potential hebrew name theories for people in the BOM
Posted by Matt W. on February 21st, 2007For my Last Birthday, I got a Strong’s Concordance and Dictionary. It is a fun toy. This was one session of play I had with it.
People telling me I am totally wrong is strongly encouraged.
Name: Nephi
Hebrew: Maybe
In the Bible?: No, but it is in the apocrypha at 2 Maccabees 1:36, but not as a name, but instead as a transliterated form of “Napthai”, a liquid which apparantly burtsts into flame when exposed to light and air. In the Apocrpha, it is used to cleanse the alter at the Temple, and some suggest is the liquid that Elijah poured on his alter in his famous competition with the priests of Baal(This is however, highly disputed). It is unknown whether Joseph Smith had access to or read the apocrypha.
Alternative Bible relation: There is a Term Nephilim in the Bible, Which is the Plural Word Giants. Some suggest then that Nephi could be the singular form of Giant. (see here ) 
= NPI
Alternative Language options: In Egyptian and Aramaic languages, yes, as nfr or npy (see here)
Name: Laman
Possible Hebrew:
La or lah (Aramaic) (Dan. 4:32) {law}; no(-ne, -r), ((can-))not, as nothing, without.
Man = (Aramaic) probably from a root corresponding to ”anah’ in the sense of an inclosure by sides
In the Bible?: No
Of Interest because: “Oh that thou mayest be like this river, Continually running towards the fountain of all righteousness!”
Name: Lemuel
In the Bible: Yes, in the Last chapter of Proverbs, King Lemuel is mentioned
Hebrew: Lemuel = Lmow el {lem-o-ale’}; from ‘lmow’ and ”el’; -Devoted
Of interest because: O that thou mightest be like unto this valley, firm and steadfast, and immovable in keeping the commandments of the Lord!
Name: Zoram
Possible Hebrew:
Zuwr = a primitive root; to turn aside (especially for lodging); hence to be a foreigner, strange
`am = a people (as a congregated unit); specifically, a tribe (as those of Israel); hence (collectively) troops or attendants
In the Bible: No
Of Interest Because: Name possibly denotes that Zoram was at least not a DNA Jew (a foreigner), and possibly born into slavery (an attendant).
Name: Sam
Possible Hebrew: Sam = Sweet Smell, Aroma (or Arabic) س =Sam
In the Bible? No, but many claim it is a change from the name Shem or from the name Samuel.
Name: Lehi
Hebrew: Jawbone
In the Bible: Yes, but not as a name of a person.
Name: Sariah
Hebrew: (or arabic) سرايا Sara’ya’ The Lord is Prince
In the Bible? Not with the same spelling and not as a woman’s name (However, Ethiopic Texts have been discovered which show it as a woman’s name : (see here) . These are also interesting because they shed light on whether there was more than one Temple in Jewsih History.)
Name: Joseph
In the Bible: yes.
Hebrew: The Lord increases.
Of Interest Because: Outside of one chapter, is a miner character, always less in prominence than his brother Jacob, though apparantly older than Jacob, and equally righteous.
Name: Jacob
Hebrew: Supplanter/ One who takes the place of
In the Bible: yes
Of interest Because: It is Jacob who takes the place of Nephi as Prophet and Leader, not Joseph.
So, do you draw any conclusions from this?
Comment # 1 left by Eric Nielson on February 21st, 2007
Conclusions I could draw with some confidence:
1. The Stong’s bible Concordance is a lot of fun.
2. There is potential that all the names of the first family in the BOM are of Hebrew origin.
3. Getting Arabic into Wordpress is a pain.
I could make some other sweeping generalizations, but I’d rather leave that to others. I will let one slip, that I found very compelling in my reading of the BOM the next time around, and that is the idea of Zoram as a slave that Nephi is setting free.
Comment # 2 left by Matt W. on February 21st, 2007
Um, Sariah is in the Bible as a woman’s name. It’s Sarah’s name before the Abrahamic (and Sarah-ic?) Covenant. Oops– that’s Sarai and Sariah. However, they’re so similar surely they’re related?
Comment # 3 left by Proud Daughter of Eve on February 21st, 2007
PDOE- Sar, I believe means prince or “of high rank”.
-iah is a short form of “Jehovah” or “The Lord”, (As in Isaiah) hence “the Lord is prince”.
-ai is a female ending so “princess”
-ah is a pluralizer of some sort (As in taking Abram (high father) to Abraham (father of nations), so perhaps “princess of nations”
But on the other hand, Sarai is properly pronounces “Saray” and Sariah “Saraya” so, maybe, maybe not….
Comment # 4 left by Matt W. on February 21st, 2007
Matt, you link to John Gee’s treatment of the name Nephi in JBMS, but you should know there is a lot of other relevant material on these names in the pages of that Journal. Go to the FARMS site and do some searching. I know there is a specific treatment of Sarai, and Sam has been found on a seal inscription, for instance.
Comment # 5 left by Kevin Barney on February 21st, 2007
Matt, be careful with Strong’s dictionary. It isn’t well thought of. Cross check these meanings with Brown, Driver, Briggs.
Comment # 6 left by HP on February 21st, 2007
Kevin, It was my understanding that John Gee was more into the idea of these names coming from Egyptian, in the tradtion of Nibley. Am I mistaken? I’ll have to look into Sarai and Sariah, as that one really interests me.
HP, one good thing about Strongs is it is free online. Are the others, I would love to check a few of these, especially Laman and Zoram, where i am really doing a bit of “magic”
Comment # 7 left by Matt W. on February 22nd, 2007
Strong’s is the most fun I’ve ever had with religious books! Wheeeeeee, let’s waste the afternoon comparing Greek and Hebrew! Seriously, that thing is a blast.
Especially when someone in GD points out some story which makes it clear that two guys were sinful sodomites (sigh) because the text says they “knew” each other and everyone knows b/c of the Adam and Eve story that “knew” = sex. And you can point out all the other times people appear to be having rampant relations everywhere! (OK, DH and I didn’t actually say anything out loud, but we giggled fit to burst, snarkily feeling superior in our knowledge that the word doesn’t have one meaning.)
Comment # 8 left by Janet on February 22nd, 2007
Yes, John Gee’s treatment of Nephi posits an Egyptian origin, and I didn’t mean to suggest otherwise. I was simply noting that you included a link to John’s treatment of that name, but not to other treatments in the pages of the JBMS on other names you discuss.
(BTW, John refined his treatment in the version that appeared in Pressing Forward with the BoM, so if anyone wants to do serious work on this subject, you should consult the revised version there.)
An entire roundtable set of articles on Lehi and Sariah
Nephi
Sariah and Sam in Inscriptions
Comment # 9 left by Kevin Barney on February 22nd, 2007
سام or “Sam” in Arabic is an adjective meaning poisonous! But of course we’re talking mutations on a few different potential semitic roots, and in any case in Arabic they say every verb means “itself, it’s opposite, and to make love”
Some nicer theories might relate it to the s-m-w (س م و) root dealing with heavenly things. Or perhaps something quite plain like the s-m-y (س م ي) root dealing with names, naming things, etc.
“Ram” in Rameumptum is ancient Semitic word referring to a high place. For example, the Palestinian town of Ramallah رام الله in the West Bank (the ancient Ram + Allah, call it “the high place of God” if you will).
Nehor: the n-H-r (ن ح ر) root in Arabic is a rather nasty one. Hans Wehr gives the following as some of the verbal meanings: to cut the throat (of an animal), slaughter, butcher, kill (an animal); to fight; to kill each other, hack each other to pieces, engage in internecine fighting; to commit suicide; to be scuttled (ship). Another possibility could be the soft h version of the root (ن ه ر) which deals with some more pleasant things like water, rivers, daylight (though also possibly scolding, rejecting, chiding, chasing away).
A few ideas, there’s more. I generally do my scripture study in Arabic and I find it a thoroughly convincing “Semitic” document from a linguistic and historic perspective even if no ‘welcome to Zarahemla’ signs of yet been found. Speaking of which, the “-hemla” there could well refer to the Arabic root H-m-l (ح م ل) referring to a “burden” while the “Zar-” could be conceived of as coming from the z-w-r (ز و ر) root from which the Arabic word Mazar (borrowed in the Afghan city name of Mazar-i-Sharif) meaning a shrine, sanctuary or place of visitation. Zarahemla as “the shrine of the burden”?
Comment # 10 left by Non-Arab Arab on March 5th, 2007