Meaning of book of mormon names

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. I began researching some of the names in the book of mormon and their meanings. In ancient israelite storytelling the meaning of personal names was used to enhance the memorability of a story. The book of mormon is literarily beautiful, doctrinally truthful, and everlastingly applicable. 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. Many book of mormon names are not found in the bible, and were unknown to joseph smith. Demonic and ungodly names in the book of mormon 1 life.

In the book of mormon this is the name of lehis wife. The surprising meanings of abish and 5 other book of mormon names. Alma may be a female name, but its used primarily for males among the mormons. The name anti in the book of mormon book of mormon. In the book of mormon it is the name of a son of lehi and sariah. 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. Information and translations of book of mormon in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. These hits provide additional evidence that the book of mormon is indeed an ancient record. Willes center for book of mormon studies book of mormon onomasticon. It is also borne by the hero of jonathan swifts novel gullivers travels 1726. 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. He tells us that he is a direct descendant of lehi through nephi, and. 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. Anianti, antiomno, antion, antionah, antiparah, antipas, antipus.

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. Missing indices indicate people in the index who are not in the book of mormon. Yet, these names have meaning in ancient languages andor have. But king benjamin desired his people to be called by a higher, holier name. The familiarity became abundantly clear when i opened the book of mormon. The names given to our lord take on new significance when they are approached through a thoughtful and sensitive study of their meanings. However, when we examine the list of names at the end of the book of mormon. 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. 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. This article introduces five subsequent articles that. Here are four examples of book of mormon names whose meanings may surprise you and inspire you. It is occasionally given as a name, perhaps due to its similarity to desiree.

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. Includes nephite, lamanite and jaredite place names and major features. Examples of authentic ancient book of mormon names a. Nephites, lamanites, and antinephilehies are just a few. What does it mean to have the name of christ written in our hearts. 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 book of mormon proper name josh mentioned as a place name in 3 nephi 9. The name enos is identical to a poetic hebrew word meaning man. An egyptian linguistic component in book of mormon names. This study considers the book of mormon personal names josh. Gideon in the book of mormon, gideon was a faithful leader of the church and an eventual enemy to the wicked king noah. Sariah f mormon possibly from an alternate reading of hebrew see seraiah.

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. 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. 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. Chart 816 lists alphabetically over 150 such proper names or descriptive expressions. Hebrew documents of the bar kokhba period yadin, p. 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. In the book of mormon, people are called by many names.

The meaning of the name of the book of mormon meridian magazine. In his book lehi in the desert, nibley compares names found in the book of mormon with ancient egyptian names from upper egypt. This article proposes that the names zenephi zenos, zenock, and cezoram incorporate the names of. Readers of the book of mormon encounter hundreds of unique names not found elsewhere. The name is also associated with great missionaries and prophet in the book of mormon. 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. Hebrew names having meanings, the book of mormon claims. Book of mormon geography, place names, cities, lands, etc. Seeking agreement on the meaning of book of mormon names. Finding doctrine and meaning in book of mormon isaiah. What does it mean to have the name of christ written in. 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.

There is however a good reason not to equate the two sites. We revere mormon in the same way that we revere and respect moses, peter, abraham, john, adam, and paul. The book is named after the ancient prophetwarrior leaderwriterand editor, mormon, who created metal plates with his own hands. 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. Hoskisson leads the onomasticon project, which seeks to identify and interpret book of mormon names using standard principles and methods. Robert ritner or another actual egyptologist confirmed these kind of silly meaningless speculations. A prophet, named mormon, organized the thousand years of history into a book. Egyptian meaning of nephi and 3 other book of mormon names.

The book is named after the ancient prophetwarrior leaderwriterand editor, 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. 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. Many lds assume that this is evidence that joseph smith could not have made up the book of mormon. Authentic egyptian names in the book of mormon the book of mormon claims a close tie to all things egyptian 1 nephi 1. 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. 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.

In the book of mormon the morpheme anti is probably not the greek anti except in cases like antichrist in alma 30. The surprising meanings of abish and 5 other book of. Similarly, one book of mormon name used for a man that might have seemed awkward, alma, now is known from two secondcentury a. The actual meaning of nephi and 3 other book of mormon names. Examples of authentic ancient book of mormon names abish. Mormonism is a branch of christianity, and consider the holy bible and the book of mormon to be its primary religious texts. 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 themes of physical and spiritual deliverance and salvation are. The book of mormon contains 337 proper names and 21 gentilics or analogous forms based on proper names. Critics dismiss these names as gibberish or the creative invention of joseph smith. Much can be learned and gleaned by pondering each of these terms.

Book of mormon central evidences of the book of mormon. The meaning of the name of the book of mormon meridian. 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. And, as we all know, our lives are guided in large measure by our perceptions. 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. Although some of those names appear in the bible, a large majority of them are unique to the book of mormon. Book of mormon names attested in ancient hebrew inscriptions john a. Thanks mostly to the bible, hebrew names or variants thereof are known through much of the world. 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.

Nephi is an ancient egyptian name with multiple meanings. Narrow neck of land, narrow strip of wilderness, narrow pass, oceans. Tvedtnes, john gee, and matthew roper journal of book of mormon studies 91 2000. Book of mormon names the encyclopedia of mormonism. 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. Ammon, a variation of the name amon, is featured in the book of mormon. Mosia is a word like victor or savior or deliverer 48183. 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 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. While studying some points of interest in masonry, i came across some names within their books that sounded familiar to me. The names in the book of mormon, another testament of jesus christ, have been thoroughly investigated and researched over the years. Nephis name may come from one of two ancient egyptian words.

Hopkin, finding doctrine and meaning in book of mormon isaiah, religious educator 15, no. The first means sea captaina fitting name for the amateur but. 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. 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. We know this is a fitting name for nephi, who built a ship and. 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. It is also used in the book of mormon as the name of a prophet. 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. If the textual passages common to the book of mormon and the bible are excluded, 53 names occur in both books. Over two hundred proper names of peoples or places appear in the book of mormon text. Conversely, proper names that appear only in translation are not included, such as bountiful and desolation. The book of mormon project will be completed in either two or three years, in 2012 or 20.

Tradition has taught us over many years that the book of mormon was so named for mormon, the main abridger. Yet, these names have meaning in ancient languages andor have been found as actual names from ancient history. Such meanings are evident from sseveral instances wherein the book of mormon provides a translation for a proper name. Instead, consider the many book of mormon names or words that involve anti.