1 Nephi 2:5 Textual Variants

Here Joseph Smith edited the printer’s manuscript so that the singular was was changed to the plural were (possibly written as ware). Joseph made this change by overwriting the as in was with ere (or possibly are). The w was not crossed out, so he apparently intended to change only the number of the verb form. The 1837 typesetter misread Joseph Smith’s were (or ware) as are.

Generally the text uses the past tense to describe geography in a past-tense narrative. For instance, all other geographical examples involving the word borders are in the past tense, even though in the historian’s time (either Nephi’s or Mormon’s) each of these locations could have been accurately described in the present tense (note, in particular, that the phraseology in the example from 1 Nephi 16:14 parallels 1 Nephi 2:5):

• 1 Nephi 2:8
  • and the valley was in the borders near the mouth thereof
    
    
• 1 Nephi 16:14
  • the most fertile parts of the wilderness which was in the borders near the Red Sea
• Alma 5:3
  • the land which was in the borders of Nephi
    
    
• Alma 8:5
  • throughout all the borders of the land which was
    by the wilderness side

• Alma 21:1
  • the land which was called by the Lamanites Jerusalem … and it was
  • away joining the borders of Mormon
• Alma 22:27
  • and the borders of the wilderness which was on the north by the land of Zarahemla
• Alma 50:25
  • the land of Lehi and the land of Morionton which joined upon the borders of Lehi both of which were on the borders by the seashore
• Alma 51:22
  • the land of Moroni which was in the borders by the seashore
• Mormon 2:6
  • the land of Joshua which was in the borders west by the seashore

Thus the verb in 1 Nephi 2:5 should be in the past tense rather than the present tense. The critical text will, of course, also restore the original singular verb form was. See the discussion under subject-verb agreement in volume 3.