Question: Is the phrase "were compelled to flee before" in Gilbert Hunt's ''The Late War'' a "rare phrase"?

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Question: Is the phrase "were compelled to flee before" in Gilbert Hunt's The Late War a "rare phrase"?

The critics note that "These phrases are rare—meaning that they are not found in other contemporary books of Joseph's time, and that they are not found in the King James Version of the bible" [1]

Chris Johnson, Duane Johnson, ""A Comparison of The Book of Mormon and The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain," http://wordtreefoundation.github.io/thelatewar/

In order to make this a "rare phrase," the critics must equate the synonyms "compelled" and "obliged"

  • The Late War 7:26: "were compelled to flee before the arms of Columbia"
  • Book of Mormon, Alma 59:8: "were obliged to flee before them"

The core phrase "to flee before" appears many times in the Book of Mormon, with the qualifier "obliged" only occurring once

  • Alma 2:18: "began to flee before them"
  • Ether 14:27: "began to flee before the armies of Coriantumr"
  • Alma 43:50: "began to flee before them"
  • Mormon 2:16: "begin to flee before the Lamanites"
  • Ether 15:10: "caused them to flee before them"
  • Alma 2:35: "began to flee before them"
  • Alma 59:8: "were obliged to flee before them"
  • Alma 17:37: "began to flee before him"
  • Ether 9:31: "began to flee before the poisonous serpents"


Notes

  1. Chris Johnson, Duane Johnson, ""A Comparison of The Book of Mormon and The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain," http://wordtreefoundation.github.io/thelatewar/