Enallage is a Greek word meaning interchange. In Hebrew enallage is used as the second and third persons are interchanged within the text. The second person is the person being addressed, so it would be words like you, your, thee, thou, or thine. The third person would include words like he, she, they, or a proper name like the Lord.
When Nephi pours out his heart in prayer the words become a song of praise, or a psalm. Within Second Nephi chapter 4 is such a text, sometimes referred to as Nephi's psalm. We can look to the Old Testament for examples of enallage.
Consider the 23rd Psalm.
"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake."
So far the Lord is spoken of in the third person. But look at the shift in the next verses.
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over."
In these verses the Lord is spoken of in the second person. Then the final verse returns to the third person.
"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever."
Now kids, don't try this with your homework assignments. Your English teacher won't be amused. This is terrible English but it's great Hebrew.
Now let's examine the enallage in Nephi's psalm.
"My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep.
He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh.
He hath confounded mine enemies, unto the causing of them to quake before me.
Behold, he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me knowledge by visions in the night-time.
And by day have I waxed bold in mighty prayer before him; yea, my voice have I sent up on high; and angels came down and ministered unto me" (2 Nephi 4: 20-24).
Just a few verses later, the Lord is addressed in the second person.
"Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation.
O Lord, wilt thou redeem my soul? Wilt thou deliver me out of the hands of mine enemies? Wilt thou make me that I may shake at the appearance of sin?
May the gates of hell be shut continually before me, because that my heart is broken and my spirit is contrite! O Lord, wilt thou not shut the gates of thy righteousness before me, that I may walk in the path of the low valley, that I may be strict in the plain road!
O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness! O Lord, wilt thou make a way for mine escape before mine enemies! Wilt thou make my path straight before me! Wilt thou not place a stumbling block in my way—but that thou wouldst clear my way before me, and hedge not up my way, but the ways of mine enemy.
O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm" (2 Nephi 4: 30-34).
I will do my next post on more of the spiritual content of Nephi's psalm and how it parallels Old Testament psalms.
For those readers skeptical about the Book of Mormon, I ask, could Joseph Smith have composed such a beautiful psalm on his own with his limited third-grade education? If you think he could have, I would invite you to go online and look at the Joseph Smith papers and read some of his journal entries. His wife Emma once said she knew the Book of Mormon was true. She said Joseph couldn't even write a coherent letter.
When Nephi pours out his heart in prayer the words become a song of praise, or a psalm. Within Second Nephi chapter 4 is such a text, sometimes referred to as Nephi's psalm. We can look to the Old Testament for examples of enallage.
Consider the 23rd Psalm.
"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake."
So far the Lord is spoken of in the third person. But look at the shift in the next verses.
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over."
In these verses the Lord is spoken of in the second person. Then the final verse returns to the third person.
"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever."
Now kids, don't try this with your homework assignments. Your English teacher won't be amused. This is terrible English but it's great Hebrew.
Now let's examine the enallage in Nephi's psalm.
"My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep.
He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh.
He hath confounded mine enemies, unto the causing of them to quake before me.
Behold, he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me knowledge by visions in the night-time.
And by day have I waxed bold in mighty prayer before him; yea, my voice have I sent up on high; and angels came down and ministered unto me" (2 Nephi 4: 20-24).
Just a few verses later, the Lord is addressed in the second person.
"Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation.
O Lord, wilt thou redeem my soul? Wilt thou deliver me out of the hands of mine enemies? Wilt thou make me that I may shake at the appearance of sin?
May the gates of hell be shut continually before me, because that my heart is broken and my spirit is contrite! O Lord, wilt thou not shut the gates of thy righteousness before me, that I may walk in the path of the low valley, that I may be strict in the plain road!
O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness! O Lord, wilt thou make a way for mine escape before mine enemies! Wilt thou make my path straight before me! Wilt thou not place a stumbling block in my way—but that thou wouldst clear my way before me, and hedge not up my way, but the ways of mine enemy.
O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm" (2 Nephi 4: 30-34).
I will do my next post on more of the spiritual content of Nephi's psalm and how it parallels Old Testament psalms.
For those readers skeptical about the Book of Mormon, I ask, could Joseph Smith have composed such a beautiful psalm on his own with his limited third-grade education? If you think he could have, I would invite you to go online and look at the Joseph Smith papers and read some of his journal entries. His wife Emma once said she knew the Book of Mormon was true. She said Joseph couldn't even write a coherent letter.
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