The name "Jershon" in the Book of Mormon

Parent page: Book of Mormon Names

The Book of Mormon refers to "Jershon" as a place of inheritance

KnoWhy #134: Why Was Jershon Called A Land Of Inheritance?, Book of Mormon Central (Video)

Joseph Smith could not have found the Book of Mormon name Jershon in the Bible, yet, "the name, though not found in the Bible, has an authentic Hebrew origin, the root *YRŠ meaning “to inherit,” with the suffix -ôn that denotes place-names, and may have the meaning 'place of inheritance.'" ^[1] This fits perfectly with the use of this name in the Book of Mormon to designate a place of inheritance:

Alma 27:22:

22 And it came to pass that the voice of the people came, saying: Behold, we will give up the land of Jershon, which is on the east by the sea, which joins the land Bountiful, which is on the south of the land Bountiful; and this land Jershon is the land which we will give unto our brethren for an inheritance.

Alma 27:24:

24 And now behold, this will we do unto our brethren, that they may inherit the land Jershon; and we will guard them from their enemies with our armies, on condition that they will give us a portion of their substance to assist us that we may maintain our armies.

Alma 35:14

14 And Alma, and Ammon, and their brethren, and also the two sons of Alma returned to the land of Zarahemla, after having been instruments in the hands of God of bringing many of the Zoramites to repentance; and as many as were brought to repentance were driven out of their land; but they have lands for their inheritance in the land of Jershon, and they have taken up arms to defend themselves, and their wives, and children, and their lands.

The Nephites allowed the converted Lamanites to settle in the land of Jershon as an inheritance

When the Lamanites converted by the sons of Mosiah left their homeland to escape persecution, the Nephites allowed them to settle in the land of Jershon. The name, though not found in the Bible, has an authentic Hebrew origin, the root *YRŠ meaning “to inherit,” with the suffix -ôn that denotes place-names, and may have the meaning “place of inheritance.” Wilhelm Borée, in his important study Die alten Ortsnamen Palästinas (The Ancient Place Names of Palestine), cites fully 84 ancient Canaanite place names with the ending -ôn in biblical and extrabiblical sources (Egyptian and Mesopotamian writings, the El-Amarna letters, ostraca), including—to cite only a few examples—Ayyalon (Elon) (Joshua 19:42, 43), Eltekon (Joshua 15:58), Ashkelon (Judges 1:18), Gibeon (Joshua 9:3), Gibbethon (Joshua 19:44), and Dishon (Genesis 36:21).^[2]

The Book of Mormon "land of Jershon" given as an inheritance can be traced to a Hebrew root meaning “to inherit"

The Book of Mormon name Jershon can be traced to a Hebrew root meaning “to inherit.” In the Book of Mormon we read “Behold, we will give up the land of Jershon, which is on the east by the sea…and this land of Jershon is the land which we will give unto our brethren for an inheritance” (Alma 27:22).^[3]

The Hebrew root of the name "Jershon" means "to inherit" and denotes a place name

When the Lamanites converted by the sons of Mosiah fled their homeland to escape persecution, the Nephites allowed them to settle in the land of Jershon. The name, though not found in the Bible, has an authentic Hebrew origin, the root *YRŠ,13 meaning "to inherit," with the suffix -ôn that denotes place-names.14 Wilhelm Borée, in his outstanding study, Die alten Ortsnamen Palästinas (The Ancient Place Names of Palestine), cites fully 84 ancient Canaanite place names with the ending - ôn in biblical and extrabiblical sources (Egyptian and Mesopotamian writings, the El-Amarna letters, ostraca), including Ayyalon (Elon) (Joshua 19:42, 43), Eltekon (Joshua 15:58), Ashkelon (Judges 1:18), Gibeon (Joshua 9:3), Gibbethon (Joshua 19:44), Dishon (Genesis 36:21), Ziphron (Numbers 34:9), Helbon (Ezekiel 27:18), Holon (Joshua 21:15), Hammon (Joshua 19:28), Hebron (Joshua 10:36), Hannathon (Joshua 19:14), Dibon (Numbers 21:30), and Heshbon (Numbers 21:30).15
It is in this light that we should understand the words in Alma 27:22 ("and this land Jershon is the land which we will give unto our brethren for an inheritance"), Alma 27:24 ("that they may inherit the land Jershon"), and Alma 35:14 ("they have lands for their inheritance in the land of Jershon").^[4]

The importance of "lands of inheritance" in ancient Israel

Such was the old aristocracy of Israel. Eduard Meyer says that all their power and authority went back originally to the first land-allotments made among the leaders of the migratory host when they settled down in their land of promise. Regardless of wealth of influence or ability, no one could belong to the old aristocracy who did not still possess "the land of his inheritance."14 This institution—or attitude—plays a remarkably conspicuous role in the Book of Mormon. Not only does Lehi leave "the land of his inheritance" (1 Nephi 2:4) but whenever his people wish to establish a new society they first of all make sure to allot and define the lands of their inheritance, which first allotment is regarded as inalienable. No matter where a group or family move to in later times, the first land allotted to them is always regarded as "the land of their inheritance," thus Alma 22:28; 54:12—13; Ether 7:16—in these cases the expression "land of first inheritance" is used (Mormon 2:27—28; 1 Nephi 13:15; Alma 35:9,14; 43:12; Jacob 3:4; Alma 62:42; Mormon 3:17). This is a powerful argument for the authenticity of the Book of Mormon both because the existence of such a system is largely the discovery of modern research and because it is set forth in the Book of Mormon very distinctly and yet quite casually.^[5]

Notes

1. ↑ Stephen D. Ricks, "A Nickname and a Slam Dunk: Notes on the Book of Mormon Names Zeezrom and Jershon," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 8 (2014): 191-194.
2. ↑ Stephen D. Ricks, "A Nickname and a Slam Dunk: Notes on the Book of Mormon Names Zeezrom and Jershon," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 8 (2014).
3. ↑ Matthew Roper, "Right on Target: Boomerang Hits and the Book of Mormon," Proceedings of the 2001 FAIR Conference, (August 2001).
4. ↑ 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)
5. ↑ 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 8, references silently removed—consult original for citations (emphasis in original).