Meaning of book of mormon names

Hebrew names having meanings, the book of mormon claims. Yet, these names have meaning in ancient languages andor have. The name anti in the book of mormon book of mormon. The book of mormon is literarily beautiful, doctrinally truthful, and everlastingly applicable. Yet, these names have meaning in ancient languages andor have been found as actual names from ancient history.

Book of mormon geography, place names, cities, lands, etc. Demonic and ungodly names in the book of mormon 1 life. In ancient israelite storytelling the meaning of personal names was used to enhance the memorability of a story. Alma may be a female name, but its used primarily for males among the mormons. It is occasionally given as a name, perhaps due to its similarity to desiree. 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. Conversely, proper names that appear only in translation are not included, such as bountiful and desolation. Includes nephite, lamanite and jaredite place names and major features. Tvedtnes, john gee, and matthew roper journal of book of mormon studies 91 2000. Some of the names found in english bibles also show up in the book of mormon, some hebrew names found in the book of mormon are not in the bible. The book of mormon project will be completed in either two or three years, in 2012 or 20.

There are several names in the book of mormonsuch as zenephi, zenos, and zenockthat look as though they are composed of scriptural names nephi, enos, enoch, and so forth with different forms of a zprefix that might mean son of or descendant of. Chart 816 lists alphabetically over 150 such proper names or descriptive expressions. Nephites, lamanites, and antinephilehies are just a few. Information and translations of book of mormon in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. The first means sea captaina fitting name for the amateur but.

Because names are a way of identifying cultural and ethical beliefs within a country or group of people, sometimes mormon names are chosen to honor an ancestor or religious figure. The names given to our lord take on new significance when they are approached through a thoughtful and sensitive study of their meanings. Missing indices indicate people in the index who are not in the book of mormon. Examples of authentic ancient book of mormon names a. Narrow neck of land, narrow strip of wilderness, narrow pass, oceans. Seeking agreement on the meaning of book of mormon names. In the meantime, there is a website for looking at the list and looking at discussion of proper names in the book of mormon that will be available through the maxwell institute for religious. Willes center for book of mormon studies book of mormon onomasticon. 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. I began researching some of the names in the book of mormon and their meanings. Over two hundred proper names of peoples or places appear in the book of mormon text.

As with biblical names, some popular mormon names are derived from heroes or characters of the teachings or stories from the book of mormon, a religious text of the latter day saints. The book of mormon proper name josh mentioned as a place name in 3 nephi 9. Readers of the book of mormon encounter hundreds of unique names not found elsewhere. These hits provide additional evidence that the book of mormon is indeed an ancient record. The meaning of the name of the book of mormon meridian. I think one can easily see from this list that with a list of the names in the king james version of the bible, an early 19th century map, and a dictionary, it wouldnt. Examples of authentic ancient book of mormon names abish. It is also borne by the hero of jonathan swifts novel gullivers travels 1726.

The themes of physical and spiritual deliverance and salvation are. In the book of mormon, people are called by many names. Ever since, when i have seen the word mormon used in the media to describe usin a newspaper or a magazine or book or whateverthere flashes into my mind his statement, which has become my motto. However, when we examine the list of names at the end of the book of mormon. One meaning is sea captain see john gee, four suggestions on the origin of the name nephi, in pressing forward with the book of mormon, f. Here are four examples of book of mormon names whose meanings may surprise you and inspire you. Tradition has taught us over many years that the book of mormon was so named for mormon, the main abridger. He tells us that he is a direct descendant of lehi through nephi, and.

Some of the names in the book of mormon, another testament of jesus christ, are not of hebrew origin, but rather they are of egyptian origin, and also there are some other ancient nearest languages involved. The only exceptions listed are for the book of mormon, the churchs sacred text, and historical names like the mormon trail, a governmentrecognized path that. This article proposes that the names zenephi zenos, zenock, and cezoram incorporate the names of. The name enos is identical to a poetic hebrew word meaning man. We revere mormon in the same way that we revere and respect moses, peter, abraham, john, adam, and paul. Finding doctrine and meaning in book of mormon isaiah. Instead, consider the many book of mormon names or words that involve anti. The book of mormon contains 337 proper names and 21 gentilics or analogous forms based on proper names. The meaning of the name of the book of mormon meridian magazine. The surprising meanings of abish and 5 other book of. We know very little about kish and it comes from the book of ether in the book of mormon. Most people understand that the sacred record called the book of mormon, stands as a testament of jesus christ and teaches the doctrine of christ, or the fullness of the everlasting gospel.

This article introduces five subsequent articles that. Various implausible etymologies have been proposed, usually in attempts to discredit or defend the mormon. Other than that the two gns are spelled the same in the current editions of the book of mormon, and the relative temporal propinquity of the names, there are no compelling reasons to equate the two sites. A prophet, named mormon, organized the thousand years of history into a book. In his book lehi in the desert, nibley compares names found in the book of mormon with ancient egyptian names from upper egypt. Sariah f mormon possibly from an alternate reading of hebrew see seraiah. Hopkin, finding doctrine and meaning in book of mormon isaiah, religious educator 15, no. 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. What does it mean to have the name of christ written in. 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 translations, theres. The actual meaning of nephi and 3 other book of mormon names notes 1. We know this is a fitting name for nephi, who built a ship and.

Gideon in the book of mormon, gideon was a faithful leader of the church and an eventual enemy to the wicked king noah. The actual meaning of nephi and 3 other book of mormon names. The book is named after the ancient prophetwarrior leaderwriterand editor, mormon, who created metal plates with his own hands. Egyptian meaning of nephi and 3 other book of mormon names. 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. The familiarity became abundantly clear when i opened the book of mormon. The name is also associated with great missionaries and prophet in the book of mormon. Critics dismiss these names as gibberish or the creative invention of joseph smith. Mosia is a word like victor or savior or deliverer 48183. This study considers the book of mormon personal names josh. Last of all, among the list of proper names in the book of mormon, are those names of jaredites origin that may either be a near eastern or of afroasiatic background, but are quite uncertain in their origin among the names that we have of jaredite origin or such as coriantumr. If the textual passages common to the book of mormon and the bible are excluded, 53 names occur in both books. But king benjamin desired his people to be called by a higher, holier name.

Believers are called mormons after the book of mormon and have been since the 1830s, which takes its name from the prophet whom they believe compiled it andor the waters of mormon mentioned in it. Similarly, one book of mormon name used for a man that might have seemed awkward, alma, now is known from two secondcentury a. And, as we all know, our lives are guided in large measure by our perceptions. And although the book bears his name, the word mormon signifies something even more important, and something very significant about our savior jesus christ, and what it means to come unto him. The surprising meanings of abish and 5 other book of mormon names. There are some names that may or may not have a direct reference to the book of mormon or due to language and writingtranslation differences they may or may not apply to similar names found in the book of mormon. The names in the book of mormon, another testament of jesus christ, have been thoroughly investigated and researched over the years. Sawyers insights into the biblical usage of the word are interesting in light of themes and elements found in the book of mosiah in the book of mormon. The largest church to be established in america, therefore known as the american religion, it is a world wide church with over million members across the globe. Many book of mormon names are not found in the bible, and were unknown to joseph smith. Many lds assume that this is evidence that joseph smith could not have made up the book of mormon.

Thanks mostly to the bible, hebrew names or variants thereof are known through much of the world. In the book of mormon this is the name of lehis wife. As mentioned above, the book of mormon is a book of scripture kept by the ancient inhabitants of north america and covers a span of 1,000 years. Do names in the book of mormon have a hebrew meaning. Jesus christ, gods son, savior, is known by many names and titles within the writings of the new testament.

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. Book of mormon names attested in ancient hebrew inscriptions john a. Book of mormon names the encyclopedia of mormonism. There is however a good reason not to equate the two sites. An egyptian linguistic component in book of mormon names. The name irreantum in the book of mormon seems to be derived from an egyptian phrasename that contains egyptian words that can be assembled into a phrase meaning something very much like many waters jrrj ntw tm or, jr r ntw tm or, jrrj nt tum, etc literally, more than bodies of water all, the former being the interpretation of the name explained by nephi in the book of mormon. Hoskisson leads the onomasticon project, which seeks to identify and interpret book of mormon names using standard principles and methods. Anianti, antiomno, antion, antionah, antiparah, antipas, antipus. Book of mormon central evidences of the book of mormon. Nephis name may come from one of two ancient egyptian words. Ammon, a variation of the name amon, is featured in the book of mormon.

It is also used in the book of mormon as the name of a prophet. The book is named after the ancient prophetwarrior leaderwriterand editor, mormon. Mormon was one of the last prophets to record his revelations from god, and also compiled the works of the other ancient prophets into one book, which he named the book of mormon. In the book of mormon the morpheme anti is probably not the greek anti except in cases like antichrist in alma 30. This is a word from the book of mormon meaning honeybee in the language of the jaredites, which is used to refer to the american state of utah, officially nicknamed the beehive state. Mormonism is a branch of christianity, and consider the holy bible and the book of mormon to be its primary religious texts. Hebrew documents of the bar kokhba period yadin, p. Authentic egyptian names in the book of mormon the book of mormon claims a close tie to all things egyptian 1 nephi 1. Nephi is an ancient egyptian name with multiple meanings.

Such meanings are evident from sseveral instances wherein the book of mormon provides a translation for a proper name. Much can be learned and gleaned by pondering each of these terms. Coming from a mormon egyptologist isnt nearly as convincing as if robert ritner would say oh yes thats genuine and that means the book of mormon is true. However, those willing to look deeper find that not only do many of the names fit within patterns of ancient semitic languages but they can also have great personal meaning for each of us. These book of mormon names stand as additional evidence that the book is of ancient origins and was brought forth by the gift and power of god. Robert ritner or another actual egyptologist confirmed these kind of silly meaningless speculations.