Helaman 4:25 Textual Variants

Here the editors for the 1920 LDS edition changed “more exceeding numerous” to “exceedingly more numerous”. The change from exceeding to exceedingly was common in the 1920 edition. For discussion of that change, see under 1 Nephi 2:16 (or more generally under exceeding in volume 3). The more crucial change here in Helaman 4:25 is the shift in word order, where more was moved from before exceeding to after it. Basically, the earliest reading states that both the Nephites and the Lamanites were “exceeding numerous”, but the Lamanites more so.

Elsewhere the original text has only the other word order, “exceeding more ”; it turns out that the adjective in this phrase is always the word numerous:

• Jarom 1:6
  • and they were scattered upon much of the face of the land and the Lamanites also and they were exceeding more numerous than were they of the Nephites
• Alma 58:2
  • and they were so exceeding more numerous than was our army that we durst not go forth and attackt them in their strong holds
• 4 Nephi 1:40
  • and the more wicked part of the people did wax strong and became exceeding more numerous than were the people of God

The first of these, in Jarom 1:6, is particularly relevant in interpreting Helaman 4:25 since the comparison there is between the population of the Nephites and the Lamanites—and the Lamanites are “exceeding more numerous” than the Nephites. Thus one could consider the word order “more exceeding numerous” in Helaman 4:25 as an error that occurred during the early transmission of the text, although there is not much evidence in the history of the text for changes in word order of this nature. There is one example, in 1 Nephi 17:41, where two adjectival modifiers were switched in order; in that instance, the original order “flying fiery serpents” was changed to “fiery flying serpents” when Oliver Cowdery copied the text from 𝓞 into 𝓟. But it should be noted that these two words, flying and fiery, are visually similar, unlike exceeding and more in Helaman 4:25.

The word order “more exceeding(ly)” actually does occur in the Book of Mormon text, but only once, and that is in an adverbial phrase:

• Alma 12:7
  • now when Alma had spoken these words Zeezrom began to tremble more exceedingly for he was convinced more and more of the power of God

The usage here implies that Zeezrom had already been trembling exceedingly, but now even more so. And at the beginning of Alma 12, we can find support for Zeezrom’s trembling:

• Alma 12:1
  • Now Alma seeing that the words of Amulek had silenced Zeezrom for he beheld that Amulek had caught him in his lying and deceiving to destroy him and seeing that he began to tremble under a consciousness of his guilt he opened his mouth and began to speak unto him

Presumably, Zeezrom’s trembling in verse 1 was already exceeding, so by verse 7 he “began to tremble more exceedingly”. Although not used in Alma 12:1, there are passages that specifically refer to someone as “trembling exceedingly”:

• 1 Nephi 1:6 he did quake and tremble exceedingly
• 1 Nephi 16:27 he did fear and tremble exceedingly
• 2 Nephi 1:25 and I exceedingly fear and tremble because of you
• Mosiah 2:30 my whole frame doth tremble exceedingly

It should also be pointed out that there are examples of “more exceeding(ly)” in the King James Bible:

• Mark 15:14
  • and they cried out the more exceedingly crucify him
• 2 Corinthians 4:17
  • for our light affliction—which is but for a moment—
    worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory
• Galatians 1:14
  • being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers

In the last one, as pointed out by Don Brugger (personal communication), the phrase “more exceedingly” modifies an adjective, zealous.

So ultimately the question here in Helaman 4:25 is whether the population of the Nephites can be considered “exceeding numerous”. And we can find evidence elsewhere in the text that the Nephites are indeed numerous (one of which refers to them as being “very numerous”):

• Jacob 3:13
  • and a hundredth part of the proceedings of this people which now began to be numerous cannot be written upon these plates
    • [Although in this part of the text Joseph Smith did not grammatically emend the relative pronoun which to who, the which does refer to the people, not to the proceedings. Elsewhere in the Book of Mormon, the word numerous always refers to the number of people (44 times), never to the number of anything else.]
• Mosiah 27:6
  • and there began to be much peace again in the land and the people began to be very numerous and began to scatter abroad upon the face of the earth yea on the north and on the south on the east and on the west building large cities and villages in all quarters of the land

The Nephites are numerous, yet in the book of Mosiah the Lamanites are referred to as being more than twice as numerous (even with the people of Zarahemla having now joined with the people of Nephi):

• Mosiah 25:3
  • and there were not so many of the people of Nephi and of the people of Zarahemla as there was of the Lamanites yea they were not half so numerous

Thus one can refer to the Lamanites as being “more exceeding numerous” than the Nephites. The critical text will therefore maintain the earliest extant reading in Helaman 4:25, the reading in 𝓟.