Verses of Contention

Perhaps the most cited passage to support the idea that the Book of Mormon is making a claim about varying melanin levels in the skin of Lamanites compared to Nephites is the following:

And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, that they had become like unto a flint; wherefore, as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them.

— 2 Nephi 5:21

This isn't the only verse that makes a reference to this concept. The concern here is as follows: is the Book of Mormon making an indication that the Lamanites' skin pigmentation changed? While it may be tempting to conclude this, it must be understood that the skin color interpretation faces a number of issues. Below we address the other ancient sources that use similar descriptions of skin color in a metaphorical sense.

Black Skin as a Metaphor in Ancient Literature

The Qu'ran

For example, the Qu'ran employs imagery by invoking word pairs of whiteness and blackness, and it connects them to belief and disbelief in a metaphorical sense.

يَوْمَ تَبْيَضُّ وُجُوهٌۭ وَتَسْوَدُّ وُجُوهٌۭ ۚ فَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ٱسْوَدَّتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ أَكَفَرْتُم بَعْدَ إِيمَـٰنِكُمْ فَذُوقُوا۟ ٱلْعَذَابَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَكْفُرُونَ

On the Day when some faces will turn bright and their faces will turn dark. Those whose faces have turned dark will be told: 'Did you fall into unbelief after you had been blessed with belief? Taste, then, chastisement for your unbelief.

— Surah al-'Imran 3:106, A. Maududi (Tafhim commentary)

The word وَتَسْوَدُّ (wataswaddu) is the conditional conjugation for the root word "to become black". Likewise, ٱسْوَدَّتْ (is'waddat) literally means "turn black". These terms are generally applied in text of the Qu'ran to communicate a sense of gloom. In the context of the day of judgment in Islamic belief, those who disbelieve Allah and his message will appear gloomy while those who believe radiate glory. This idea is repeated elsewhere in the Qu'ran.¹

The Hebrew Bible

Several Hebrew compositions ascribe about one's appearance being dark as a result of a lower countenance, disease, or captivity.

כִּי טוֹב קִוְוִיתִי וַיְיָבֹא רָע וַֽאֲיַחֲלָה לְ֝אוֹר וַיְיָבֹא אֹפֶל מֵעַי רֻתְתְחוּ וְלֹא־דָמְמוּ קִדְדְמֻנִי יְמֵי־עֹנִי׃ קֹדֵר הִלְלַכְתִּי בְּלֹא חַמְמָה קַמְתִּי בַקְקָהָל אֲשַׁוְוֵעַ אָח הָיִיתִי לְתַנְנִים וְ֝רֵעַ לִבְנוֹת יַעֲנָה׃ עוֹרִי שָׁחַר מֵעָלָי וְעַצְמִי־חָ֝רָה מִנְנִי־חֹרֶב׃

But when I looked for good, evil came,
 and when I waited for light, darkness came.
My inward parts are in turmoil and are never still;
 days of affliction come to meet me.
I go about in sunless gloom;
 I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.
I am a brother of jackals
  and a companion of ostriches.
My skin turns black and falls from me,
  and my bones burn with heat.

— Job 30:26-30, NRSVUE

זַכְכוּ נְזִירֶיהָ֙ מִשְׁשֶׁלֶג
צַחוּ מֵחָלָב
אָדְמוּ עֶצֶם֙ מִפְפְנִינִים
סַפְפִיר גִּזְרָתָם׃ ס
חָשַׁךְ מִשְׁשְׁחוֹר תָּֽאֳרָם
לֹא נִכְכְרוּ בַּחוּצוֹת
צָפַד עוֹרָם עַל־עַצְמָם
יָבֵשׁ הָיָה כָעֵץ׃ ס

Her princes were purer than snow,
 whiter than milk;
their bodies were more ruddy than coral,
 their form cut like sapphire.
Now their visage is blacker than soot;
 they are not recognized in the streets.
Their skin has shriveled on their bones;
 it has become as dry as wood.

— Lamentations 4:7-8, NRSVUE

Other possible examples could include Joel and Nahum depending on how one translates the Hebrew word פָּארוּר. This word only appears in Joel and Nahum so the meaning is uncertain. Translations like the KJV render the phrase in each as "all faces gather blackness". However, many modern translations render it as "all faces gather in their beauty" as to suggest paleness of skin as a result of fear. Yet others render it as "all faces gather a glow of dread" following the aforementioned pattern.

מִפְפָנָיו יָחִילוּ עַמְמִים
כָּל־פָּנִים קִבְבְצוּ פָארוּר

Before their face the people shall be much pained:
 all faces shall gather blackness.

— Joel 2:6, KJV

בּוּקָה וּמְבוּקָה וּמְבֻלְלָקָה
וְלֵב נָמֵס וּפִק בִּרְכַּיִם
וְחַלְחָלָה בְּכָל־מָתְנַיִם וּפְנֵי כֻלְלָם קִבְבְצוּ פָארוּר׃

She is empty, and void, and waste:
and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together,
and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness.

— Nahum 2:10

In the reverse direction, Daniel uses the idea of becoming white as a metaphor:

וּמִן־הַמְמַשְׂכִּילִים יִכְכָֽשְׁלוּ לִצְרוֹף בָּהֶם וּלְבָרֵר וְלַלְבֵּן עַד־עֵת קֵץ כִּי־עוֹד לַמְמוֹעֵד

And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.

— Daniel 11:35

Succession Treaty of Esarhaddon

Among the listed items in the ceremonial curses, the Neo-Assyrian Succession Treaty of Esarhaddon of 672 BCE tells its audience a consequence of failing to maintain allegiance to the crown prince Ashurbanipal. In section 81 it describes how the flesh of the sons and daughters of its subjects would become black as asphalt:

[585] 𒆠𒈫𒆠𒈫 𒍜𒎌𒆪𒉡𒍜 𒃻𒊩𒎌𒆪𒉡𒋀𒎌𒆪𒉡
[586] 𒌉𒎌𒆪𒉡𒌉𒊩𒎌𒆪𒉡𒆠𒄿𒆥𒊒
[587] 𒆪𒌒𒊑𒀮𒁲𒇻𒉌𒇷𒈬

...may they make your flesh and the flesh of your women, your brothers, your sons and your daughters as black as [bitu]men, pitch and naphtha.

— Esarhaddon’s Succession Treaty §81 (lines 585-587)

The Alexander Romance

In the anonymous Greek work Alexander Romance (from 100-300 CE, date uncertain) portrays Queen Kandake of Meroë as writing in an epistle to Alexander the Great:

μὴ καταγνῷς δὲ τοῦ χρώματος ἡμῶν· ἐσμὲν γὰρ λευκότεροι καὶ λαμπρότεροι ταῖς ψυχαῖς τῶν παρὰ σοῦ λευκοτάτων.

"Do not think the worse of us for the color of our skin. We are purer in soul than the whitest of our people."

— The Alexander Romance, book III ch. 18

It appears that the notion purity to the author of this work is related to the physical whiteness of a person. Just like other ancient authors, they likewise use this sort of language to communicate a notion of moral standing or rectitude. The English translation of this work by Ken Dowden.

The Autobiography of Kay

An Egyptian work of interest is the Autobiography of Kay (sometimes spelled "Kai"). Although the date of composition is unknown, it was likely composed between the Old Kingdom (2600—2000 BCE) and the Middle Kingdom (2000—1700 BCE) periods. In the first part of the work, Kay bolsters his moral character as follows:

I am a well-born man, beyond [reproach], inspiring fear, greatly respected, inspiring terror,
bright of face[ḥḏ-ḥr], good of character, open-hearted, free of darkness [snk·wt]...

— The Autobiography of Kay

The author of this work uses a particularly interesting descriptions to emphasize his moral rectitude: ḥḏ-ḥr and snk·wt. As Hugh Nibley observed, the first description can mean "white/bright of face" while the second word communicates a notion of "black of countenance" or "greed or anything evil". As a side note, this autobiography appears to resemble the same kind of introduction as 1 Nephi 1 where he uses an eerily similar description.

Additional Resources

• Brant Gardner, What Does the Book of Mormon Mean by “Skin of Blackness”? details how the text of the Book of Mormon speaks about dark skin being designation of political or moral stature.
• Douglas Campbell, "White" of "Pure": Five Vignettes discusses the use of the term "white in The Book of Mormon" He concludes that "white" is used as a metaphor for purity and cleanliness.