Source:Echoes:Ch7:13:Repeat definitive article

Repetition of the Definite Article

Parent page: Book of Mormon/Anthropology/Language/Hebraisms/Repetition of the Definite Article

Repetition of the Definite Article

Unlike English, in which a series of nouns can be introduced by a single definite article (the), Hebrew repeats the definite article for each noun. This kind of repetition is seen throughout the Book of Mormon. A prime example is "We did observe to keep the judgments, and the statutes, and the commandments of the Lord" (2 Nephi 5:10). Of course, it would be much more usual in English to render this as "We did observe to keep the judgments, statutes, and commandments of the Lord."[1]

Notes

  1. Donald W. Parry, "Hebraisms and Other Ancient Peculiarities in the Book of Mormon," in Echoes and Evidences of the Book of Mormon, edited by Donald W. Parry, Daniel C. Peterson, and John W. Welch (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 2002), Chapter 7, references silently removed—consult original for citations.