Why are these plates called “plates of brass” rather than brass plates?

Thomas R. Valletta

“In many of the Semitic languages (from which we get the thought patterns contained in the Book of Mormon) it is not customary to have the adjective precede the noun. Thus the Book of Mormon mentions the ‘plates of brass’ of Laban but never refers to the ‘brass plates of Laban’” (Ludlow, Companion to Your Study of the Book of Mormon, 95). Other examples include “river of water” and “altar of stones” (1 Nephi 2:6–7).

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