NEPHITE PROPER NAMES--BIBLE
NAMES--SARIAH--NEPHI--SAM--MELEK--JERSHON--ISABEL--AHA,
ETC.,--PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES.
The number of Bible proper names found in the Book of Mormon has been
now and again urged as an argument against its divine origin. If those
making these objections were to calmly consider the matter, we believe
they would quickly acknowledge that it would be very inconsistent to
expect the opposite. Nearly all devout races are in the habit of naming
their children after the holy men--patriarchs, martyrs and sages--whose
lives they reverence, and whose virtues they desire to see reproduced
in their offspring. It is so with ourselves; nearly all our most
familiar names are English forms of Bible names. For example: John,
James, Jacob, Joseph and Thomas among men, and Mary, Anna, Elizabeth
and Sarah among women. So it was with the Nephites. The Hebrew was the
language of their sacred literature; while their fondest recollections,
their holiest pride ran back to the days of Joseph and Joshua, Samuel
and Isaiah, and, like other races, they named their children after the
ancient worthies they reverenced most. Hence, we find the following
Bible names borne by the descendants of Lehi[22] and Sariah: Aaron,
Aminadab, Ammon, Ammah, Amos, Benjamin, Enos, Gideon, Gilgal, Helam,
Helem, Isaiah, Ishmael, Jacob, Joseph, Jeremiah, Jonas, Laban, Lemuel,
Noah, Samuel, Shem, Timothy and Zedekiah. A few others are evidently
slightly altered Hebrew names, as Chemish from Chemosh, Sherem from
Shaaraim, and Zenos from Zenas. Indeed, there may be no actual
difference; the apparent change may arise from the English translators
inserting a wrong vowel sound in words where, according to the ancient
custom, the consonants only were written.
We will now consider a few proper names found in the Book of Mormon,
but not in the Bible; for, notwithstanding the changes made by the
Nephites in their language, the derivation and significance of many
of these names are evident, when considered in connection with the
languages of the races with whom the ancient Hebrews were brought most
closely in contact.
_Sariah_ is obviously Hebrew. It is a name of extreme beauty and force.
Its roots are in Sara, a princess, and Jah or Iah, Jehovah, thus
meaning a princess of Jehovah; a most fitting name for the mother of a
multitude of nations.
_Nephi_ is another very remarkable name. Its roots are Egyptian; its
meaning, good, excellent, benevolent. From very ancient times the
Egyptians believed that all who died had to have their acts upon
earth scrutinized by a council of inquisitors, before they could be
proclaimed fit to enter the eternal abodes of bliss and stand in the
presence of the god Osiris, the chief lord of the land of the departed.
One of the names given to this god, expressive of his attributes, was
Nephi or Dnephi (the D being silent, as Dniester, Dnieper, etc.),
or the good, and the chief city dedicated to him was called N-ph,
translated into Hebrew as Noph, in which form it appears in Hosea,
Isaiah and Jeremiah. Its modern English name is Memphis. In the Coptic,
the language of the modern Egyptians, the word has the form of Menfi
or Mnefi. Plutarch, the ancient historian, says that Dnephi was a
benevolent person, and an epithet for Osiris, and was also applicable
to Memphis, the sepulchre of that god. The word Neph frequently appears
in Egyptian proper names before the Christian era, as Amoneph, Amuneph,
Me-Nephta. From these facts we conclude that Nephi was a common name
in the Egyptian tongue; and, as far as the founder of the Nephite
nation was concerned, most applicable to his character, which was
pre-eminently good and benevolent.
The English word, Nephites, that is the people or family of Nephi,
occurs twice in its Hebrew form in the Old Testament; once in _Ezra_
(ii., 50) as Nephisim, and again in _Nehemiah_ (vii., 52), as
Nephishesim, which show that the name was common among the Hebrews of
the age of the captivity.
_Sam_ is a name which some shallow-pated opponents of the Book of
Mormon have been disposed to ridicule. But it is pure Egyptian. It was
the distinctive name of one of the highest orders of their priesthood.
The great _Rameses_ himself belonged to the order of Sam. The fact
that Lehi gave to two of his sons such peculiarly Egyptian names shows
how great an influence the literature of that country must have had on
his life.
_Melek_ is the name given to a region of country situated west of the
river Sidon. No reason is given why it was so called, but its meaning
is evident. It was the king's land. The ancient Phœnician word for king
is spelled letter for letter the same as in the Book of Mormon (Melek),
and the Hebrew word is almost identical.
_Jershon_, the name applied to the land given by the Nephites to the
exiled Ammonites, means the land of the expelled, or of the strangers.
We think it altogether probable that this significant name was given to
it at the time it was set off for the habitation of these expatriated
Christian Lamanites, as it defines their condition as exiles, and their
relation to the Nephites as strangers. The name is not mentioned before
this event, and would possibly be the only local name by which it was
known to the compiler of the Book of Mormon. Before the date of this
exodus, it was, we think, considered a portion of the land of Zarahemla.
_Isabel_ is either a form of Jezebel, the chaste, a name given in
derision to the character who bore it, or it has its derivation like
Isaiah, which means the delight of Jehovah, and thus signifies the
delight of Bel, that is to say, of her lord, husband or possessor. It
may have been assumed to suggest the supposed joys of her society. It
is a remarkable fact that the land wherein she dwelt is styled the
land of Siron, that is, the land of the deserters, or apostates. It
was situated at the extreme edge of the Nephite possessions, and on
the borders of the Lamanites, beyond the land of Antionum, in which
dwelt the Zoramite apostates. The experience of the Saints in this
age teaches them how apt apostates are to draw off to remote corners,
where they fancy the reproofs of the priesthood are the least likely
to be heard. In such a place, far from the Nephite capital, outside
the reach of the rigors of the law of Moses, the enticing Isabel could
carry on her vile vocation with the greatest safety and impunity.
_Aha_, we suggest means laughter. Sarah, the wife of Abraham, called
her son Isaac--laughter. The sound of the word also resembles a laugh,
and again it is the name for laughter in the language of the modern
Sioux, as Minne-aha--laughing water.
Without being able to express a positive opinion, but simply as a
suggestion, we insert the supposed meaning of the following words:
Nephihah, Jehovah's consolation.
Ammon, A worker of Jehovah.
Shazer (or Shazeh), Gladness.
Nahom, Comfort.
Zarahemla, From a rising of light, or whom he
(God) will fill up.
Laman, White (another form of Laban).
Manti, Relating to Prophets or oracles.
Many others could be inserted, but might possibly prove irksome.
Before closing this branch of inquiry we will draw attention to the
ancient Nephite prefixes and suffixes. These matters may not be of
great interest to the general reader, but to the students of the Book
of Mormon they may prove an incentive to further interesting research.
Among the most numerous prefixes found in Book of Mormon proper
names, are Am, Anti, Gid and Hel, of which the first is by far
the most frequent. We find Am in Ammon, Amaron, Ammaron, Ammoron,
Amoron, Amulon, Amnor, Ammonihah, Amalickiah, Amnah, Amlici, Aminadi,
etc.; Anti in Antionah, Antiomno, Antipas, Antipus, Antionum and
Anti-Nephi-Lehi. It was also used as a suffix, an Ani-Anti. The prefix
Gid we find in Giddianhi, Gidgiddoni, Giddonah and Gidgidonah; and Hel
in Helem, Helam, Helaman and Helorum.
Not to make this portion of our investigations tedious, we will only
give two or three examples of the suffixes that appear to have been
most in use.
ah, as Zerahamnah, Giddonah, Cumorah.
am, as Zoram, Lauram, Seezoram.
iah, as Amalickiah, Mosiah.
ihah, as Nephihah, Moronihah, Cumenihah.
om, as Sidom, Shiblom, Jarom.
on, as Mormon, Emron, Corianton.
or, as Amnor, Korihor, Nehor.
en, as Kumen, Kishkumen.
um, as Teancum, Helorum, Moriantum.
us, as Antipus, Archaentus, Lachoneus.
oni, Moroni, Lamoni, Mathoni.
di, Aminadi, Abinadi.
hi, as Nephi, Zenephi, Limhi.
ti, Lehonti, Manti.
doni,[23] as Gidgiddoni, Middoni.
FOOTNOTES:
[22] The name Lehi itself, is to found in _Judges xv., 9._
[23] We suggest that this is a form of the Hebrew word Adonai--Lord.