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Douglas also notes that Nibley himself was a critic of parallelomania, despite his extensive scholarship on the subject in defense of the Book of Mormon, noting that Nibley "ignores" the fact that parallels may suggest a unity of religious thought, or simple coincidence. He also goes on to demonstrate several instances where Nibley misrepresented the parallels, and jumped to conclusions regarding the significance of his examples.
Douglas also notes that Nibley himself was a critic of parallelomania where it is used to disparage the Book of Mormon, despite his extensive scholarship on the subject in defense of the Book of Mormon, noting that Nibley "ignores" the fact that parallels may suggest a unity of religious thought, or simple coincidence<ref>Salmon, Douglas F., ''Parallelomania and the Study of Latter-day Saint Scripture: Confirmation, Coincidence, or the Collective Unconscious?'', [[Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought]], Volume 33, Number 2, Summer 2000, pg. 130 - online version available [http://content.lib.utah.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=%2Fdialogue&CISOPTR=11018&REC=3&CISOBOX=names here]</ref>. He also goes on to demonstrate several instances where Nibley misrepresented the parallels, and jumped to conclusions regarding the significance of his examples.


==Book of Mormon and Egyptian names==
==Book of Mormon and Egyptian names==

Revision as of 22:25, 8 March 2008

In the second chapter of his book Lehi in the Desert, Dr. Hugh Nibley compares names found in the Book of Mormon with ancient Egyptian names from Upper Egypt, mostly from the area of Thebes and south of it. The comparisons show that many names in the Book of Mormon are similar (but not exactly alike, except for some of the shorter ones) to names in a certain region and era of ancient Egypt. In some cases, changes may have occurred due to the process of metathesis.

In the independent journal Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, one scholar, Douglas F. Salmon, has alleged that Nibley's work in drawing parallels between the Book of Mormon and other sources amounts to "Parallelomania", which is defined as the "over use or improper use of parallels in the exposition of a text."[1] Salmon notes:

The number of parallels that Nibley has been able to uncover from amazingly disparate and arcane sources is truly staggering. Unfortunately, there seems to be a neglect of any methodological reflection or aticulation in this endeavor.[2]

Douglas also notes that Nibley himself was a critic of parallelomania where it is used to disparage the Book of Mormon, despite his extensive scholarship on the subject in defense of the Book of Mormon, noting that Nibley "ignores" the fact that parallels may suggest a unity of religious thought, or simple coincidence[3]. He also goes on to demonstrate several instances where Nibley misrepresented the parallels, and jumped to conclusions regarding the significance of his examples.

Book of Mormon and Egyptian names

Name Book of Mormon reference Egyptian reference
Aha The name of a military commander, son of the Nephite commander-in-chief A common Egyptian word for "warrior" and one of the names of Egypt's first king
Aminadab A Hebrew name meaning "My people are generous" or "My divine kinsman is generous." It appears in the Book of Mormon as the name of a Nephite missionary. Amanathabi was the name of the "chief of a Canaanite city under Egyptian domination. The name is 'reformed' Egyptian."[4] Presumably this means it was an Egyptianized Semitic name.
Ammon The most common name in the Book of Mormon This name and its variants -- Amon, Amun and Amen -- was the most common in ancient Egypt. It means "concealed" or "secret" and is the name of "the great universal God of the Empire."[5]
Ammonihah A city and land in the Book of Mormon Ammuni-Ra was a prince of the Phoenician city of Beyrut, a vassal of the Egyptian Empire. Interestingly, the root word Amun was the Egyptian god of air, also called "the hidden one" (see also Ammon above). It is unknown if it has any correlation with the Hebrew-derived "Amen" and other transliterations.
Camenihah The name of a Nephite general Khamuni-Ra is a personal name in the Amarna Letters.[6]
Cezoram The name of a Nephite judge Chiziri was the Egyptian governor of a Syrian city.
Gidgiddonah A Nephite general in the Book of Mormon. The name probably means "Thoth has said we shall live." Djed-djhwti-iw-s-ankh is an Egyptian personal name meaning "Thoth has said she shall live."
Gigiddoni A Nephite general in the Book of Mormon. The name probably means "Thoth has said I shall live." Djed-djhwt-iw-f-ankh is an Egyptian personal name meaning "Thoth has said he shall live."
Giddianhi The commander of a band of brigands Djhwti-ankhi is an Egyptian name meaning "Thoth is my life."
Giddonah The name of two people in the Book of Mormon, one of them the high priest who judged Korihor Djidwna is the ancient Egyptian name for the Phoenician city of Sidon.
Gimgimno A city mentioned in the Book of Mormon[7] Kenkeme is an ancient Egyptian city.
Hem A brother and missionary companion of Ammon[8] An Egyptian word meaning "servant" -- specifically, a servant of the God Ammon
Helaman The name of three people in the Book of Mormon, including a major Nephite prophet Her-Amon is Egyptian for "in the presence of Amon."[9]
Himni Another brother of Ammon, son of King Mosiah[10] Hmn is "a name of the Egyptian hawk-god, symbol of the emperor."[11]
Korihor An anti-Christ and agitator, arrested by the people of Ammon Kherihor "(also written Khurhor, etc.)" was the High Priest of the god Ammon "who seized the throne of Egypt at Thebes," ca. 1085 BCE.[12]
Manti A Nephite soldier[13] and the name of a hill[14]. The land and city of Manti are mentioned several times.[15] The "Semitic form of an Egyptian proper name, e.g. Manti-mankhi, a prince in Upper Egypt cir. 650 BC. It is a late form of Month, god of Hermonthis."[16]
Mathoni A Nephite disciple of Jesus.[17] The name is Hebrew for "my gift." Maitena and Mattenos were two judges of the Phoenician city of Tyre. Both of them at different times became kings, "possibly under Egyptian auspices."[18]
Morianton The name of a Nephite, apparently of Jaredite ancestry, and the city he founded[19] Meriaton ("Beloved of Aton") is an Egyptian prince.
Mormon The word is not on Dr. Nibley's list, but his student Benjamin Urrutia has demonstrated that this name consists of the Egyptian-derived prefix Mor, meaning "Love", and the suffix mon, "firmly established." [20]
Nephi One of the principal authors of the Book of Mormon and the founder of the Nephite nation Nihpi is the "original name of the god Pa-nepi, which may even have been Nephi."[21]
Paanchi A son of the chief judge Pahoran Paanchi or Paankhi is the name both of a son of Kherihor, High Priest of Amon, and of a Nubian king who conquered Egypt.
Pahoran A chief judge of the Nephites; also the name of one of his sons Pa-her-an, also known as Pahura and Pahery ("the Syrian," "the Asiatic") was an Egyptian ambassador in Canaan.
Pacumeni Another son of the chief judge Pahoran[22] Pakamen is an Egyptian name meaning "the blind one."
Pachus A Nephite pretender to the throne[23] Pa-ks and Pach-qs are ancient Egyptian personal names. "Compare Pa-ches-i, 'he is praised.'"[24]
Sam The brother of Nephi[25] Sam Tawi - "Uniter of the Two Lands" in Egyptian - was the name assumed by the brother of Nehri upon taking the throne.
Seezoram, Zeezrom Seezoram is a criminal conspirator who subsequently becomes the chief judge[26], and Zeezrom is a corrupt lawyer of Ammonihah who repents and becomes a missionary. Zoser or Zeser is one of the great rulers of Egypt, a Pharaoh of the Third Dynasty.
Zemnarihah The captain of a band of brigands[27] Zmn-ha-re is an Egyptian proper name. Such metathesis is "a common Egyptian practice."[28] (Note that the theophoric element "Re" appears as ria in Akkadian and Hittite transcriptions of Egyptian names.)
Zeniff A prominent Nephite who founded a new city Znb and Snb are "very common elements in Egyptian proper names, cf. Senep-ta."[29]
Zenoch An ancient prophet whose teachings are mentioned in the Book of Mormon Zenekh is an ancient Egyptian personal name, and the name of a serpent deity, perhaps the Egyptian god Nehebkau, often represented as a two-headed snake.

See also

References

  1. ^ Salmon, Douglas F., Parallelomania and the Study of Latter-day Saint Scripture: Confirmation, Coincidence, or the Collective Unconscious?, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Volume 33, Number 2, Summer 2000, pg. 131 - online version available here
  2. ^ Salmon, Douglas F., Parallelomania and the Study of Latter-day Saint Scripture: Confirmation, Coincidence, or the Collective Unconscious?, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Volume 33, Number 2, Summer 2000, pg. 129 - online version available here
  3. ^ Salmon, Douglas F., Parallelomania and the Study of Latter-day Saint Scripture: Confirmation, Coincidence, or the Collective Unconscious?, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Volume 33, Number 2, Summer 2000, pg. 130 - online version available here
  4. ^ Nibley, Hugh. Lehi in the Desert. Deseret Books, 1988. ISBN 0-87579-132-8.
  5. ^ Ibid.
  6. ^ See Knudtzon's Die El-Amarna Tafeln 2:1561.
  7. ^ 3 Nephi 9:8
  8. ^ Mosiah 7:6
  9. ^ Nibley. Dr. Nibley goes on to point out that L and R are not distinguished from each other in the ancient Egyptian language. The Egyptian character "R" in Egyptian is often equivalent to L in Semitic, and vice-versa.
  10. ^ Mosiah 27:8 to Alma 31:6
  11. ^ Nibley.
  12. ^ Ibid.
  13. ^ Alma 2:22
  14. ^ Alma 1:15
  15. ^ Alma 16:6-7 to 59:6
  16. ^ Nibley.
  17. ^ 3 Nephi 19:4
  18. ^ Nibley.
  19. ^ Alma 50:28-35
  20. ^ Benjamin Urrutia, "The Name Connection," New Era, June 1983
  21. ^ Nibley. See also 1926 article by Wilhelm Spiegelberg in the Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 12:35.
  22. ^ Helaman 1:3-21
  23. ^ Alma 62:6-8
  24. ^ Nibley.
  25. ^ 1 Nephi 2:5 - 2 Nephi 5:6
  26. ^ Helaman 8:27 - 9:37
  27. ^ 3 Nephi 4:16-28
  28. ^ Nibley.
  29. ^ Ibid.
  • Dr. Nibley's main source is Hermann Ranke's Die Agyptischen Personennamen ("The Egyptian Personal Names"), published in 1935 (Gluckstadt; Augustin). Other sources are Dictionnaire de noms hieroglyphiques ("Dictionary of Hieroglyphic Names"), by Jens D. C. Lieblein (Christiania: Broger & Christie, 1871), and the Amarna Letters.
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