Nibley had this to say about the names in the Book of Mormon. "According to David Whitmer and Emma Smith in interviews appearing in the The Saints Herald and pointed out to the author [Nibley] by Preston Nibley, Joseph never pronounced the proper names he came upon in the plates during the translation but always spelled them out.  Hence there can be no doubt that they are meant as they stand to be as accurate and authentic as it is possible to render them in our alphabet." (Nibley p. 31)

PHOENICIAN AND PUNIC NAMES:  PART  III 

The accumulated records and transcripts of Phoenician and Punic names available up to 1972 continues to be very productive yielding many names that are exact or similar to names in the Book of Mormon.  PART III continues the study which is following the alphabetical lists of Book of Mormon names listed on page 532 to 535, included in this study are those names beginning with ‘K' to ‘M.' Rather stunning is every name starting with a ‘K' in the list of Book of Mormon names is or has a parallel to a Phoenician name.  This seems to confirm even in more detail the Phoenician connection (Erickson 18 May 2005) to what has been called the Reformed Egyptian in which the Book of Mormon was written.

As in PARTS  l and II, the Book of Mormon name/names are provided on the left in the headings, and the Phoenician or Punic name/names are on the right. The Phoenician names are all consonantal, containing no vowels. The Book of Mormon names were spelled originally using the vowels for proper phonentical understanding of the names.  Most of the ancient Near Eastern Languages, based essentially on an ancient form of Aramaic, are spelled out, or transliterated with the vowels. Several languages that developed later, including Phoenician, Punic, Hebrew, Amorite, Egyptian and some others were consonantal without the vowels.  This will appear evident in the discussions that follow.

THE NAMES

KIB:  KB, KBD

Kib is a Jaredite name (Ether l:31), therefore an ancient name. Kib was a grandson of Jared, the Son of Orihah. (Largey p. 331)  He was a Jaredite King.  In the Phoenician records the name is listed as KBD, a common Semitic root, (Benz p. 330) attested in ancient Ugarit names, and would have been prevalent about the time the Jaredites left the Near Eastern area.  Ugarit is a famous Phoenician metallurgical city for refining gold and silver, it was also the center of a textile industry well known for the purple Dye manufactured there. More than 35 types of garments are listed in the ancient texts. (Young p. 38).  In Phoenician and in the wealthy Phoenician city of Ugarit the name Kib meant  ‘Honor.' (Benz 330) As noted in a previous study (Erickson 18 Feb 2005) the name is found in the Elephantine Archives recovered from the discoveries at Elephantine in Egypt as Kibda. (Porten p. 141) The ‘da' suffix is a hypocoristicon for Jehovah, in Aramaic, which is what the Elephantine name lists were written in, so the name Kibda means ‘Yah Honored,' (Porten p. 141)  consistent with the meaning of the name in the Ugarit sources. As noted in Phoenician the Semitic root means ‘Honor.' (Benz p. 330), so in the Book of Ether the name Kib would have meant ‘Honor.'

Because Kib occurs in the Jaredite genealogy, one would expect to find the name or the prefix, KB, in the ancient Eblaitic names lists dating before 2250 BC, just after the Jaredites left the Near East, and there it is found in the form of Kib or Kab; the vowel not making much difference, in the name kab-lu an Eblaitic toponym. (Archi p. 189)  In Ebla it also occurs in the personal name lists as the prefix Kib found in such names as Kibi, and Kibzinu, (Pagan 343), meaning, ‘el is trustworthy,' and Simnu [zinu] is trustworthy; not far from the meaning elsewhere of ‘Honor.' The above is especially confirmed in the Amorite name lists where in the consonantal form it appears in the Phoenician element, KBD, meaning ‘to be Honorable,' along with the female form  Kibidum. In Phoenician there is also the form KBR, also meaning ‘to be great.'  The Suffixes ‘d' or ‘r' as noted above, and in this name form, provides the ‘to be' for the meaning of the names ‘to be great' or ‘to be honored.' (Gelb p. 22) In Phoenician there is  a name KBR, attested to in Ugarit name lists, also meaning ‘to be great.' (Benz p. 330), which is semantically similar to ‘Honor' in the KBD form.  The prefix KIB is also found elsewhere in the Near East, a petty ruler in western Iran had the name Kibabise. Another  form of the name is Kibabase. The name Kibaba was that of the City Lord of Harhar during the reign of Sargon II. (Baker p. 614) These names are remarkable parallels supporting the Phoenician and ancient connection to the Book of Mormon names, and confirms the reality of the ancient Jaredite names, and the Egyptian Connection. These names are a stunning confirmation that Joseph was translating an authentic record and that he got the names, prefixes, suffixes, and all aspects of the names correct.

KIM, KIMNOR:    KM, KMZ

Kim, like Kib, was a Jaredite King. Kim is listed as the 27th descendent of Jared in the Jaredite Genealogy (Ether 1:21; Largey p. 331), like Kib above, it is an ancient Semitic root found in Phoenician names, such as KMZ, which may also be a Berber, North African name. (Benz p. 332)  The element Ki of Kim, is a prefix that means ‘like' and is found in the ancient Eblaitic name lists in the name Ki-l-lum, ‘like God'  [like the God El, from Elohim]. (Pagan p. 343) In ancient Akkadian, 2250 BC, the prefix Ki is in the name Ki-Mama, which means ‘like Mama.' (Baker p. 616)  Mama is a divine name, and the suffix ‘m' ending in Kim, may well be a hypocoristicon of the God Mama, so Kim would also mean ‘like Mama' or ‘like God.'  The prefix KIM also appears in the name KIMIN from the Akkadian of Ugarit. (Huehnergard p. 403)  In the name KIME the prefix KIM still means ‘like'; the adverb suffix abbreviation of ‘ e' means ‘pure.' KIME would then mean ‘pure like God' (Huehnergard p. 198)  Note also the Hebrew Construction in Genesis 44:18, ‘you are like Pharaoh.' (Huelnergard p. 198)

Kimnor was the Father of Akish, [Akish is a Hittite name, more about Hittite names later] the Jaredite who initiated secret combinations to assassinate king Omer in exchange for permission to marry the daughter of Jared (Ether 8:10) The suffix, ‘nor' or ‘NR' does not appear in available name lists. The name would have a meaning ‘like God-nor'.  Nor may be an adjective describing the God Mama, or just God.

KISH, KISHKUMEN, KUMEN, KUMENONHI:  KS, KSK, KMN, KMNNH, .KSY, KMZ    

KISH first appears in the Book of Mormon in Ether l:18 where Lib is mentioned as his son. KISH is also listed as the 30^th descendant of Jared. (Largey p. 431).  This name has been discussed in considerable detail in previous studies. (Erickson 4 Aug 2005; 23 Feb 2005)  As a prefix, KS is found in the transcription of accumulated Phoenician names. (Benz p. 334) It has the meaning there of ‘Full Moon,' an epithet of the Moon (God). (Benz p. 334)  Because it is found in Ether, it is expected to be found in ancient Phoenician and other ancient sources. It is attested to in ancient Ugarit, and was transmitted down into Hebrew as ‘Kese' (Proverb 7:20) and ‘Keseh,' (Pa 81:4), and is also found at Carthage and El-Hofra (Benz p. 334) located on the Algerian coast. There is the ancient city of  Cirta in the sanctuary of El-Hofra where extensive archaeological work has been done showing the penetration into the Libyan world by the Phoenicians.  (Moscati pp. 182-183)   The name confirms the antiquity of the record of Ether, and the reality of the Book of Mormon. During Punic times after 600 BC, the name-prefix KISH was retained in many of the ancient records of which the Book of Mormon is only one.

It occurs several times in the Old Testament during the time of the Ten Tribes, so it would also have been included in the Brass Plates.

The name Kish with the suffix of ‘Y' is found in Phoenician, in one form it means ‘to cover.'  In ancient Ugarit is appears in the name KSYN. (Benz p. 334)  It is also found in Berber transcriptions as KS. (Benz p. 334)  As a prefix in the name Kisa-ma, it means ‘likewise,' and is used as an adverb in Ugarit and the Egyptian Amarna letters from the Phoenician city Byblos along the coast south of Ugarit. (Huelnergard  p. 399)

The name KISHKUMEN does not appear in the Nephite record until Hel l:8-12, after the discovery and translation of the records of Ether, from which no doubt it was obtained.   KISHKUMEN was the founder of secret combinations among the Nephites. (Largey p. 483)  It was also the name of a city whose inhabitants had cast out and stoned the prophets and Saints for which reason the city was burned during the destruction that accompanied the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. (3 Ne. 9:10-11)  The suffix Kumen is found as a name in 3 Ne. 19:4, and as a prefix in the Name Kumenonhi also in 3 Ne. 19:4.  In Phoenician KM is also found as a prefix in the name KMZ, listed by Benz as Berber. (Benz  p. 332)  As individuals, Kumen and Kumenonhi were both members of the Nephite twelve apostles. (Largey p. 485) 

Nibley had this to say about types of names: "What comes as a surprise is that a number of Book of Mormon names are possibly Hittite [North Central Turkey, a country which the Jaredites would have passed through] and some of them are undoubtedly so. Thus while Manti suggests Egyptian Mont, Manti, Menedi, etc., it also recalls the Egyptian name of a Hittite city,  Manda, and a characteristic element of Hurrian names (Much of Hittite is really Hurrian, as Professor Toetrze has shown)  -anti,  -andi, [are] likewise fairly common in the Book of Mormon. So likewise Cumeni, Kumen-onhi, Kisk-Kumen (Eg.-Hitt. Kumani, an important city), Seatum (Eg.-Hitt. Sandon, Sandas) Akish (Eg. Hitt., Achish,  name of Cyprus), Gadiand (Eg. For a Hittite city, Cadyanda). Their Egyptian form implies that these names reached the people of Lehi not directly but through normal routes, though it has recently been shown that some of Lehi's important contemporaries were Hittites, and that Hittite settlements and names still survived in the hill country of Judah in his time." (Nibley 5, p. 32)  The Hittite connection will be the subject of a future study and addition to the Web site. A similar study of the Hurrian parallels is also planned.

LABAN, LIB: LB, LBY, LBN

Laban first appears in the Book of Mormon in 1 Ne 3:3. (Largey p. 488) Virtually all Mormons are familiar with this name. Laban is actually a Hebrew name meaning ‘white.'( Mandel p. 324)  Laban was also the son of Bethuel, Abraham's nephew. Laban was the father of Rachel and Leah. However, the name is also found in Phoenician transcripts.  In the form LBY, it means ‘Libyan' and found abundantly in Punic names in that form. (Benz p. 337)  In reference to the Book of Mormon name ‘LIB', however, it is also found in the form LB where it means ‘lion'. (Benz p. 337)  Most likely the name shows up in the Brass Plates and was appended to various individuals and is not unique to the Book of Mormon.  Lib is an interesting prefix, it is found in the Book of Abraham in the name of the Egyptian God Libnah. (Abr. 1:6; Fac. 1:4)  Of special interest, however, is that it is a Jaredite name of great antiquity and appears in the Book of Mormon in Ether 1:17, as the 31^st descendant of Jared. Lib has been discussed elsewhere (Erickson  23 Feb 2005)  Not yet researched is the frequent occurrence of the name LIB in the Amorite Personal Names found in the texts from the Ancient City of Mari. (Huffmon, p. 255; Benz  p. 337, XI)

The prefix LIB also occurs in a Hebrew name in the Tanakh as Libni, (Exodus 6:17) because the consonantal construction of Laban, LBN, and LIB, differ only in their vowels, and most often they are interchangeable. The name Libni, like Laban, also means ‘Whiteness.' (Mandel p. 330) However, the name LIB is found only in the Book of Ether, the Nephites never picked up on this name, nor does any other name in the Book of Mormon have this prefix. The records show it was a name of considerable antiquity, as indicated by its usage in the Book of Ether. The prefix LIB is found in the lists of personal names from Ebla, such as Liba-ad and Libasu where it means  ‘compensation,' (Pagan p. 346) further confirming its antiquity.

LEHI, LEHONTI, LEHONTI'S:  LH, LHN, LHNT, LHY

All Mormons are familiar with the name Lehi, but less so of the other names. The name Lehonti first appears in the Book of Mormon in Alma 47:10 as the name of a mountain. It is also the name of a rather obstinate individual. (Alma 47:11) The prefix

LH is found in Arab, Elath, and Sabaean names. (Benz p. 338)  The prefix LH is found in Phoenician transcriptions. It is of considerable antiquity. The element is in the name Lehabim (meaning Flames) for the son of Mizraim, grandson of Ham. (Gen 10:13)  The name Lehi is found in the bible as the name of the weapon—‘jawbone of an ass,'  that Samson used against his enemies. (Judges 15:16) Samson's first wife was a Phoenician from Timnah.  Samson had many fierce encounters with the Philistines or Phoenicians.

An interesting interpretation of Stela No. 5 [Jakeman's study of Stela No. 5 is well known] from Izapa in Central America  seems to show the symbol of a side view of a Jaw or ‘cheek bones' held over an aged figure facing a Tree of Life, perhaps identifying the figure as Lehi. (Lowe p. 300)  Nibley reports that a potsherd was found at Elath along the road Lehi took out of Jerusalem with the name of Lehi on it, and that Paul Haupt correctly gives the name of Lehi, and "gives it a mysterious meaning of ‘cheek', which has never been explained. (Nibley 6 p. 290)  He provides additional information about the name of Lehi as well.

MIDDONI:   MDN

Middoni first appears in the Book of Mormon in Alma 20:2 where it refers to a specific land feature, often referred to in Chapters 20 to 23 of Alma.  It is not an individual's name. In the transcripts of Phoenician names, it refers to a ‘dwelling or place of refuge' (Benz p. 334) and like the Book of Mormon usage, it is not given as an individuals name. The MDN names appear in Huffmon's Amorite Personal Names in the Mari Texts, (Benz p. XI) and therefore has considerable antiquity.  The name appears after the Jaredite records were translated, and may have been derived from that source or from the Brass Plates. Geographically the northern border of the Northern Ten Tribes bordered on the vast Amorite region.  There could have been a lot of cultural exchanges over centuries that filtered into the Brass Plates with many names in the Book of Mormon coming from that source.

For instance: the Book of Mormon preserves the unique consonant doubling, ‘dd' in Middoni, found in Amorite Names.  Consonant doubling is found in many Book of Mormon names. "The scribes of Amurru, both in earlier and later periods, were consistent in their denotation of consonant doubling (except  '  and w, )." (Izre'el p. 61)  Consonant doubling has been discussed elsewhere, (Erickson 18 May 2005) quite often associated with Phoenician names, such as Giddonah, the Phoenician name for the ancient Port of Sidon so familiar to Lehi.  

MELEK , MULEK, MULOKI:  ML, MLK ML'K

Melek first appears in the Book of Mormon as the name of a land area in Alma 8:3.  In the Phoenician transcript of names it appears as it does in the Book of Mormon as MLK, where it is a non-Theopohoric name, meaning ‘King' or ‘to rule'. It shows up in a number of Phoenician names. (Benz p. 344)  In the form ML'K, it means ‘messenger' but all forms are Punic from Carthage. Since the name appears in Alma after the joining of the Nephites with the Mulekites, it could have been derived from Mulekite usage.

Having perhaps been transported by Phoenicians to the Americas, with perhaps some of the Phoenician party staying with the Mulekites, or joined them in some way bringing with them a baggage of Punic names, the name MULEK was transmitted down into Nephite records.  Punic names occurring after 600 BC and after Lehi came to the Americas, could have only come from such a contact, and the name could very well have been included in the Mulekite names, particularly if Carthage was in someway a departure point for the Mulekite group, or at least a stopping off place during their journey out of the Mediterranean to the Americas. There is a great untold story here. Some might also see how MLK  is also related to Melchizedek, Prince of Peace and  ruler at Jerusalem.

MULEK appears in Mosiah 25:2, along with his prominent descendent Zarahemla.  Was any of the entourage associated with Mulek Phoenicians?  Was his Mother a Phoenician? Could her Phoenician origins and connections have been sufficient to save her son and perhaps herself? The MLK elements of the name are a perfect match to the Phoenician name MLK, meaning ‘King,' after all he was a King's son. (Benz 344)  MULOKI  first appears in Alma 51:26, certainly sometime after the discovery of the people of Mulek.  The two peoples intermarried and no doubt exchanged their baggage of names. MULOKI has the same Phoenician elements MLK as does Mulek, just a variation of vowels and a change in pronunciation.  Abariations in the Phoenician with the lok element found in MULOKI means ‘to rule.' (Benz p. 344 under b.)  It would seem that MULOKI is a noble variation of MULEK.

There are also many Theophorous usages of the name of Melek in the Phoenician names as given by Benz. (Benz p. 345)  At least there is a suggested connection through the name to Carthage since all examples of the ML'K form are from Carthage. (Benz p. 344)   

But the MLK forms are often found in ancient Ugaritic texts.  The Mel (mil) seems to be an Epithet, of ‘El, in most cases, an abbreviation for Elohim.  The general reference is to Kingship. (Benz p. 346)  The female form, milkat, means ‘Queen, Goddess.' (Benz p. 345)  How could the uneducated Joseph and only slightly more educated Oliver have fictionally introduced so many complex names which it would take philogical and Onomastic research l70 years, and the translations of immense numbers of records to verify?

MINON, MANTI:   MN,  M(N). MNN

Minon appears in the Book of Mormon in Alma 2:24 as the Land Minon above the land of Zarahemla.  Was the Land of Minon a name given by the Mulekites?  Would the name Minon then appear in Phoenician and Punic name lists?  Since it was just west of the River Sidon, the name of an ancient Phoenician Port, and above the land of Zarahemla, a Mulekite name,  in the course of the land of Nephi where the spies of Alma were astonished and fearful to see Nephites fleeing toward Zarahemla before a combined Lamanite-Amlicite army. (Alma 21-25; Largey p. 543) In the Phoenician name lists the prefix MIN appears in the form M(N), it means ‘from.' It is also found in other Phoenician and Punic names with prepositions.  The prefix  MN is the Theophoric name of the God ‘Min', or deity. (Benz p. 349)  An example of the name comes from Carthage in the form MN, (Benz p. 350) which means it is Punic.  It seems one might conclude that the Punic forms could have been brought to the Americas by the Mulekites, given the geographic association with the Mulekite land of Zarahemla.  The original settlements of Zarahemla were founded by the Mulekites (Largey p. 798)  Zarahemla was a descendant of Mulek, the infant son of Zedekiah who escaped being killed at the time the city Jerusalem and the temple was destroyed about 597 BC.  The people of Zarahemla were discovered by Mosiah (Omni l:12-19) before 130 BC. (Largey p. 799)  What an extraordinary story.  How did Joseph keep it all straight?

Non-Semitic names such as Hittite names in the Book of Mormon all come in an Egyptianized form according to Nibley. (Nibley 6 p. 289)  "Thus the Nephite Manit, while suggesting the Egyptian Manti, Monti, Menedi, etc., also recall the Egyptian name of a Hittite city, Manda. A highly characteristic element of Hittite and Hurrian names are Manti and -andi, likewise common in the Book of Mormon."  (Nibley 6, p. 289)  The full element ‘Mant' in Manti does not appear to be in the transcripts of Phoenician names prior to 1972, but may yet be found, nor is the full meaning known.  It is certain, that with the suffix ending of ‘-i' the meaning will be ‘to be or belong to Mant.' There is still a lot of interesting research yet to be done on such names.  Nibley made a solid contribution to such studies in Chapter 22 of his book (Nibley 6, p. 281) most of which was compiled before 1957, long before much of the new data and translated compilations of names became available, and in some instances where not even found yet. 

MAHAH, MAHONRI:    MA, MHR, MHT

The name MAHAH is a Jaredite name appearing in Ether 6:14, along with the unusual names of Jacom, Gilgah, and Orihah, all sons of Jared.  Mahah was the third son, all of them deserve study. The Jaredite names suggest great antiquity. One might recall the use of the prefix MAH or MAHA in the ancient pre-flood name of Mahalaleel, son of Cainan (Moses 6:19; D&C 107:53: Gen. 5:12), a name that would have been familiar to the Jaredites. Maha is also found in the Phoenician name Mahar, suggested to be a Persian deity. (Benz p. 340)  In the Tanakh there are five names with the prefix MAHA , and an additional five names with just the prefix MAH. (Mandel pp. 337-338) In the ancient Ebla name lists the prefixes Ma and Mah, mean ‘is sovereign' or ‘what (is it).' (Pagan p. 350)  The suffix AH may also be ‘brother' and therefore the name Mahah would mean ‘brother is sovereign.'  The MHT form is found at Elephantine, (Benz p. 342) in Aramaic records of a Jewish mercenary group. (Erickson 18 Feb 2005)  In the name Mahonri, the suffix ending of ‘-i' means that ‘Mahonri belongs to Mahon.' The element MHN, which forms the name Mahon is not found in the available Phoenician name lists. It will no doubt turn up in other name lists of Egyptian origin.

MORICANCUMER, MORIANTON, MORIANTUM:  MR, MRT

"While residing in Kirtland Elder Reynolds Cahoon had a son born to him [July 25 1834].  One day when President Joseph Smith was passing his door he called the Prophet in an asked him to bless and name the baby. Joseph did so and gave the boy the name Mahonri Moriancumer. When he had finished the blessing he laid the child on the bed, and turning to Elder Cahoon he said, the name I have given your son is the name of the brother of Jared: the Lord has just shown [or revealed] it to me." (Largey p. 546)

Moricancumer is a place name mentioned in Ether 2:13, no doubt named after the brother of Jared. Morianton is a land name in Alma 50:25, but it first appears in Ether as the name of the 26^th descendent of Jared who lived to a very old age. (Ether 10:13)  Moriantum is also a place name. (Moroni. 9:9) The names all have in common the prefixes,  MOR and MORI, and two of them have MORIAN and MORIANT.  The suffix endings of ‘er', ‘on', and ‘um' reflect hypocoristicons of Divine names, and also demonstrate the use of ‘nunation' and ‘mimation', [names ending in ‘n' or ‘m']  the latter is ... "current in the Semitic dialects of Palestine and Syria between 2100 and 1800 BC...since Book of Mormon favors ‘-m' endings for Jaredite names...the Jaredites must have taken mimation with them some time before 2000 BC." (Nibley p. 288)  After that time the change to nunation occurred. "Nunation itself, however, which is extremely common in the Book of Mormon proper names, is an old-fashioned thing which in Lehi's day was a sign of conservatism and most frequently found among the desert people...This nunation or ending in ‘-n' has left traces in all Semitic languages, but mostly among the desert people, being retained completely in classical Arabic." (Nibley p. 288)  "The correct use of the sequence of mimation and nunation in the Book of Mormon speaks strongly for the authenticity of the record, for the principle is a relatively recent discovery in philology. It may be illustrated by the only Jaredite common nouns known to us, curelom and cumon, and the only adjective, shelem, applied to a mountain...(Ether 3:l)." (Nibley 6, p. 242) Given these observations, it is most pertinent that the Jaredite names reflect a practice in their name construction consistent with the time they were in the Near East, and that the names of the Nephites are consistent with constructions and elements of their time.  Nibley goes into these maters in some depth. (Nibley 5, Chap 6)  

Nibley noticed the use of the element MOR and MR in his early writings. "The great frequency of the element MOR- in the Mormon proper names is in striking agreement with the fact that in the lists of Egyptian names, compiled by Lieblein and Ranke,  the element MR- is, next to Nfr alone, by far the commonest." (Nibley  5, pp. 30-31)  In addition to these names, as noted below, some of the most prominent names in the Book of Mormon have the prefix element MOR, or MR.  MR is also an important element in many names transcribed for the compilation of Phoenician names in 1972. "In Egyptian it (MR, Mor) means a great many things, though its most common designation in proper names is ‘beloved.'" (Nibley 6, p. 287)  The element certainly is the Divine Title variously explained and by the employment of various suffixes.  In Aramaic the element MAR means ‘Lord', as a title of deity. (Benz p. 353)  The prefix element includes the Phoenician element MRR which means ‘to be strong', ‘to strengthen, bless, commend', and is also attested in Amorite Personal Names. (Benz p. 354) The element extended to MRT is also found in Berber names and names from Carthage, (Benz p. 355) and was transmitted down into Punic times, after 600 BC. All of the above is consistent with the idea of the Book of Mormon having been written in Reformed Egyptian, perhaps with a specific Phoenician Connection, (Erickson 18 May 2005) and under absolute inspiration.  

MORMON, MORON, MORONI, MORONIAH:  MR, MRR,

MORMON, is the main abridger of the Book of Mormon and Father of Moroni and  author of the Words of Mormon (Words of Mormon l:l).  Moroni, son of Mormon, Words of Mormon l:l), (Alma 43:16) the translator and abridger of the Book of Ether, and compiler of the final records.  Moroniah is mentioned in Alma 62:43.  All of what was mentioned above about the prefix and element MOR and the Phoenician element MR (Benz p. 353) apply to these names as well. "In Egyptian it [MOR] means a great many things, though its most common designation in proper names is ‘beloved.'  Thus the Egyptian king Meryamon or Moriamon is ‘beloved of Amon.' (Nibley 6, p. 287)  The -n or -on abbreviated ending referring to deity; in the case of the Egyptian names it refers to the God ‘Amon.'  MORMON could then mean ‘beloved of the God Amon.'

Moroniah was also the name of a great city that was buried and its inhabitants covered with earth because they had accumulated on them the blood of prophets. (3 Ne.  9:4) 

The first land settled by the Jaredites was Moron. Moron was also a King, the 42^nd descendant of Jared. (Largey p. 431)  The name Moroni means ‘belonging to Moron.' The  ..."old  ‘-i' ending being the most familiar and unchanging suffix from the oldest Egyptian and Babylonian to modern Arabic, and always having the same signification of relationship." (Nibley 6, p. 244)  

The first two names have the nunation endings discussed above, and the other two names have the hypocoristicon abbreviation for the name Jehovah, expressed as an ‘i' or a longer suffix ending ‘iah' both of which have been discussed in earlier studies. (Erickson 23 Feb 2005)  The use of ‘iah' in names found in the Ebla tablets is consistent with the Mormon claim that Jehovah was known from the Beginning, in all of the dispensations from Adam to Moses. Confirming the Book of Mormon usage, "Not only is YHW/H [Jehovah] found so abundantly in the elgpantine onomasticon, it is found almost excluviely." ({Porten p. 135)  Porten goes on to provide 12 pages of names with the use of ‘iah.' Moses did not introduce the name. The Book of Mormon retained such endings remaining true to ancient traditions and honoring Jehovah. Notice how many prophets of the Old Testament had name endings of ‘iah'.   

MOSIAH:   MS' and MSH

MOSIAH first appears in OMNI 1:12.  There is a Phoenician match of the consonantal elements in the name MSH, which is related to Hebrew Mas,  ...or Berber, in the form MS',  where there is an example of the name from Carthage. (Benz p. 350) The name may have a more complicated history and will be researched further. 

MATHONI, MATHONIAH:   MT

Mathoni appears only in 3 Ne. 19:4;, along with his brother Mathoniah.  The suffix for Mathoni refers to "belongs to Mathon', and the suffix in Mathoniah is the Hypocoristicon for Jehovah meaning ‘Mathon is Jehovah's.'  Both of these individuals were members of the twelve apostles of the Nephites. (3 Ne. 19:4)  The prefix MT in both names appears in the Phoenician lists in the names MTLT and MATILAM, related to Latin inscriptions

The meaning is uncertain. (Benz p. 355)  It seems rather strange that many of the twelve apostles of the Nephites carried Phoenician or related names!

      BIBLOGRAPHY

Archi, Alfonso, Ed., Eblaite Personal Name and Semitic Name Giving, Universita Delgi Studi Di Roma, "La Sapienza", Missione Archaeologica Italiana in Siria, Roma 1988

Baker, Heather D., The Prosopography of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, Vol. 2, Part l: H-K, The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, University of Helsinki, Finland, 2000

Benz, Frank L., Personal Names in the Phoenician and Punic Inscriptions, Studia Pohl, Biblical Institute Press, Rome, 1972

Erickson, Einar C., The Ancient Kingdom of Kish, the Jaredites and the Brass Plates, Web Site 4 Aug 2005

..............................  Ether and Ebla, 23 Feb 2005

.......................  Reformed Egyptian-The Phoenician Connection, W. S. 18 May 2005                                       

.......................  Elephantine Name Parallels, Web Site 18 Feb 2005

....................... Discoveries at Elephantine, Web Site 1 Jan 2005

Gelb, Ignace J., Computer-Aided analysis of Amorite, Assyriological Studies No. 21, The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, 1980

Izer'el, Shlomo, Amurru Akkadian: A Linguistic Study, Vol. l, Harvard Semitic Studies  40, Scholars Press, Atlanta, Georgia, 1991

Huelnergard, John, The Akkadian of Ugarit, Harvard Semitic Studies 34, Scholars Press, Atlanta Georgia, 1989

Huffmon, H.B., Amorite Personal Names in the Mari Texts, See Benz.

Largey, Dennis, L., General Editor, Book of Mormon Reference Companion, Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2003

Lowe, G. W., T. A. Lee, E. M. Espinosa, Izapa: An Introduction to the Ruins and Monuments, New World Archaeological Foundation, BYU, Provo, Utah 1982

Mandel, David, Who's Who in the Tanakh, Ariel Books, Savyon, Israel, 2004

Moscati, Sabatiino, The Phoenicians, Abbeville Press, New York, 1988

Nibley, Hugh, Lehi in the Desert, The world of the Jaredites, There were Jaredites, Collected Works Vol. 5, FARMS and Deseret Book Co. Salt Lake City, Ut. 1988

..................An Approach to the Book of Mormon, Vol. 6, FARMS, Deseret Book, Salt Lake city, Ut. 1988

Pagan, Joseph Martin, A Morphological and Lexical Study of Personal Names in the Ebla Texts, Universita Debli Studi Di Roma "La Sapienza", Archivi Reali Di Ebla Studi III, Missione Archaeologica Italiana In Siria, Roma, l998

Porten, Bezalel, Archives From Elephantine, University of California Press, Berkeley, California, 1968

Young, Gordon D., Ed., Ugarit, in Retrospect-50 Years of Ugarit and Ugaritic, Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake, Indiana, 1981