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Question: When and where was the name "Benjamin" changed to "Mosiah" in the Book of Mormon?
Question: When and where was the name "Benjamin" changed to "Mosiah" in the Book of Mormon?
The first notable change is in what is now Mosiah 21:28
1830 edition:
And now Limhi was again filled with joy on learning from the mouth of Ammon that king Benjamin had a gift from God, whereby he could interpret such engravings; yea, and Ammon also did rejoice.[1] (emphasis added)
1837 edition:
And now Limhi was again filled with joy on learning from the mouth of Ammon that king Mosiah had a gift from God, whereby he could interpret such engravings; yea, and Ammon also did rejoice. (emphasis added)
The change of the proper name "Benjamin" to "Mosiah" in what is now Mosiah 21:28 was made in the 1837 edition of the Book of Mormon by Joseph Smith. This change is present in all editions since that time. The change to Ether 4:1 was made in the 1849 edition, after the Prophet's death.[2]
The text of what is now Ether 4:1, which was an abridgment of the record of the Jaredites by Moroni, was changed in a similar manner
1830 edition:
...and for this cause did king Benjamin keep them, that they should not come unto the world until after Christ should shew himself unto his people."[3](emphasis added)
1847 edition:
...and for this cause did king Mosiah keep them, that they should not come unto the world until after Christ should show himself unto his people. Ether 4꞉1(emphasis added)
The reason for both of these changes was never recorded.
Notes
- ↑ Book of Mormon, 1830 edition, p. 200.
- ↑ George A. Horton, Jr., "The Book of Mormon-Transmission from Translator to Printed Text," from The Book of Mormon: The Keystone Scripture, edited by Paul R. Cheesman (Provo, Utah: BYU Religious Studies Center, 1988), pp. 249-250.
- ↑ Book of Mormon, 1830 edition, p. 546.