Difference between revisions of "Question: Did Joseph Smith get the word Nahom from the Biblical names Naham (1 Chron. 4:19), Nehum (Ne. 7:7) and Nahum (Na. 1:1)?"

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==Question: Did Joseph Smith get the word Nahom from the Biblical names Naham (1 Chron. 4:19), Nehum (Ne. 7:7) and Nahum (Na. 1:1)?==
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===Nephi's party reaches an area "which was called Nahom"===
  
=={{Criticism label}}==
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Nephi's party reaches an area "which was called Nahom" ([http://scriptures.lds.org/en/1_ne/16/34#34 1 Nephi 16:34])near the time that they make an eastward turn in their journey.<ref>{{JBMS-12-1-13}}</ref>
Critics claim Joseph Smith got the word Nahom, from the Biblical names Naham (1 Chron. 4:19), Nehum (Ne. 7:7) and Nahum (Na. 1:1)
 
  
Critics claim that Nahom is just a coincidence
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<blockquote>
==={{Criticism source label English}}===
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It [the root for ''naham''] appears twenty-five times in the narrative books of the Bible, and in every case it is associated with death. In family settings, it is applied in instances involving the death of an immediate family member (parent, sibling, or child); in national settings, it has to do with the survival or impending extermination of an entire people. At heart, naham means "to mourn," to come to terms with a death; these usages are usually translated...by the verb "to comfort," as when Jacob's children try to comfort their father after the reported death of Joseph.<ref>David Damrosch, ''The Narrative Covenant'' (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1987), 128&ndash;129.</ref>
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</blockquote>
  
{{CriticalSources}}
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===Nephi tells us that the deceased Ishmael was buried at a spot with a name associated with mourning and death of loved ones===
  
=={{Conclusion label}}==
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It is intriguing that Nephi tells us that the deceased Ishmael was buried at a spot with a name associated with mourning and death of loved ones.
  
{{nw}}
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Strikingly, altars dating from the time of Lehi have been found with the inscription "NHM."<ref>{{JBMS-8-1-12}}; {{JBMS-10-2-7}}</ref> Semitic languages of the time did not use vowels in their written texts, so this corresponds to a name of "nahom."  S. Kent Brown has addressed the linguistic issues in the NHM placename.<ref>S. Kent Brown, "On Nahom/NHM," 23 February 2001.{{link|url=http://nephiproject.com/on__nahom.htm}}</ref>
  
== ==
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===The Semitic name Nahom can refer to mourning and consolation, and may also refer to groaning and complaining, giving it special significance in Nephi's account===
{{Response label}}
 
  
The word Nahom is not found in the Bible. Lehi named several places during his trip, so the only place that we can expected to find in Arabia, is Nahom. Nahom is the only place mentioned, which was not named by Lehi.
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The Semitic name Nahom can refer to mourning and consolation, and may also refer to groaning and complaining, giving it special significance in Nephi's account (see [[http://scriptures.lds.org/en/1_ne/16/35#35 1 Nephi 16:35].)
  
Just because the names look similar, it does not mean that Joseph Smith got the name Nahom, from the Bible. If Joseph Smith wrote the Book of Mormon (which he didn't), there are hundreds of other names in the Bible that Joseph Smith could have chosen from, how would he know which name was the right one? The chances that he got lucky are extremely low. Why couldn't Joseph Smith have chosen another Biblical name like Micah, Haggai, and literally hundreds more, instead? Certainly, NHM doesn't fit with Micha, Haggai, and so forth.
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The NHM location has an ancient tradition of being a place for burial and mourning. Ancient tombs are still abundant in that area. The name Nehem/Nahom ("nhm"--which can also be rendered "Nihm") is a rare place name&ndash;with the only known site in the Arabian peninsula being at a place consistent with the Book of Mormon account. Thus, NHM provides archaeological evidence of a place name mentioned in the Book of Mormon at the exact place and historical period which the text requires.<ref>{{reexploring|author=John W. Welch|article=Lehi's Trail and Nahom Revisited|start=47|end=49}} See also {{rediscovering|author=Alan Goff|article=Mourning, Consolation, and Repentance at Nahom|start=92|end=94}}</ref>
  
Joseph Smith couldn't have known that Nahom was the right name, that would beautifully fit other details about Arabia, as described in the Book of Mormon.
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===As one travels south-southeast of Jerusalem along the major trunk of the ancient Arabian trade route, the route branches east toward the southeastern coast at only point: in the Jawf valley just a few miles from Nehem===
Examples:
 
*When Lehi and his party began the journey, they were near the Red Sea
 
"And he came down by the borders near the shore of the Red Sea; and he traveled in the wilderness in the borders which are nearer the Red Sea"(1 Nephi 2:5)
 
  
* Lehi and his party traveled southeast before reaching Nahom
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As one travels south-southeast of Jerusalem along the major trunk of the ancient Arabian trade route, the route branches east toward the southeastern coast at only point: in the Jawf valley (Wadi Jawf) just a few miles from Nehem. From thence the eastern branch of the trade route goes toward the ancient port of Qana--modern Bir Ali&mdash;on the Hadhramaut coast, where most of the incense was shipped. This eastern branch was the major route&mdash;the pathways to the south were less used.
1 Nephi 16:13
 
"And it came to pass that we traveled for the space of four days, nearly a south-southeast direction, and we did pitch our tents again; and we did call the name of the place Shazer.
 
"and we did travel nearly eastward from that time forth" (1 Nephi 16:13)
 
  
* Lehi and his party travel eastward after reaching Nahom
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{{MaxwellInstituteBar
"1 And it came to pass that we did again take our journey in the wilderness; and we did travel nearly eastward from that time forth. And we did travel and wade through much affliction in the wilderness; and our women did bear children in the wilderness." (1 Nephi 17:1)
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|link=https://publications.mi.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=1400&index=8
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|title=Newly Found Altars from Nahom
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|author=Warren P. Aston
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|publication=Journal of Book of Mormon Studies
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|vol=10
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|num=2
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|date=2001
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|summary=Many readers have read about the finding of ancient votive altars in Yemen that appear to bear the Book of Mormon place-name Nahom. This significant find has been noted in the Ensign magazine,[1] in the April 2001 general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,[2] and in a recently published volume by Terryl Givens in which he refers to these altars as "the first actual archaeological evidence for the historicity of the Book of Mormon" and "the most impressive find to date corroborating Book of Mormon historicity."[3] This article considers the altars and their inscriptions, giving the background to this development and its significance within the larger context of research into Lehi's journey across Arabia.
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}}
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</onlyinclude>
  
* Bountiful is exactly eastward of Nahom, there is no other region in Arabia that can be called Bountiful
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{{To learn more box:Book of Mormon: geography: Arabia: NHM or Nahom}}
  
* The valley of Lemuel
 
 
For more information:
 
{{SummaryItem
 
|link=Book of Mormon geography/Old World#Nahom
 
|subject=Book of Mormon geography&mdash;Old World&mdash;Nahom
 
|summary=
 
}}
 
  
Joseph Smith most likely didn't know that there were no vowels in Hebrew, during the translation period of the Book of Mormon. If he decided to choose Naham, Nehum, and Nahum, why did Joseph Smith have to write Nahom, and not words like Naam, or Ehum, or ahum or Nahajham?  Certainly NHM wouldn't fit one of these names. Why did he write Nahom and not Najan, or Mahom?
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{{endnotes sources}}
  
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Latest revision as of 16:58, 11 May 2024


Question: Did Joseph Smith get the word Nahom from the Biblical names Naham (1 Chron. 4:19), Nehum (Ne. 7:7) and Nahum (Na. 1:1)?

Nephi's party reaches an area "which was called Nahom"

Nephi's party reaches an area "which was called Nahom" (1 Nephi 16:34)near the time that they make an eastward turn in their journey.[1]

It [the root for naham] appears twenty-five times in the narrative books of the Bible, and in every case it is associated with death. In family settings, it is applied in instances involving the death of an immediate family member (parent, sibling, or child); in national settings, it has to do with the survival or impending extermination of an entire people. At heart, naham means "to mourn," to come to terms with a death; these usages are usually translated...by the verb "to comfort," as when Jacob's children try to comfort their father after the reported death of Joseph.[2]

Nephi tells us that the deceased Ishmael was buried at a spot with a name associated with mourning and death of loved ones

It is intriguing that Nephi tells us that the deceased Ishmael was buried at a spot with a name associated with mourning and death of loved ones.

Strikingly, altars dating from the time of Lehi have been found with the inscription "NHM."[3] Semitic languages of the time did not use vowels in their written texts, so this corresponds to a name of "nahom." S. Kent Brown has addressed the linguistic issues in the NHM placename.[4]

The Semitic name Nahom can refer to mourning and consolation, and may also refer to groaning and complaining, giving it special significance in Nephi's account

The Semitic name Nahom can refer to mourning and consolation, and may also refer to groaning and complaining, giving it special significance in Nephi's account (see [1 Nephi 16:35.)

The NHM location has an ancient tradition of being a place for burial and mourning. Ancient tombs are still abundant in that area. The name Nehem/Nahom ("nhm"--which can also be rendered "Nihm") is a rare place name–with the only known site in the Arabian peninsula being at a place consistent with the Book of Mormon account. Thus, NHM provides archaeological evidence of a place name mentioned in the Book of Mormon at the exact place and historical period which the text requires.[5]

As one travels south-southeast of Jerusalem along the major trunk of the ancient Arabian trade route, the route branches east toward the southeastern coast at only point: in the Jawf valley just a few miles from Nehem

As one travels south-southeast of Jerusalem along the major trunk of the ancient Arabian trade route, the route branches east toward the southeastern coast at only point: in the Jawf valley (Wadi Jawf) just a few miles from Nehem. From thence the eastern branch of the trade route goes toward the ancient port of Qana--modern Bir Ali—on the Hadhramaut coast, where most of the incense was shipped. This eastern branch was the major route—the pathways to the south were less used.

Warren P. Aston, "Newly Found Altars from Nahom"

Warren P. Aston,  Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, (2001)
Many readers have read about the finding of ancient votive altars in Yemen that appear to bear the Book of Mormon place-name Nahom. This significant find has been noted in the Ensign magazine,[1] in the April 2001 general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,[2] and in a recently published volume by Terryl Givens in which he refers to these altars as "the first actual archaeological evidence for the historicity of the Book of Mormon" and "the most impressive find to date corroborating Book of Mormon historicity."[3] This article considers the altars and their inscriptions, giving the background to this development and its significance within the larger context of research into Lehi's journey across Arabia.

Click here to view the complete article


Learn more about Book of Mormon geography: Arabia: NHM / Nahom
Online
  • Jeff Lindsay, "Bountiful and Nahom in the Arabian Peninsula," www.jefflindsay.com (accessed 8 September 2006). off-site
  • Anonymous, "Nahom and the 'Eastward' Turn," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 12/1 (2003). [113–114] link
  • S. Kent Brown, "New Light: 'The Place That Was Called Nahom': New Light from Ancient Yemen," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 8/1 (1999). [66–67] link
  • James Gee, "The Nahom Maps," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 17/1 (2008). link
  • S. Kent Brown, "Nice Try, But No Cigar: A Response to Three Patheos Posts on Nahom (1 Nephi 16:34)," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 19/8 (1 April 2016). [149–152] link
  • Neal Rappleye, "An Ishmael Buried Near Nahom," Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 48/3 (15 October 2021). [33–48] link
  • Neal Rappleye, "The Nahom Convergence Reexamined: The Eastward Trail, Burial of the Dead, and the Ancient Borders of Nihm," Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 60/1 (5 January 2024). [1–86] link
  • Neal Rappleye and Stephen O. Smoot, "Book of Mormon Minimalists and the NHM Inscriptions: A Response to Dan Vogel," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 8/12 (24 January 2014). [157–186] link
Navigators


Notes

  1. Anonymous, "Nahom and the 'Eastward' Turn," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 12/1 (2003). [113–114] link
  2. David Damrosch, The Narrative Covenant (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1987), 128–129.
  3. S. Kent Brown, "New Light: 'The Place That Was Called Nahom': New Light from Ancient Yemen," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 8/1 (1999). [66–67] link; Warren P. Aston, "Newly Found Altars from Nahom," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 10/2 (2001). [56–61] link
  4. S. Kent Brown, "On Nahom/NHM," 23 February 2001.off-site
  5. John W. Welch, "Lehi's Trail and Nahom Revisited," in Reexploring the Book of Mormon, edited by John W. Welch (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 1992), 47–49. See also Alan Goff, "Mourning, Consolation, and Repentance at Nahom," in Rediscovering the Book of Mormon, edited by John L. Sorenson and Melvin J. Thorne (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Co.; Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1991), 92–94.