Alma 5:58 Textual Variants

Oliver Cowdery’s change of scribe 2’s to to unto is probably a correction to the reading of the original manuscript since either to or unto is theoretically possible here. Elsewhere in the Book of Mormon, we have either unto or no preposition at all whenever the text refers to giving an inheritance to someone. There are eight other cases where the preposition is unto:

• Alma 27:22 the land which we will give unto our brethren for an inheritance
• Alma 35:9 and did give unto them lands for their inheritance
• 3 Nephi 15:13 this is the land of your inheritance and the Father hath given it unto you
• 3 Nephi 16:16 that I should give unto this people this land for their inheritance
• 3 Nephi 20:14 that I should give unto you this land for your inheritance
• 3 Nephi 20:29 that I would give unto them again the land of their fathers for their inheritance
• 3 Nephi 20:33 and give unto them Jerusalem for the land of their inheritance
• 3 Nephi 21:22 unto whom I have given this land for their inheritance

There are three cases where there is no preposition:

• Alma 43:12 they gave them lands for their inheritance
• Mormon 5:14 the land of their inheritance which the Lord their God hath given them
• Ether 2:15 the land which I shall give you for your inheritance

But there are no examples where to is used in this context except initially in 𝓟 for Alma 5:58. The critical text will accept Oliver Cowdery’s unto in 𝓟 as the original reading.