---
title: Improvement Era
description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930.
authors:
  - Brookbank, Thomas W.
collections:
  - periodicals
tags:
  - magazine
  - improvement-era
periodical: Improvement Era
volume: 17
number: 4
published: 1914-02
publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations
publisher_place: Salt Lake City
language: en
type: magazine
reference: 'Thomas W. Brookbank, "Hebrew Idioms and Analogies in the Book of Mormon—II," *Improvement Era* 17, no. 4 (February 1914): 366–369.'
source:
  url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1704unse
  transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers.
  identifier: improvementera1704unse
start_page: 366
end_page: 369
rights:
  status: public-domain
  basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1914-02)
  source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1704unse
  publication_year: 1914
  note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1914, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright.
---

# Hebrew Idioms and Analogies in the Book of Mormon—II

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Hebrew Idioms and Analogies in the
Book of Mormon
BY THOMAS VV. BROOKBANK, ASSOCIATE EDITOR OF THE MILLENNIAL
STAR
II
2. Concerning the Use of the Hebrczv Conjunction for "and."
"The Hebrew sedulously avoids all involution of sentences. Consequently, instead of linking its clauses together into a complex whole
by conjunctions of various power expressing their precise relation of
dependence and subordination, it prefers, where this is possible, to
connect them together by means of the simple conjunction and, leaving the exact nature of the connection intended to be inferred from the
meanings of the clauses themselves. The conjunction may accordingly be employed not only where we would use and, but before an
adversative clause." — Green's Heb. Gram., par. 287. ("Adversative" is
italicised by the writer.)
Following these statements, the professor cites an example
from Gen. 2:16, 17, — "of every tree thou mayest eat, but of the
tree of the knowledge," etc.
If, now, we substitute "and" instead of "but" in this passage,
the meaning of what has just been said respecting the use of and
to connect an adversative clause, will become apparent to our
youngest readers. The two clauses will then seem joined together
in an unusual, or strange, manner. Let us read them in full thus :
"Of every tree of the garden, thou mayest freely eat ; and of the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it."
The connecting of clauses in this manner by a word which expresses the relation of addition where that of subtraction or of
opposition is involved, is something wholly foreign to English
modes of thought or form of expression. It may be denominated
a Hebraism of the first water. This double-duty service which
the ancient Jews required of their conjunction for and accounts
in some measure for the frequent occurrence of this word in the
Bible. We are all sufficiently familiar with the text of that book
to make it unnecessary to quote any passages to recall to mind the
fact that it occurs and recurs in some portions of it with great
frequency. Readers of the Book of Mormon have all doubtless
observed that it, also, is characterized in the same manner. Its
great plainness depends largely upon the abundant use which was
made of this familiar connective. This latter statement is based
on a superficial view of the matter, however, since it does not point

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HEBREW IDIOMS IN THE BOOK OF MORMON 367
out the real reason why the Book of Mormon is plain and, in general, easily understood ; and so it is supplemented by another which
does hit the mark, namely : that the writers of the Nephite records,
as they came from first hands, compelled by the characteristics of
Jewish minds to eschew the involution of sentences and intricate
forms for the expression of their thoughts, found themselves
bound to the necessity of having frequent resort to the use of
their conjunction for and, and so we find their writings abounding
with it, plainness and simplicity naturally a resultant. These observations relating to what Prof. Greene states in the first portion
of the foregoing quotation from his grammar, seemed to fall into
place here quite conveniently, and we shall now resume remarks
which are more closely connected with the matter in hand where
this digression occurred.
We have seen that the Biblical writers sometimes employed
the conjunction and to connect adversative clauses — a very
marked transgression against English usage — nevertheless, the
English Book of Mormon is chargeable with the same want of
conformity to our idiom, and the fault, if such it be, is often repeated. One example is found in I Nep. 16:2, where it is written :
"I said unto them, that I knew I had spoken hard things against
the wicked; and [but] the righteous have I justified." Others
occur as follows: "And he raiseth up a righteous nation, and
[but] destroyeth the nations of the wicked. And he leadeth away
the righteous into precious lands; and [but] the wicked he destroyeth."— I Nep. 17:37, 38. "Behold, here are our weapons of
war; we will deliver them up unto you, and [but] we will not
suffer ourselves to take an oath, * * which * * we shall
break."— Al. 44:8. "And the law is given unto men. And [but]
by the law no flesh is justified."— II Nep. 2:5. "Many shall be
afflicted in the flesh, and [but] shall not be suffered to perish."—
II Nep. 6:11. "There is nothing which is good, save it comes
from the Lord, and [but] that which is evil cometh from the
devil." Om. 1 :25. " * * For ye have said that ye teach the
law of Moses. And [but] what know ye concerning the law of
Moses?"— Mos. 12:31.
For additional examples see II Nep. 2:7; 6:14; 9:25, 30;
28:28; 30:10; Jac. 5:18, 32, 65, 69, 77 ; 6:4; 7 :7 ; Enos 1:22;
Mos. 2:8, 13; 9:19; 18:34; 19:8, 21; I Nep. 17:48, and often
elsewhere.
A few of the passages cited begin with "and," which should
be "but," according to the English idiom, and, of course, the connection 'must be made with the preceding verse or verses.
3. Concerning the Use of "and" for "or."
Not only did the ancient Hebrews make frequent use of "and"

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368 IMPROVEMENT ERA
for "but," but they also employed it sometimes where the sense
requires the disjunctive "or." The failure to recognize this fact
occasions difficulty in some cases in the interpretation of scripture,
or gives a meaning which is contrary to the law of God or impossible according to natural principles. Thus, as violating the
law of God against the offering of human sacrifices, the account
given in the Bible concerning the vow made by Jephtha, and its
fulfilment in the person of his own daughter, supplies a case in
point; for many contend that the reading justifies the conclusion
that she was slain as an offering to the Almighty. Destructive,
however, of this horrible supposition, is Dr. Hale's exposition of
the meaning of Jephtha's vow arid the manner of its fulfilment.
He says :
"When Jepthah went forth to battle against the Ammonites, he
vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou wilt surely give the
children of Amnion ir»to my hand, then it shall be that whatsoever
cometh out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in
peace from the children of Ammon, shall either be the Lord's, or / will
offer it up for a burnt offering." — (Jud. 11:30, 31.) According to this
rendering of the two conjunctions van, in the last clause 'either,' 'or,'
(which is justified by the Hebrew idiom; thus, 'He that curseth his
father and his mother,' (Ex. 21:17,) is necessarily rendered disjunctively, 'His father or his mother,' bv the Septuagint, Vulgate, Chaldee,
and English, confirmed by Mat. 15:4, the paucity of connecting particles in that language making it necessary that this conjunction
should often be understood disjunctively, the vow consisted of two
parts: (1) That what person soever met him should be the Lord's, or
be dedicated to his service; and, (2) That what beast soever met him,
if clean, should be offered up for a burnt offering unto the Lord." —
(Clarke's Commentary, — Judg. 11:40.)
The interpretation thus given to Jephtha's vow and the manner of its fulfilment, is perfectly consistent with the character of
God, and with his law which made provision for the consecration
of either men or women to his service. This harmony is effected
by simply observing the use which the ancient Hebrews sometimes
made of a copulative conjunction instead of one having a disjunctive meaning. Respecting the other example given by Dr.
Hale's, the original, if understood according to the English meaning of "and", would require that the punishment (death) could not
be inflicted on a culprit unless he should curse both his parents,
while, we may be sure, the penalty would be incurred if either his
father or his mother should be cursed by him.
BOOK OF MORMON EXAMPLES
Instances in which "and" is used for "or" in the Book of
Mormon are quite numerous ; but only some of those which manifest most plainly a disjunctive sense shall be submitted. "Now
they had sworn in their hearts that they would return to the land
of Nephi, and if their wives and their children were slain, * *

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HEBREW IDIOMS IN THE BOOK OF MORMON 369
that they would seek revenge, and [or] also perish with them "—
Mos. 19:19.
Doubtless, since the love of life is strong in all human beings,
these men swore only to seek revenge ; for who can think that they
would not have saved their own lives, if they could, after effecting
the revenge they sought?
"If they be good, to the resurrection of endless life and happiness, and [or] if they be evil to the resurrection of endless
damnation." — Mos. 16:11.
"But this much I tell you ; what you do with me after this,
shall be a type and [or] a shadow of things which are to come."
—Mos. 13:10.
"Wo unto them that turn aside the just for a thing of naught,
and [or] revile against that which is good, and say that it is of
no worth."— II Nep. 28:16.
What they thus say is not at all applicable to the first clause,
and so a disjunctive should separate the second one from it. "But
Alma, with his guards, contended with the guards of the king of
the Lamanites, until he slew, and [or] drove them back." — (Al.
2 :33.) To drive the slain back is not possible ; but by interpreting
"and" in the sense of "or", according to the Hebrew idiom, this
text presents no difficulty. "And again I ask, were the bands of
death broken, and [or] the chains of hell, * * were they
loosed? I say unto you, yea, they were loosed, and their souls
did expand." — (Al. 5:9.) The answer here given can refer only
to the loosing of the chains of hell, and the disjunctive "or" is the
proper English connection.
"They durst not lay their hands on Aaron and [or] his
brethren."— Al. 22:20.
"Moroni being in the course of the march, therefore Jacob
was determined to slay them, and [or] cut his way through to the
city of Mulek."— Al. 52 :34.
"And he denieth none that come unto him, black and [or]
white, bond and [or] free, male and [or] female." — II Nep. 26:33.
"None" in this text has its usual signification of "no one" and
unless the Hebrew idiom being illustrated is made to apply in this
case, the meaning of the passage is that God will deny no one, let
him or her be black and white, bond and free, or male and female.
There are creatures who make texts like the one just passed upon
— texts that are not constructed according to our idiom — subjects
for ridicule, and, by holding them forth to the derision of the unthinking masses, bring contempt in some degree upon the Book
of Mormon, though what is thus often ridiculed through ignorance
is simply a testimony, or testimonies, that that book was written
by Hebrews.
The conjunction "and" is also made to do service instead of