Continued from the previous post regarding the use of the word “both” in Hebrew and, in knowing this, gain a better understanding in its use in the Book of Mormon. In responding to a theorist in regard to the use of “both” in Nephi’s usage: “And we did find all manner of ore, both of gold, and of silver, and of copper.”
The theorist continues: “You say "to a professional who works with these ores, it is common practice to combine precious metals and list them separately from non-precious metals when found in a single ore. To a professional when? Now? What about to Nephi in 600 BC? Is that indeed the convention he adhered to?”
The word “gold” separately is found 9 times in the Book of Mormon; copper separately 7 times; Gold and Silver together 37 times; and gold, silver and copper only 1 time in the entire scriptural record. The only time the three are used together is when Nephi mentioned what they initially found in the Land of Promise after landing.
The point is, whether or not Nephi and others thought of these ores in the way we mentioned is not the issue. However, it is obvious from reading the entries that gold and silver were seen as separate items from copper, iron, ziff and other ores mentioned. Thus, when Nephi stated that he found gold, silver and copper together, it was a unique find and meant something to him, and thus he wrote it down that way.
It should be noted that any such comparison used is considering what Nephi and Mormon understood in their day. However, even so, the Nephites obviously considered some ores more precious or of greater value than others. To underscore, the use of gold and silver, sometimes with other ores, or sometimes alone, these early writers separated gold and silver from other ores, including separating them from copper. As an example,
• “To work in all manner of wood, and of iron, and of copper, and of brass, and of steel, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious ores, which were in great abundance” (2 Nephi 5:15)
• “Exceedingly rich in gold, and in silver, and in precious things, and in fine workmanship of wood, in buildings, and in machinery, and also in iron and copper, and brass and steel, making all manner of tools of every kind to till the ground, and weapons of war” (Jarom 1:8)
• “He laid a tax of one fifth part of all they possessed, a fifth part of their gold and of their silver, and a fifth part of their ziff, and of their copper, and of their brass and their iron; and a fifth part of their fatlings; and also a fifth part of all their grain” (Mosiah 11:3)
• “All manner of precious things, of gold, and of silver, and of iron, and of brass, and of ziff, and of copper” (Mosiah 11:8)
• “Wherefore they did cast up mighty heaps of earth to get ore, of gold, and of silver, and of iron, and of copper. And they did work all manner of fine work” (Ether 10:23)
In five of the seven times copper is mentioned in the same passage as gold and silver, the copper ore is separated from gold and silver. Thus, it can be assumed that in the only time it is so mentioned on a par with gold and silver, it is combined following the term “both,” thus showing a connection of 1) gold and silver, and 2) copper.
Thus the Hebrew statement: “both gold and silver and copper” literally means, “both [gold and silver] and [copper].”
The theorist then claims: “In English can't it be both gold and (silver and copper)?”
The answer obviously is “No!” since the statement Nephi made, along with other such statements in the scriptural record, along with the natural affinity between gold and silver, and the separate copper does not bear out such a statement. After all, gold and silver make up one type of ore used (more valuable) than the other.
Again, the Theorist claims that: “You do a nice job of defining "both" from the English point of view. However, have you considered that one of the Hebrew words for "both" can mean "alike" (as does "both") but that unlike the English "both," the Hebrew "both" can be used for lists of more than just 2? (the word is yachad). As for obvious lists, at least one is unlike the others i.e. of gold and of silver and of copper (of men and of women and of children), but a sentence structure that lists "the people became exceedingly rich under his reign, [both in buildings and in gold and silver], and (also) in raising grain, and in flocks, and herds, and such things which had been restored unto them” (Ether 10:12). Here is seen “both,” followed by a list of six items.”
It is not important to consider how many items follows the word “both,” but what their meaning is or what they represent. As an example, “in buildings, and in gold and silver” refer to non-living objects of wealth; but “in raising grain, and in flocks and herds, is living, edible objects that create wealth.”
As for yachad meaning alike, of the 141 uses in the Old Testament, yachad is considered to mean “alike” only once. In that usage, it is used as: “together, in the sense of alike, the one as well as the other.”
הַטָּמֵ֤א וְהַטָּהוֹר֙ יַחְדָּ֔ו כַּצְּבִ֖י וְכָאַיָּֽל׃ and the clean [person shall eat it] alike, as the roebuck, (Deuteronomy 15:22), which meaning is translated into English as: “Within your gates, you may eat it, the unclean person and the clean person alike as a gazelle or a deer (Strong’s Concordance #3162: yachad).
“Both” occurs 361 times in 351 verses in the King James Version, including 351 exact phrases shown first. Below is an example of some of these just in Genesis alone:
Genesis 2:25: And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Genesis 3:7: And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Genesis 6:7: And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them [man, beast, creeping thing are earthbound; fowls of the air are airborne].
Genesis 9:23: And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father…
Genesis 19:4: But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:
Genesis 19:11: And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
Genesis 19:36: Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.
Genesis 22:8: And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
Genesis 24:25: She said moreover unto him, we have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in.
In each of these cases, and the hundreds of other uses of “both” in the Bible, the word has reference to both as a list of two people, two items, two events, or two actions, and no more.
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