For the last decade or so, as more tablets are found in the Near East, and more are translated, it has become the custom to divide the names on the tablets into various categories, which include PERSONAL NAMES, DIVINE NAMES, (In the ancient archives of Nippur alone there are more than 500 Gods) GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES, TOPOGRAPHICAL NAMES, PLACE NAMES, and FOREIGN NAMES. There are more than 100 such categories. In the Book of Mormon you have Mulekite, Jaredite, Nephite, and the Brass Plate names to contend with. In the original records there was no doubt many genealogical records included, but only a few were selected by Moroni and Mormon for inclusion in the present abridgement. Were their other earlier American natives that might have been adsorbed along with their names into the Nephite ranks?

NARAM-SIN

Naram-sin lived by the sword, he  "...controlled the length of the Persian Gulf....[and] penetrated into what are now the Kurdish Mountain, quelling the hill tribes, and setting up a great relief, carved high in the face of the rock. To guard the route into Asia Minor he built a great castle at Tell Brak [Nagar] in what is now eastern Syria, and another at Nineveh; and a stele of his has been found as far north as the Diyarbekr in Turkey." (Saggs p. 47; Oates p. 2)  History treats him as a great hero but as an ill-fated ruler. He ruled from the Taurus Mountains on the north, to the Persian Gulf, 1000 miles to the south. It was an impious deed of Naram-sin which brought to an end the splendor and wealth of Agade.  His offence was that he allowed his troops to sack and loot the Ekur, the Temple of the great God Enlil in the holiest of Sumerian city, Nippur." (Saggs p. 47; Erickson 15 April 2005)  For this desecration, Enlil brought down upon the fertile lands a barbarous race from the hills, the Gutians. Or so the legends go.  During the reign of Sharkalisharri (a name meaning ‘King of Kings) the son of Naram-sin, central authority finally broke down in the old Kingdom. (Saggs p. 47)  Naram-sin took and destroyed much of the City of Ebla at about 2250 BC. (Matthiae p.137 in Weiss) It was rebuilt and lasted until amost 500 BC. Excavations at Ebla had actually begun in 1964, for a decade nothing much was found except the identification of Tell Mardikh as the ancient city of Ebla. In 1974  the excavation of the Royal Palace began and within a year the first tablets of a vast archive were found. Mesopotamian history changed radically with this discovery.  Several entries deal with Ebla, and more are planned.

Important among all of the categories of names are the RELIGIOUS TEXTS,  and more recently, NAMES OF WOMEN, (Steinkeller pp. 111-123; Sallaberger p. 43 in Milano) obtained from the discovered archives of tablets regardless whether they are Administrative or Economic, Literary, Trade records, Historical Accounts or other types of recorded data. In the future, to permit a more complete analysis of the Book of Mormon names, the lists of names of the Book of Mormon will need to be divided in the same way to the extent possible. The analysis of the names of women is a challenge.  There are rules and suffix endings peculiar to the names of women with various categories of women from slaves to queens. The name Alma for instance has been found to be the names of various Queens in the most ancient of texts; only briefly discussed in previous entries to this web site. Part of the challenge is the almost complete lack of names of women in the Book of Mormon. The few that do exist will need to be studied carefully.  There are many place names, city names, and geographical names in the Book of Mormon, and certain literary and historical texts as well. Doctrinal aspects of the Book of Mormon sets the Book of Mormon off by itself. So future studies will need to entertain all of these aspects of name studies.  All that is being achieved in these present entries is but preliminary in character, in the future there will be much more detailed analyses required. Other researchers, specialists and linguists will also have to be involved in order to understand the detail surrounding the Book of Mormon names.

THE REGION OF SUBARTU IN NORTHERN SYRIA

This present study is PART 1, of an intended series on Nabada, a provincial capital in the far north of Mesopotamia on the Turkish-Syrian border, in a region called SUBARTU. (see the map included with this presentation, also the map in Hunt p. 47) SUBARTU is now the target of numerous excavations with discoveries of tablets containing names that fit into many of the categories mentioned. But all of the work on the discovered tablets is not as yet available.  It takes years after a discovery before documents become translated and published. Most of what is being assembled for this study could not have been done before 2004 as the Bibliography will indicate. One of the first studies on Nabada included name lists  prepared by Talon, will be included in Part 2 of this series. (Talon p. 187 in Ismail) The study of the region of SUBARTU has resulted in a separate unique Journal called SUBARTU compiled and published by the European Center for Upper Mesopotamian Studies. Most useful for PART 1 of these studies are Issues Numbers II, III, lV.2 and XII, devoted to the cities and discoveries in the SUBARTU region. Until the Tell Beyder mound was identified as Nabada, all the references were of Tell Beydar, so when researching this discovery Tell Beydar is in the earlier studies, now that its ancient name is known most references are to Nabada.  The territory of SUBARTU represents an early region of urbanization. "Civilization is synonymous, in every sense, with urbanization" (McEvedy p. 22) and by 3500 BC both had begun in the regions of the Nile, Hindus, and Euphrates-Tigris Rivers, along with the rise of the Indo-Europeans. (McEvedy pp. 20-21)

"One of the most striking discoveries of Syrian archaeology in the past thirty years has been the profusion of southern Mesopotamian style material cultures found across the Syrian Landscape dated to the mid to late fourth millennium B.C." (Akkermans p. 181)  The use of the same cultural style in almost all cultural aspects is found in southern Anatolia, northern Syria and western Iran and is "frequently dubbed the ‘Uruk expansion', taking its name both from the relevant chronological period in southern Meosopotamian cities." (Akkermans p. 181)  Actually, from Uruk, ‘The First City'. (Liverani)        

THE ANCIENT CITY OF  NABADA

"Shortly after the discovery of Mari and the retrieval of its early-second century [BC] palace archives in the 1930's, a new historical arena-the Habur Plains of northeastern Syria-was opened to archeologists concerned with the ancient Near East...the terrific fertility of the region, the density of ancient mounded sites, [and links to] ...southern Mesopotamia, ...[and the] Mari archives...brought historical inquiry to the Habur." (Weiss p. 204) "The discovery of ancient archives at Ebla in 1975-76 and from Tell Beydar (near modern Hassake) in 1993 also illustrates the extent to which the recovery of textual remains is often a matter of luck." (Sasson p.1196) Texts discovered during the 1993 excavations at a large mound, Tell Beydar, just south of the border between Syria and Turkey, eventually resulted in the translators identifying the mound as ancient Nabada.  By this name the ancient mound was known and referred to in texts from various kingdoms and sites, such as Ebla and Mari,  dating from 2385-2250 BC. (Sallaberger pp. 51-71, in Milano)  Lebeau after the 1993 excavations concluded that ancient Nabada was active even before the Early Dynasty IIIb, 2400 BC and especially at the time of Sargon, 2350 BC. Tells Brak, Leilan  (Weiss p. 204) and Mozan (see map) each up to 250 acres, were central cities as early a 2600 BC, through to 2000 BC. (Archi pp. l-12 in Lebeau 1998)  The ancient cities of Leilan and Mozan will be the subject of future studies. This is precisely the period of interest in regards to the Jaredite presence in Mesopotamia prior to the Tower of Babel. Nabada was in trade communication with ancient Ebla before Ebla was conquered by the grandson of Sargon of Akkad, Naram-Sin 2250 BC. (Leick p. 117) Excavations in 1992 to the lowest levels uncovered Early Dynastic architectural levels 2900 BC (Arnold p. 8, see Chart) and erosional debris from earlier occupations of the site. (Goddeeris  p.105) This indicates these areas had a pre-flood period of habitation by Adam's descendants. After the flood, most of the same areas were re-occupied by descendants of Noah.  

THE LOCATION OF NABADA

The ancient city of Nabada is located on the west side of the Wadi Aweidj a long north-south seasonal wadi draining the Tur Abdin foothills of the great northern Taurus Mountains, (Weiss p. 122) some 100 miles to the north where the ancient city of Maron is situated, across the Syrian and Turkish border. See the map with this study showing the capital of the State was Nagar, in the earlier literature it was known as Tell Brak, a mound of up to 250 acres and a tremendous sequence of temples. (Whitehouse p. 71) It was the capital city. The provincial capital of the State was Nabada.  More extensive excavations at Tell Brak (Oates p. xxv) the ancient city of Nagar, have extended the occupation period of the region back to Jarmo 6000 BC time. Some Ubaid Houses and Graves are present about  4000 BC. (Arnold p. 8, see chart) Recent, extensive studies have been made on the Neolithic aspects of the SUBARTU region and early sedentary communities before 4000 BC. Our main interest is in the beginning and expansion of the Adamic period beginning with 4000 BC, which fits in nicely with the academic period known as the Uruk Period. In this region, major structures and expansion occurred after 3500 BC. (Lloyd p. 66) The documents left behind beginning with the occupation of the area about 3500 BC is of great interest. The Ebla archives and those of  Nabada remain unique in Syria of the third millennium BC. (Milano p. 1219 in Sasson) 

The Wadi Aweidj drains southward into the Jaghjagh River, which joins the Kabur River southwest of the volcanic mountain Jebel Kaukab. (Map in Milano, Sallaberger p. 63) The Kabur River drains southwest into the Euphrates River nearly half way between the two Kingdoms of Mari, on the south, and Ebla on the northwest, both of which traded with Nabada and Nagar. Nabada lies on the northeast end of the volcanic massive Ardh al-Shaykh a volcano with its surrounding skirts of basalt forming a vast plateau utilized for grazing goats, sheep, donkeys, and oxen, (Sallaberger p. 61 in Milano, et al), all north of the Kabur River. Nabada  lies between the Jaghjagh River on the east, and the Wadi Fekka on the west, both draining south into the Kabur River. The State covers an area with a vast amount of Town and Village sites, as shown on the map. The map shows star like projections and lines radiating from each of the villages. These are hollows, or depressions worn into the ground, created by the centuries of the passage of man and donkeys and eight hundred years later of camels.  These hollows or trail depressions were the highway systems of the ancient states. There were seven main gates in the circular wall that surrounded Nabada, each in the direction of a major city, (See Map, Bluard p. 185) marked by distinctive depressions extending way beyond the city.

THE SURVEYS OF ANCIENT NAGAR AND NABADA

After the initial discovery excavations in 1932-1933 and intermittently there after, it was finally recognized historically that the mound called Tell Beydar was the ancient provincial capital of Nabada, (Sallaberger p. 59, 71, in Milano 2004) mentioned in texts from other kingdoms in the region, such as Ebla and Mari, so more attention was given to the mound. An initial Survey during 1996 of the Subartu region yielded so many sites that a "full-coverage approach was adopted by the Tell Beydar Survey (TBS), which operated in 1997 and 1998 with the goals of documenting the history of the settlement and the land use of the Beydar area and to put the excavations at Beydar into a regional content." (Sallaberger p. 60 in Milano 2004)  Tony Wilkinson of the University of Chicago Oriental Institute directed the survey and a collection team under Patrice Vandorpe of Leuven, collated ceramic and other items found at the various sites for correlation and dating. Each year after 1991 various institutions, U.S. and European, and Syriac, engaged in campaigns to the sites. The tablets discovered at Nabada  in the Seasons 1993-1995, provide the basis for textual studies that began to become available in greater detail in 1996, and much of what follows in this study comes from those publications and from the third millennium cuniform texts found during the seasons 1996-2002, which became available in 2004. (Sallaberger p. 60 in Milano 2004) Until then little could be done about comparing the discoveries to Book of Mormon names.  So, prior to 2004, this study could not have been made.  And since there is still field work in progress, and more publications intended, this will be Part l of a series on Nabada.  About 50 miles to the east was another even larger mound called Tell Brak, it was later discovered to be the ancient city of Nagar, the ancient Capital of the State. Nabada was the second city of the State and capital of the western province.  It controlled the western regions of the state and communicated with kingdoms such as Ebla that lay far to the west and northwest.   

REGIONAL SETTING OF NAGAR AND NABADA

Nabada, the ancient capital of the province, the second most important city in the region, whose Capital Nagar (Tell Brak), some 50 miles east of Nabada. Nagar will be the subject of a future entry. Nabada is the subject of this study. The mapped area represents about half of the actual territory of the ancient state. An equally large area south of the Khabur River is also unmapped. (Sallaberger p. 51-63 in Milano 2004) Fifty miles or so to the north are the sites of Mozan, ancient Urkesh, and to the east of Mozan, the site of Leilen, ancient Shekhna, along the foothills of Tur Abdin. They are in the transition area to another State, about which little is known. Hopefully some recent work at both Mozan and Leilen where they discovered tablets may be accessed so names from those regions can be compared to the Book of Mormon names as well. North of Mozan is the ruins of Shubat-Enlil, and in the Mountains, is the capital of the Amorite king of Assyria, Shamsi-Adad who, after 2000 BC, ruled the region almost as far south as Babylon, (map Hunt p. 69) placing the imprint of the Amorites forever on the Mesopotamian landscape. (Arnold pp. 36-37) At the present our interest is in the 1500 years of time before 2000 BC, which includes the significant events before and after the great Flood. At some time long ago  perhaps the Jaredites may have had to pass through this territory under whatever directions the Lord had given them on their journey to the Americas. Some names in the Jaredites records seem to indicate this is so. This region of interest is now part of northern Syria on the border with Turkey as indicated on the accompanying map.   

NABADA'S  CONNECTION WITH ANCIENT EBLA 2350-2250 BC

A table showing the comparative Archaeological chronology of the Syria-Palestine and Southern Mesopotamia modified after Arnold is included with this study. (Arnold p. 8)  

The tablets from the archives of Ebla discovered after 1975 and much data now available in many publications, (see Pagan) allow an "outline of the history of Syria for its last 35-40 years....seen from the perspective of Ebla...The final flourishing Phase of Tell Beydar [Nabada] and its end should be fitted into this historical frame." (Sallaberger p. 71 in Milano 2004)   The ancient city of Mari way to the south achieved a victory against Nagar in the year 7 of the reign of Ibrium, a high official of Ebla, or perhaps its king at the time. Ibrium, who has been equated with Eber, grandson of Shem, and a son and grandson ruled Ebla over a 35 year period. At any rate Nagar, and therefore Nabada, became subservient to Mari after the capture of Ebla by Naram-Sin, (Akkermans p.243-244) changing the importance of Ebla after 2250 BC, at the same time as other States consolidated their power and dominion.  "Thus, the kingdom of Nagar, [with Tell Brak, or Nagar as the Capital] can be seen as a kind of confederacy of small polities which remained economically autonomous." (Sallaberger & Ur p. 67 in Milano 2004) "The state of Nagar seems to have been comparable to other early Mesopotamian states such as the Ur III State: they were made up of several largely self-sufficient unities and obliged to sustain the needs of the kingdom's central institutions." (Sallaberger & Ur p. 67 in Milano 2004) According to the lists of silver expenditures from the palace at Ebla, Nabada was only one of seventeen towns mentioned within the kingdom of Nagar. The Ebla texts however, did not list all of the settlements of the Subartu region.  In the kingdom of Nagar some 396 settlements have been identified, in the unsurveyed areas perhaps at least that many more will be found, comparable to other Mesopotamian states. (Sallaberger & Ur p. 67 in Milano 2004)

Because Ancient Nabada was a provincial Capital in the Third Millennium BC, it could be expected to have old Adamic names preserved from before and after the Flood but before the Tower of Babel, some of which may have been acquired by the Jaredites. Other names would have been transmitted down through time into the historical records  of Ancient and later Mesopotamia sites,  along with the linguistic changes at the time of the Tower of Babel. The translation of administrative documents excavated from Nabada began to appear in 1996, (Ismail 1996) and lately in 2004. (Milano 2004)

PERSONAL NAMES

THE ARCHIVES OF TELL BEYDAR: ANCIENT NABADA

"The Ebla archives show that, in the 24^th century BC, Northern Syria and Upper Mesopotamia represented a largely coherent linguistic area. The letters sent from Ebla to Hamazi (in the Tigris region) [and to Nabada in the Kabur River region] or from Mari to Ebla, the ...treaties between Ebla and Mari or Ebla and Ibal in the Homs region, in effect rather poor in Semitic vocabulary and grammatical forms since they are full of Sumerian terms, are written in the same Semitic language, following an analogous scribal tradition. ...The personal names of the various city-states confirm that, in this area even the same names-giving tradition was widespread. Towards the south, with Mari, the Syrian tradition mingles with that of Central Mesopotamia, represented by Kish. Different name-giving traditions do not, however, indicate different languages. The language of the Ebla texts could, therefore, have been very close to that of Kish in the pre-Sargonic period. " (Archi p. 1)  For this reason it can be expected that parallels to the Book of Mormon names may be found in all of the archives being recovered from the many cities that covered the land.  The entries in this series are confirming this.

"The earliest epigraphic evidence known before the discovery of Ebla, the inscription of Sargon of Akkad commemorating his expedition in the west, paints a picture of Syria as a frontier land...where Dagon imposed his divine will...[and] who gave him from that time onwards the Upper Country, Mari, Iarmuti and Ebla, as far as the Forrest of Cedars and the Mountain of Silver." (Archi p. 1)  The area would have included the Capital City   Nagar and the ancient provincial capital the city Nabada in the same region. The tablets from Ebla, Nabada and Nagar clarified a great deal of that time period and the extensive trade that occurred between a great many City States and kingdoms. That trade extended into Ancient Bactria and to the Hindus Valley in India. 

The administrative archives of Nabada are relatively rich in personal names; so far more than 350 have been compiled from this unique archive.  Philippe Talon, who has worked on the names, intends to further present a definitive and exhaustive study on the Nabada r names. (Talon p. 75 in Ismail 1996)  He has realized the different name forms and elements which are recognizable with a relative degree of certainty.  Future excavations may also provide more examples of internal orthographical variations or more occurrences of the same elements appearing in the different names, until then "it is extremely difficult to analyze the actual forms." (Talon p. 75 in Ismail 1996)  "The various studies on the Ebla personal names show the importance of the analysis of variant forms occurring in a large corpus in order to obtain a relative degree of certainty in the identification of the occurring elements." (Talon p. 75 in Ismail 1996)   That one might expect to find parallels of these ancient names with those in the Book of Mormon is an exciting undertaking. A further study of the Ebla names is in progress to be added to this web site. Sumerian, Amorite or Hurrian names have not been recognized among the Nabada names so far, though they occur in the Ebla lists. Only Semitic names have thus been taken into account in Talon's studies.  Recall that we are dealing with names in the Third Millennium BC.  Only if the Book of Mormon names are genuine, and properly constructed will there be any real parallels. When such are found it is more than exciting!

As in other studies in this web site, the elements or prefixes and suffixes that comprise the various names, will be identified, and the names in the Book of Mormon that contain these elements, actually comparing with them, will be given, and then names in the ancient texts with the same elements will be identified.  In doing this one soon realizes the complexity of the names and the uniqueness of the Book of Mormon records, and the amazing parallels.  For PART I, we have used the name lists prepared by Talon in the 2004 publication. (Talon pp. 127-128 in Milano 2004)  PART II, in the future, we will deal with names Talon and Sallaberger assembled in 1996. (Talon and Sallaberger pp. 175-192  in Ismail 1996) PART III will deal with names published over the course of the many seasons of excavation not otherwise covered. Thus, Nabada is a fruitful site to explore for parallels and names. This study will not exhaust the possibilities.

THE PREFIX ‘ab': ABEL, ABINADI, ABINADOM, ABISH, ABLOM, ABRAHAM.

Seven names occur in the Nabada lists with the prefix ‘ab' "meaning ‘father'. (Talon p.  75 in Ismail 1996; Radner p. 1; Pagan p. 11) These include:  Abum, ‘father', Aba, ‘father', and abba, ‘father' or ‘daddy'. Abba is one of the most common forms of this prefix element, found in nearly all archives no matter how old, and transmitted down through time into the Aramaic and Hebrew forms including those occurring in the New Testament as the ‘daddy' form; Abba Father, utilized by Christ in addressing his Father.

Abi-x—bu, with variations is also included. The -x- stands for any kind of core elements used to make up a name.  Core and suffix forms, su-a-ba, and su-aba, ‘he is father' or ‘belonging to the father', were also found at Nabada along with the characteristically ancient form of UD-a-ba. In this name, the UD is a theophoric name, utilizing the abbreviation for one of the ancient Gods of Nabada. (Talon pp. 187-192 Personal Names  in Ismail 1996)

Six names with the ‘ab' prefix are found in the Book of Mormon name list:  Abel, Abinadi, Abinadom, Abish, Ablom and Abraham.  This prefix is discussed in considerable detail in a number of previous studies added to the web site in 2005.     

Pagan's list for the Ebla names includes some eleven names with this prefix dating to Akkadian times before Ebla was captured by Narmin-sin, the Akkadian,  2250 B.C. (Pagan p. 269) The names using this prefix proliferated in time, and during the Neo Assyrian Empire (after 2000 BC)  Radner lists more than 440 names incorporating this prefix element. (Radner pp. 1-20).  But this may just be a function of excavations as many more city sites and therefore vastly more tablets with names on them became available. The prefix entered the Hebrew Language and some 37 names carry this prefix in the Jewish Bible. (Mandel pp. 2-20)  Of course Abel, meaning ‘emptiness' (Mandel p. 4)  and Abraham, meaning ‘father of multitude', (Mandel p. 15) are Adamic and Biblical names, and are included here as evidence Joseph Smith, in translating the Book of Mormon was consistent and correct in the construction of names, and correctly transcribed them when he was inspired as to their spelling. The name Abinadab, with the full element Abinad found in Abinadi, is found in the bible as the name for four different men, except for the suffix endings of ‘ab' in Abinadab, and ‘i' in Abinadi, which are hypocoristicons, or abbreviations for deity, the names mean the same, ‘father of generosity'.  (Mandel page 10) 

The ‘abi' element found in the Book of Mormon name of Abish, means ‘my father' is also a hypocoristicon.  The prefix  ‘abi' is West Semitic and is also used as a name alone, ‘abi',  meaning ‘my father' for an individual from Huzirina during the reign of Sennacherib, 705-681 BC, (Metzger p. 283), and also an individual from Babylonia during the reign of Assurbanipal, 668-627 BC, (Saggs p. 419) whose name was found on a piece of pottery reporting on events in Babylonia during the Samas-sumu-ukin revolt. (Radner p. 8)  These names and prefixes would have been available to Lehi who left Jerusalem as an elderly man 600 BC.  

THE PREFIXES ‘ad' ‘ada': ADAM

The prefixes ‘ad' and ‘ada' are found in many names. While the name is Biblical,  Adam is described as the first born on the earth (Abraham l:3) the First Man, and First parent, the ancient texts refer to the name Adamu as ‘human being' (Radner p. 42),  which is a clearer translation meaning Adam was the first Human Being, (Radner p. 42)  all man-like forms preceding him were animals. (Lewin p. 135) In the names found in the Eblatic lists, the forms of Adam, Adarum, adase, adasa, adasu, adati, adas,  all mean the new one, or just new [first or original].  Adam was a new form on earth, and he was the first and new one on earth. (Abraham 1:3)  The various forms are found in all of the name lists, carrying forward into all Semitic languages a form of the Adamic language and the First Born on this earth. 

THE PREFIXES ‘ah' AND ‘aha': AHA, AHAH, AHAZ

This prefix, ‘ah' generally refers to ‘brother'.  At Nabada there is a prefix and a suffix form that refers to ‘sister'.  The name ahatum means ‘sister'. (Sallaberger p. 48)  The suffix ‘-tum' gives the feminine form.  Another two names with ‘aha' as a suffix are su-aha, and si-ahat, both mean ‘she is sister', and are included in a list of names of women, an uncommon thing in the name lists which are mostly male names. (Sallaberger p.47-48 in Milano 2004)    The prefixes ‘su' and ‘si', and the suffix ‘t' provide this feminine designation.  Another gender form is the name dar-am-en which means ‘the lord loves her'. ( Sallaberger p. 49 in Milano 2004) There are so few female names in the Book of Mormon that few comparisons can be made to this usage to check on how the gender issue was accomplished.

There are fifteen names in the Nabada list using the ‘ah' as a prefix or suffix to designate brother: Ahum, ‘brother', ahu-du, ahum-tab, ‘the brother is good', ahu-me-am, or me-um, an unknown suffix, also arsi-ahu, and ab-ahum, ‘I have obtained a brother'; du-ahu, ab-ahum, ‘the brother is good';  iku-ahu, iku-aha, jikun-ahum, ‘the brother became firm'; irib-ahu, jirib-ahum, ‘he replaced the brother' and su-ahu, su-ahum. ‘he is a brother'.  The prefix elements ‘aha', however can also mean ‘warrior'.  The name ‘Aha' is the name that "a Nephite general bestowed on his son...and was born by the legendary first hero king of Egypt." (Nibley p. 286)  This was a ‘non-Hebraic' Nephite name. These  names compare with other Book of Mormon names Ahah and Ahaz as well.  

THE PREFIX ‘al':  ALMA, ALPHA AND THE ELEMENTS ‘LM', ‘LP'

The prefix ‘al' used in the Nabada name Alum, meaning ‘city', and in the name tab-la-a-a-lum for which no interpretation was given, is found in two Book of Mormon names Alma and Alpha. At Nabada there is also the name ala-gi-um. (Talon p. 127)) After 2000 BC, During the Syrian and Neo-Syrian times, south of Nabada, names with the ‘al' prefix appear in increasing abundance. Often it appears to be used as an abbreviation for deity, or meaning ‘August one', ‘support', appearing in at least 20 names. (Radner pp. 96-97)  Seven names with the prefix are listed by Mandel in the Tanakh  (Mandel p. 46)  Fifteen names with the prefix are listed by Pagan in the Personal Names in the Ebla Texts which date about 2250 BC.  When the 12 tribes had been given their inheritance in the lands the surrounding Amorites would have been in daily contact with some of the northern tribes. In the lists prepared by Gelb of Amorite words and names, there are more than 80 names with this element appearing in the names, (Gelb p. 47-48) often with the meanings ‘brave, purity, exalted', etc.  In the tablets from Ebla the prefix is found in the common name Alma, in these instances a male name, which confirms the reality of the name in the Book of Mormon. (Pagan p. 286)

Note that the name Alma has the two elements or consonants: LM. In searching for names in the Phoenician, Egyptian or Hebrew lists, one searches for the consonant elements because the vowels are not given. Amorite names are also identified by the consonant elements. So searching among Amorite names for the elements LM we find  Alimum, alasum, alimum (a female), almanum, almum, and almanum, all with the same elements; all using mimation, ending a name with ‘m' or ‘um' or ‘im'. "...mimation was current in the Semitic dialects of Palestine and Syria between 2100 and 1800 BC....the Book of Mormon favors -m'' endings for Jaredite names...nunation [the use of ‘-n'  endings has left traces in all Semitic languages, but mostly among the desert people, being retained completely in classical Arabic." (Nibley p. 288) Alma and Almu are the same name and may vary from dialect to dialect.  The name Alpha is used as a title for the Savior, (3 Nephi 9:18), it is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. The name also has the consonants ‘LP', which are found in the Amorite lists in the names alukpum (female) and alupatum [also female]. (Gelb p. 13)  In a name from Mari, Al-pa-an, the elements LP are included, and in Ugarit the name Alphy has the elements LPH of Alpha, variations are found as loan words in Hebrew from Aramaic. (Benz  p. 206)  Under phonology, Benz discusses the Laryngals and variations of the use of ‘aleph in Phoenician and Punic names. (Benz pp. 202-203, 206)          

THE PREFIX ‘ar': ARCHEANTUS, ARPAD

The prefix ‘ar' is an ancient one reaching back in ancient texts to about the time of the tower of Babel. It appears in the name ar-wa, a king's son in Ebla tablets, (Talon p. 76 in Ismail 1996) nearly 2300 BC.  In Nabada  two other names have this prefix, ar-wikum, meaning ‘Gazelle', and ar-wi-um. (Talon p. 76 in Ismail 1996)  In the Tanakh, the name ‘ara' is derived from Lion, the name of a leader in the tribe of Asher. Quite likely the Brass Plates had many names with that prefix, or just the name Ara.  The Tanakh lists 22 names with that prefix, many of them associated with the 12 tribes. (Mandel pp. 56-59)  There are more than 400 names with the prefix ‘ar' in the Neo-Asyrian Empire documents reflecting names in distance places as far away as Ebla on the northwest to Persia in the southeast. (Rander pp. 124-135)  It would have been a rather curious omission if at least one name with the prefix ‘ar' was not found in the Book of Mormon. In the Ebla texts the prefix ‘ar' is associated with the meaning ‘mountain'. (Pagan p. 287), and there are 59 names with this prefix, often in the double consonant form, with a double ‘rr', ‘arra'. (Pagan pp. 287-288)  Amorite lists have eight names with this prefix, including the same names as found in Nabada, and such as the names Arwijum, or Arwitum, meaning ‘gazelle', a feminine name. (Gelb p. 13)  Recall that the Northern Amorites and the lands of Nagar and Nabada had common borders and trade lanes. No doubt names would be exchanged.

THE PREFIX ‘gil': GILGAH, GILGAL, GILEAD

The prefix ‘gil' is found in the Tanakh in the names Gilead, meaning ‘Hilly', and Gilalai, meaning ‘dungy'. (Mandel p. 175)  Gilead is also in the Book of Mormon, but could be derived from the Old Testament references. Gilead was a grandson of Manasseh (Numbers 26:29), also in Chronicles 5:14 he is the son of Michael, and father of Jaroah, of the tribe of Gad. His descendants lived in Gilead on the highlands east of the Jordan River. In Judges ll:1, Gilead was the father of the judge Jephthah, who was born from the relationship that he had with a prostitute. After Gilead died, sons he had from his legitimate wife expelled Jephthah from their ancestral house, fearing he would try to share their inheritance. (Mandel p. 175)  These references would indicate the presence of the name in the Brass Plates, and from there it would have been available for Nephite usage. In the Nabada  name lists Gilanu is the name of a herdsman active in the ancient city of Nabada. (Sallaberger p. 17, in Milano 2004)  In the Amorite name lists the consonants GL mean ‘to redeem', but most of the names use an ‘a' instead of an ‘i' in the prefix.  The names Gilu, Gilua, and Giluni, are Hurrian names with a God Name (GN) hypocoristicon endings of ‘u', ‘a' or ‘ni'. (Radner p. 423)  Gilu was the ancestor of a famous astronomer who wrote a report in Babylonian on Venus and Mars. (Reiner p. 16) There are more than ten names using the prefix ‘gil' in the Neo-Assyrian Empire lists. (Radner 1999, p. 423)  Several of the names are Akkadian, the rest are Hurrian They are all old names.

THE PREFIX ‘ku': KUMEN, KUMENONHI, KISHKUMEN

"The three Nephite names Kumen, Kukmenonhi, and Kishkumen, certainly remind one of the Egyptian-Hittite name of an important city, Kumani." (Nibley p. 289) The prefix ‘ku' as found in the names at Nabada means ‘firm' (Talon p. 77)  It is found in such names as k-ku-[x x], i-ku-a-ha-, which means ‘the brother', ‘aha' (See above for ‘aha') ‘became firm'," (Talon p. 77, in Ismail 1996) as well as a-ku-i-li, meaning unknown, and a-ku-i-lum. Used in a feminine way in the name da-kun-as-dur'takun, astar, the meaning is "she became firm, o Istar!" (Talon p. 77, in Ismail 1996)  In Nabada, a name with this prefix is Kunbad, who was a herdsman working his sheep in the area of this provincial city. (Sallaberger p. 17, in Milano 2004) In the Tanakh the prefix seems to have a meaning of ‘held' or ‘entrapped' in the name Ku-shaiah, meaning ‘entrapped [held firmly] of god'. (Mandel p. 323) That name is the only name in the Tanakh with that prefix.

Because of the relationship of Nabada and Nagar with Ebla and references in the tablets from Ebla about both of these ancient cities, a look at the name lists from Ebla is justified and what is found is most rewarding.  There the prefix ‘ku' means ‘true', (Pagan p. 344), which is not much of a stretch to mean ‘firm'.  It is found in the name ku-abu, meaning ‘proved true', or ‘beloved proved true'. The suffix ‘abu' means father as noted above, but it appears that it can also mean ‘beloved', someone ‘close' or an ‘endearment'.  Another name in the Ebla list is ‘ku-a-bi' meaning ‘be true my father'. (Pagan p. 343) There are 46 names in the Ebla list provided by Pagan that have ‘ku' as a prefix.   Links have been found of the Ebla names to the Jaredite names in the Book of Mormon, (Erickson 18 Feb 2005), one of the reasons for researching the most ancient of discoveries in the Near East.

The suffix ‘men' in the name Kumen, and core of Kumenonhi, is found as a prefix in the name Menahem in the Tanakh which is a Hebrew name meaning ‘comforter'; he was a Biblical personality. (Mandel p. 348)  In the available names from Nabada there are none with the prefix or suffix of ‘men'. So ‘men' as a prefix or as a suffix was very rare as far north as Nabada early in the history of Mesopotamia. In the Neo-Assyrian Empire, the Assyrian variation of Menahem was Menaheme, nearly the same, also meaning ‘comforter', with more than twelve variations. (Baker 2001, p. 748) Three other names are in the Assyrian lists with the prefix ‘men'. (Baker 2001,  pp. 748-749)  In the related texts from Ebla it occurs in the name ‘menu-kura. (Pagan p. 350) In that name you also have as a core element ‘ku' as an example of the flexible use the element can be put to as either a prefix, a core, or a suffix.   

However, as a unique name all by itself, and as a prefix in other names, ‘men' it is found in ancient  Sumaria especially in the Sumerian Temple Za-Mi Hymns, or Hymns of Praise, and also in the Kesh Temple Hymn, so far known only from tablets discovered at Tell Aabu Salebikh, (Biggs p. 45) in ancient Sumaria. A future study will deal with Salebikh. In the Za-Mi Hymns, "men" is found in line 31 (Biggs p. 47) as men-nun-an-ki; and it is found in line 82 of the Za-Mi Hymns as Men zami, ‘praise  Men'; and in line 173 as ‘Men' (Biggs p. 51).  As might be expected, because of the ancient character of the name Kumen, the prefix Ku should also be found in the Za-Mi Hymns, and it is in line 156 as ku-...za-mi (Biggs p. 50) meaning ‘firm praise'.  In the Book of Mormon Kumen and Kumenonhi are listed among the twelve disciples of Christ in 3 Nephi 19:4. (Largey p. 234) Little is known about them individually. Most likely these names come from the Jaredite records, as is suggested by the name Kishkumen, a wicked city destroyed at the time of Christ, and the name of the founder of secret combinations among the Nephites. He was killed in a failed attempt to carry out the assassination of the chief Judge Helaman. ( Hel. 2:3-9; Largey p. 483)  Kishkumen has the prefix Kish, an ancient kingdom that preceded Nabada, located in the area of Babylon in northern Sumaria and near where the Tower of Babel would have been and where the Jaredites seemed to have originated from. The name Kish is found as the 30^th descendant of Jared, (Largey p. 431) so the record of the Jaredites would seem to be the source for that name and its inclusion in other names.  It was for this very reason the Nabada discoveries looked promising and interesting.  It was expected to provide a link to the Jaredite names and confirm their antiquity with all the interesting interrelationships noted above. (Erickson 4 Aug 2005)  Finding the name Kish alone would have been sufficient motivation to embark on the research of the discoveries at Nabada.  To those who would assert falsely that the Book of Mormon is fiction they must explain these amazing connections time and again with the tablets being discovered all over the Near East, often with precise, exact name parallels.  Joseph Smith would have to be living in the current generation to have had access to any records containing such parallels.

There are also sixteen names in the Ebla lists that include the extended use of the elements ‘ku' to ‘Kum', again meaning ‘be true'. (Pagan p. 344)

THE PREFIX  ‘sal': SALEM

The prefix ‘sal' is found in the Book of Mormon in the name Salem, a name for a land and a city, over which Melchizedek was king. (Alma 13:17-18; Largey p. 695; Gen 14:18)  In the Tanakh the meaning is ‘weighed, peaceable  or peace'. There are five names with this prefix in the Tanakh (Mandel pp. 449-450) At Nabada the prefix is in the name Sal-mu who was in charge of the palace flocks and goats. (Talon p. 30, in Milano 2004)  In the Ebla name lists there are four names with this prefix.  In the Neo-Assyrian Empire name lists the prefix ‘Sal' means ‘tranquil' or ‘quite', not too different from ‘peaceable'. There are more than 194 names listed with the prefix  ‘sal'. (Baker 2002 pp. 1068- 1080)  It is amazing that so few names show up in the Book of Mormon with that prefix.  But in the Book of Mormon we only have the names incorporated into the abridged texts prepared by Moroni and Mormon. And all we have from the ancient sources are the chance discovery of tablets, when hundreds of thousands remain to be discovered. And most of those that have been discovered are as yet not translated. That we have any names at all to compare with those in the Book of Mormon is astonishing!   

THE CONSONANTS ‘SM' AND ‘SHM':  SAM, SHEM, SHEUM, SHIM, SHUM, SHEMNON, SHEMLON

Hebrew names, and in particular Phoenician-Egyptian, and Egyptian leave out the vowels, sometimes by a sign the vowels may be indicated, most often the reader supplies them. Vowels then have a tendency to shift in various languages or in some names different vowels may apply, but the meaning remains the same; unless indicated in Semitic names by some prefix or by an abbreviated hypocoristicon. The consonants, ‘SM' and ‘SHM', and names using these consonants are treated in some detail in earlier entries in this web site. (Erickson 9 March 2005)  The Consonants ‘SM' and ‘SHM' were also discussed in some detail in (Erickson 15 April 2005). The consonants ‘SM' are found in nearly 240 names in the Amorite name lists, (Gelb pp. 489-49), showing the abundant use of the ‘SM' elements, most of the time in the form of ‘sum'. Because of the abundance of names with this prefix, the invocation of a god by this name may also be involved. Thus the Book of Mormon use of names suggests that anciently the ‘SM' form was preferred, and the ‘SHM' form became more used at a later date as noted below.

However, the elements ‘SHM' are found in the name Shem, which means ‘a name'.
(Mandel p. 492)  Shem was a son of Noah, and also a Nephite military leader killed with his ten thousand troops in the last battle between the Nephites and Lamanites. (Mormon 6:14) The elements ‘SHM' are also in the Book of Mormon name Shum, which also means ‘a name.'  Shum is part of the Nephite Weights and Measures system defined in Alma 11:5-19, (Largey p. 719)  and is also a name found in the Murasu archives among the thousands of tablets found at Nippur. (Erickson 15 April 2005)  The elements ‘SHM' are also in the name Sheum included in a list of Nephite agricultural items "corn, wheat, barley, neas, and sheum." (Largey p. 31; Mosiah 9:9)  In the way it is listed, sheum is probably a vegetable, though it could be a fruit. Shemnon was one of the 12 Nephites set apart by Christ to serve the Nephite nations. (Largey p. 720) and Shemlon is a geographic name for a land bordering the land of Lehi-Nephi given by the Lamanites. (Mosiah 2:17; Largey p. 718) And the elements ‘SHM' are in the Book of Mormon name Shim, which is the name of a hill where Ammoron deposited all of the sacred plates of the Nephites. (4 Nephi 1:48) Shim is a Jaredite name. (Ether 9:3)  Later the same hill was called Cumorah.

The elements ‘SM' in the name Sam, in the Ebla documents seems to mean ‘posterity'.

The ‘SM' elements are found in the personal name lists of Phoenician and Punic inscriptions, meaning ‘to hear'. (Benz p. 421) Think of Samuel the prophet whose names means ‘I hear you God' or ‘God Heard'. (Mandel p. 453)  Sam has also been discussed in earlier studies of this series. It has been found in the most ancient of texts and is attested in Ugarit, Aramaic, and Hebrew. It was also found on an ostracon, pottery shard, at the site of Lackish, (Benz p. 421) a city that will be the subject of a future study.   

The Assyrian King of Babylon, and son of Sennacherib, Ashur-nadini-shumi, (699-694 BC)  includes in the suffix of his name the name Shum. (Lieck  p. 29)   The ‘i' ending of the name means ‘is'.  The prefix of the name is a gods name: Ashur, with which many names were prefixed during that time.  The core part of the name, nadini means ‘the one who gives', (Baker p. 919) so the name would be: ‘The God Ashur is the one who gives a name', which includes all of the parts of the name, the prefix, the core and the suffix.  As a work of fiction, there is no way Joseph Smith could have come up with precise names such as Shum, there should be no parallels to any names if he simply conjured them up in his own mind. The names alone are a singular testament to the reality of the Book of Mormon as a divinely prepared, kept, and translated record, with names coming from the Near-Eastern region, to which the history and persons of the Book of Mormon are related, not China, Europe, or any other place on earth.  As if this is not enough, another name of this same type, that of Marduk-zakir-shumi l (854-BC) carries the same suffix name.  (Arnold p. 79)  In the case of Ashur-nadin-shumi, the Elamite King Halluschuinshinak taking advantage of a military opportunity created by Ashur's father, captured Sippar and carried off Ashur, who was betrayed by a group of Babylonians. He was taken to Elam (modern Iran) and probably killed. (Leick p. 29)  He vanished into mystery.  The father and grandfather of Lehi would have known about these events. Lehi would have had knowledge of names with the suffix element Shum in them.  

In the Tanakh the elements ‘SM' for Sam are found in four names including Samson and Samuel. (Mandel pp. 450-453)  In the Ebla tablets seven name have those elements, most often meaning ‘posterity or destiny'. (Pagan p. 362)  The elements ‘SHM' are found in eight names in the Tanakh. (Mandel pp. 492-496) An aspect of the Book of Mormon is hereby proven accurate. It is noted that the Ebla tablets do not have any names with the elements ‘SHM', they are also not in the Nabada archives, it seems that the ‘H' element was added sometime much later, nearly a thousand years later, into the Aramaic dialect that was modified into Hebrew. The early use by the Jaredites of the elements ‘SM' is consistent with the usage in the Book of Mormon and the usage at the time the Jaredites were present in Mesopotamia. The use of the ‘SHM' elements is consistent with the usage at the time of Lehi in the Hebrew dialect and in this observation the Book of Mormon is internally consistent in a remarkable way, with the one exception, the Adamic name Shem as a son of Noah, preserved in the Hebrew Bible as Shem.    

At Nabada names including the ‘SM' elements are sium, (a goddess) very close to the name Shum, as well as U-la-sum, Tar-sa-ma, tasma,  Samagan, wa-ne-sum  and x-sum. (Talon pp. 127-128,  in Milano 2004) There are no names so far found with the ‘SHM' elements at Nabada. In the mountains of Turkey, 150 miles or so north of Nabada, were the Amorites. Amorite names with the elements ‘SM' for Sam,  include Sumukan along with a divine suffix, and the names samum, samamum, sams, sama, samas, samimum, samium, samkum, sammum, Sam- si-hudda, Samsu-iluna, samsu-ditana, samuum, and samsum ‘meaning ‘sun', and twenty four names are listed under the SM consonant analysis in the Amorite Glossary. (Gelb pp. 30-31, 489)  In the glossary and computerized lists of names provided by Gelb he actually designates the names by the CONSONANT usage. Under the prefix of ‘sam' ‘SM', there are thirty two name listed. (Gelb p. 489) This would be expected in order for there to be consistency, because the Amorites came out of the Mountains north of Nabada to conquer most of northern Mesopotamia, and swept down the Mediterranean Coast. (Arnold pp. 36-37)  They would have transmitted names older than those at Nabada, with only the elements ‘SM'. The Amorites ended up bordering the conquered areas of the northern Ten Tribes. But as suggested by the Book of Mormon usage, one would not expect names in the Amorite list to have the ‘SHM' elements. (Geld pp. 30-32)  But, most likely some ‘SHM' names would have been included in the Brass Plates, and would have been available in later Phoenician names along the coast from Sidon to Ugarit since it is certain that Lehi had extensive contact with Sidon. (Erickson 18 May 2005) This will be explored in the future when we deal with Ugarit in detail, and the influence of Canaanite on Ancient Israel.       ( L'Heureux p. 49)  

FEMALE NAMES

In should also be mentioned that for the name samum, with the elements ‘SM' noted earlier among the Amorite names, there is the feminine form samtum. (Gelb p. 31) And as noted before, the suffix element ‘tum' is often a gender identifying suffix. (Gelb p. 31)  Just the use of ‘um', a mimation found in the most ancient of the documents, has to be modified and combined with a ‘t', the ‘tum' then becomes a gender designator.  Another gender name for females along this line is sium with the ‘SM' elements, meaning ‘she is my mother'. (Sallaberger p. 48)  Also si-x-tum, where the x stands for a variety of core parts of names, and retains the ‘SM' elements along with the feminine ending ‘tum', and the name si-ma-i-li, meaning ‘she is my god', also with the ‘SM' elements. A Goddess is known by the name of si-um, which has the elements ‘SM'. Note that in these feminine names an ‘i' follows the ‘S' element. Another suffix characterizing female names is ‘-ut', and an ending of ‘du'. (Sallaberger p. 48 in Milano 2002)  The name of a deity, samagan, with the ‘SM' elements and with a suffix of ‘Iti Sar', a diety's  name, was also found at Nabada (Talon p. 128, in Milano 2004)

The elements ‘SM', in the form of sum, or sam, often are in complex  names, such as su-me- nu-me-a, ‘a body having no power', and sa me nu-me-a, ‘sinews having no power'.  Their usage is under discussion. (Sallaberger p. 39, in Milano 2004)  The name Sulum, with ‘SM' elements, actually ‘SLM', is the name for a 2^nd rank settlement in the ‘province' of Nabada. (Sallberger p. 57; Sallaberger and Ur p. 64 in Milano 2004) The study of names is not always as straightforward as these presentations might indicate.   

THE PREFIX ‘ir', IRREANTUM

After eight years in the wilderness Lehi and his band came to the sea (the Arabian Sea), which they called Irreantum, ‘which, being interpreted, is many waters'. (l Ne. 17:4-5)  And where they camped on its shores they called the place ‘Bountiful'. (l Ne. 17:6-18:5; Largey p. 339)  As Gelb pointed out above, the suffix  ‘tum' is a gender term for a feminine name. So Irrean means waters, and because waters is a feminine term, the suffix 'tum' is added to make this distinction. The name may also be composed of a prefix of ‘ir', and a core of ‘rean'.  In the Nabada lists the prefix ‘ir' is found in the name ‘ir-ib-sa-lim'. (Talon pp. 16, 127, in Milano 2004)  It seems that in the Third Millennium BC, especially at Ebla, there were many names with the prefix ‘ir', from

Ir-bi through Ira to Ir-bu.  In the name lists compiled from Ebla there are 90 names listed with the direct prefix ‘ir', many having the meaning of ‘generous', ‘merciful', but sometimes having other meanings depending on the suffixes that modify the meaning of the name. (Pagan 337-339) Some 30 additional names are listed, from iribum to iru-ur, in most of them the ‘ir' prefix means ‘compensated' or ‘generous', though in certain instances it also means ‘cast'. (Pagan pp. 324-325)  In the Tanakh, the name for a certain city in Hebrew is ‘Ir'. (Mandel p. 214) There are seven names with the ‘Ir' prefix, including the common name in use today of ‘Ira'.  The prefix is also found in Amorite names such as irismaabi and irismabi and others. (Gelb p. 213) There are many names that have a God prefix before the ‘ir' name. At one time in the Babylonia region there were more than 1000 Gods in the pantheon. (Arnold p. 58) So when one looks for names one often has to go down the name lists which list names with the prefixes of Gods to identify the actual core name unmodified by the God name, GN. There are thirty five names with this prefix in the Neo-Assyrian Empire name lists. (Baker 2001, pp. 563-565)  A name closer in form to Irreantum is the name Irritum which is a name of a city between Nabada and Ebla. (Zaccagnini p. 199) It lies somewhere south of the Kabur River in the unsurveyed lands as well as being a personal name. (Archi p. 233)  See other web site entries for more discussions of Irreantum and the double ‘rr' consonant usage.

THE PREFIX ‘ki': KIB, KIM, KIMNOR, KISH, KISHKUMEN

The prefix ‘ki' is found in the Nabada documents as a name itself which means ‘place, as a surface measure'. (Talon p. 124 in Milano 2004)  As a prefix to a name, at Nabada, it is in the name Kisib, meaning ‘seal' and is included in the personal name lists. (Talon p. 124, in Milano 2004)  Five names in the Book of Mormon having this prefix are as shown above. The names Kib, found in the Aramaic documents from Elephantine (Erickson 18 Feb 2005) and Kim have been found and have been discussed in previous entries to this web site. (in Erickson 7 Jan 2005) 

THE PREFIX ‘lu': LURAM -THE SUFFIX ‘ram': LURAM- AND THE PREFIX RAM:  RAMAH, RAMATH, RAMEUPMTON

In Moroni 9:2 is the name Luram who had fallen by the sword.  The name has two elements, the prefix ‘lu', which is found in a WORD LIST prepared for Nabada where ‘lu' means ‘man' and is a personal name, [No. 171]  (Talon p. 124, in Milano 2004) and in the Nabada name Lu-gis-DU [the DU stressing professional status] the name ugula R. [lemma] lu-gis-DU means ‘overseer of Lu-gis-DU' (Talon p. 124, in Milano 2004)  At Nabada it also appears in the name list as No. 173, as e-lu-al, and as an official prefix or suffix  in names such as Lugal and munus-dumu lugal. (Talon p. 124, in Milano 2004)  In Ebla the prefix Lugal generally refers to a high official or even King. (Pagan p. 346)  In the Ebla name lists there are thirty eight names, with the prefix ‘Lu', nine are used with the addition of ‘gal' to make ‘Lugal' most often referring to ‘King'. (Pagan pp. 346-347)

The name Luram also has the suffix or ending of ‘ram', which appears in three other Book of Mormon names as a prefix.  Mormon's singling out Archaentus in his epistle to Moroni, along with Luram and Emron by name, may have indicated their military importance to the Nephites, and their personal friendship. (Largey p. 72)  In the Tanakh, Ram, used as a suffix or prefix means ‘High'. Ram is in the ancestral line of Buzite, the youngest of Job's friends (Job 32:2) He was the son of Hezon of the tribe of Judah, and in l Chronicles 2:25, is the son of Herahmeel, the firstborn of Hezon.  Ram would therefore have been a name found in the Brass Plates! Two other names with the prefix Ram are found in the Tanakh, Ramiah, meaning ‘God has raised', and Ramoth meaning ‘heights'. (Mandel p. 435) These names are found in the books of Ezra, (Ezra 20:25, 29) and though late Biblical names, could have been available to Lehi from the Brass Plates. However, it is clear that Ramiah and Ramoth answer to the Book of Mormon names Ramah and Ramath, meaning the same thing, though with slight differences in the vowel or hypocoristic endings.

In the Amorite name lists there are four names with the prefix ‘ram', including short names like the Book of Mormon names, Ramam and Ramik. (Gelb p. 411)  In the Ebla name lists there is only one name so far found in the tablets with the elements ‘RM', in the name ramas, (Pagan p. 358) accentuating the increased use of ‘ram' during the time of Lehi.

This is the most extensive of the studies on Nabada, future Parts will not be as long because there will be much duplication. We will be looking for other name parallels not included in PART 1.  These name studies permit one to see the Prophet Joseph Smith in an entirely new light. He did not have access to anything like these discoveries in his day, except the Holy Ghost and divine intervention, that would have permitted him to filter out all of these names in complex details and make them all consistent!

BIBLOGRAPHY

Akkermans, M.G., & Glenn M., Schwartz, The Archaeology of Syria, Cambridge World Archaeology, Cambridge, Endinburgh, 2004

Archi, A.,  The Personal Names in: The Individual Cities, in Studies on the Language of Ebla, Edited by Pelio Fronzaroli, Quadereni Di Semitistica No. 13, Intituto Di Linguistica E. Di Linguie Orientali Universita' Di Firenze, Rome, 1984

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Arnold, Bill T., Who Were the Babylonians? SLB Pub. No. 10, Society of Biblical Literature, Atlanta 2004

Baker, Heather D., The Prosopography of The Neo-Assyrian Empire, Vol. 2/II, L-N, The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, University of Helsinki, Finland  2001

..................2001 The Prosopography of the Neo-Assyrian Empire Vol. 2/l, H-K, Neo-Assyrian Text Corpur Project, University of Helsinki, Finland

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

Biggs, Robert D., Inscriptions From Tell Abu Salabikh, Publications Vo. XCIX, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 1974

Bluard, Christine, Recherches sur le perimeter externe (chantier H), in: Tell Beydar, Three Seasons of Excavations (1992-1994) A Preliminary Report, Ed. Marc Lebeau  & Antonine Suleiman, SUBARTU III, Brepols, Belgium, 1997

Erickson, Einar C., Weights and Measures, Gold, Silver, Barley, web site 9 Mar 2005

.....................   15 April 2005, Murasu of Nippur and the Book of Mormon,

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

Goddeeris, Anne, Mohammed Lahlouh, & Marie-Eve Stenuit, in Marc LeBeau & Antoine Suleimn, Ed., Subartu 11, Tell Beydar, Three Seasons of Excavations (1992-1994)  Brepols Purblishers, Belgium, 1997

Hunt, Norman Bancroft, Historical Atlas of Ancient Mesopotamia, Checkmark Books, New York, 2004

Ismail, F., W. Sallaberger, Ph. Talon, & K. Van Lerberghe, Administrative Documents from Tell Beydar (Seasons 1993-1995)  Subartu II, Brepols Publishers, Belgium 1996

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