Why would Noah accuse Abinadi of being mad?

Thomas R. Valletta

The lives of the Lord’s prophets often reflect Jesus Christ’s own life. This is the same accusation made against Jesus (see John 10:20). “No insanity defense existed under biblical law. Even a ‘mad’ person could be punished if he had broken the law. … Being ‘mad’ (shāg‘) was a derogatory label often used to describe the ravings of false prophets in the Old Testament” (Welch, Legal Cases in the Book of Mormon, 179).

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