The Book of Mormon

Alma 13:15

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~82 BC

1830 Edition

And it was this same Melchizedek to whom Abraham paid tithes; yea, even our father Abraham paid tithes of one tenth part of all he possessed.

Influences

Hebrews 7:1-2 (KJV)
For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;

Changes

And it was this same Melchizedek to whom Abraham paid tithes; yea, even our father Abraham paid tithes of one -tenth part of all he possessed.

Simple English

This same Melchizedek received money from Abraham. Our father Abraham gave him one tenth of everything he owned.

Paraphrase

This was the same Melchizedek to whom Abraham gave a tenth of everything he owned. Our father Abraham paid a tenth of all he had.

Notes

13:15

Dr. David P. Wright observes, "I will show that Alma chapters 12-13, traditionally dated to about 82 B.C.E., depend in part on the New Testament epistle to the Hebrews, dated by critical scholars to the last third of the first century C.E. The dependence of Alma 12-13 on Hebrews thus constitutes an anachronism and indicates that the chapters are a composition of Joseph Smith...The parallels between these two texts are too precise to be coincidental; some sort of interdependence must exist. This interdependence is confirmed by the texts' focusing on the same four motifs outside the quotations' contexts. What is the nature of this dependence? On the basis of the texts that stand before us, the conclusion is that the Alma 12 passage depends on that in Hebrews 3. The logic is this. Hebrews 3 and Alma 12 depend ostensibly on different sources for their citations. But it would be a tremendous coincidence for them to have the same motifs and the same citation structure if they came from separate sources... The citation in Hebrews 3 derives from an attested source, Psalm 25, whereas that in Alma 12 derives from an unattested source. This suggests that Alma 12's citation does not really rely on an unknown source but on the citation and context of Hebrews 3 itself. Alma 12 invents a citation, thus transforming the sense of the Hebrews material for its own ends. This invented quotation is a good example of Smith's creative reworking of the Bible..." -David P. Wright, "In Plain Terms that We May Understand: Joseph Smith's Transformation of Hebrews in Alma 12-13," in New Approaches to the Book of Mormon, pp. 165-166.