Tuesday, February 21, 2023

John Tvedtnes on Word Play on "Hosanna" in the Book of Mormon

  

Hosanna—deliver! The Hebrew הושע-נא (hoša’-na, KJV “hosanna”) is an imperative form meaning “save, rescue, deliver” (HALOT, 448-49) and thus fits well with the deliverance of the Nephites from the destruction as described in 3 Nephi 4:32-33: “Yea, they did cry: Hosanna to the Most High God. And they did cry: Blessed be the name of the Lord God Almighty, the Most High God. And their hearts were swollen with joy, unto the gushing out of many tears, and because of the great goodness of God in delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; and they knew it was because of their repentance and their humility that they had been delivered from an everlasting destruction.” (John A. Tvedtnes, “Hebrew Words Reflected in the Book of Mormon,” in Seek Ye Words of Wisdom: Studies on the Book of Mormon, Bible, and Temple in Honor of Stephen D. Ricks, ed. Donald W. Parry, Gaye Strathearn, and Shon D. Hopkin [Provo, Utah: Interpreter Foundation and Religious Education, Brigham Young University, 2020], 149)