantial or hal-clause. In response to critics of my previous proposal to that effect, this article is a lengthier treatment of these lengthy structures found in the Book of Mormon.

BYU ScholarsArchive Citation

Stubbs, Brian D. (1996) "A Lengthier Treatment of Length," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies: Vol. 5: No. 2, Article 4.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jbms/vol5/iss2/4