Alma 8:13 Textual Variants

Here the 1849 LDS edition removed the second had, probably unintentionally. The subsequent LDS text has continued without this had. The following conjoined predicates (“and reviled him and spit upon him and caused that he should be cast out of their city”) also lack the past perfect had and have so from the beginning. Elsewhere the text allows for such mixtures of conjoined predicates, some with had and some without:

• Mosiah 24:21
  • yea and in the valley of Alma they poured out their thanks to God because he had been merciful unto them and eased their burdens and had delivered them out of bondage
• Helaman 13:33
  • O that I had repented and had not killed the prophets and stoned them and cast them out
• 3 Nephi 8:25
  • O that we had repented before this great and terrible day and had not killed and stoned the prophets and cast them out
• 3 Nephi 26:15
  • and even had done all manner of cures among them and raised a man from the dead and had shewn forth his power unto them and had ascended unto the Father

The two examples in Helaman 13:33 and 3 Nephi 8:25 begin with two predicates headed by had and are then followed by at least two more predicates without the had (just like originally in Alma 8:13). The two other examples (in Mosiah 24:21 and 3 Nephi 26:15) show that had can return after a preceding predicate for which the had is lacking. So in any case, we follow the earliest textual sources, thus restoring the omitted had in Alma 8:13.

The original and before “he departed thence” in Alma 8:13 is a non-English Hebraism that separates the preceding subordinate when-clause from its main clause. The 1830 compositor removed this extra and when he set the type. As discussed under 1 Nephi 4:8–9, the critical text will restore such instances of and. Also see the discussion under hebraisms in volume 3.