Archaeological and historical evidence names in the book. Readers of the book of mormon encounter hundreds of unique names. Total coincidence im sure, but bill reel posted a list of names that are in the book of mormon that just happened to be published in a dictionary of ancient names by charles anthon the man that js wanted to verify the reformed egyptian nonsense. Of these 337 proper names, 188 are unique to the book of mormon, while 149 are common to the book of mormon and the bible. This is in keeping with the purported origin of the book. This is also an egyptian name, usually given as knephi, and. List of names in the book of mormon that just happened to. 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. That shits right up there with zelf the white lamanite giant.
An egyptian linguistic component in book of mormon names byu. Book of mormon central evidences of the book of mormon. First, consider a few egyptian names, setting off the book of mormon names bm against their old world equivalents ow. The book of mormon claims a close tie to all things egyptian 1 nephi 1.
Book of mormon language the encyclopedia of mormonism. It is also used in the book of mormon as the name of a prophet. Book of mormon nameslocation of specific egyptian names in the improvement era for april, 1948, the author published a map showing the clustering of book of mormon names in the upriver country of egypt, south of thebes. The actual meaning of nephi and 3 other book of mormon names. An alternative possibility, which yields a similar meaning, was recently proposed by linguist eve koller. Hugh nibley, professor emeritus of ancient scripture at brigham young university, has identified many hebrew and egyptian names in the book of mormon. Egyptian names in the book of mormon page 2 miscellaneous. This same ancient israelite practice of using names to express a key theme in a story also applies to names in the book of mormon. Parallels drawn by nibley between egyptian names and book of mormon names include paanchi and pahoran, and.
However, the original language of the book of mormon was not latin but an adaptation of semitic languages like egyptian and hebrew see mormon 9. The book of mormon contains 337 proper names and 21 gentilics or analogous forms based on proper names. Authentic egyptian names in the book of mormon american. Lots of answers here with an incredible amount of evidence. Do names in the book of mormon have a hebrew meaning. One of the best ways to test the book of mormons historical authenticity is to look at its names. Lets say that joseph smith wrote the book of mormon. Jun 11, 2008 one such influence can be seen in the names of several people in the book of mormon. Included in this count are names that normally would not be called proper, such as kinds of animals, if they appear as transliterations in the english text and not as translations. Some mormon name trends include using religious, ancestral, invented, themed names and a. The same ending is peculiar to palestinian names of lehis time but not so prevalent other times. The tendency of book of mormon names to turn up in definite limited areas and in close association with each other is a strong indication that the.
The book of ether has many unique names, about 44 in just the first two chapters, dating the jaredites into the period of time at or before the tower of babel, certainly, before 2250 bc when certain ancient cities were destroyed. Jan 27, 2016 this detail in the book of mormon of nephi or lehi naming new places they encountered on their journey shows the text is rooted in the world of the ancient near east. How to read egyptian hieroglyphs a stepbystep guide to teach yourself. Historians view the language patterns, phrases, and names in the book of mormon as evidence that it is not authentic. The surprising meanings of abish and 5 other book of mormon. Nibley postulates that names do not match exactly due to the process of metathesis. The book of mormon as an ancient book religious studies center. The abridgment that the book of mormon says was prepared by mormon and moroni nearly a. The following is a list by hugh nibley, of 27 exact or nearexact names which are nonbiblical but have a ancient middle east egyptian background, confirmed by finds in this century. Parallels drawn by nibley between egyptian names and book of mormon names include paanchi and pahoran, and further. Book of mormon names, even though egyptian in origin, would be unusual in that country today. The comparisons show that many names in the book of mormon are similar to names in a certain region and era of ancient egypt.
The surprising meanings of abish and 5 other book of. In fact only two women march through the pages of ancient american religious history by name. One such influence can be seen in the names of several people in the book of mormon. Egyptian, but, as you know, when the book of mormon was written, egyptian had. Though the etymology is uncertain, see the suggestions in avigad,corpus, 498. The book of mormon text refers to the language it is written in as reformed egyptian.
The book of mormon says it was written in a reformed egyptian script by ancient prophets who preserve the culture and language of their hebrew ancestors, one of the best ways to test this claim is look at the names in the book of mormon of its 330 seven proper names, 180, eight or unique, meaning they can also be found in the bible because most words in the book of mormon are english. Bowen, who is an associate professor in religious education at brigham young universityhawaii, looks at important book of mormon names and, teasing out their likely hebrew or egyptian root meanings, illustrates how those meanings show up in the stories or. Critics dismiss many of these names as gibberish or as the creative invention of joseph smith. Many of the words and definitions from these documents are found in the book of abraham and the facsimile definitions. A 2018 byu studies article, an egyptian linguistic component in book of mormon names, represents another significant contribution regarding the apparent influence of the egyptian language on book of mormon names. Here are four examples of book of mormon names whose meanings may surprise you and inspire you. Despite the translation of egyptian and numerous american indian languages, reformed egyptian remains unknown. This article proposes that the names zenephi zenos, zenock, and cezoram incorporate the names of other book of mormon or biblical individuals and the egyptian pintail duck hieroglyph, represented by the morpheme seze, which denotes filiation with these ancestors.
According to the book of mormon, the final war that destroyed the jaredites resulted in the deaths of at least two million people. Hugh nibley proposed that the name was of egyptian origin. As discussed in the main article, variant old world forms of egyptian such as demotic were quite compact, and wellsuited for writing with space constraints. 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. The book of mormon rings with some sound egyptian coinage of its own, e. The names in the book of mormon that are neither egyptian nor hebrew are arabic, hittite hurrian, or greek. The book of mormon as an ancient book religious studies. Egyptian names from the book of mormon would seem unusual to living egyptians because they speak arabic, not egyptian.
Albright on book of mormon book of mormon research. Nephi is an ancient egyptian name with multiple meanings. Conversely, proper names that appear only in translation are not included, such as bountiful and desolation. However, those willing to look deeper find not only that these names fit the naming patterns of ancient egyptian and semitic languages but that they also have great personal meaning. An egyptian linguistic component in book of mormon names. Some names in the book of mormon do have hebrew derivations and meanings to them, so far as they can be recovered at the present. The name mormon in reformed egyptian, sumerian, and. The book of mormon, a work of scripture of the latter day saint movement, describes itself as having a portion originally written in reformed egyptian characters. This detail in the book of mormon of nephi or lehi naming new places they encountered on their journey shows the text is rooted in the world of the ancient near east. Book of abraham kirtland egyptian papers mormon handbook. If the textual passages common to the book of mormon and the bible are excluded, 53 names occur in both books. The book of mormon online, scholary look at evidence, by daniel c. But no entity outside of the mormon church refers to reformed egyptian as a real, written language.
Mormon in close connection with a reference to the original language as being reformed egyptian. Book of mormon names the encyclopedia of mormonism. Mar 14, 2020 she proposed that the ze prefix in book of mormon names could be the egyptian name element z3 or s3. May 22, 2019 some names in the book of mormon do have hebrew derivations and meanings to them, so far as they can be recovered at the present. The book of mormon begins at the close of the seventh century b. The connection between the name on this seal and the book of mormon name himni was first pointed out in john a. In his book lehi in the desert, nibley compares names found in the book of mormon with ancient egyptian names from upper egypt. There are several names in the book of mormonsuch as zenephi, zenos, and zenockthat look as though they are composed of scriptural names nephi. In light of names like onitah that have a true egyptian ring to them, the historicity of the book of abraham remains hale and hearty. Archaeological and historical evidence names in the book of. List of names in the book of mormon that just happened to be. Closer in time to the letter in question is this passage from a local illinois newspaper in 1841. From book of mormon population estimates, it is evident that the civilizations described are comparable in size to the civilizations of ancient egypt, ancient greece, ancient rome, and the maya.
Aminadab bm, nephite missionary in the time of the judges. I will here give you the signification of the word mormon, and also, book of mormon, which every person that has read a dictionary of the reformed egyptian tongue knows to be correct. Book of mormonlanguagereformed egyptian fairmormon. Thompson presented his reasons for concluding that joseph smith did not produce the book of abraham by translating it, as he claimed, from an egyptian papyrus lds egyptologist doubts joseph smith translated the book of abraham from egyptian scroll mormons in transition. Having no close hebrew, egyptian, arabic, or hittite relatives or associates that he was aware of, joseph smith was not able to feature family names in the book of mormon. Tvedtnes, john gee, and matthew roper in book of mormon names attested in ancient hebrew inscriptions, jbms 91 2000. Lds egyptologist doubts joseph smith translated the book. She proposed that the ze prefix in book of mormon names could be the egyptian name element z3 or s3. The bible the bible teaches that all men have sinned and fallen short of the glory of god. But, there are also egyptian names in the book of mormon, as well as a semitic name related to arabic. The critics were probably thinking of egyptian hieroglyphics. Aug 23, 2018 bowen, who is an associate professor in religious education at brigham young universityhawaii, looks at important book of mormon names and, teasing out their likely hebrew or egyptian root meanings, illustrates how those meanings show up in the stories or messages associated with the named persons.
Hugh nibleys classic work lehi in the desert pages 2530 and can be accessed online on the website of the neal a. It seems after reading these posts that the only possible answer is that the book of mormon happened just like joseph and others claim. The importance of names among book of mormon prophets can also help us recognize the significance of taking upon us the name of christ. Oct 30, 2006 egyptian, but, as you know, when the book of mormon was written, egyptian had. Bowen, who is an associate professor in religious education at brigham young universityhawaii, looks at important book of mormon names and. Ammon bm, the commonest name in the book of mormon. The book of mormon helps by making the hebrewegyptian connection, it is written in reformed egyptian. There are visions of mary, beautiful above all, but not a single jaredite woman is named.
There is a joseph his own and his fathers name, along with allusions to biblical joseph, but it would not be natural to have a book set in an ancient hebrew culture. These names, as have been noted by latterday saint scholars, are authentic ancient egyptian names. The following is a list by hugh nibley, of 27 exact or nearexact names which are nonbiblical but have a ancient middle eastegyptian background, confirmed by finds in this century. Nephi says he wrote using the learning of the jews and the language of the egyptians 1 nephi 1. Dec 28, 2018 one of the best ways to test the book of mormons historical authenticity is to look at its names. This herb was adjacent to an area called the plane of oshawa while living their abraham was almost sacrificed to some false gods by an idolatrous priest because he refused to worship idols. The book opens with abraham residing in a place called herb of the childish.
Albright is, of course, mistaken about joseph smith having studied some egyptian, for no materials were available to him for such studies when the book of mormon was published. Indeed, the very script that mormon used in abridging the plates was, according to him, an egyptian script called amongst the nephite scribes reformed egyptian mormon 9. A large proportion of book of mormon names end in iah and ihah. Elder george reynolds apparently traced this name to an egyptian root. Himni, korihor, paanchi, pakumeni, sam, zeezrom, ham, manti, nephi and zenoch are all egyptian hero names. Each of its unique names has now been looked at by scholars with linguistic training, and it. Apologetics press the book of mormon and the ancient evidence.
The know i, nephi, having been born of goodly parents 1 nephi 1. Til mormon is supposed to mean more good in some old egyptian dialect. Apologetics press the book of mormon and the ancient. Here we have a plausible case that four names may each employ an egyptian system for indicating descent, which may derive from the pintailed duck hieroglyph. Examining the book of abraham the rosetta stone jos.
However, the book of mormon makes it clear that reformed egyptian had been adapted by them for concise writing. What probably goes unrecognized, though, is that nephis introduction includes a pun on his own name. Nibley was the first to point out the egyptian nature of the book of mormon names paanchi and pahoran. Egyptian meaning of nephi and 3 other book of mormon names. The literary device of supplying the translation of a foreign word or unknown phrase within a text is called a gloss and is well documented in ancient near eastern texts. The semantics of the egyptian ze are more specific to ancestry. Book of mormon central evidences of the book of abraham. The language of the book of mormon exhibits features typical of a translation from an ancient near eastern text as well as the stamp of nineteenthcentury english and the style of the king james version kjv of the bible. Book of mormon translated back to egyptian a muslim translates book of mormon back to egyptian and is converted reflections of sami hanna as recorded by elder russell m. Some mormon name trends include using religious, ancestral, invented, themed names and a combination of the above to title a new baby. The book of mormon teaches that god has flesh and bones and that he has a wife with whom they produce spirit offspring in heaven that will inhabit human bodies on earth. The book of mormon narrative claims egyptian ties, probably quite similar to the mercantilistic connections of the greeks in egypt. Just as the egyptian and greek sources used above to test the historical compatibility of the book of mormon were written as guides for adherents of their respective traditions, so also the book of mormon states that it is a guide for those who wish to be redeemed by christ and find the path to the tree of life.
Nevertheless, since the 1820s scholars have been able to decipher some of that extinct language. These represent a good cross section of proper names prevailing in those lands in the days of lehi, and among them is a respectable proportion of egyptian names, which is what the book of mormon would lead us to expect. The great frequency of the element mor in the book of mormon proper names is in striking agreement with the fact that in the lists of egyptian names compiled by lieblein and ranke the element mr is, next to nfr, by far the commonest. G39 has attested variations of both z and s in egyptian.
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