Brant A. Gardner discusses the use of "Christ" in the Book of Mormon; argues that the phrase "his name shall be Jesus Christ" in 2 Nephi 25:19 is a translator's gloss.

Date
2007
Type
Book
Source
Brant A. Gardner
LDS
Hearsay
Direct
Reference

Brant A. Gardner, Second Witness: Analytical and Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon, 6 vols. (Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2007), 2:160

Scribe/Publisher
Greg Kofford Books
People
Brant A. Gardner
Audience
Reading Public
Transcription

Translation: “Christ” is a title, not a name. Nephi understood that distinction, for he later used the title correctly: “And as I spake concerning the convincing of the Jews, that Jesus is the very Christ, it must needs be that the Gentiles be convinced also that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God.” nevertheless, 2 Nephi 25:19 somewhat awkwardly uses “Christ” as a name and also uses “Messiah” as a title in the same verse. It is hard to understand what underlying text would have yielded both the anglicized form of the Hebrew word and the Anglicization of the Greek form of the Hebrew word in the same sentence. A simpler explanation is that Joseph Smith added the phrase “his name shall be Jesus Christ,” rather than making an exact translation of the text.

Citations in Mormonr Qnas
Copyright © B. H. Roberts Foundation
The B. H. Roberts Foundation is not owned by, operated by, or affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.