{"product_id":"2940158277672","title":"The Scalp of Your Head: Polysemy in Alma 44:1418","description":"The fear that Moroni's soldier's speech (Alma 44:14) aroused in the Lamanite soldiers and the intensity of Zerahemnah's subsequently redoubled anger are best explained by the polysemy (i.e., multiple meanings within a lexeme's range of meaning) of a single word translated \"chief\" in Alma 44:14 and \"heads\" in Alma 44:18. As editor of a sacred history, Mormon was interested in showing the fulfilment of prophecy when such fulfilment occurred. Mormon's description of the Lamanites \"fall[ing] exceedingly fast\" because of the exposure of the Lamanites' \"bare heads\" to the Nephites' swords and their being \"smitten\" in Alma 44:18 -- just as \"the scalp of their chief\" was smitten and thus fell (Alma 44:12–14) -- pointedly demonstrates the fulfilment of the soldier's prophecy. In particular, the phrase \"bare heads\" constitutes a polysemic wordplay on \"chief,\" since words translated \"head\" can alternatively be translated \"chief,\" as in Alma 44:14. A similar wordplay on \"top\" and \"leader\" in 3 Nephi 4:28–29, probably again represented by a single word, also partly explains the force of the simile curse described there.","brand":"Interpreter Foundation","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47084597608688,"sku":"2940158277672","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940158277672_p0.jpg?v=1764120919","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940158277672","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}