2 Nephi 5:15

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Reference Search: 2 Nephi 5:15

15 And I did teach my people to build buildings, and to work in all manner of wood, and of iron, and of copper, and of brass, and of steel, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious ores, which were in great abundance.

Quote for Discussion

How is the phrase “to build buildings” evidence of Book of Mormon authenticity?

To “build buildings” (Mosiah 9:8; 11:13; 23:5), to have “dreamed a dream” (1 Nephi 3:2; 8:2), and to “vow a vow” (Numbers 30:2) are all examples of a Hebrew literary construction called “cognate accusative.” Though English syntax avoids using such a construction, “Hebrew and other Semitic languages…encourage it….

…Therefore, in using the phrase “to build a building,” the Book of Mormon adheres to a Hebrew and Semitic practice that is not common in English.

Paul Y. Hoskisson, in Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate, Jr., eds., First Nephi, 288