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|summary="One Book of Mormon critic argued that Joseph Smith derived the name Hagoth from the name of the biblical prophet Haggai. Indeed, the names may be related, but a closer parallel is the biblical Haggith (see {{b|2|Samuel|3|4}}; {{b|1|Kings|1|5}}, etc.), which may have been vocalized Hagoth anciently. All three names derive from a root referring to a pilgrimage to attend religious festivals.  The name Hagoth is attested in the form Hgt on an Ammonite seal inscribed sometime in the eighth through the sixth centuries BC36 (The Ammonites, neighbors of the Israelites and descendants of Abraham's nephew Lot, wrote and spoke the same language as the Israelites.)" <ref name="gee"></ref>
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|summary="One Book of Mormon critic argued that Joseph Smith derived the name Hagoth from the name of the biblical prophet Haggai. Indeed, the names may be related, but a closer parallel is the biblical Haggith (see {{b|2|Samuel|3|4}}; {{b|1|Kings|1|5}}, etc.), which may have been vocalized Hagoth anciently. All three names derive from a root referring to a pilgrimage to attend religious festivals.  The name Hagoth is attested in the form Hgt on an Ammonite seal inscribed sometime in the eighth through the sixth centuries BC36 (The Ammonites, neighbors of the Israelites and descendants of Abraham's nephew Lot, wrote and spoke the same language as the Israelites.)" <ref>{{JBMS-9-1-10}}</ref>
 
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Revision as of 13:10, 17 September 2014

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Book of Mormon Anachronisms: Names

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Questions


It is claimed that some Book of Mormon names are used improperly or in an inappropriate context. Examples include:

  • using "Alma" as a man's name, rather than a woman's name
  • using names of Greek origin, such as "Timothy"

Many other examples of authentic ancient names that would have been unknown to Joseph Smith—or anyone else—are discussed below.

To see citations to the critical sources for these claims, click here

Answer


Many Book of Mormon names are not found in the Bible, and were unknown to Joseph Smith. Yet, these names have meaning in ancient languages and/or have been found as actual names from ancient history. These "hits" provide additional evidence that the Book of Mormon is indeed an ancient record.

Topics

A

B

C

Com

Corihor

Cumenihah

G

H

Hagoth

Summary: "One Book of Mormon critic argued that Joseph Smith derived the name Hagoth from the name of the biblical prophet Haggai. Indeed, the names may be related, but a closer parallel is the biblical Haggith (see 2 Samuel 3:4; 1 Kings 1:5, etc.), which may have been vocalized Hagoth anciently. All three names derive from a root referring to a pilgrimage to attend religious festivals. The name Hagoth is attested in the form Hgt on an Ammonite seal inscribed sometime in the eighth through the sixth centuries BC36 (The Ammonites, neighbors of the Israelites and descendants of Abraham's nephew Lot, wrote and spoke the same language as the Israelites.)" [1]

Helaman

Summary: "Helaman (BM), great Nephite prophet. [compare with] Her-amon (OW), "in the presence of Amon," as in the Egyptian proper name Heri-i-her-imn. Semitic "l" is always written "r" in Egyptian, which has no "l." Conversely, the Egyptian "r" is often written "l" in Semitic languages.[2]

Ham—Brief Summary: Egyptian (Click here for full article in FairMormon Evidence )

Hem

Summary: "Hem (BM), brother of the earlier Ammon." "Hem (OW), means "servant," specifically of Ammon, as in the title Hem tp n 'Imn, "chief servant of Ammon" held by the high priest of Thebes." [2]

Himni

Summary: "Himni (BM), a son of King Mosiah. Hmn (OW), a name of the Egyptian hawk-god, symbol of the emperor."[2]"...the name Himni is clearly Hebrew and is represented by the unvocalized form, Hmn on two Israelite seals. The first, from the eighth century BC, was found at Megiddo in the Jezreel Valley. The other is from the first half of the seventh century BC." [3]

I

Isabel

Summary: "Isabel was a harlot in the land of Siron, on the border between the Lamanites and the Zoramites (see Alma 39꞉3). LDS scholars have generally assumed that the name is identical to that of the Old Testament Jezebel, the Hebrew form of which was 'ÃŽzebel, and this is probably correct. But the spelling Yzbl is now attested on a seal in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem that is thought to be Phoenician in origin." [4]

Ishmael

Summary: Ishmael is a biblical name, but Nibley has shown that it has close affinities to the proper context for Lehi's journey.

Irreantum

J

Korihor

Summary: "Korihor (BM), a political agitator who was seized by the people of Ammon. Kherihor (also written Khurhor, etc.) (OW), great high priest of Ammon who seized the throne of Egypt at Thebes, cir. 1085 B.C."[2]The twenty-first [Egyptian] dynasty was founded by a person called Korihor whose son was Piankhi. That's a very funny name; you don't invent a thing like that. It wasn't discovered until the 1870s that Piankhi is a name that we have in the Book of Mormon. Korihor was a priest of Amon who usurped the power of the state. His son Piankhi became king.[5]

Laman

Summary: An attested name, and also a "pendant" name that should be coupled with Lemuel (one is a corruption of the other).

Lemuel

Summary: An attested name, and also "pendant" name that should be coupled with Laman (one is a corruption of the other).

Lehi

Summary: two different twentieth-century archaeological finds from Palestine attest to the term lḥy as a male personal name. One inscription is on a papyrus fragment found in 1962 among the Samaria Papyri of the Wadi el-Daliyeh; it preserves lḥy as the main element of a compound name. The other inscription in which lḥy stands alone as a personal name appears on an ostracon (an inscribed ceramic sherd) found in 1939 at Tell el-Kheleifeh (ancient Elath) on the shore of the Red Sea.

Liahona

Summary: literally, "to Yahweh is the whither" or, by interpretation, "direction of-to the Lord."

Limhah

Luram

  • "The name is reflected in the second element of the name 'dn-Lrm, "Lord of LRM," known from a seal of ca. 720 BC found during excavations at Hama (Hamath) in Syria. The name is also known from graffiti on three bricks from the same level at Hama." [4]
  • Manti

Mathoni

Summary: "The Hebrew name Mtnyhw appears on a seventh- century BC wine decanter, on six seals, and on seven bullae, most of them from the time of Lehi. The hypocoristic Mtn, which could be vocalized either Mattan (as in the Bible) or Mathoni (as in the Book of Mormon), is found on Ostracon 1682/2 from Khirbet el-Meshash (second half of the seventh century BC), seven seals (most from the seventh century BC), and eleven bullae (most from the time of Lehi)." [4]

Mathonihah

Moronihah

Mosiah

  • John Sawyer, "What Was a Mosiaʿ?" Vetus Testamentum 15 (1965): 475–486 [FARMS Reprint in 1989]; cited and applied by John W. Welch, "What Was A 'Mosiah'?," in Reexploring the Book of Mormon, edited by John W. Welch (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 1992), 105–107.

Mulek

Muloki

Summary: "Muloki was one of the men who accompanied the sons of Mosiah on their mission to the Lamanites (see Alma 20:2; 21:11). His name suggests that he may have been a Mulekite. Also from the same root are names such as Mulek and Melek, which is the Hebrew word meaning "king". Mulek is hypocoristic for Hebrew Mlkyh(w) (KJV Melchiah and Malchiah), which is attested both in the Bible (see 1 Chronicles 6:40; Ezra 10:25, 3; Nehemiah 3:14, 31; 8:4; 11:12; Jeremiah 21:1; 38:1, 6) and in numerous ancient inscriptions, most of them from the time of Lehi. Indeed, it has been suggested that one of the men bearing this name is the Mulek of the Book of Mormon. He is called "Malchiah the son of Hammelech," which means "Malchiah, son of the king" (see Jeremiah 38:6).
Muloki corresponds to the name Mlky on a bulla found in the City of David (Jerusalem) and dating from the time of Lehi." [4]

Nephi

Summary: "Nephi (BM), founder of the Nephite nation. Nehi, Nehri (OW), famous Egyptian noblemen. Nfy was the name of an Egyptian captain. Since BM insists on "ph," Nephi is closer to Nihpi, original name of the god Pa-nepi, which may even have been Nephi."[2]

Nephihah

Onihah

Paanchi

Summary: "Paanchi (BM), son of Pahoran, Sr., and pretender to the chief-judgeship. Paanchi (OW), son of Kherihor, a) chief high priest of Amon, b) ruler of the south who conquered all of Egypt and was high priest of Amon at Thebes."[2]

Pahoran

Summary: Pahoran (BM), a) great chief judge, b) son of the same. Pa-her-an (OW), ambassador of Egypt in Palestine, where his name has the "reformed" reading Pahura; in Egyptian as Pa-her-y it means "the Syrian" or Asiatic."[2]

Pacumeni

Summary: "Pacumeni (BM), son of Pahoran. Pakamen (OW), Egyptian proper name meaning "blind man"; also Pamenches (Gk. Pachomios), commander of the south and high priest of Horus."[2]

Pachus

Summary: "Pachus (BM), revolutionary leader and usurper of the throne. Pa-ks and Pach-qs (OW), Egyptian proper name. Compare Pa-ches-i, "he is praised.""[2]

Rameumptom

Summary: While many words and names found in the Book of Mormon have exact equivalents in the Hebrew Bible, certain others exhibit Semitic characteristics, though their spelling does not always match known Hebrew forms. For example, "Rabbanah" as "great king" (Alma 18꞉13) may have affinities with the Hebrew root /rbb/, meaning "to be great or many." "Rameumptom" (Alma 31꞉21), meaning "holy stand," contains consonantal patterns suggesting the stems /rmm/ramah/, "to be high," and /tmm/tam/tom/, "to be complete, perfect, holy.[6]

Rabbanah

Summary: While many words and names found in the Book of Mormon have exact equivalents in the Hebrew Bible, certain others exhibit Semitic characteristics, though their spelling does not always match known Hebrew forms. For example, "Rabbanah" as "great king" (Alma 18꞉13) may have affinities with the Hebrew root /rbb/, meaning "to be great or many." "Rameumptom" (Alma 31꞉21), meaning "holy stand," contains consonantal patterns suggesting the stems /rmm/ramah/, "to be high," and /tmm/tam/tom/, "to be complete, perfect, holy.[6]

Sam

Summary: "While Sam is a perfectly good Egyptian name, it is also the normal Arabic form of Shem, the son of Noah." "Sam (BM), brother of Nephi. Sam Tawi (OW), Egyptian "uniter of the lands," title taken by the brother of Nehri upon mounting the throne."[2]

Sariah

Summary: It is also an interesting coincidence that similar evidence for Lehi's wife's name has turned up in a papyrus document, written in Persian period Aramaic, in the era following the sixth century BC. The female Jewish/Hebrew name Sariah appears in an Aramaic papyrus from the fifth century BC (albeit partially restored by the original publisher). The document is known as C-22 (or Cowley-22), and was found at Elephantine in upper Egypt around the year 1900....The female name Sariah does not appear in the Bible, just as the male name Lehi does not. Yet both appear in the Book of Mormon. That we can now identify both the Jewish/Hebrew names Sariah in the Elephantine Papyri and Lehi in the Samaria Papyri and on Ostracon 2071 represents two significant steps forward in corroborating the authenticity [of the Book of Mormon].

Seantum

Sheum

Shilum

Zarahemla

  • Stephen D. Ricks and John A. Tvedtnes, "The Hebrew Origin of Some Book of Mormon Place Names," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 6/2 (1997). [255–259] link
  • Zeezrom

Zemnarihah

For remarks on the "-ihah" ending likely not reflecting the divine name of God (Yahweh or Jehovah), see:

  • Paul Y. Hoskisson, "It Is OK Not to Have Every Answer: The Book of Mormon Onomastic Ending -(i)hah," Journal of Book of Mormon and Restoration Scripture 18/1 (2009). [48–55] link

Zenoch

Summary: "Zenoch (BM), according to various Nephite writers, an ancient Hebrew prophet. Zenekh (OW), Egyptian proper name; once a serpent-god."[2]

Less well supported examples

Linguistics is a complex subject, and it is all too common for zealous but mistaken defenders of the Church to use parallels in names or language which cannot be sustained. Since most Church members have no training in ancient American languages, evaluating such claims can be difficult.

Mesoamerican scholars consulted by FAIR have recommended that the following sources, while superficially persuasive, should be used with caution (if at all):

  • Bruce W. Warren, "Surviving Jaredite Names in Mesoamerica," Meridian Magazine (26 May 2005)off-site; citing Blaine M. Yorgason, Bruce W. Warren, and Harold Brown. New Evidences of Christ in Ancient America (Stratford Books, Inc. and Book of Mormon Research Foundation: Provo, 1999), 17–22. ISBN 0929753011. Some material in this book is less well supported. Consult: Andrew J. McDonald, "New Evidences for Old?: Buyer Beware (Review of: Evidences of Christ in Ancient America)," FARMS Review of Books 12/2 (2000): 101–118. off-site
  • Bruce W. Warren, "'Kish'—A personal Name" Meridian Magazine (17 February 2005)off-site; citing Blaine M. Yorgason, Bruce W. Warren, and Harold Brown. New Evidences of Christ in Ancient America (Stratford Books, Inc. and Book of Mormon Research Foundation: Provo, 1999), 19–22. ISBN 0929753011. Some material in this book is less well supported. Consult: Andrew J. McDonald, "New Evidences for Old?: Buyer Beware (Review of: Evidences of Christ in Ancient America)," FARMS Review of Books 12/2 (2000): 101–118. off-site

These comments are not intended to disparage the individuals involved, but to encourage rigor and restraint in claims made. As Elder Dallin H. Oaks cautioned, "When attacked by error, truth is better served by silence than by a bad argument."[7]

Video


Notes

  1. ↑ "John A. Tvedtnes, John Gee, Matthew Roper", "Book of Mormon Names Attested in Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9/1 (2000). [40–51] link
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 Hugh W. Nibley, Lehi in the Desert, the World of the Jaredites, There Were Jaredites, edited by John W. Welch with Darrell L. Matthew and Stephen R. Callister, (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Company; Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1988), Chapter 2.
  3. ↑ "John A. Tvedtnes, John Gee, Matthew Roper", "Book of Mormon Names Attested in Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9/1 (2000). [40–51] link
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named gee
  5. ↑ Hugh Nibley, Ancient Documents and the Pearl of Great Price, edited by Robert Smith and Robert Smythe (n.p., n.d.), 11.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Brian D. Stubbs, "Book of Mormon Language," in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 4 vols., edited by Daniel H. Ludlow, (New York, Macmillan Publishing, 1992), 1:181.
  7. ↑ Dallin H. Oaks, "Alternative Voices," Ensign (May 1989): 27.



Further reading and additional sources responding to these claims

  • John A. Tvedtnes, "What's in a Name? A Look at the Book of Mormon Onomasticon (Review of I Know Thee by Name: Hebrew Roots of Lehi-ite Non-Biblical Names in the Book of Mormon)," FARMS Review of Books 8/2 (1996): 34–42. off-site
  • Gordon C. Thomasson, "'What's in a Name? Book of Mormon Language, Names, and [Metonymic] Naming'," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 3/1 (1994). [1–27] link
  • Stephen D. Ricks and John A. Tvedtnes, "The Hebrew Origin of Some Book of Mormon Place Names," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 6/2 (1997). [255–259] link
  • "John A. Tvedtnes, John Gee, Matthew Roper", "Book of Mormon Names Attested in Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9/1 (2000). [40–51] link
  • Hugh W. Nibley, Lehi in the Desert, the World of the Jaredites, There Were Jaredites, edited by John W. Welch with Darrell L. Matthew and Stephen R. Callister, (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Company; Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1988), 23-32.
  • Hugh W. Nibley, An Approach to the Book of Mormon, 3rd edition, (Vol. 6 of the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley), edited by John W. Welch, (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Company; Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1988), Chapter 22.
  • Paul Y. Hoskisson, "What's in a Name?," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 7/1 (1998). [78–] link
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