As he delivers the Sermon on the Mount for the second time, the Lord uses old world terms that the Nephites would not understand: “And whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council…” (3 Ne. 12:22). The insult, Raca, is an Aramaic word, while “the council” refers to the Sanhedrin, the same Jewish administrative body that tried Jesus for blasphemy. The Nephites would have had no understanding of the Aramaic language and Jewish politics.

Jacob finishes his account by saying, “…and to the reader I bid farewell, hoping that many of my brethren may read my words. Brethren, adieu.” It’s interesting that the French word “adieu” appeared on the seer stone instead of an English equivalent. As FARMS points out, “adieu” was commonly used instead of “goodbye” or “farewell” in America at the time the translation occurred. Perhaps the Lord followed the trend. The reader can decide whether or not this represents a “peculiarity.”

Greek names and words somehow find their way into the Hebrew spoken by the Nephites. Two of the Nephite disciples, Jonas and Timothy, share Greek names. The name of the Messiah, himself, is announced in its Greek form to the people. Centuries after the angel revealed the “Christ” to Nephi’s brother, Jacob, the Apostle Paul had the Lord’s name changed to the Greek as the missionary work expanded to the gentile world in the first century A.D. “Jesus” is the Greek equivalent of Jeshua (Joshua), and “krhistos,” a word meaning “anointed,” is Greek for “messiah.” The Nephites would likely be expecting the coming of “Jeshua the Mashiah.”