Jacob 5:37 Textual Variants

Here the original text had two instances of the simple past-tense verb form being used as the past participle. Oliver Cowdery initially wrote “have grew” in 𝓟, but later he edited the grew to grown by crossing out grew and supralinearly inserting grown. The change was clearly produced later with a broader quill and a heavier and darker ink flow. Oliver did not, however, correct the “have overran” that immediately follows. That was changed to the standard “have overrun” in the 1920 LDS edition and in the 1953 RLDS edition.

Elsewhere there is only one other example of the past participle for the verb grow, and in that instance the form is the standard grown:

• Alma 32:29
  • yea nevertheless it hath not grown up to a perfect knowledge

There are no other examples in the text of the past participle for the compound verb overrun. But there are two for the verb run, and both of these take the simple past-tense form ran in the earliest text:

• Mosiah 12:11
  • even as a dry stalk of the field which is [ran 1ABCDEFGHIJKLMNP|run OQRST] over by the beasts and trodden under foot
• Alma 30:59
  • and as he went forth amongst them behold he was [ran 01|run ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] upon and trodden down even until he was dead

For further discussion of this use of the simple past-tense form as the past participle, see past participle in volume 3.

Ross Geddes (personal communication, 25 August 2004) has suggested that the word overran/ overrun might be an error for overcame /overcome. Note that this first sentence in verse 37 is immediately followed by a because-clause that uses the verb overcome, which suggests that the preceding verb should be identical (in this case, either overcame or overcome):

• Jacob 5:37 (earliest reading except that overran is emended to overcame)
  • but behold the wild branches have grew and have overcame the roots thereof and because that the wild branches have overcome the roots thereof it hath brought forth much evil fruit

A parallel verse later in the allegory could be used to support this repetition of the verb overcome:

• Jacob 5:48
  • hath not the branches thereof [overcame 01A|overcome BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] the roots which are good and because that the branches have [overcame >js overcome 1|overcame A|overcome BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] the roots thereof for they grew faster than the strength of the roots thereof taking strength unto themselves …

We should also note that the verb overrun never occurs elsewhere in the olive tree allegory.

One problem with this emendation is that it is somewhat difficult to explain why the verb overrun should have replaced a purported original overcome. There is no preceding text that could have prompted Oliver Cowdery to have replaced overcome with overrun. In fact, the uniqueness of the verb in the allegory suggests that overrun is intended. Further, one can interpret the earliest text as saying that the wild branches grew very quickly and thereby overwhelmed the roots. Note that in verse 48 the text says that the branches “grew faster than the strength of the roots thereof ”, where the reference to “growing faster than the roots” is consistent with the idea of “growing and overrunning the roots”. Consequently, this excessive growth would lead to the branches overcoming the roots. Since it is possible to interpret the earliest reading in verse 37 in a consistent manner, the critical text will maintain that reading (“and have overran the roots thereof ”).