Alma 16:2 Textual Variants

for behold the armies of the Lamanites had come in [on 1A|upon BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] the wilderness side into the borders of the land even into the city of Ammonihah

Here the 1837 edition replaced the preposition on with upon. This change does not seem to be due to editing and could well be an error. There are other examples where the 1837 edition accidentally mixed up upon and on, although in these cases the change was from upon to on:

Mosiah 28:11
- therefore he took the records which were engraven [upon 1A|on BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] the plates of brass
Alma 3:14
- and I will set a mark [upon 1APS|on BCDEFGHIJKLMNOQRT] them
Mormon 1:4
- and ye shall engrave [upon 1APS|on BCDEFGHIJKLMNOQRT] the plates of Nephi all the things that ye have observed concerning this people

For further discussion regarding the variation between upon and on, see under Alma 2:38.

Theoretically, either in upon or in on will work here in Alma 16:2; the text has examples of both in upon (four times) and in on (two times):

2 Nephi 30:7 and they shall begin to gather in upon the face of the land
Mosiah 11:16 the Lamanites began to come in upon his people
Alma 3:20 there was another army of the Lamanites came in upon the people of Nephi
Alma 16:2 the armies of the Lamanites had come in on the wilderness side
3 Nephi 4:16 and should hem them in on every side
Ether 2:20 and if it so be that the water come in upon thee

Except for the first example, the object for upon refers to people while the object for on is side. In fact, there are no examples anywhere in the text of upon as the preposition for the noun side, but there are quite a few examples with on (ten of them). Besides the example in Alma 16:2 and the one listed above under 3 Nephi 4:16 (“hem them in on every side”), we have these examples:

1 Nephi 8:26 on the other side of the river of water
Mosiah 21:5 on every side
Mosiah 22:6 on the back side of the city
Alma 2:34 on the west side of the river Sidon
Alma 16:7 on the east side of the river Sidon
Alma 22:29 on the wilderness side on the north
Alma 43:41 on the other side of the river Sidon
Alma 52:9 on every side

Thus the critical text will restore the original on in Alma 16:2 (“the armies of the Lamanites had come in on the wilderness side”).

Summary: Restore the original preposition on in Alma 16:2: “the armies of the Lamanites had come in on the wilderness side into the borders of the land”; the text consistently prefers on rather than upon as the preposition for the noun side.

Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon, Part. 3

References