Alma 43:16 Textual Variants

now the leader of the Nephites or the man which had been appointed to be [the 01ABCDEFGIJLMNOPQRST| HK] chief captain over the Nephites …

Here the 1874 RLDS edition removed the definite article the from before chief captain, which is what we expect in English. Such usage is normal in the Book of Mormon text:

Alma 4:17 and he was appointed chief judge
Alma 16:5 he that had been appointed chief captain over the armies of the Nephites
Alma 43:17 he was appointed chief commander over the armies of the Nephites
Alma 49:16 Moroni had appointed Lehi to be chief captain over the men of that city
Alma 50:39 he was appointed chief judge and governor over the people
Alma 52:3 the brother of Amalickiah was appointed king over the people

But the definite article is still possible:

Mosiah 29:42 Alma was appointed to be the chief judge

Here in Alma 43:16, the 1908 RLDS edition restored the the to the RLDS text. For each case of this construction, the critical text will follow the earliest extant reading.

Summary: Maintain in Alma 43:16 the definite article the before chief captain, the reading of the earliest textual sources (including 𝓞); although not frequent, this usage can be found elsewhere in the text.

Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon, Part. 4

References