INTRODUCTION

"The Near East offered a favorable setting for the first farmers and city dwellers. The geographic...configuration of the region is often described as a Fertile Crescent...defined by a semicircle of foothills, mountains, and intermontane valleys that originate in the hills of the southern Levant, continue up into Lebanon, Syria and the Taurus Mountains of eastern Turkey, and then curve downward along the Zagros mountain chain that runs from Iraqi Kurdistan into western Iran...The Levant, home of the earliest settlements includes the Dead Sea, the Jordan Valley, [with the old ruins of Jericho] and the surrounding foothills and coastal plain of present-day Israel...Cradled in the bosom of the crescent is the drainage of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which flow from the mountains of eastern Turkey, Syria, and northern Iraqi into the floodplain of southern Iraq...emptying into the Persian Gulf."  (Andrews p. 18)  I last traveled through the Levant, including revisiting the ancient ruins of Jericho in the spring of 2010. 

The ancient little village of Eridu in Sumeria, north of the Persian Gulf, was perhaps the first to gain fame. (See Map for location of Eridu and other cities mentioned in this Part of the series) "The excavations begun by Iraqi archaeologists and by the English archaeologist Seton Lloyd in the 1940's revealed some of the  earliest monumental public architecture in the Near East." (Andrews p. 25-26)  Eridu rose to become a renown Mythical City. Here a vast temple complex was established under the leadership of the  Four Gods, the Annaki [who appear to parallel to the Mormon creational accounts that include Father, Jesus, Adam and Michael]. (See THE CREATION, in this Web Site series). These gods originated the world, brought people and animals into being, founded cities and kingships were introduced.  Joseph Smith said: "In the beginning the Head of the Gods called a council of the Gods. The Gods came together and concocted a scheme to create this world and the inhabitants." (Cannon p. 43) At first the Gods were pleased with their creation but what the gods had created they deemed to take away when man became troublesome.  "The Sumerian King list, written in 2124 BC, recounts the details, a great deal of which have  parallels to Genesis, in particular, the Joseph Smith Translation.  (Hunt p. 16; Anderson pp. 28-39)  Sumer is considered to be the earliest civilization in the world which arose in southern Mesopotamia in the 4th Millennium BC.  The name Sumer is found on the oldest and therefore the  earliest clay tablets so far recovered from excavations in Mesopotamia.  (Whitehouse p. 488; Chadwick  p. 23)  

Prior to the rise of Akkad as a capital city and the establishment of Sargon as the regional King by conquest, Sumeria was divided into12 city-states: Adab, Akshak, Bad-tibira, Uurk, Kish, Lagash, Larak, Larsa, Nippur,  Sippar, Umma, and Ur. (Hunt p. 42; and see the Map )  The traditional view is that they were engaged in constant internecine warfare, mostly over water and land.  Of these city-states, four: Uruk, Kish, Nippur and Ur, have been discussed in previous entries to this Web Site and this series. URUK was founded on the Euphrates about 3700 BC, known in the Bible as Ereck. today modern Warka in Iraq. Here, the urban way of life was developed. (Adams p, 35)  It is significant for the emergence of the first kingdoms-the Early Dynastic period, "the first truly urbanized city-state in Mesopotamia, the largest settlement in the world, the first true city with more than 50,000 people,  covering an area of about 1200 acres with a city wall extending some six miles and it was here the first writing systems were developed. Literally thousands of clay tablets... have been recovered from the site." (Hunt p. 20)  KISH is not only the name of an ancient city-state, it is also the name of a Jaredite King (Ether 1:18) and has been extensively discussed in PART 2 of this series as well as in other studies on names in this Web Site. According to the Sumerian King List, "the first city to claim dynastic privilege after the great flood was Kish (Kic).  However, its supremacy was far from assured, and rivalry from Lagash and Umma weakened Mesopotamia at a time when Semitic [Akkadian] invasions threatened." (Hunt p. 22)  The site of ancient Kish is in the flood plain between the Euphrates and Tigris, about eight miles east of Babylon. It consists of a series of low mounds, or tells, scattered over a wide area first excavated in the 1920's. (See Map )  It was the birthplace of Sargon of Agade. Kish played a major role in the formation of the Sumerian dynasties. (Hunt p. 22) Kish occupied the seat of power at least four times with more than 40 kings that ruled from that city.  (Hunt 41) Because the Jaredites used names from this period in Mesopotamian history and apparently were intimately aware of the City of Kish, the search for additional relationships and names is entirely justified and very productive. NIPPUR situated about 90 miles south of Bagdad, centrally located in Sumeria, was a great religious center where excavators found thousands of tablets spanning a nearly two thousand year history from 3000 BC.  It is another city discussed in the web site series. UR has also been referred to in various studies of this Web Site, including Part 2 of this series; because it is the birthplace of Abraham. Because tablets have also been found in other of the city-states future studies will present the discoveries and how they relate to the Book of Mormon names. (See the Map for the location of these cities)

UR- BIRTHPLACE OF ABRAHAM

"The supremacy of  Ur was established in 2750 BC, [it would be seven hundred years before Abraham would be born there]. The Great three tiered Ziggurat of Ur was not built until several generations after the Jaredites had departed the general region. Sir Leonard Woolley undertook the reconstruction of the Ziggurat in the 1930's. (Andrews p. 28-29) The three level ziggurats of Mesopotamia, the Egyptian early pyramids and the Olmec and Mayan majestic ceremonial temples all have much in common. Ur broke ahead Uruk and ruled with three dynasties of kings, its prosperity and influence belying its agrarian foundation." (Hunt p. 28)  The city was still robust at the time Lehi left Jerusalem.  It had been invaded about 900 BC by Chaldeans after which it was known as Ur of the Chaldees. After an invasion by Amorites the city went into a long slow decline, but its vitality was lost when changes in the course of the Euphrates River left it nine miles from its water source. (Hunt p. 29)  

"Sources for the history of Sumer and Akkad are provided largely through archaeology, for there is no uninterrupted historyriograhic traditions such as the one that brought us biblical writings or the Greek and Latin classics...Some recent discoveries, such as those of Ebla (modern Tell Mardikh), have shown that entire cultures can suddenly come to light and considerably alter the representations proposed by historians." (Sassons p. 807; see also entries in this web site  and the CD on EBLA)

The ancient city of AKKAD was also known as AGADE. As yet it has not been Archaeologically located with certainty, but it is near Babylon or possibly Babylon itself. It was the capital city of the Akkadian Empire, founded by Sargon either in 2370, in the middle Chronology, or a century earlier in the high chronology. (Whitehouse p. 10; 321)  The middle Chronology is preferred.  In 2340 BC the intrusion of Semitic speaking migrants, the Akkadians, led to the fall of the Sumerian city-states and the imposition of Akkadian rule. (Hunt p. 19)

 AKKADIAN-THE LANGUAGE

'Writing was invented in Mesopotamia by the Sumerians during the late fourth millenium BC, from whence it spread to Egypt, Elkam , and the Indus Valley." (Hunt p 26) The Sumerians created the first great libraries of stored knowledge. The name, AKKADIAN, is derived from the ancient city of AKKAD located in the northern part of ancient Summer, Biblical Shinar, and to the dynasty that was established by SARGON, his son and successor Rimush,  (Hunt p. 29) and his grandson NARM-SIN.  This dynasty established an empire that included northern as well as southern Mesopotamia and neighboring Elam to the east.  It was a Semitic language and was associated with the dynasty.  Under Sargon and his successors the Akkadian  language was written in the Cuneiform script which had been devised originally for writing the unrelated and quite different Sumerian language. It replaced Sumarian as the official language. However, Sumerian continued for the religious purposes.  In a future study in this series cuniform writing will be discussed in a little more detail. Akkadian   became the medium for business and international communications throughout the Near and Middle East; from Turkey to Egypt as well as all of Mesopotamia and Elam, modern southern Iran.  (Whitehouse p.  10; and Chiera who wrote a great deal about the discovery of tablets and libraries)  

As long as priests could read Akkadian... the language resists classification as a dead language and the literary heritage can persist and continue to influence Hellenistic Culture.  Certain legal norms, especially the "Statute of Frauds" (Chiera p. 67),  contract conventions and legal terminology, continued in Hellenistic Palestine and Babylonia and Seleucid period.  Contracts and  land-sale agreements found  in the Dead Sea area from Nahal Heber and Wadi Murabba'at areas, clearance clauses and stipulations and obligations and cognates of legal aspects extend into present day legal documents. (Sasson p. 44-45)

SARGON THE MAN AND THE EMPIRE OF AKKAD

Sargon's (C. 2335-2279 BC) eruption on the scene was somewhat different, since he was not a member of one of the Sumerian dynastic families but came from a northern Semitic tribe.  He was from humble origins, but had achieved a position of  authority in  the royal court of Kish and had befriended Lugalzagesi, who was from Umma and who by force dominated Sumeria. Once he had done so, Sargon sent his Akkadian forces south to conquer the major Sumerian cities, then appointed his own officials to govern the cities and broke the power of local temple complexes by redistributing their lands and wealth among his own followers. He essentially merged Akkad with Sumer to form an empire. (Sasson p. 43;  Hunt p. 11) "Sargon overthrew Ur in about 2240 BC...And signaled  the beginning of the Akkadian period. " (Hunt p. 28)  But a new leader at Ur, Ur-Nammu (r. 2113), ousted the Akkadians and started the Third Dynasty [of Ur] in about 2100 BC." (Hunt p.  29)

No historical records about Sargon can be precisely identified. "Instead, Sargon reaches us as a mystical figure, famous through legends and tales of his extraordinary triumphs...his mother was a 'changling' who bore him in secret-possibly because he was the result of an illicit affair with a high priest. She placed him in a rush basket sealed with bitumen, which she set afloat in the Euphrates. He was found by Akki, ' drawer if water,' who ...adopted Sargon as their son...trained him... as [a] gardener...Sargon was favored by the Goddess Ishtar,,, and destined to achieve great deeds. He rose to the prestigious position of cup-bearer to King Ur-Zababa of Kish, from whom he declared his independence to found the new capital of Agade [and later changed its name to Babylon] and began creating an empire of his own...he fought 34 battles ...captured  King Lugalzagesi of Uruk...led him in chains to the temple at Nippur. ..defeated the kings of Lagash, conquered Mari, Ebla, and the cedar forests (Lebanon) and fought...battles in Elam and the Zagros mountains." (Hunt p. 29, 46­)   No doubt he loved to fight more than he loved conquests and power.

Now, to continue the study of names found in these ancient Akkadian records.

THE NAMES

In this series we are using as our main source for identifying names that appear in the Book of Mormon,  the Akkadian and Neo-Babylonian dictionaries. Some names have persisted in use down through hundreds of years in related Semitic languages, including Egyptian. In other web site studies some of these names have already been discussed when found on tablets from various cities in Mesopotamia and elsewhere.  However, when included in this study, some new information about the name is added because progress in the publication of data on names found on tablets in Mesopotamia continues and provides additional resources to research for inclusion in these studies.  If the hundreds of names in the Book of Mormon were fictional, Joseph Smith could easily be proven a fraud, but if the names are genuine, even agreeing with the time periods in the chronology of the Book of Mormon, then the Book of Mormon is greatly enhanced and confirmed, and everything takes on a new perspective because the only source Joseph Smith claimed for the names was divinity, angelic intervention and ancient records made available and translated by divine design and purposes.

As usual, the name on the left is found in the Book of Mormon, those on the right are found in the ancient sources, mostly the Akkadian and Neo-Babylonian dictionaries.  While some names are also included in the Bible, they are included here because of the additional information about the individuals and the meanings of their names. 

ADAM:  ADAMATU, ADAMATU(M), ADAMUTU, ADAMDUNA, ADA(M)MU, ADAMMU, ADAMUMU, ADAMTU, ADAMUM (ADAMUKKU,

ADAM is mentioned in Genesis 2:29, as the first human  being and the progenitor of the human race. In Genesis l, man was made on the Sixth day of the Creation. The second chapter of Genesis tells about the creation of man in more detail and that God created man from the dust of the ground (meaning the elements of this earth) . (Mandel p. 24) The Book of Abraham provides some important  detail, where a correction of earlier texts was made in the 1981 edition and notes when the right to the priesthood  was provided Adam:  "...even that right of the firstborn, or first man, who is Adam, or first father, through the fathers unto me [Abraham]."  (Abraham l:3)  Adam was therefore nurtured as a spirit being in the spirit world and was "born" on this world. To whom? Mother and Father in heaven? Adam is called the firstborn on this earth.  He was the first man, the first father. This absolutely eliminates the idea of a precursor of man on earth and the HUMAN RACE of a pre-Adamic man of any sort, regardless of the paleontological record.  Wouldn't his body at birth have been immortal?  Apparently Mother and Father in heaven can give birth to an immortal man, and Father can sire an immortal  'only begotten son', and Adam can initiate mortal man and a mortal world by partaking of the fruit of a certain tree. Christ does not create mortal worlds, he creates immortal worlds and each Adam and Eve placed on each world by partaking of the forbidden fruit bring about the change to a mortal world and mortal conditions. (TC) As a geologist and a geochemist, I really thrill at the implications of all of this. (See my CD on ADAM) The name Adam was certainly associated with the Adamic language the family of Adam communicated by. "The etymology of the word "Adam" connects this name with Adamah, Ground or Soil, and with Adom, Red.  This suggests that Adam was formed from red soil or clay." (Mandel p. 24) In Hebrew the name means, MAN. (Ibid) The Akkadian dictionary confirms aspects of this etymology in its first entry of words having the prefix Adam, ADAMA and ADAMATU, which means red blood, a dark colored bodily discharge. The word ADAMA in the jungbabylonisch is  a medical term for Blood.  (Radner p. 4)

The ancient word, Adamatu(m), refers to a plant with a red blossom, or dark red earth used as a dye. (Radner p. 24)  Over a ten year period of surveying for Anasazi  Indian ruins on the  Kaibab Plateau and Saddle Mountain Wilderness, and mapping more than 1700 sites, my brother and I had realized early on that the ancient native Americans preferred a southeast orientation of their sites and red sand or earth.  By looking for red sand or earth on benches facing to the southeast we would make most of our finds. What was it in their ancient history that made them prefer a red earth area to live on?  Was there something in their ancient historical background about a link or ceremonial attachment to red earth, a Hebrew of Egyptian connection?  Or both?  Abraham recorded some interesting things that get little notice. "The land of Egypt being first discovered by a women, who was the daughter of Ham, and the daughter of Egyptus, which in Chaldean signifies Egypt...when the women discovered the land it was under water, who afterwards settle her sons in it...Now the first government of Egypt was established by Pharaoh, the eldest son of Egyptus...and it was after the manner of the government of Ham, which was patriarchal.  Pharaoh, being a righteous man, established his kingdom and judged his people wisely and justly."  (Abraham l:23-26)  Commenting on this Nibley points out "how the lady come from Canaan...to find the land still under water, the slaughter of mankind in its final stages...for the ritual she orders red ochre to be mixed with beer, 'looking out to cover the earth to a depth of four spans...assisted by her handmaidens, she tread the red beer mash and brews a 'victory-drink of beer, and blood'...or make red pomegranate wine to celebrate the completion of her task. Beer mixed with ochre concludes the great debacle of the flood: 'it was the blood of mankind.'" (Nibley pp. 194, 154) For the Native American "the color red represent the Indian Nation, not necessarily because of the sun's kiss upon their skins, but because of their use of the sacred red paint for special occasions. "generally all Indians seem to hold their own native copper skin in special affection, and heighten it with vermillion when it does not seem to them sufficiently red'...because they painted themselves with this color, the Europeans labeled the Indians  'Red Men.' And red was the color for the deceased. Mayans entombed their dead in caves painted red. The Tarascans and Zapotecs of Mesoamerica painted the bones of their deceased red... Legend has it that the woman who discovered the land of Egypt painted the land red."  Cryer p. 151) The Hopi, with whom we had a lot of interaction, remember a homeland they call Palatkwa, 'Red Place'." (Cryer p. 151)  "We know that the heavens, or 'father sky' above, is white, blue or black, depending on when we look at it while 'mother earth'  below is assigned the color adamah or red." (Ibid p. 150)

There is an Old Akkadian word ada(m)mu, also meaning 'red'.  In Boghazkoy, no doubt recovered from tablets from Mari, there it is used in reference to 'red (blood); red (garment)' and in a lexical context it is a synonym for 'important person'." (Black  p. 4)  Outside of divine beings, who is more important than Adam.  The Akkadian dictionary also lists adammu,  in a lexical and  literary context it is used to designate a mythical being. (Black p. 4)  By then, except in certain circles, such as those around Abraham, Adam had no doubt become a mythical being. The archaeological record indicates so much had been lost. Under the entry: adamtu, with the varients, adamu and adammu, there is no meaning given to the word as is appears in the jungbabylonisch. (Black p. 4) However, many years later, in New Assyrian, the name adammu has the meaning of 'conflict or battle'.  On a tablet from Mari, a conquest of Sargon's, the name adamum is found, meaning 'to be engaged' as in a business matter. And finally, the word adammumu came to have the meaning of a 'wasp'. (Black p. 4)  In the Neo-Assyrian dictionaries, years later, there was only one entry so far recovered from the thousands of tablets excavated: Adamu, and the meaning of that name or word was 'Human Being'. (Radner p. 42) Adam was truly the first Human being.  A thousand years later, Hebrew gave the meaning for the name Adam, as 'Man,' "The etymology of the word "Adam," connects this name with ADAMAH, Ground or Soil, and also with ADOM, Red. This suggests that Adam was formed from red soil or clay." (Mandel p. 24) Somehow or another these explanations were transmitted down into Native American traditions and understanding.

"And the first man of all men have I called Adam, which is many." (Moses l:34; 3:7; 6:45, Abra. l:3; l Ne 5:22, D&C 84:16)  "That is, Adam was placed on earth as the first of the human family and given a name which signifies many as pertaining to the greatness of the posterity which should flow from him." (McConkie p. 16) "Our knowledge about Adam and the exalted station held by him in the eternal providences of the Almighty, begins with an understanding of his pre-existent work and mission., By his diligence and obedience there, as one of the spirit sons of God, he attained a stature and power second only to that of Christ, the Firstborn. None of the billions of our Father's children equaled him in intelligence and might, save Jesus only. He sat in the council of the gods in the planning of the creation of the earth, and then, under Christ, participated in the creative enterprise...when Lucifer and one-third of the hosts of heaven rebelled, Adam (with the exalted title of Michael the Archangel) led the hosts of the righteous in the war in heaven.” ( Rev 12:79; McConkie p. 16)  "The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that Michael spoken of in the bible (Dan. 10:13; Jude 1:9, Rev. 12:7) is Adam. In his pre-mortal life, Adam received the priesthood (TPJS, p. 147) ,[and] was taught the plan of God (TPJS, p. 167). "  (Bailey p. 15)  Adam was the father of mankind and was the facilitator of the Fall (2Ne. 2:19-26; Mosiah 3:11, 16; Alma 12:22-23; 424:5; Hel l14:16; Morm.  9:12). (Largey p 27)  The Language of Adam was pure and undefiled. (Moses 6:5-6) Brigham Young taught that it continued from Adam to Babel. (JD 3:100; Gen. 11:l-9)      

ADAM appears twice in the Jardite record of Ether l:3-4. In the Akkadian dictionary the name Adam,  appears at least in ten variations as a prefix with more than ten suffix variations. It is not difficult to assume that the Adamic language was widespread and in use prior to and with some peoples, such as the Jaredites,  immediately after the flood.  It was soon after the flood that the Lord took umbrage with the effort to build the tower of Babel and confounded the language of the people and scattered them abroad in the land.  Bur, Jared asked his brother, who was highly favored of the Lord to: "Cry unto the Lord, that he will not confound us that we may not understand our words...the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord, and the Lord had compassion upon Jared; therefore he did not confound the language of Jared; and Jared and his brother were not confounded...then Jared said unto his brother: Cry again unto the Lord...he will turn away his anger form them who are  our friends...that he confound not their language...the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord and the Lord had compassion and...friends...and families...were not confounded." (Ether l:33-37) So, it was, the Adamic language spoken of by Jared, his brother, their families, and friends and their families was not confounded, but they were scattered "to a land that is choice above all the earth." (Ether l:38) It appears that the Jaredites,  Jared's family and families of Friends, preserved the Adamic language in their immigration to the new world. (Ether 1:33-43; 3:24-48)  The great vision of the brother of Jared was in the Adamic language, linguistically inaccessible without divine interpretive help, since "the language which ye shall write,  I (God) have confounded."  (Ether 3:21) The prophet Ezra Taft Benson, alluded to its   possible universal reinstatement to resolve linguistic diversity. (Robertson pp. 18-19)  Does the prophet Zephaniah in 4:9 refer to the future use of the Adamic language when he says: "I will turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord.?"  It would appear because of their requests that the Jaredites were not happy with the  political and cultural environment in which they lived at that time. The Book of Ether is one of the oldest ancient records that is available that refers to Adam.  Reference is made to the establishment of  the foundations of Adam-ondi-Ahman in D&C 78:15,  and the righteous in the Valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman,  where just three years before his death Adam bestowed his last blessings on his families (D&C 107:53). .. because said he, it is the place where Adam shall come to visit is people, or the Ancient of Days [Adam] shall sit, as spoken of by Daniel the prophet.  (D&C 116:1) ...and the mountains of Adam-ondi-Ahman,...come up to the land of Adam-ondi-Ahman D&C 117:11)

"In May of 1838 Joseph Smith led surveyors to a horseshoe bend of the Grand River seventy       miles north of...Kansas City and proclaimed a new community...named Adam-ondi-Ahman...'it is the place where Adam shall come to visit his people'...Orson Pratt interpreted the name to mean 'Valley of God where Adam dwelt.' (JD 28:343) ...The Garden of Eden was located in Jackson County, Missouri...after Adam was expelled from the garden, he went north to Adam-ondi-Ahman...three years before Adam's death, he gathered the righteous of his posterity...[there] and bestowed upon them his last blessing  [which Enoch recorded and where] a future meeting of the Lord with Adam and Saints...four latter day saint families [were]...living there...the population of the two square mile [area]...increased to 400...another 600 scattered throughout Daviess County...viewed  Adam-ondi-Ahman as their capital city...the third stake of the Church was organized there...hostilities erupted in August...but no battle ensured...[and] in September...[and] in October...the ...population swelled to...a thousand...confinement in tents and wagons and a sudden snowstorm added to their miseries...during October...Joseph Smith pointed out a location where Adam had once built an altar...identified the same site as one that had also been used by early American Indians...After...October...plundering and burnings by mobs and retaliatory actions by the...Saints...the militia forced them to surrender their arms on November 7 1838...gave them ten days to move to Far West...Adam-ondi-Ahman was abandoned and fell into the hands of non-Mormon settlers...Church families...expelled from the state in the spring of 1839...their land was offered for sale by the U.S. Government...residents purchased the improved land...John Cravens purchased most of the central area of the city of Adam-ondi-Ahman and renamed the town Cravensville. The town existed for 32 years...but after 1871 the land was returned to farming and grazing. In 1944 Wilford C. Wood purchased thirty eight acres at Adam-ondi-Ahman for the Church and an additional 3,000 acres have since been purchased [including the temple site that had been dedicated there]." (Barrett pp. 19-20)  This is "From where Noah had sailed his ark  to Palestine during the Flood." (Brooke  p. 199) At my last visit there, there was a sign showing where the temple site was located and foundations of  some of the old town houses were still visible, and new access had been prepared to areas of interest. A final accounting of stewardships by all leaders of all dispensations will be given at this place prior to the second coming of the Lord. Here, Joseph Smith will give his last testimony. (D&C 88:88-89)    

AGOSH:   AGA, AGAG, AGEE, AGUR

AGOSH  a place name, (Ether 14:15-16) the site of a great battle during the last wars of the Jaredites. Lib pursued Coriamtumr and his people to the plains of AGOSH, where Coriantumr gave battle to Lib. Lib was killed by Coriamtumer, but Lib's brother, Shiz, continued the battle until Coriantumr fled. (Largey p. 31)  The place name AGOSH has the prefix AG and possibly AGA.  The Akkadian dictionary has the words and prefixes AG and AGA. The prefix AGA can be feminine or masculine, so AGOSH, being a place name could be feminine as most place names are. Later in history, the Neo-Babylonian meaning for this prefix was: 'this', suggesting 'this' as being 'the place', a 'place' or 'this is it', whatever 'it' was. (Black p. 5)  There are more than 30 words and names with variants also listed in the Akkadian Dictionary. (Black pp. 5-6)  In the Neo-Assyrian or Neo-Babylonian dictionaries, the word AGAIA, with the AGA prefix has no meaning.  Words and names in that same source are identified as being West Semitic, and a strange double use of the prefix, AGArAGAr  (Agaragara), may not be Semitic, but Agargarutu, a language  found on Kassite tablets at Nippur, the meaning still unknown. (Radner  p. 55) It is little details like this that emphasize that these prefixes, words and names are real. How could Joseph Smith have conjured up such detail out of the blue.  AGOSH is a Jaredite word,  used at a time when many such words and names were included, with the prefix AG,  in the ancient Akkadian vocabulary. Some  names persisted though even though languages changed and the people were scattered, the Jaredites among them.

 More than a thousand years later, the prefix AGA appears in the bible; AGABUS. a divinely inspired prophet of Jerusalem, informed the Church at Antioch of an impending famine. The famine actually did take place during the reign of Claudius. Later AGABUS warned the divinely converted Paul that the Jews would have him arrested by the Romans if he returned to Jerusalem. Paul returned, and yes he got arrested, and you know the rest of the story. The name AGABUS, is however, Greek, and is considered to mean 'locust'.  (Gardner p. 31)  In the Old Testament, the prefix AGA occurs in the name AGAG, also with uncertain meaning. In one of his oracles, Balaam, prophesied that the king of Israel could be "higher than AGAG", but it is not clear whether or not this AGAG  refers to the specific name of an Amalekite king, or is the generic title of the kings of Amalek about 1300 BC. (Numbers 24:21)  Two hundred years later during the time of Samuel the Prophet, another king,  AGAG,  the king of the Amalekites, was defeated by King Saul who spared his life, contrary to the command of God that all the Amalekites be destroyed for having fought against Moses and the people of Israel. Samuel the Prophet told Saul he regretted having made him king. Samuel went to Gilgal and demanded AGAG should be brought to him.  Samuel reproached the King for having made so many women childless by killing their men folk with his sword. Samuel then took a sword and cut AGAG in pieces. The incident caused a complete rupture between Samuel and Saul and they never saw each other again. Saul strayed away, depended on the Witch of Endor for advice and was killed in battle. The rest of the story is also interesting. (l Samuel 15:8)  Also, in the Book of Esther mention is made of Haman who wished to exterminate the Persian Jews.  He was a descendent of AGAG. (Esther 9:24; Mandel p. 28)  And you remember Esther's story and what happened to Haman, he was the one who suffered death!  In the Old Testament there is another name, AGEE,  that has the AG prefix.  Again, the meaning is unknown.  AGEE is mentioned in 2 Samuel 23:11, about the eleventh century BC,  the father of Shammah, a brave warrior in King David's army, who heroically stood his ground, when all others had fled during a battle with the Philistines, and turned a rout into a great victory.  (Mendel p. 28)  And in Proverbs 30:1, there is AGUR, "meaning 'gathered', the son of Jakey, spoke a series of proverbs that appear in Proverbs 30." (Mandel pp. 228-29)  Both of these names have the prefix AG with an evident ancient history.

PART 4 will continue the study of names found in the ancient Akkadian and Neo-Babylonian dictionaries that confirm that names in the Book of Mormon are real.

                                                            BIBLIOGRAPHY

ANDREWS, Anthony P., First Cities, St Remy Press, Smithsonian Books, Wash. DC, 1995

BAILEY, Arthur A., in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol. 1,  Macmillan  Publishing Company,  New York, 1992

BARRETT, Lamar C., in Encyclopedia of Mormonism Vol. 1, Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, 1992

BLACK, Jeremy, A Concise Dictionary if Akkadian, Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden, 2000

BROOKE, John L., The Refiners Fire, Cambridge University Press, New York, 1994 

CANNON, Donald Q., & Larry E. Dahl, The Prophet Joseph Smith's King Follett Discource, Religious Studies Center,  Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, 1978

CHADWICK, Robert, First Civilizations, Equinox, London, 2005

CHIERA, Edward, They Wrote on Clay, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1938

CRYER, Tom, The Visual Testament and the Israelite Indian, Tom Cryer

GARDNER, Joseph L., Who's Who in the Bible, Readers Digest, 1994

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