And I saw the heavens open and the Lamb of God descending out of heaven, and he came down and showed himself unto them.

And I also saw and bear record that the Holy Ghost fell upon 12 others, and they were ordained of God and chosen.

Hey listeners, this is Nick from Scripture Central, and today's podcast addresses the question.

Why are there Hebraisms in the Book of Mormon?

According to the Book of Mormon, that book was originally written in a form of Egyptian

by authors who also knew and spoke Hebrew. Some scholars interpret this to mean that the Nephite authors

wrote in Egyptian, while others believe they adapted an Egyptian script to write in Hebrew.

Either way, this means that the original text was written in an ancient Near Eastern language,

despite being available only through modern translations, beginning with its divinely inspired English translation in 1829.

Many other ancient texts are also only available in a translated form,

sometimes from manuscripts that date to long after the originals were composed.

For example, the Apocalypse of Abraham has only been preserved in Slavonic,

in manuscripts from between the 14th and 17th centuries

AD. However, most scholars agree that it was originally composed in Hebrew, or Aramaic, between

AD 70 and 150, based on numerous textural clues that appear to be dependent on a Semitic language.

The linguistic features that provide evidence for a Hebrew or Aramaic original are often called

Hebraisms or Semeticisms.

Amy Paulson-Reed has noted that among scholars who have studied the Apocalypse of Abraham,

there is a rare display of unity concerning

its Semitic origin. One textual clue supporting this view comes from the frequent use of the

law prefix, often translated as and or but in English. For example, Apocalypse of Abraham

chapter 11 verses 4 through 5 reads,

...