THE FIRST CITY ON THE EUPHRATES RIVER:
URUK (WARKA), in modern southern Iraq, near the head of the Persian Gulf, is for the time being, considered to be the world's oldest city. (Matthews p. 60) It is less than 1200 miles south of Chagar Bazar. The developments at Chagar Bazar were contemporary with those at Uruk which was occupied from at least 5,000 BC into Hellenistic and later times. It is mentioned in Genesis where it is called Erech, and considered one of the first cities established after the flood. If so, it also had a pre-flood history. It is entirely consistent to expect that Adam's descendants spread throughout the world creating settlements that had a pre-flood history. (Mathews p. 60) Uruk expanded hugely with a massive city wall constructed around the settlement. By 2800 BC (still during pre-flood times) it was boasting enormous temple complexes, colored with baked clay cones and stone inlay, and as near as can be presently determined. About 3200 BC the wedge-shaped cuniform script was developed. Cuniform writing was employed to write at least a dozen languages, many of them totally unrelated, across Mesopotamia, Iran, the Levant, and Anatolia (Turkey). Its usefulness died out about the time of Christ. But before the Phoenician alphabet and other scripts were developed, half of human history was recorded in cuniform script. (Mathews p. 60)
URUK was first excavated by the British Explorer, William Loftus, in the 1850s, (Mathews p. 61) when Britain was getting entrenched in Mesopotamia and India. But most of the excavations, some still in progress, were carried out by Germans from 1912 onwards. (Whitehouse p. 530)
CIVILIZATION:
In a minimum sense of the term, [civilization] is the art of living in towns, with all that the condition implies in respect of social skills and disciplines. (Wheeler p. 9) One of the earliest towns, but lacking writing, is Catal Huyuk, near Konya on alluvial plains, in southern Turkey, dated at not much later than 7000 BC. The Internet carries a wonderful site for this ancient town. The precocious development of Catal Huyuk is thought to be from its control of the trade in obsidian from central Armenian and Anatolian sources and its specialization in obsidian crafting, along with its social stratification. (Whitehouse p. 90) It is the largest-known Neolithic site in the Near East. (Mellaart p. 98) It survived on growing emmer (wheat), einkorn, breadwheat and six-row naked barley, along with domestic cattle. During a trip in Armenia I sampled some 15 obsidian regions for comparative data, obsidian from Armenia had traded as far south as sites in Jordan. Jericho another ancient town was a going concern about 6,000 years ago, the oldest known town dignified by defenses of a stone wall, tower and rock-cut ditch or moat. (Wheeler p. 9) Catal Huyuk is still being excavated; they are down to fourteen levels. Check on the Internet for recent information.
ANCIENT TRADE
Uruk and later Chagar Bazar recorded trade with the still mysterious Indus Civilization. Little is known of the ancestry of the Indus developments but during the Grand Transformation, sometime in the third millennia the riverine plains of the Indus hosted a multitude of disparate societies, essentially Neolithic but gradually developed stone-bronze (chalcolithic) technology. Mostly surviving on animal husbandry and a little agriculture, the villages from Mohenjo-daro, up the river to Harapa, south-east to Kalibangan and west nearly to the Iranian Plateau, the great Indus Civilization matured. (Wheeler pp. 11-13) But, its writings are still being worked on, some progress had been made during the past year. From Afghanistan, precious gems, emeralds and the highly desirable lapis lazuli and carnelian (Mathews p. 61) moved south and west into the northern east-west trade lane that passed through Chagar Bazar. Another trade lane went south into Harapa and related cities of the Indus where processing produced products that continued on to the Arabian Sea and northwest through the Persian Gulf into the cities of the plains of the Tigres and Euphrates, where the trade lane continued northward passing through Chagar Bazar, located on the north end of that trade lane. Not to ignore China or Central America, three great civilizations, Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and the Indus valley "within a short range of time and space...produced three utterly divergent systems of notation." (Wheeler p. 40) The cuniform has been long understood, only recently were the glyphs of the Maya beginning to yield their secrets, but the Indus is still an enigma.
Two new books are most useful in studying the Agricultural revolution and the Grand Transformation (Weiss), they include a magisterial work providing a historical survey looking at the classic clashes of the 1960s and 70s over the reasons for the Neolithic revolution. (Barker) The new publications no longer use the term ‘hunter-gatherers' so prevalent in earlier studies, the new term ‘foragers', replace all that. Starting in South West Asia, Barker goes on a world wide survey where farming first began. He moves to central and south Asia, and then the Near Eastern frontier, then through to tubers and maize (corn) growers of the Americas, and on to Africa and the Bantus farmlands, ending up in Europe showing how the Neolithic revolution in Europe was in fact derived from the Near East. (Selkirk p. 53) Another survey begins in South West Asia and then sees the spread to Africa, East Asia, South East Asia and Oceania and then to the Americas. (Bellwood) However, Bellwood differs in linking the spread of Agriculture with the spread of Languages. (Selkirk p. 54) Archaeologists now study the spread of distinctive and various linguistic families linked to the spread of peoples, families and ideas. (Renfrew) To that Bellwood adds the science of DNA. While the picture becomes clearer, it is still filled with foggy areas that time will eventually resolve. There is still so much to be done. The future will be filled with stunning details.
NEW DISCOVERIES
But, now, new discoveries within the past five years may change all that is now written on such histories. The International Association for the Study of Early Civilizations in the MIDDLE ASIAN Intercultural Space, held meetings during 7-8 July, this year, at Ravenna, Italy. "Five Hundred years ago, the cities scattered across the north Italian plain exchanged goods, artists, and ideas yet clung stubbornly to their own distinctive styles and cultures. Their rivalries and trade swelled into a creative wave that transformed Europe during the Renaissance and launched the world into the modern era. Now many archaeologists believe that a similar awakening took place nearly 5,000 years ago, in an even wider arc to the East spanning thousands of kilometers. New findings suggest that a string of societies, from the Russian steppes to the Arabian Peninsula, together forged the first human civilizations. It is a radical retelling of the traditional story, which holds that civilization sprouted in Mesopotamia along the banks of the Euphrates, then on the Nile, and finally on thy Indus." (Lawler p. 596) In attendance was Sylvia Winkelmann, an archaeologist at the University of Halle in German, she noted: "we have to change our view. Mesopotamia is not the only cradle of mankind—there are many." Someday the discoveries in central and eastern America will be made of the Adamic original settlements recoded in the Pearl of Great Price. Then everything will have to be revised. This new area now being investigated is given the name of MIDDLE ASIA. See the MAP-MIDDLE ASIA. "Long dismissed as a backwater, the vast area between Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley is now revealing a tapestry of wealthy urban centers that shaped humanity's first concerted attempt at city life." (Lawler p. 586) Some inscribed tablets have been found, but the language, if it is such, is as yet unreadable.
THE NAMES
As in PARTS 1 and 11, the first name or names given come from the Book of Mormon lists, and the second name or names given are taken from the tablets of Chagar Bazar assembled by Talon. Since Talon did not explain the meaning of any of the names, we have drawn on Old Akkadian Dictionaries, and compilations of the Old Babylonian and Assyrian sources that split off of Akkadian, and other Near Eastern sources for insight into the probable meaning of the names. As is apparent in the previous two studies of the Chagar Bazar names, there is an astonishing amount of parallels to the Book of Mormon names. Some are quite apparent, other take some linguistic analysis.
NAHOM (NHM): NIHIMATUM, (NHM)
The first funeral service held by Lehi's group was in the wilderness. It was for Ishmael and was held at a place called NAHOM. (1 Ne 16:34-35) "The place names used by Lehi and his group provide the reader of the Book of Mormon with some of the best means of testing the authenticity of the Book of Mormon from a linguistic viewpoint. Apparently most of these names were transliterated by Joseph Smith, [the Lord dictated the names to Joseph] and it should be remembered that the Prophet had not studied Semitic languages before his translation of the Book of Mormon. Yet as Dr. Nibley indicates...the place names given by Lehi evidently came from a Semitic source." (Ludlow page.114) When Ishmael died on the journey, [in the wilderness] he "was buried in the place which was called Nahom" (l Ne 16:34-35) Note that this is not "a place which we called Nahom," but the place which was [already] so called, a desert burial ground. Jaussen reports (Rev. Biblique X, 607) that though Bedouins sometimes bury the dead where they die, many carry the remains great distances to bury them. The Arabic root NHM has the basic meaning of "to sigh or moan," and occurs nearly always in the third form, "to sigh or moan with another," given in the Book of Mormon. At this place, we are told, "the daughters of Ishmael did mourn exceedingly," and are reminded that among the desert Arabs mourning rites are a monopoly of the women." (Nibley pp. 79) As discussed elsewhere (Erickson 21 Mar 2007: 31 Jan 2007) the Book of Mormon sense of the word is found in the Phoenician names precisely as it is in the Book of Mormon, NHM, and means "to have compassion, console'. (Benz p. 359) The Hebrew form of the name is Nahum, the name of the prophet Nahum, (Nahum l:l) who was born at Elkosh in the seventh century BC. His name means ‘comforted'. (Mandel p. 396) but does not carry the nuance of the Book of Mormon name or its Phoenician counterpart. The Ancient Akkadian preferred using ‘i' to either ‘a' or ‘o', in the names, but retained the core elements NHM as in the parallel name NIHIMATUM from Chagar Bazar. (Talon p. 132) Here the name with its feminine ending of ‘tum', may mean "she who comforts or mourns'. Recall that "The daughters of Ishmael did mourn exceedingly." (l Ne 16:35) "Mourning customs would have led Ishmael's family to grieve for ‘many days'" (Brown p. 55; Genesis 37:34; see 50:10; Daniel 10:2) Thus, there is more to this name than meets the eye on the first or even second reading. Others have also taken up this name as discussed elsewhere in this web site and as treated below.
The use of the Arabic Nahom also becomes an important clue in any discussion of the wilderness journey and a critical point where Lehi's group crossed from the west side of the Al-Sarat Mountains of Saudia Arabia then taking an easterly direction before reaching "The place which was called Nahom." The name was already attached to that spot. And here Lehi may have met others while traveling. From Nahom they departed for Bountiful. (l Ne 16:34-35, 17:1: Parry pp. 76-89) Nahom/Nahum is translated as ‘mourners' in Isaiah 57:18 and as ‘repentings [grieving]' in Hosea 11:8. (Parry p. 113)
"In effect, all roads-including shortcuts across forbidding desert terrain-turned east at the Nahom tribal area." (Hilton p. 7) Lehi's caravan followed an east-west trail utilized by traders of the frankincense and myrrh harvested in the southern desert regions, connecting the trails to the Mediterranean region. "The trail featured an infrastructure of wells and places to obtain food and fodder." (Hilton p. 7) "When we combine the notice of the eastward turn with the known locale of the Nahom tribal region where Ishmael was buried, we establish firmly the area through which Lehi and Sariah must have passed with their group." (Hilton p. 7)
NAHOM is also an example of Metonymy: The practice of giving a person or place a name whose meaning reflects an event or trait associated with that person or place. As discussed above, Ishmael was buried in a place called Nahom. This name not only is authentically Hebrew and Arabic [and Akkadian], it also reflects a trait associated with the mourning of those placed there; thus a good example of Metonymy. (Insights. "Metonymy in the Book of Mormon." FARMS, June 1984)
Various researchers tracing the trail of Lehi have discovered a likely place where "Ishmael died, and was buried." (l Ne 16:34) "The antiquity of this name is secure because of the archaeological recovery of three votive altars that bear the tribal [Arabic] name NHM in the ancient South Arabian language. These altars all date to the seventh-sixth centuries BC when Lehi and Sariah were on their trek, and they were all donated by a man named "Bi'ahar, son of Saad, son of Nwy'an," to the Bar'an temple near Marib, Yeman. Called "the first actual archaeological evidence for the historicity of the Book of Mormon," (Given p. 120) these altars prove the existence of this name as a territorial and tribal area in south-western Arabia in the first millennium BC. In this connection, the late [Dr.] Ross T. Christensen [my friend and mentor] published a short notice in 1978 in the Ensign magazine about the appearance of the tribal name "Nehhm" on a map drawn by a German explorer to Arabia in the 18th century. This notice prompted Warren Aston [one of the researchers in the field] to further investigation, the results of which showed to the Muslim historians al-Kalbi and al-Handani as early as the 9th and 10th centuries AD, clearly indicating that the name long predated these authors. It was the publication of this name on the first of the three altars that demonstrated conclusively that NHM or Nihm, was contemporary with Lehi and Sariah, The second and third altars have cinched the conclusion." (Hilton p. 6)
Christensen, "in a letter to the Ensign, stated that he understood that Nahom can mean "mourning" as well as "comfort" or "consolation" [nearly precisely the meaning of the Chagar Bazar name NIHIMATUM] and that these words might have been connected to a burial ground. He noted that Nephi implied that Nahom was an established place name, not one that Lehi himself had chosen...he referred to a map made by Carsten Niebuhr in 1763 that featured the place "Nehhm," located 100 miles east of Luhaiya and about 25 miles north of Sana's (the name on the map is south of the line the Hiltons drew for their suggested route to Bountiful). In 1991 the Astons confirmed that there was a burial ground in a place called Nehem, which was located just about where one would expect to find it from Nephi's directions. In l994 the Astons proposed that the site is near a large valley, Wadi Jawf, in Yemen. In 2005 FARMS documentary Journey of Faith, Yemeni archaeologist Abdu Bhaleb reports his discovery in1994 of a large burial ground in Wadi Nihm that belongs to the Nihm tribe....in 1999, S. Kent Brown published a short article in Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, detailing the discovery of an inscribed altar bearing the tribal name NHM, Nihm/Nahom...German archaeological team working at the Bar'an temple in Marib (in Yemen), date the alter to the 7th-sixth century BC." (McKinlay pp. 80-81) It is also clear that the location of Nahom does lay on the south edge of Wadi Jawf, the largest drainage in this part of Arabia. It is certain that Lehi and his group had passed sometime there in that part of their journey.
This has been a more detailed discussion of the Book of Mormon name of Nahom, to demonstrate that the consonantal elements of NHM are preserved in just about every variation from whatever the source that was been recorded for that name, without changing the meaning, except to place emphasis on the meaning as ‘mourning'.
PAHORON: PAHARUM, PAHRI-PABNI, PAHRI-KUSUWA, PARDIPPADAL, PARULI, PARZILLU
PAHORON, having the consonantal elements of PHRN, is mentioned in Alma 50:40. The name is a good example of Papponymy. He was the fourth chief judge of the Nephites. He succeeded his father. Kishkumen was sent to murder him. (Hel l:9) Nibley notes that PAHORON can be abbreviated as PHR, or PH, with liberal exchanges of the vowels. "The name of Pahoran reflects the Palestine Pahua, (for Eg. Pa-Her-an, cf. Paher-y, ‘the Syrian'), which is ‘reformed' Egyptian, i.e. a true Egyptian title but altered in such a way as to adapt it to the Canaanite [Phoenician] speech. Pahura (also written Puhuru) [using the vowel ‘u' alone] was in Amarna times an Egyptian governor of the Ube district, with his headquarters at Kumed: (cf. the element -Kumen in the Book of Mormon place name)." (Nibley 1952, p. 24) Nibely gives Paher-y as a comparison above; in Phoenician the elements are P'R, and the meaning in Hebrew is ‘to gape'. (Benz p. 394) Three of the Chagar Gazar names have the Phoenician prefix PAR-, or P'R-.
From Chagar Bazar we get the name PAHARUM, (Talon p. 143) with the consonantal elements of PHRM, almost an exact match to the Book of Mormon name, but in keeping with ancient names it has the -um ending later replaced in Semitic languages by the -on endings. Because PAHORON has the ‘on' ending, it probably came from the Brass Plates rather than the Jaredites records. It does appears in the Akkadian dictionaries as Pahuru, the equivalent of the Phoenician Puhuru above mentioned by Nibley, but the meaning is not given. (Black p. 261)
In the Chagar Bazar names, the PAH- prefix occurs in many names, without being given a meaning. The prefix PAR- found in many Assyrian names with the prefix PA- often has the meaning ‘splendor' or ‘wonder', (Baker pp. 988-989), which would be an acceptable compliment to the two men, called as Apostles, father and son, mentioned in Helaman. Talon lists three names with the prefix PAH- and two with the PAR-.
RABBONAH: RABI'ATUM
RABBONAH is mentioned in Alma 18:13 where it is singled out in an unusual fashion for an explanation. "which is, being interpreted, powerful or great king." (Alma 18:13) In verse 11, just before this designation of greatness given him by a king's servant, Ammon, is considered to even be the "Great Spirit." Why is this account in the Book of Mormon giving an enhanced meaning to the name? In the New Testament there is the episode at the resurrection of Christ where Mary "turned toward Him and said in Hebrew ‘Rabboni!' and John tells us this means "teacher". (Newman p. 610) In Alma the interpretation given wants to impart more than just the meaning of ‘teacher'. The passages want the name to mean something ‘powerful' or ‘kingly', really ‘great'. We would like the meaning in the old Akkadian name of RAB'ATUM from Chagar Bazar to be the equivalent, (Talon p. 133) to convey that higher meaning and confirm the singular nature of the way RABBONAH was introduced and interpreted in the Book of Mormon. Is that to much to ask? If Joseph Smith during the translation of the Book of Mormon was instructed to elevate the meaning of the name and to enhance it, we want verification that Joseph got it right!
In keeping with the way John used the term, it is understood that RABI, means ‘Teacher', and RABBONI could be stretched to mean ‘master'. In the Tanakh, the prefix RAB- means ‘chief'. (Mandel p. 431) In the Assyrian and Old Babylonian name lists the prefix RAB- means ‘chief, overseer of', or even more when the name is expanded to RABBUM, where it means ‘very big.' (Black p. 292) But that is still not close enough, but it is getting closer. In the older Akkadian, we start to get the real meaning as given in the Book of Mormon, where the name RABBANU, (Baker p. 1027) means "the big one'. That comes a little closer to the meaning of ‘powerful or great king' given in Alma. The Chagar Bazar name, RABI'ATUM, (Talon p.133) however, seems to bring it up to the level expected: There the meaning is ‘Great is god', in keeping with how they thought AMMON to be the Great Spirit. And in the Akkadian the name parallel to them all is RABBATUM, with the meaning of ‘goodness and grandeur', (Black p. 294) which sustains that level of meaning. The tablets from Ebla concur in the meaning in the names RABA, ‘the great one' and RABBATUM, ‘great'. (Pagan p. 358) Over time, it seems, as might be expected, the Semitic languages had slowly changed and in some instances reduced the meaning of some ancient names, but in the Book of Mormon it was necessary to restore its meaning closer to the more elevated status it meant anciently, because both names have suffixes, -AH, and -ATUM, which are abbreviations or hypocoristicon for God. AMMON with his priesthood and calling was the ‘big or chief and powerful representative of God'. He stood in the place of God. A true representative. Did Alma provide the interpretation to the name in the Book of Mormon, or was it added by Mormon when he did the abridging? This is a little uncertain. Who ever did it must have done so under inspiration as they had no contact with what had been going on in the eastern hemisphere of activity. Indeed, Joseph had got it right, and it has taken more than 170 years for the evidence to emerge from ancient tablets. How could all this be, if the Book of Mormon was a work of fiction?
SAM: SAM, SAMAS-GIMLANNI, SAMAS-ILLUM, SAMAS-NURI, SAMAS-TILLATI, SAMAS-TUKUKLI, SAMAS-UBLAM, SAMMADA, SAMIMA-YASIM, SAMSI-ADDU-ULI, SAMSI-ADDU-TUKULTI, SAMMIDATUM, SAMUM, SAMAN
SAM is the third son of Lehi, older brother of Nephi. Sam had the qualities of faith and humility. It is not recorded that he saw visions equal to his brother Nephi though it is suspected that he did, but Nephi did tell Sam all about his and their father's. (l Ne 2:17) Sam married one of Ishmael's daughters (l Ne 16:7), and reared a family and he and his family followed Nephi. (2 Ne 5:6) Sam was blessed by his dying father that his seed would inherit the land and be blessed. (2 Ne 4:11) One might therefore look for historical data among Indian tribes that might relate to this blessing. (Largey pp. 696-697) As a prefix, the name Sam appears in the Tanakh in such names as Samgar, Samlah, Samson and Samuel, where it often means ‘sunlight' and ‘heard', but never is the name SAM found by itself. (Mandel pp 450-453) Since SAM received his name before the family obtained the Brass Plates, Lehi may have known about the use of Sam as a separate name from some other source, most likely from the Phoenician contacts. In Phoenician the consonants SM appear in the name ‘sum' which means ‘a name', and in the name of SM, or SAM, meaning ‘to hear' as in the Hebrew prefix used for Samuel, which means ‘God heard'. (Benz pp. 419-421) This confirms the Book of Mormon usage. (Erickson 21 Mar 2007) In some Hebrew sources there are names such as SAMMA and SIMAH. (See l Chr 7:37; l Chr 8:32; Benz p. 419) But in Chagar Bazar it occurs just as in the Book of Mormon: SAM, and also as a prefix for six other names as shown above. (Talon p. 134) In ancient Akkadian, Amorite and Ugarit, the name is in the form of SAMU where the name means ‘sky, heaven...as the seat of the Gods'. (Black p. 354) In the names found on the Ebla tablets, the name appears in the form of SAMA and SAMU, meaning ‘posterity' or ‘destiny'. (Pagan p. 362)
The two Akkadian names given above with the prefix SAMSI-, which means ‘like the sun' (Black p. 354) with the core name of ADDU generally means ‘father' with the implications it is referring to God. (Pagan p. 277) and the suffix -ULLI generally means ‘gave generously' suggests the meaning of the ancient name to be ‘the Father (God) gives light generously', but Talon does not give the meaning of the names, so one must reconstruct the meaning from the available sources. Hopefully more sources will become available in the future to clarify this issue.
The Amorites were in contact with the northern members of the Ten Tribes during the earliest years of the occupation of the land of their inheritance. There are 24 names with the prefix SAM in the Amoritic name lists, and seven variations on the name SAM. (Gelb p. 518) Most likely, the name was transmitted down from the ancient Akkadian into the Amoritic regions and to the coastal areas and port cities of the Phoenicians, such as Ugarit and Sidon, areas that were familiar to Lehi, and where he could have easily picked up the name and used it for one of his sons. The important thing is that the usage in the Book of Mormon of the name as SAM is confirmed.
SENINE, SENUM, SENUMS: SENNAM, SINEN...
The SENINE appears in the Book of Mormon in Alma 11:3, 11:5 and 11:8 in regards to the Nephite monetary system and the relationships between different gold and silver amounts. (See Erickson 9 Mar 2005) where there is an extensive discussion and comparison with Egyptian and Near Eastern systems. (Also see Largey pp. 608-611) It was generally the amount paid for a day's labor. (Alma ll:3) And in the expression that one will be left in hell until "thou has paid the uttermost senine." (3 Nephi 12:26) A person is reminded that in spirit prison "can ye pay even one senine" for penance? SENUM appears in the Book of Mormon in the same discussion and elaboration of the Nephite monetary system in Alma 11:3, 11:6, 11:7; 11:15. The same is true of SENUMS, mentioned in Alma 11:11 and Alma 11:12. Talon does not give the meaning of the nearly parallel word: SENNAM. (Talon p. 135) The Book of Mormon name, SENUM, is an actual Akkadian word, SENUM, which means ‘sandal, shoes', or ‘an action or movement'. (Black p. 367) In Babylonian at a later date, the name is used for a ‘type of fish'. (Black p. 367) It does not have to have any meaning related to precious metals, for whatever reason, the Nephites chose the word and gave it a meaning of its own in terms of the monetary system they had developed, but note when the system is studied it is extremely consistent. (Erickson 9 Mar 2005) The important thing is the word is a real ancient word. This raises the question of how did Joseph Smith concoct accurately so many names all coming from Middle Eastern sources from which the Nephites and Jaredites originated?
The name SINEN... from Chagar Bazar (Talon p. 135) has the consonantal elements of SNN. The Book of Mormon SENINE has the same SNN elements. Depending on when the name was used and how it was vocalized or given vowels, the name is the same. The meaning with these elements in Akkadian can mean, ‘tooth, ivory'. (Black p. 375)
TUBALOTH: TUBKI-TANA, TUBBUBTUM
In the Book of Mormon name TUBALOTH, there is a biblical name, TUBAL, used as a prefix. The name TUBAL is of Hebrew origin, the meaning is uncertain, and is found in Genesis 10:2, dating to after the Flood. Tubal was the son of Jepheth, and the grandson of Noah. His brothers were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Mesheck, and Tiras. (Mandel p. 523) The suffix, -OTH, is found in the biblical name OTHNI, where it means ‘force'. (Mandel p. 417), and comes from the 10 century BC. Othni was the son of Shemaiah and grandson of Obed-Edom, one of the gatekeepers of the Tabernacle, during the reign of King David. Othni had five brothers, all of them brave and leaders of their clan: Raphael, Elihu, Obed, Elzabad, and Semachiah. (Mandel 4:17) All of the preceding may have been mentioned in the Brass Plates from which perhaps the elements, prefix and suffix names, to compose the Nephite name TUBALOTH, were derived. The Book of Mormon makes references to the constant use of their scriptures.
TUBALOTH was a "Lamanite king and son of Ammoron (Hel l:16: ca 51 BC). Because he wanted to gain power over the Nephites, TUBALOTH incited the wrath of his armies against them and appointed Coriantumr, a Nephite dissenter, to lead his forces in a bold assault against Zarahemla (Hel l:14-17). Aided by internal discord among the Nephites, the Lamanites captured the city of Zarahemla, but then lost it to the forces of Lehi and Moronihah." (Hel l:18-33; Largey p. 768)
The prefix element TUB, found in TUBALOTH, is also found in two names from Chagar Bazar, TUBK-TANA and TUBBUBTUM. (Talon pp. 136, 144) In ancient Akkadian, more than fifteen names with the prefix TUB, are listed. (Black p. 408) In the Book of Mormon name there is the prefix name of TUBAL, in Old Babylonian the name TUBALU(M), has the same prefix name: TUBAL, with a suffix of -u(m). The name means ‘belt', a special belt used for climbing palm trees. (Black p. 408) Because in the early languages ‘u' was preferred to ‘o', Loth may be related to ‘Luttu' which means ‘strength' or ‘splendor'. (Pagan p. 346) Talon, as mentioned earlier, did not provide a meaning for the names he was transcribing. But other sources help in this regard.
This concludes the study of the names found on the tablets recovered from digging at Chagar Bazar. Many parallels and near-parallels were identified, along with related and pertinent information that elucidates the names of the Book of Mormon. Chagar Bazar, along with many other sites in Mesopotamia, have yielded an astonishing array of conformational data confirming the Book of Mormon names, and the reality and authenticity of the Book of Mormon. Thus confirming that Joseph Smith had an authentic record and truly was a prophet of extraordinary character. There are other many Near Eastern sites that have been excavated and in which tablets were found, eventually they will be translated and published. Thus there will be more tablets to collect names from to compare with the names in the Book of Mormon. The study has just begun.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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