The word "behold" appears 3398 times in the LDS standard works. That's 1088 in the Old Testament, 252 in the New (both of the King James translation), a whopping 1499 in the Book of Mormon, and a more modest 470 in the Doctrine & Covenants and 89 in the Pearl of Great Price.
Nerd alert. Let's see how that breaks down in beholds per page. I'm using the newest 2013 edition of the scriptures published by the church.
Nerd alert. Let's see how that breaks down in beholds per page. I'm using the newest 2013 edition of the scriptures published by the church.
- Old Testament (1184 pages): 0.91 beholds/page
- New Testament (406 page): 0.62
- Book of Mormon (531 pages): 2.82
- Doctrine & Covenants (295 pages): 1.59
- Pearl of Great Price (61 pages): 1.45
Looks like the scriptures of the Restoration win by a landslide. Let's see what etymology, statistics, and a close reading of how "behold" is used by scriptural authors can suggest about why.
Behold My Meaning
The OED (Oxford English Dictionary) has a rich entry on the history of behold. The earliest form of the word cited there occurs in 825 CE with the meaning "to give attention, regard, to have regard unto." The many other layered meanings that develop over the following millenium include
- To hold by, keep, observe, regard, look
- To hold, keep to
- To hold on by, appertain, or belong to
- To pertain, relate or belong to, to concern
- To hold or contain by way of purport or signification, to signify, mean
- To hold in regard, keep, observe (commands, appointed days)
- To regard (with the mind), have regard to, attend, consider
- To hold or keep in view, to watch; to regard or contemplate with the eyes; to look upon, look at
- To receive the impression of (anything) through the eyes, to see
- To look or face
- To look upon, view, consider
If you're not an English nerd like me, you may have just skipped that list. Here's the point: with all those meanings taken together, behold invokes a sense of duty, brought on by a sense of belonging or concern, to look towards the speaker, see, and receive the speaker's message. It's a complex command. In one word, you're essentially saying, "Hey, let me have the attention you owe me, turn around and face me, open your eyes, look, and understand. And with that understanding, resolve to remember and keep in your heart what you've seen."
Thank goodness for that one word, eh? 1499 instances of my transposition could get tiresome.
Behold the Beholding of My Beloved Son
The two ways the word "behold" is used in scripture involve (1) commands between two parties engaging in dialogue and (2) commands between the scriptural author and the implied audience. 3 Nephi 11 has both in quick succession, so it makes for a useful example. For context, the people gathered by the temple in Bountiful are hearing a voice from the heavens but do not yet understand what it says, though they have felt its power.
Verses 6-7: "And behold [editorial command from Mormon to his implied audience...us], the third time they did understand the voice which they heard; and it said unto them:
"Behold [divine command from heavenly voice to the listeners gathered in the account] my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name--hear ye him."
See the two variances?
In the first, Mormon is telling us to pay attention. Something important is being taught. Or, in this case, several somethings. Perhaps he wants us to note that it took these Nephites three times to hear and understand the Lord's voice (which would resonate with those of us familiar with Jesus' triple injunction to Peter after the Resurrection...sometimes it takes us multiple exposures to grasp what the Lord is commanding us, as Elder Holland memorably taught in October 2012). Or perhaps Mormon wants to to pay attention because the Father of all is set to speak for one of only a handful of times in holy writ. Or perhaps he wants us to know that his people did, in the end, understand the voice.
In the second, the voice from heaven is invoking that full meaning of required attention, movement, and understanding as it addresses those to whom the Savior is about to appear.
The Required Attention
According to a March 2015 study, neatly broken down into sound bites by statisticbrain.com, the average attention decreased by 4 seconds between 2000 and 2013, from 12 seconds to 8. As the website gleefully observes, the average attention span of a gold fish is 9 seconds. You've probably heard this study cited already. How could the news media resist a goldfish comparison?
I think this may, however, be one reason why the beholds/page number is so much higher in the Book of Mormon and modern day revelations than in the pages of the Bible.
The Book of Mormon was especially compiled for our day. Mormon and Moroni foresaw our day. The Doctrine & Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price were received by Joseph Smith for modern day instruction and explanation. Is it any wonder that texts that had our 8-second attention spans for an audience would call on us to pay close attention 4 times more often than biblical texts written originally for a different audience and time?
So, to close, BEHOLD. Our brains, manipulated (or enhanced, depending on your take) by Youtube/Twitter/Internet Search, were foreseen by prophetic teachers, who adjusted their methods and message for us. Perhaps we can thank them by holding on a little longer in our personal study. At least until the next Behold.
