LANGUAGE OF THE NEPHITES--THE INFLUENCE OF THE EGYPTIANS--NEPHITE
WORDS--RAMEUMPTOM--LIAHONA--RABBANAH--THE LAMANITE TONGUE--WORD
BUILDING.
There appears to be a slight difference of opinion among students of
the Book of Mormon with regard to the language of the ancient Nephites.
We will endeavor to give a sketch of both ideas.
One class of inquirers affirm that it is evident, from a careful
study of the Book of Mormon, that the people of Nephi were greatly
influenced by the language and ideas of the Egyptians. That language
was the language of their every-day life, altered or reformed (whether
corrupted or improved cannot be told) so greatly in the course of
time, that in his day Moroni informs us no other people knew it. In
the thousand years that had elapsed between the exodus of Lehi from
Jerusalem and the abridgement of the record, the Nephites had altered
the Hebrew also, so that neither their sacred nor their common modes of
speech could be understood by other races.
At the very opening of the inspired record Nephi writes: I was taught
somewhat in all the learning of my father. A little further on he
explains what that learning was. He says: I make a record in the
language of my father, which consists of the learning [literature] of
the Jews and the language of the Egyptians. It is not strange that
Lehi should have been acquainted with the Egyptian tongue, as from the
days of king Solomon, for some hundreds of years, it was the polite
language of the world, as French was in Europe during the eighteenth
century. King Mosiah in after years confirmed this statement, that
Lehi was taught in the language of the Egyptians. It would be rather
unreasonable to suppose that the knowledge of that language carried
no further influence than to enable the Nephites to converse in it.
It brought them _en rapport_ so to speak, with those who used it
in its native home in Africa, evidences of which yet exist in the
Egyptian types of architecture and hieroglyphics found in the midst
of the ruins of the ancient cities, scattered far and wide over this
western continent. This similarity has been noticed again and again by
explorers and students, but its cause still remains to them an unsolved
problem.[21] To the believers in the Book of Mormon the mystery stands
revealed.
Other students incline to the opinion that when the Egyptian language
is mentioned it probably only means its orthography. They say the Jews
seem to have understood the Egyptian language or writing. For he [Lehi]
having been taught in the language of the Egyptians, therefore he could
read these engravings [the brass plates]. Laban and his forefathers
must have understood the Egyptian, and recorded their sacred writings,
from generation to generation, in that language. The words "language of
the Egyptians" very probably means little more than Egyptian characters
or an alphabet for spelling Hebrew words. There seemed to be two sets
of characters--the Egyptian and the Hebrew (see Mormon ix., 32 and
33) for spelling; but it is doubtful whether the words written were
words of two distinct languages, or words of one language written in
the Egyptian and Hebrew characters. Which was the fact is not clearly
specified.
We here reproduce two cuts to show our readers that there is a distinct
family likeness between the engravings on the plates from which the
Book of Mormon was translated and ancient Egyptian characters. One is
a copy of the noted passage from the Book of Mormon taken by Elder
Martin Harris to Professor Anthon in New York; the other a reproduction
of some very ancient Egyptian characters engraved on the rocks not far
distant from Mount Sinai.
There are but few Nephite words handed down to us in the Book of
Mormon, as wherever an English equivalent could be found, it has been
given by the Prophet in his inspired translation. These words are:
_Neas and Sheum_--Kinds of grain.
_Ziff_--A metal.
_Rameumptom_--A holy stand.
_Gazelem_--A name given to a servant of God.
_Liahona_--A director or compass.
_Rabbanah_--A title, meaning powerful king.
[Illustration: ANCIENT EGYPTIAN CHARACTERS.]
Also the names of their coins, and proper names of persons, places, etc.
Some would-be-wise folks have seen fit, at different times, to amuse
themselves at the expense of these words, applying to them various
contemptuous terms and styling them gibberish. But we propose to show
that these words are derived from the Hebrew and Egyptian tongues,
neither of which, all men admit, were known to the Prophet Joseph Smith
at the time he published the Book of Mormon (A. D. 1830). Had he been
worldly wise, he might by his own learning have fashioned these words;
but as he was not, when we can adduce evidence that they have true
Hebrew or other ancient roots, we have brought forward another strong
argument in favor of the inspiration of the translation.
[Illustration: COPY OF CHARACTERS ON THE PLATES FROM WHICH THE BOOK OF
MORMON WAS TRANSLATED.
And it shall come to pass, that the Lord God shall bring forth
unto you the words of a book, and they shall be the words of them
which have slumbered.
But the book shall be delivered unto a man, and he shall deliver
the words of the book, which are the words of those who have
slumbered in the dust; and he shall deliver these words unto
another;
But the words which are sealed he shall not deliver, neither shall
he deliver the book. For the book shall be sealed by the power of
God, and the revelation which was sealed shall be kept in the book
until the own due time of the Lord, that they may come forth: for
behold, they reveal all things from the foundation of the world
unto the end thereof.--_II. Nephi xxvii._ 6, 9, 10. ]
It has been wisely said, It is very evident that pure words of either
the Hebrew or Egyptian tongue could hardly be expected in the Book
of Mormon, for the reason that the Nephites had altered the Hebrew,
and their language was so completely changed that their speech could
not be understood by other races. But although the structure of their
language had thus changed, it does not follow that all the words had
been replaced by others entirely unlike the former language spoken
and written by them. It is logical to expect many remnants of the
ancient roots, which, however much changed, may retain so much of their
original types as to be capable of identification. Thus, in the word
_Ziff_, which the Prophet Joseph tells us was a metal, we find a word
of the same sound as the Hebrew word ziph or seph, which means a metal.
The metal laid over statues was so called. It is true that the word
ziff is not spelled the same, but in its orthography is like the name
of the Hebrew month, Ziff. But the word ziff means brightness--metallic
brightness. (The word is used in Daniel ii., 31, also in Isaiah xxx.,
22, where it means overlaying metal.)
_Rameumptom_ was the name given by the Zoramite apostates to the
elevated place in their synagogues, from whence they offered up their
vain-glorious and hypocritical prayers. Alma states the word means a
holy stand. It resembles, in its roots, Hebrew, and also Egyptian, in a
remarkable manner. _Ramoth_, high (as Ramoth Gilead), elevated, a place
where one can see and be seen; or, in a figurative sense, sublime or
exalted. _Mptom_ has probably its root in the Hebrew word translated
_threshold_, as we are told that the Philistine god, Dagon, had a
threshold in Ashdod (see I. Samuel v., 4, 5). Words with this root
are quite numerous in the Bible. Thus we see how Rameumptom means an
exalted place to stand upon, a pulpit or holy stand.
_Sheum_, a kind of grain, is singularly like the Hebrew Shum (garlic),
as found in Numbers xi., 5.
_Gazelem_ appears to have its roots in Gaz--a stone, and Aleim, a name
of God as a revelator or interposer in the affairs of men. If this
suggestion be correct, its roots admirably agree with its apparent
meaning--a seer. The text reads: And the Lord said, I will prepare
unto my servant Gazelem, a stone, which shall shine forth in darkness
unto light, that I may discover unto my people who serve me, that I
may discover unto them the works of their brethren: yea, their secret
works, their works of darkness, and their wickedness and abominations.
_Rabbanah_ is another wonderful word. It is the title applied by
the servants of king Lamoni to Ammon, the son of Mosiah, after his
miraculous exploits at the waters of Sebus. It is translated powerful
or great king. Whether it was a Nephite or Lamanite word is uncertain,
as the Lamanites of that age (B. C. 91) had been taught by royal
command in the language of the Nephites. It is, however, of little
moment to which of these kindred tongues it belonged, but its Hebrew
derivation is most unmistakable. Its origin is evidently in _abba_,
father. Max Muller, the great modern authority on such points, says
the word king originally meant father; having doubtless taken this
form in the earliest patriarchal days when the king ruled by right of
his fatherhood, and represented God, the Great Father of us all. This
ancient American word confirms Professor Muller's statement; while
it manifests how remarkably the unities of the Book of Mormon are
preserved, consistent only with its claim to Divine inspiration. It
would be the height of folly to ascribe such a coincidence to chance;
a man must be far more credulous to so believe, than it can possibly
be claimed such are who place implicit confidence in the realities of
Nephite and Lamanite history.
From the few examples of words and names before us, we judge the
Lamanite language to have been quite musical. Such names as Rabbanah,
Lamoni, Lehonti, Middoni, Antionum, Onidah, etc., are certainly
specimens of a soft, flowing, pleasing form of speech.
One practice, that of word building, or adding several words together
to form a new word, which combination gave expression to the desired
idea, obviously obtained among the Lamanites. As examples we have
the city of Lehi-Nephi, the village of Ani-Anti and the people of
Anti-Nephi-Lehi. Such a practice is frequent among many families
of their modern representatives. It was found to exist among the
Mexicans--the Aztecs--by the early Spanish invaders, and today is
practiced by our near neighbors the Shoshones. This habit explains the
reasons for the existence of so many words of great length found in
both of these tongues.
FOOTNOTE:
[21] No claim has been advanced, we believe, which advocates an actual
Egyptian colonization of the New World, but strong arguments have been
used to show that the architecture and sculpture of Central America and
Mexico have been influenced from Egypt, if not attributable directly to
Egyptian artisans.--J. T. SHORT.
The hieroglyphics, symbols and emblems which have been discovered in
the temples bear so strong a resemblance to those of the Egyptians as
to encourage the supposition that a colony of that nation may have
founded the city of Palenque or Culhuacan.--JAURROS.
Giordan found the most striking analogies between the Central American
and Mexican remains and those of the Egyptians. The idols and
monuments he considers of the same form in both countries, while the
hieroglyphics of Palenque do not differ from those of ancient Thebes.