Alma 34:1-5
The Book of Mormon > Alma > Chapter 34
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Questions
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Lexical notes
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Exegesis
Verse 5
What does this question mean "whether the word is in the Son of God, or whether there shall be no Christ"? At its simplest we can read the question as "whether there shall be a Christ, or whether there shall be no Christ." This reading fits in nicely with the surrounding verses. But how can we make sense of the phrase "word be in the Son of God" and, in verse 6, "word is in Christ unto salvation"? John's discussion of Christ as the word (John 1:1-14) seems relevant, but it isn't clear exactly what the relation is.
It may be that "word" here refers to the scriptures--as a short-hand for the word of God (just as it does in the phrase "feast upon the word"). The word as scripture ties into verse 7 where Amulek talks about the "words of Zenos" and the "words of Zenock." In that sense we can read the question in verse 5 as asking "whether the scripture truly testify of the Son of God or whether there shall be no Christ." Another interpretation sees verse 14 as the summation of the answer to the question posed here. In that case "word" is (or at least includes) the law--specifically the law of Moses, not only the written law but also its practice.
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