Messiah / Masiah / Jesus Christ / Mosiah Variants
Variant Spellings of MESSIAH
masiah
- 1 Nephi 10:4
- 1 Nephi 10:5
- 1 Nephi 10:7
- 1 Nephi 10:9
- 1 Nephi 10:11
- 1 Nephi 10:14
- 1 Nephi 10:17
- 1 Nephi 15:13a
- 1 Nephi 15:13b
Summary: Scribal error; Messiah correct.
Source: O 96-99, 127; P 79-80, 102-03.
Jesus Christ
Mosiah
Discussion: J. Smith crossed out Jesus Christ in P and replaced it with Mosiah, "his spelling for Messiah. The s in the name Mosiah can be pronounced as an /s/ or a /z/. (Both pronunciations are listed, for instance, in the pronouncing guide at the end of the 1981 LDS edition; in the 1920 LDS edition, only the /s/ pronunciation is given.) Joseph Smith apparently pronounced Mosiah with the /s/, along with a reduced schwa vowel /ə/ for the first vowel; thus for him Mosiah and Messiah were homophonous . . . In any event, Joseph intended Messiah, which is what was set in the 1837 edition (plus the addition of the definite article the" (ATV 1:259).
Acceptability: Skousen restores Jesus Christ here.
Source: ATV 1:258-59.
