This entry, PART V, will conclude the search for Book of Mormon name parallels in Phoenician and Punic sources up to 1972. Because a considerable number of names are found in transcriptions from Carthage, one of the great Phoenician cities, a brief history of that city will be summarized. As research continues, there will be future additions to the WEB SITE of the Phoenician and Punic connections from sources found and translated after 1972. Books and other resources are constantly being added to my library so the search for confirmation of Book of Mormon names will continue.

CARTHAGE

On the northern shores of Africa on the Mediterranean, in the same gulf as Utica, but farther to the south, is located the most important of all the Phoenician colonies, Carthage. (Sasson p. 1328)  The name means ‘new town'. The ancient Phoenician city of CARTHAGE was founded as a colony from Tyre, the southern most of the great sea ports on the shores of the western Mediterranean. Its sister harbor and well known port along the coast to the North was Sidon. It was from this ancient port the name of the prominent river Sidon in the Book of Mormon was derived.  The Assyrian conquests spreading southward into the Levant and Palestinian areas had forced people to leave certain cities and find new centers for their commerce. The Phoenicians, while considered an empire, were "less a stretch of land than a patchwork of widely scattered merchant [coastal] communities around the Mediterranean." (Markoe p. ll) Carthage began to flourish about 814 BC. The new city greatly prospered because of its strategic location overlooking the straits which divide the eastern and western seas of the Mediterranean. (Whitehouse p. 88)  The city soon established a monopoly over certain areas to the west and the southern coasts of Europe, and it gained access to more than 100 cities and towns in the mineral rich southern area of Spain, where lead and silver production produced great wealth. So much so that the smelter discharges are recorded in the layered ice of ice cores recovered from the 12 great glaciers and ice covering of Greenland.  

Like its mother city, Tyre, Carthage accumulated a great library, but much of this was lost, a casualty of Assyrian and Roman aggression. Primary sources -"the Bible, the Assyrian Annals, and the Greek and Latin authors-only shed light on the military and commercial affairs of the Phoenicians...but record little of their political, social, or economic development." (Markoe p. ll) Sometimes all that is left are transcripts and memorial inscriptions, formulaic dedications on stone grave markers, and only the names of dedicants to their Gods about which little is known.  This study of Phoenician and Punic names will now be concluded, it is dependent on these inscriptions, many of them from Carthage. Lehi had enjoyed the grandeur of the Phoenicians and particularly the facilities of their great port, Sidon, before Nebuchadnezzar (604-562 BC) took military action sweeping along the coastal areas capturing the great port cities of Sidon and Tyre, the later only after a 13-year siege; one of the reasons for the expansion of Carthage; and finally besieging and destroying Jerusalem in 587 and bringing the Phoenician western coastal areas to full submission by 572 BC. (Markoe p. 47)  Lehi was long gone by then.

CARTHAGE: A GREAT MILITARY POWER

Carthage emerged as a political and great military power about 550 BC under the aegis of general Mago and his descendents who embarked on successful campaigns and expansion. (Markoe p. 54)  Their sea captains had already established extensive trade routes northward in the Atlantic to England for the copper and tin mines of Cornwall, (Morrison pp. 1-19) southward around the Cape of Africa to India and the Persian Gulf and eastward into the Atlantic, (Moscati p. 81) perhaps even going so far as to take colonies to the Americas, such as the Mulekites.  Thales, the father of Science, and one of the earliest known Greek (Phoenician) philosophers (580 BC) spent nearly 40 years on the swaying deck of Phoenician ships traveling to all points including Babylon by way of  India. (Chambers p. 1313; Russell p. 16) The trading Empire of the Phoenicians included nearly all of the coastal areas of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic seaboards north and south of the Pillars of Herakles (Gibralter). (Sassons p. 1323) There was no other sea power at that time that could have done that.

The emergence of Rome as a competing power led to three great Punic wars with Carthage culminating in the obliteration of Carthaginian power and destruction of the city in 146 BC. (Whitehouse p. 88)  Julius Caesar and his heir Octavian, re-established Carthage with 3,000 settlers in 29 BC.  By 500 AD it had resumed its greatness and had become a center of Christianity and the home of St. Augustine.  The Arabs took over about the 7^th century; today Carthage is a suburb of Tunis, with the ruins of old Carthage scattered among the modern buildings.

CONCLUSION OF PRESENT PHOENICIAN AND PUNIC NAME STUDIES:

This study will conclude the search for Mormon Name Parallels in inscriptions from the Phoenician sources from areas through out the Mediterranean recovered before 1972. Future studies will deal with the names from sites or records or other sources that provides names found after 1972, in the records recovered from the excavations of many of the ancient Phoenician cities.  In a general way we had proceeded with this study alphabetically using the Book of Mormon name list on pages 533-538. Part 1V of this series had reached names in the ‘R's. There were still about 20 % of the Book of Mormon names to examine to see if they could be found in the available Phoenician or Punic transcriptions. This study takes in the rest of the names.  

PHOENICIAN AND PUNIC NAMES

AND THE BOOK OF MORMON NAMES

As in the previous studies the Book of Mormon name or names is given on the left, and the consonantal Phoenician name or names or prefix is given on the right. As in Hebrew, Egyptian, and certain Aramaic languages there are no vowels used.  It is difficult to identify the proper vowels to be used in many names.  In consonantal languages, such as Hebrew, the difference in meaning of a word is enormous.  In Hebrew, friend is written ‘ro'oe' and evil is ‘re'oe'.  So it is difficult to master the languages and determine the meanings of names when the vowels are missing.   

SEBUS:   SB 

SEBUS is referred to only in Alma where the references are to places of water, or waters. (Alma 17:26; 19:21)  Compare with sobi in Hebrew and sebu-el, in l Chr. 23: 16. (Benz pp. 412-413)  SEBUS It is rather an old name and seems to refer to an unexplained deity or epithet.  The elements ‘sb' may also mean ‘to swear'. (Benz p. 413)  The antiquity of the name might suggest it came into the Book of Mormon from the Jaredite record.  The name is found in the extensive name lists obtained form tablets discovered at Ebla where the name Sebu means ‘wolf'. (Pagan p. 367)  

SHARED, SHERRIZAH, SHEREM, SHAZER, SHEARJASHUB:    SH, SHR, SHZ

SHARED was a late Jaredite, (Ether 13:23) but not a descendant of Jared. He "rose up against Coriantumr, and captured him. Later, SHARED was defeated by Coriantumr. He was killed in battle with Coriantumr in the valley of Gilgal."(Price  p. 177)  "Some two years later Shared's brother Gilead continued the conflict."(Ether 13:22-14:3; Largey p. 719)  SHERRIZAH is the name of a tower. (Mormon 9:7) "During the final hostilities between the Nephite and Lamanite nations, the Lamanites are said to have taken men, women and children prisoner from the tower of Sherrizah."(Largey p. 720; Mor. 9:8-17)  SHEREM, was called the Anti-Christ who confronted Jacob, the brother of Nephi, and accused him of Blasphemy for "transforming the Law of Moses into a worship of Christ." (Largey p. 720: Jacob 7:1-7)  He came to know that he was guilty of the same accusations he leveled at Jacob, he admitted he had been deceived by the devil and had lied. He feared he had committed the unpardonable sin, recognizing his guilt, he confessed, and then died. (Jacob 7:13-20)  "SHAZER was a place in the Arabian wilderness where Lehi and his family stopped during their journey."(Largey p. 119) Shazer became their base camp for hunting expeditions to replenish their food supply. (l Ne. 16:14-14) It was a four-day journey south-southeast from the valley of Lemuel. SHEARJASHUB was a son of Ahaz, quoted from Isaiah 7. (2 Ne.17:3)  All of the above names have the consonantal elements SH or SHR, which means ‘dawn', taken from sihar, a West Semitic celestial deity, progeny of El and brother of SLM, [a well known deity] attested to in records from Ugarit, (Benz pp. 414-415) which is an early Phoenician city described in PART IV of this series, so the name had ancient usage. This is important because SHARED is a Jaredite name, correctly reflecting names of the early Mesopotamian regions, such as found at Ugarit, Ebla and Mari, and northeast of Ugarit in the interior regions. Some names from these regions may also be included in the Jaredite records because they do not show up in the Book of Mormon until after the Jaredite records were recovered.  In Hebew the prefix Share or Shara means ‘Hostile' found in such names as Sharar (2 Samuel 23:33) and Sharai (Ezra 10:40), these names vary in age from 500 BC to 1100 BC. But the female form with the abbreviation for a Goddess before it, B'Shara, is the name for a Phoenician Princess. My second daughter is named Shara, my wife insisted that I drop the ‘B' when I named her.

SHEMLON, SHILOM, SHEUM, SHIM, SHUM, SHELEM:  SHM, SHL, SM, SM', SM‘, SML

SHEMLON is the name of a land mentioned often in Mosiah, (Mosiah 10:7, l1:12, 19:6, 20:1, 24) and Alma. (Alma 29:12) SHILOM is the name of a land near the land of Nephi. (Mosiah 7:5), and the name of a people and a city. (Mosiah 7:21) SHEUM is a vegetable of some sort mentioned in Mosiah 9:9. SHIM is the name of an important hill in the land of Antum. (Morm. 1:3).  "In AD 321 Ammaron deposited all of the sacred records of the Nephites in the hill Shim." (4 Ne. 1:48: Largey p. 722)  Mormon retrieved various records from the hill Shim to maintain and enlarge the gold plates he was abridging, and about 357 AD he was forced by Lamanite advances to remove all the records from Shim. (Mormon 4:23) SHUM is a measure of Gold (Alma ll:5; see also Erickson 9 Mar 2005) It is an ancient name found in the records of Enoch, mentioned  in Moses 7:5 as the name of a vast valley, and the name of a people called the ‘people of Shum'.  It is also mentioned in the Book of Enoch portion of Moses. (Moses 7:7).  SHELEM is a Jaredite name for a Mountain (Ether 3:1) and therefore an ancient name.  However, it is more complex than that. When looking for names with the prefix Shel or Shal, such as found in the ancient name of Shalmaneser, (Baker p.1107) one is referred to Salmanu-asared, (Baker pp. 1071-1077) where the first entry of this name, one of the names of the great Gods, deals with the name Salmanu-asared, meaning  ‘Salmanu is foremost', which is an Akkadian reference and also very old. (Baker p. 1071).  The Akkadians were prominent in the northern areas at the time of the Jaredite. The Jaredites may have had to move through their territory during their exit from the Near East.  Many kings took on this name, one of the first most are familiar with was Shalmaneser 1, king of Assyria (1273-1244) who started a great dynasty a thousand years after the Jaredites had passed out of the country to the north. (Baker p. 1072)  In the Assyrian King Lists and Biblical history there was Shalmaneser V, king of Assyria (726-722) and you know the rest of the story from there including the loss of the Ten Tribes. The Brass Plates would have a lot to say about the Shalmanesers and their depredations.  They were a plague on the wicked ten tribes.     

The prefix SHEM in SHEMLON, is of course the name of the second son of Noah, and would date to the Flood. (Genesis 5:32)  The Jaredites left the eastern Hemisphere after the third generation from the Flood. (Erickson 23 Feb 2005) The prefix SH in the names SHEM, SHUM, SHIM, all mean a ‘name'.(Mendel p. 492)  With an ‘a' suffix, such as in the name Shema, (Nehemiah 8:4)  the name would mean ‘heard'. (Mendel p. 492).  The name SHUM varies from Shem only by the use of a different vowel, but both retain the meaning of ‘the name'. The Assyrian and Babylonians left out the ‘h' in the name and write it as ‘sum'.  But even the name sumu still means a ‘name'. (Baker p. 1148; also see the discussions in Erickson 17 Aug 2005 and 22 Apr 2005)  The Phoenician usage of the elements  SM, meaning a ‘name',  particularly in the appellation of a deity. The name ‘sum', attested to at Ugarit also has meaning a ‘name'. (Benz p. 419)  Those names related to Jaredite names all appear in the Nephite record after the discovery of the Jaredite records around 280 BC. (Omni l:20-23)    

SIRON:  SR, SRN

SIRON is the name of a Land. (Alma 39:3)  The elements SR are found in a fragment of a name in a Phoenician inscription, (Benz p. 460) and in a prefix of an incomplete Phoenician name. (Benz p. 448)  The prefix SR is also found in Phoenician personal name lists. (Benz pp. 148, 185, 425)  Some names with this prefix are found in transcriptions from Carthage. (Benz p. 426)  However, the meaning of the name is not given. The name appears in the Ebla tablets as SIRI having the meaning of  ‘my flesh', or  ‘my song'. (Pagan p. 364)

SEANTUM, SENUM, SEON, SENINE, SENUM:   SN, SNN, SNM, SNT, SNTM

SEANTUM was the brother of Seezoram whom SEANTUM murdered. (Hel. 9:26) SENUM, is a measure of gold or silver, a SENUM of gold was a day's pay. (Alma 11:3; Erickson 9 March 2005)  A SENINE of gold was equal to a SENUM of silver. (Alma 11:7)  For those who sin an extreme penalty will be extracted, you will be held "until thou has paid the uttermost SENINE" [equal to a farthing?] or  "If you are in prison can you pay even one SENINE?" (3 Nephi 12:26) A SHUM of gold was twice the value of a SEON. (Erickson  9 March 2005)  As noted, SEANTUM was a murderer, the other names are those given for measures of gold and silver enumerated in Alma 11. These measures and their values and description are discussed elsewhere in this Web Site, and need not be treated again. The prefix S, and the consonantal elements SN, are Phoenician but their meaning is not explained. (Benz p. 423) The prefix ‘SN' found in the tablets from Ebla seems to have the meaning ‘pleasant'. (Pagan p. 365)  The prefix s may be a by-form of  ys‘ meaning ‘to deliver', or the  s'y  form in Hebrew with the meaning ‘gaze, regard with favor'. (Benz p. 423). A study of the different suffixes ending the names would have to be made to make further sense of the meaning of the names, a subject for further study.

SHURR, SHERRIZAH:  SHR

The Jaredites pitched their tents in the valley of SHURR, the valley was near the hill COMNOR (Ether 24:28)  In Phoenician there would be no difference between the prefixes SHURR and SHERR, the vowels would be interchangeable, the meaning would not differ.  The names are Jaredite, and therefore go back to early Semitic names. At a time when there were many deities, sometimes, such as in Nineveh, there were more than 500 names with the prefix listed, SHR was the name for a West Semitic celestial deity, a god who was the descendent of ‘El' [Elohim], and brother to another son of the same god called SLM in  Phoenician. (Benz p. 414) The brother's name, SLM, is found in early Amorite, Canaanite [Coastal Phoenician] and in Ugarit. (Benz pp. 417-418)  These Semitic areas bordered the Early Israelites on the north so one might expect these names to have also been in the Brass Plates as well. The main point is that the Jaredite names suggest considerable antiquity to the name and that is what is found in the various occurrences of the names, they are ancient, going back to around 2250 BC or before. But from a unique doctrinal standpoints notice that for a son of  ‘EL' the meanings are interesting: ‘to complete, requite', ‘make complete,  recompense', ‘peace', ‘pay', ‘render service'. Is there some relationship with Jehovah here?  Note that in the name Salem, contained in Jerusalem, the meaning is ‘Peace'.  Melchizedek wanted to be a "Prince of Peace', the Prince of ‘Salem,' ‘King of Righteousness.' (Mandel p. 348)  In SHERRIZAH, the suffix IZAH is an abbreviation for Jehovah. So the name could mean ‘Jehovah is Peace.' But, one can go a little farther into the mystery of Jehovah and his destiny, you can get   ‘Jehovah pays', ‘Jehovah makes complete', ‘Jehovah will requite' or ‘render service'. These do strike a bell that rings loud and clear! The Jaredites knew about Jehovah, the tablets from Ebla dating before 2250 BC refer to Jehovah in the use of the hypocoristicon of ‘IAH', appended to many names as a suffix in the extensive personal name lists now available. (Erickson 23 Feb 2005; Pagan; Archi)  

SIDON, SIDOM:  SD, SDN, SDM

SIDON, is the great river in Book of Mormon lands. (Alma 15:1) There are many references in Alma to the great River Sidon. The name means ‘high place'. While Sidon is a biblical name referring to the ancient Sea Port city of Sidon one of the great anchorages built on a ‘high place' a little inland from the coast of the Phoenician Mediterranean, attention has been drawn to the connection Lehi may have had with this ancient city of commerce. It is the Phoenician name for one of their great commerce centers that draws one to ponder the use of Sidon in the Book of Mormon. (Nibley Vol. 6, pp. 88-89) The Egyptian-Phoenician name for Sidon is Giddonah. (Alma 10:2; Largey p. 292) This name, with variations of it, such as Giddianhi, Gidgiddonah, Gidgiddoni, etc., was part of the motivation and thrust in the study in this WEB series discussing the Phoenician Connection, (Erickson 18 May 2000), which ultimately led to these five studies on Phoenician and Punic names. Phoenician inscriptions include some names with the SD prefix. (Benz p. 448)  SIDOM, varying with only the suffix ending of ‘M', refers to various land features in Alma (Alma 15:1-17) In Phoenician the name means ‘Mountain' or ‘high place'. (Benz p. 414)  There is an ancient Akkadian parallel as well, but most names come from Carthage and El-Hofra. (Benz p. 414)      

SHEREM:  SHR

SHEREM was the name of some Nephites, people of Nephi. (Jacob 7:l) and the name of a man who was considered an Anti-Christ in direct opposition to Jacob. (Jacob 7:1-7)  The name means ‘dawn'. (Benz p. 414)  He was very learned and with his rhetorical skills he led away many. (Jacob 7:2)  His accusations against Jacob, if true, called for the death of Jacob. He contradicted his own premise, contending there is no Christ, but it was soon obvious he was guilty of his own accusations, but committed intellectual suicide when he asked Jacob for a sign because he was given one, a sign that rendered him helpless. Consumed with fear that he had committed the unpardonable sin he did not recover from the sign given him, and died after confessing his guilt. (Welch; Largey p. 720; Nibley Vol. 6 pp. 364-365) The name is attested to in Ugaritic inscriptions and as part of names from other sources including Carthage. (Benz p. 415) 

TUBALOTH:  TB. TB'L

TUBALOTH was the son of Ammoran. (Helaman l:16)  He was the Lamanite king who sent Coriantumr to capture the Nephite city of Zarahemla.  The name may have come from those associated with Mulek and his Phoenician colony.  The name is found in some incomplete forms in Phoenician inscriptions in the name ...TB'L. (Benz pp. 460; 185-186) The meaning of the elements is not explained. The prefix TB also shows up in a Berber source [north African]. (Benz 187) It appears in the Book of Mormon only after the discovery and joining with the Mulekites.  How could Joseph keep track of such items as this if he was fabricating a history?  How could he remain consistent with historical evidence to be found a century and a half later?  Who would think to look for such internal evidence to confirm Joseph had an authentic experience with a real record and real ancient people?   

TEOMNER:  TM, TMN, TMNR

TEOMNER  was a Nephite military officer serving under Helaman about 63 BC. (Largey p. 756) He appears in Alma as a leader of a band of men. (Alma 58:16)  Because the name appears in the Book of Mormon after the discovery of the Mulekites, it may, like many other names coming as it does into the Nephite record after the discovery of the Mulekites, be of Phoenician origin. In Phoenician transcripts, the prefix of TM is found to mean ‘Complete, Perfect'.  (Benz p. 428, p. l86-187)  The suffix N or NR, is not explained in the Benz tabulation of names.  The meaning will be sought for elsewhere.

TEANCUM: TN, TNC, TNCM

TEANCUM was a Nephite military leader about 67 BC, playing a major role in the execution and outcome of the Nephite-Lamanite wars. (Largey p. 752) He was killed on a raid into the Lamanite encampments. Alma said of him: he "had been a man who had fought valiantly for his country, yea, a true friend to liberty; and he had suffered very many exceedingly sore afflictions." (Alma 62:37)  Because the name does not appear in the Book of Mormon before the discovery of the Mulekite Colony, it could well be that this Phoenician name came from their records. A single example of the prefix TN in the name TND is found on an ancient seal from Syria. (Benz p. 429)  The meaning of the name is unexplained. Another is a Phoenician name TN', (Benz p. 435) and another name TNNMN, in Phoenician, is also listed, but it may not be Semitic in origin. (Benz p. 435)  A prefix ending of the consonants is also found in broken names in the Phoenician transcripts as ...TN. (Benz p. 461 and in Foreign Names p. 187) However, the UM suffix is found in many Jaredite names, and since the Jaredite records appeared on the scene only a short time before, there would seem to be a Jaredite connection. Perhaps future studies of Phoenician sources that became available after 1972 may yield more about this name and its Book of Mormon parallel.

‘Z' NAMES:

There are some 18 names that begin with ‘Z' in the Book of Mormon. In addition to the Phoenician connection, this suggests an affinity to Hebrew practices. In the Bible there are many names beginning with ‘Z', (Mandel pp. 532-554) but ‘Z' was used even more so in ancient Eblaitic and Akkadian names for which there are also pages of names beginning with Z. ((Pagan pp. 382-392) Those names will be compared in a future comparison of Ebla personal names with those found in the Book of Mormon.

ZEMNARIHAH:  ZM, ZMN, ZMNR   

ZEMNARIHAH was the appointed leader of the Gadiantons following the death of Giddiahni. (3 Nephi 4:14, 17) about 17 AD.  He was less than a capable commander, he made a strategic error in laying siege to the Nephites who out lasted them in supplies during the siege. When the Gadiantons abandoned their siege the Nephites were able to overcome them by a forced night march that surrounded the Gadianton band. They captured Zemnarihah who was hanged from a tree until dead. (3 Ne 4:27-28)  The Book of Mormon name has an ihah ending, which is a hypocoristicon suffix for Jehovah, thus a theophoric name.  In Phoenician names with the ‘ZM' prefix it is noted that they  have a theophoric component  as well. (Benz p. 375) No meaning for the prefix is given. Other references to the name are mentioned in Benz p. 447.  

ZARAHEMLA, ZERAHEMNAH: ZERAM, ZERIN, ZORAM:  ‘ZR, ZRM, ZRN

ZARAHEMLA was a Mulekite and a descendent of Mulek. (Mosiah 25:2; Helaman 6:10) and was the king of the land of Zarahemla. (Omni 1:12) Warned by the Lord to flee the land of Nephi, Mosiah and his followers were directed by God through the wilderness until then came down to the land of Zarahemla. (Omni l:13) The people of ZARAHEMLA had come out from Jerusalem. (Omni l:15)  The prefix as a cognate of Ugarit is ‘hero', in Phoenician; ‘ZR generally means ‘help' or ‘to help". (Benz p. 375.  The prefix ‘ZR is found in many Phoenician names, (Benz pp. 376, 447) see below under ZERIN)  The name is Phoenician in construction and prefix elements, lending support to the possibility that Mulek's mother (Helaman 8:21) was Phoenician and she and her infant son escaped the siege of Jerusalem sometime during the summer before August when the city was taken and destroyed and all of Zedekiah's sons were killed. But it seems no one knew about Mulek. As a Phoenician woman Mulek's mother would have sought to return to her own people, perhaps the city of Cyrene where there was a large Jewish contingent, or even Carthage, which was a much larger commerce city and from there, when Mulek was a young man, transportation was provided by Phoenician sea-masters to take Mulek and an entourage to the Americas, "for the Lord did bring Mulek to the land north." (Helaman 6:10) Because Mulek had descendants, Zarahemla was one of them, Mulek may very well have married a Phoenician women, or even a Jewish women who may have been part of the Jewish community in Carthage. To form a reproductive colony most of the company with Mulek must have stayed and formed the Mulekites, or the people of Zarahemla. (Largey pp. 799-800) Mulek means ‘little king', it is a Phoenician name and has been treated elsewhere in this Web Site series. (Nibley pp. 398-400)

ZERAHEMNAH was a Lamanite leader in the War against the Nephites, (Alma 43:5)  during the 18^th year of the Judges. His captains were Amelekites (a Phoenician name) and Zoramites (Phoenician Benz p. 447), apostates, wicked and murderous. His nearly naked armies became afraid when they faced Captain Moroni's armies at Jershon protected by breastplates and heavy clothing. Trying to make an end run, they were found out by Moroni's spies, who captured Zerahemnah's soldiers. The prophet Alma also provided direction for Moroni. When ordered to surrender, Zerahemnah rushed Moroni to kill him, but one of Moroni's men scalped him, but did not kill him. Seeing defeat was imminent Zerahemnah and his men begged for mercy and were put under a covenant of peace to spare their lives. (Alma 44)  The prefix ZERAH, or ZARAH or ZORA, all mean the same, ‘rising light'. (Mandel pp. 435, 546) ZORAM, was servant of Laban. Was he a Phoenician slave? (l Ne 4:20-37; l  Nephi 4.35) and ZERAM  (Alma 2:22)  may mean ‘whiteness or shining', but ZERI  is a modification or alternate to the name Izri (l Chronicles 25:11) and has the meaning of ‘balsom'. (Mandel p. 547)  The suffix can and does change the meaning of the name, especially in Hebrew, such as Zeror, which means ‘a parcel', or Zereth which means ‘splendor' or Zeruah which means ‘Leprous'. (Mandel p. 547)  The NAH or AH endings are hypocoristicon abbreviations for Jehovah, so the lengthy name ZERAHEMNAH could have the meaning: the ‘rising light is Jehovah'.

ZEEZROM:  ZZ, ZZR, ZZRM

ZEEZROM is a strange name, and has an unexpected and unusual consonantal prefix of ‘ZZ'.  ZEEZROM as a name was common enough in the Book of Mormon, after the discovery of the MULEKITES, that it was used both for a personal name (Alma 10:31:Largey pp. 809-810) and the name of one of several Nephite cities captured by the Lamanites in the days of Moroni and Heleman (Alma 56:13-14; ca 66 BC; Largey pp. 801)  ZEEZROM was a legal official in the city of Ammonihah who argued against Alma and Amulek asserting that the divinity of Christ was not logically possible.  He was later converted to Christ. This encounter prompted Alma to deliver a profound discourse on the mysteries of God, the Creation, the Fall, the plan of redemption and happiness, the priesthood, repentance, and many other sacred themes. (Alma 12:9-13, 20; Largey p. 800)  Amulek, who was present, has a Phoenician name; it contains the name Mulek, which as noted, is also Phoenician.  In the region of the city of Ammonihah it seems there were many with Phoenician names and some with Punic. All this indicating the transfer of names into the Nephite records after the discovery of Mulek's people.  There have been attempts to relate the ‘ZZ' element to Ugarit as a NW Semitic Deity, perhaps even a Palmyrene, or Aramaic identification, or as "an epithet of a deity in adjectival form employed as a divine title." (Benz pp. 374-375) It is unusual and unique to have this double ‘ZZ' element appear in the Book of Mormon, further authenticating the record Joseph was translating. Other names with this element come from Carthage and El-Hofra. (Benz p. 375)  The element, may in addition be a divine appellative, and may mean ‘strength, Protection'. (Benz p. 374)   The suffix ending of ‘OM' may also be a hypocoristicon of deity and therefore the name is theophoric.  The name is certainly entitled to more research.

ZERIN:  ‘ZR,  ZR

ZERIN is the name of the mountain, which got in the way of the progress of the Jaredites, and the brother of Jared told the mountain to move aside. (Ether 12:30)  It is a Jaredite Mountain, or at least that is what they called it. The main thing, it was removed! (Largey p. 808) In Phoenician there is the ‘AZR form of the prefix, which means ‘help' and the ‘ZR form of the prefix, which means ‘to help'. (Benz p. 375) "Consider also ‘zr  ‘hero,' [as] a cognate of Ugarit gzr, attested in Ps 89:20" (Benz p. 375)  Some twenty names or more are provided by Benz with both the prefix and suffix use of ‘zr. (Benz p. 376)  Benz also provides several names utilizing the AZR prefix including A-zi-ra, A-zi-ri,  A-zu-risu.  All suggest that the prefix was in common use, and its absence from the Book of Mormon might have raised a question. At the time the Jaredites were moving out of the Near Eastern area 2300 BC, there were names such as Zirigu, ziriig, zirudab, ziruhu, zirusu and others found in the thousands of tablets containing personal names of Ebla,  (Pagan p. 388)  contemporary with the Jaredites. A future study on the Ebla personal names and the Book of Mormon names will deal with such parallels in greater detail. As a suffix, ZR appears in certain Phoenician names. (Benz p. 457) 

Like the other studies in this series, PART V testifies that Joseph Smith had an authentic text and translated it correctly the first time, and that there were real people called the Jaredites, and later real people called the Mulekites, along with the vast peoples of the Book of Mormon called the Nephites and Lamanites, all with real substantiated names.

BIBLOGRAPHY 

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Thorne, J.O., T.C. Collocott, Ed. Chambers Biographical Dictionary, Edinburgh, 1986

Baker, Heather D., The Prosopography of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, Vol. 3/1 P-S, The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, University of Helsinki, Finland, 2002

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

Erickson, Einar C., Weights & Measures Gold, Silver and Barley, Web Site. 9 Mar 2005

........................The Governor's Archive from the Ancient City of Nippur, Web Site                    17 Aug 2005

........................Murasu of Nippur and the Book of Mormon, Web Site 22 Apr 2005

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

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

Mandel, David, Who's Who in Tanakh, Ariel Books, Tel Aviv, Israel 2004

Markoe, Glenn E., Phoenicians, University of California Press, Berkely, 2000

Morrison, Tom, Hardrock Gold, a Miner's Tale, University of Oklahoma press, Norman, Oklahoma, 1992

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

Nibley, Hugh, The Prophetic Book of Mormon, Vol. 8, FARMS, Deseret Book Co., Salt     Lake City, Utah, 1989

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Pagan, Joseph Martin, A Morphological and Lexical Study of Personal Names in the Ebla Texts,  University Degli Studi Di Roma-La Sapienza, Missione Archaeological Italiana in Siria, Rome 1998

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Welch, John W., Sherem's Accusation against Jacob, FARMS, UPDATE No. 74, January 1991

Whitehouse, Ruth D., Ed. The Facts on File Dictionary of Archaeology, Facts on File Publications, New York, 1983