Alma 8:1 Textual Variants

Here scribe 2 of 𝓟 accidentally omitted the narrative adverb now. Oliver Cowdery, in his proofing of 𝓟 against 𝓞, supplied the now. Since either reading is possible, Oliver’s correction was undoubtedly the reading in 𝓞. Earlier, in Alma 5:6, scribe 2 of 𝓟 omitted such a now; in that instance, scribe 2 caught his error (see that passage for discussion). Here in Alma 8:1, Oliver provided the now. There are three other instances in 𝓟 where scribe 2 omitted the adverb now, and in each case Oliver supplied it:

• Alma 11:25
  • and [𝓢① NULL > 𝓢② now 1|now ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] behold for this great evil thou shalt have thy reward
• 3 Nephi 20:10
  • behold [𝓢① NULL > 𝓢② now 1|now ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] I finish the commandment which the Father hath commanded me concerning this people
• 3 Nephi 27:30
  • and [𝓢① NULL > 𝓢② now 1|now ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] behold my joy is great even unto fullness

Note that the example in 3 Nephi 20:10 is not an instance of the narrative now; instead, in this case the now means ‘at this present time’. The two others are examples of the narrative adverb now.