For the foreseeable future, the webbnibley theory will continue to be the received etymology of deseret. A number of different etymologies have been proposed for irreantum, one semitic and four egyptian. The name of the last nephite prophet and the son of mormon in the book of mormon. I thought i might have overheard drdad give his name as mark going through the veil when we got married. I have always been uncomfortable with some of the egyptian pulls for a lot of words in the book of mormon. An egyptian linguistic component in book of mormon names. Lehi m mormon from an old testament place name meaning jawbone in hebrew, so called because it was the site where the hero samson defeated 1,000 warriors using only the jawbone of a donkey as a weapon. It is also used in the book of mormon as the name of a prophet. One of a christian denomination the church of jesus christ of latterday saints in the united states, followers of joseph smith, who professed to have found an addition to the bible, engraved on golden plates, called the book of mormon, first published in 1830.
As nonmormon scholars view the book of mormon as a work of fiction, and do not recognize nephi as a historical figure, the predominant scholarly view is that the name was selected or coined by joseph smith. She proposed that the ze prefix in book of mormon names could be the egyptian name element z3 or s3. Yet, these names have meaning in ancient languages andor have been found as actual names from ancient history. Apologists note that many of the proper names in the book of mormon are hebrew names found in the bible e. The word mormon commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower. I would like to give my baby a name from the book of mormon.
Members of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints, therefore, are casually called mormons. The hebrew origin of some book of mormon place names stephen d. As one of the few named women in the book of mormon, sariahs character and role in the narrative has garnered considerable attention by readers. Any discussion of the meaning of the name mormon, must start by dealing with a letter published in the times and seasons 4 15 may 1843. One of a number of common names based on types of people known to live in the desert, with tea referring to the herbal drink brewed from the plant.
The book of mormon interactive text demo the most likely derivation of the name is egyptian nfr good, beautiful. Several years ago, i saw some beautiful artwork depicting the twelve nephite disciples. Tradition has taught us over many years that the book of mormon was so named for mormon, the main abridger. Each of its unique names has now been looked at by scholars with linguistic training. Brinnlee brielle anderson and other great utah names zion curtain said on february 4th, 2017 at 5. Mormon also commonly refers, specifically, to a member of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church, which is often colloquially, but imprecisely. After lehi left jerusalem, other jewish families fled the city and went to egypt for their safety. According to most adherents of the latter day saint movement, the book of mormon is a. The mormons believe in polygamy, and their hierarchy of apostles, etc. When adding biographies, be sure to add a category link seen at bottom of this edit page so that it will be added.
In my mind, where etymology becomes an issue at all is in translation. How does the book of mormon use a hebrew pun on king noahs name. By extension, the term the etymology of a word means the origin of the particular word. We revere mormon in the same way that we revere and respect moses, peter, abraham, john, adam, and paul. We a group of interested individuals have joined, who are affiliated with the maxwell institute to work on the approximately 330 proper names that are to be found in the book of mormon. The final r in egyptian had dropped out of pronunciation about a thousand years earlier, and it is attested as a personal name at the time of lehiin semitic languages, two directions exist for seeking the etymology of this important book of mormon name, nph. The hebrew origin of three book of mormon placenames. The origin of the name nephi is uncertain, and disputed. In 1842, the church of jesus christ of latterday saints published the angelic visitation to joseph smith as follows. The book of mormon uses the biblical name of antipas and builds on it to form these book of mormon names. He was resurrected after his death and became an angel. Are there any names for girls in the book of mormon. Mormons believe the following about the book of mormon. Hebrew roots of lehi ite nonbiblical names in the book of mormon 1995, by.
Examples of authentic ancient book of mormon names a. Many book of mormon names are not found in the bible, and were unknown to joseph smith. The book of mormon contains 337 proper names and 21 gentilics or. The hebrew origin of three book of mormon placenames they came down into the land which is called the land of zarahemla. Antinephilehi, antiomno, antion, antionah, antionum, antiparah and antipus. Hebrew origin, a third of the books of the proper names that we find in the book of mormon are of hebrew origin. Mormon was one of the last prophets to record his revelations from god, and also compiled the works of the other ancient prophets into one book, which he named the book of mormon. The actual meaning of nephi and 3 other book of mormon names. However, when we examine the list of names at the end of the book of mormon we notice that 141 of the names are taken from the bible. Based on a nonmormon or secular perspective, hypotheses for.
Howes 1834 mormonism unvailed, it is claimed that the word mormon, the name given to his joseph smiths book, is the english termination of the greek word mormoo, which we find defined in an old, obsolete dictionary, to mean bugbear, hobgoblin, raw head, and bloody bones. The increasing interest taken in the study of the book of mormon and in the history of the peoples whose origin, progress and destruction it narrates, encourages the author of this little work to think that this addition to the literature of the subject will not be like one born out of due time, but will be received as an acceptable aid to the study of its sacred pages. Onomasticon etymology of personal, geographic, and social group names pages in category onomasticon the following 7 pages are in this category, out of 7 total. Duh, he would have been going through for someone else and was giving name of the day, but i never thought that through, just kinda thought he was a mark. Why did king benjamin say that his people would be sons and daughters at gods right hand. Hebrew documents of the bar kokhba period yadin, p. I dont think we need to go to egyptian for meanings of words like nephi, zoram, laman, when there are very good and compelling reasons to go with the hebrew names. Mormon definition is the ancient redactor and compiler of the book of mormon presented as divine revelation by joseph smith. One of the best ways to test the book of mormons historical authenticity is to look at its names. Book of mormon names the encyclopedia of mormonism.
Elder george reynolds apparently traced this name to an egyptian root. Many book of mormon names are either biblical, formed from a rhyming pattern. In addition, the book of mormon also contains proper names of other semitic languages. There was no greek or latin upon the plates from which i, through the grace of god, translated the book of mormon let the language of that book speak for itself. It turns out that a good number of them have plausible links with words or names in ancient near eastern languages, especially with hebrew and egyptian. Dear marci, actually there are three girls names mentioned in the book of mormon. The more recent versions of the entry for cezoram in the book of mormon onomasticon an online published collection of names found in the book of mormon with a brief linguistic analysis of each name states that for cezoram, it is possible, though unlikely because it would mix languages. Book of mormon characters mormonism, the mormon church. There are several theories as to the origin of the book of mormon. The use of mormon as a nickname for the church originated in the mid1800s around 18301840 and is derived from the book of mormon. The churchs englishspeaking membership will have no general difficulties discussing the three degrees of glory now or in the future despite the somewhat ambiguous etymology of telestial.
When christ visited the americas, who were the 12 apostles. Some mormon scholars have theorized a derivation from the west semitic root mr. Gideon in the book of mormon, gideon was a faithful leader of the church and an eventual enemy to the wicked king noah. One of the favorite arguments deployed against the claims of the restoration involves the book of mormon proper name alma, which belongs to two of the books most significant characters. Book of mormon names, even though egyptian in origin, would be unusual in that country today. An alternative possibility, which yields a similar meaning, was recently proposed by linguist eve koller. The most common belief of adherents is that promoted by joseph smith, who said he translated ancient golden plates inscribed by prophets. Most adherents to the latter day saint movement view the book as a work of inspired scripture. Origin of book of mormon names by stephen ricks 2010 fair conference i am going to be talking today about proper names in the book of mormon. The hebrew origin of some book of mormon place names. When i first looked upon him i was afraid, but the fear soon left me.
One meaning is sea captain see john gee, four suggestions on the origin of the name nephi, in pressing forward with the book of mormon. Fun fact while finding common mormon names to give joseph and zaylie for this pos mormons love oddball baby names. These hits provide additional evidence that the book of mormon is indeed an ancient record. Book of mormon names attested in ancient hebrew inscriptions. Book of mormon greek and latin word chart life after. Critics believe joseph smith came up with all the names in the book of mormon, noting that joseph owned a king james bible with a table listing all the names used in the bible.
A dictionary of the book of mormon wikisource, the free. This gloss signals that its meaning was not readily discernible to readers of the plates and was not in their language. Well, were letting the book speak for itself and here it is showing joseph smith lying to the people once again. The book of mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the bible. Mormon was the primary author, editor, and compiler of the book of mormon. It struck me at the time that there are probably, in the sealed portion of the book of mormon plates, the gospels of timothy, jonas, mathoni, and others of the nephite twelve. Nevertheless, since the 1820s scholars have been able to. The book of mormon introduces sariah, lehis wife and nephis mother, in 1 nephi 2. More names are created by adding such endings as hah. As early as 1831, eber howe, in his antimormon book mormonism unvailed, noted the use of names desolation and bountiful from pilgrims progress reappear in the book of mormon. But the point of this paper is that, notwithstanding the nearcanonization of that etymology by its publication in the pages of the encyclopedia. They include such names as laban and jacob and joseph, and one other that i would like to share with you that i would wish to discuss in just a moment is sam.
Abcs of science and exmormonism e is for etymology the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time. Are there any names for girls in the book of mormon, besides sara and abish. Why is the book of mormon named after mormon, who is he. Smith claimed the angel moroni, a prophet in the book of mormon, directed him in the 1820s to a hill near his home in palmyra, new york where the plates were buried. Lehis wife, and the only woman with a name in the book of mormon.
Mckay found it uproariously funny and patently ridiculous that two supposedly ancient and more or less semitic men bore what everybody knew to be a womans name with a latin. This article explores several book of mormon proper names that are attested from hebrew. Yet, these names have meaning in ancient languages andor have. Irreantum is one of the few book of mormon names that is defined with a textual gloss in the book of mormon. Some mormon name trends include using religious, ancestral, invented, themed names and a. The etymology of telestial by common consent, a mormon. The names of lehis family and their origin the names of lehis family are true hebrew, arabic and egyptian names and were well in use in 600 b. Many lds assume that this is evidence that joseph smith could not have made up the book of mormon. He called me by name, and said unto me that he was a mes. Does the name alma challenge the historicity of the book. Since the dates are somewhat flexible in language evolution, one may safely say that old english beginnings are contemporary with the alleged completion of the book of mormon by moroni, the son of mormon. The list is merely a possible answer to the question lds come up with when they say, if the book of mormon isnt of ancient origin, where did joseph smith. Both words have the meaning of anointed, and are used in the bible to refer to the anointed one.
It use was started by those who were against joseph smith and was meant to be a derogatory term. Willes center for book of mormon studies book of mormon onomasticon. The word mormon most colloquially denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of mormonism in restorationist christianity. Melech in the bible becomes melek in the book of mormon. And he came down by the borders near the shore of the red sea.
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