Jacob 7:27

[pam]

Jacob 7Â*

27 And I, Jacob, saw that I must soon go down to my grave; wherefore, I said unto my son Enos: Take these plates. And I told him the things which my brother Nephi had commanded me, and he promised obedience unto the commands. And I make an end of my writing upon these plates, which writing has been small; and to the reader I bid farewell, hoping that many of my brethren may read my words. Brethren, adieu.

Quote for Discussion

“Adieu”

Some anti-LDS critics of the Book of Mormon have raised the question as to how Jacob could possibly have used such a word as adieu when this word clearly comes from the French language, which was not developed until hundreds of years after the time of Jacob. Such critics evidently overlook the fact that the Book of Mormon is translation literature, and Joseph Smith felt free in his translation to use any words familiar to himself and his readers that would best convey the meaning of the original author. It is interesting to note that there is a Hebrew word Lehitra’ot, which has essentially the same meaning in Hebrew as the word adieu has in French. Both of these words are much more than a simple farewell; they include the idea of a blessing. Would it be unreasonable to remind these critics that none of the words contained in the English translation of the book of Jacob were used by Jacob himself? These words all come from the English language, which did not come into existence until long after Jacob’s time!

Daniel H. Ludlow, A Companion to Your Study of the Book of Mormon [salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1976], 163

[Joella92]

god people who are sent here can use whatever language god givens them to speak even if it didnt come around til later and the plates survived cause god need them to surivied so they did

[usar]

Good article real interesting !

[Vort]

Of the many criticisms I have heard about the Book of Mormon, the adieu criticism has to be among the most eye-rolling. I cannot imagine any serious, thoughtful, and honest critic of the Book of Mormon giving this particular argument more than two seconds of consideration before laughing it into oblivion.

[crloshghes]

Feelings shouldn't have any language, it's eternal, unique and universal. Feelings is itself a language...