INTRODUCTION
Hugh Nibley would surely have liked to have lived another twenty years. His earlier excursions into names found limited resources to access, which he used to great advantage in interpreting Book of Mormon topics, historical and particularly names. The many resources now being used were not available to him. It had been our understanding when my son Ty turned over the research he had accumulated on the names in the Book of Mormon to FARMS, a couple of decades ago, that an interested party was then working on the names and could make use of the manuscript. Nothing happened. Later we learned that the Jewish scholar who had worked on a translation of the Book of Mormon for President Kimball, was going to attempt such an enterprise. But it never happened. At this time there may very well be someone deeply involved in preparing a scholarly study of Book of Mormon names. If so, it is not generally known. So in 2005, the present studies were undertaken and initiated by the establishment of a web site by one of my daughters and her son, as a vehicle for such studies to be made public, but again no one in the past years seems to have decided to seriously pursue trying to find Book of Mormon names in ancient sources. While I find the pursuit highly stimulating, a treatment, in depth, will still need to be done by a specialist in Semitic languages. I am accumulating a library for whomever that person may be, and having joy in submitting my findings to interested parties.
Logically, since the Jaredites seem to have originated somewhere near the Tower of Babel, it was thought that initial search could be productive by the analysis of discoveries made in ancient Mesopotamia with the Akkadian Empire leading the list. Hundreds of sites have yielded thousands of tablets that in general were left sitting in boxes in museums, some in sacks that eventually turned to dust. Several decades ago, with the Middle Eastern in turmoil and instability with on-going wars, excavators found it desirable to re-examine their archives since going in to the field for digging was often not feasible. So many started publishing inscriptions, archive collections and translating and compiling dictionaries of ancient peoples and their Empires, discoveries, which recently have resulted in dictionaries in English of many languages, Hittite, Akkadian, Neo-Assyrian, Assyrian, Amorite, Phoenician, Uralic, Persian, Egyptian-Coptic, Hebrew, Sumerian, et al. It looked attractive to tackle these one by one with present emphasis on the Akkadian dictionary with frequent use of the Neo-Assyrian dictionaries.
The idea of creating a concise and relatively inexpensive Akkadian-English dictionary was conceived in 1989 by Nicholas Postgate. From the start it was obvious it would be based on the Akkadisches Handworterbuch (AHw) by W. von Doden. From the start Jeremy Black and Andrew George agreed to collaborate and to take advantage of the Chicago Assyrian Dictionary (CAD) , which is now about complete. My last volume is Vol. 12, P. When I have the complete dictionary set I intend to work through it for parallels to Book of Mormon names. The work of Black and George, took a long time during which the complete text was subjected to various editorial and typographical refinements as well as philological revisions and corrections and then made available in 2000. As my web site illustrates I was using resources from various recent publications of archaeological excavations that had sections in them on Names. These proved very productive, but it became evident, studying a dictionary would be even more so. And so it is that in the study of Akkadian names we are now in PART 5 of the series on the Akkadian Dictionary that has so far turned out to be full of treasures; providing a great deal of information, so far only in the 'A's of the alphabetical list provided in the Book of Mormon.
AKKADIAN is unusual among Semitic languages in that our modern dictionaries are arranged alphabetically word by word, instead of by roots. There are too many foreign imports from languages which do not share the Semitic word structure, such as Sumerian, (BLACK pp. viii-xiv) and even older archaic forms as those from Uruk III/Jemdet-Nasr periods, (Monaco p. ix) and too many words cannot be confidently identified, so Black's Akkadian dictionary has followed the practice of AHw and CAD, and it is turning out to be a thrilling source of parallels to Book of Mormon names and the prosopography personal data provides a sense of Jaredite times, a long, long time ago, and far, far away.
THE NAMES
Emphasis is nearly always mine.
AMARON: AMAR(GIRIM)HILIBU, AMARIDU, AMARIS, AMARTU(M), AMARTU, AMARU, AMRU(M), AMARUM
There are important ramifications in the name AMARON. The name first appears in the Book of Mormon in Omni about 361 BC. The Book of OMNI is the final book recorded on the small plates of Nephi, written by a series of five record keepers, Omni, his son AMARON, CHEMISH , another son of Omni, and Abinadom a grandson, and Amaleki a great grandson. AMARON was a Nephite record keeper who received the vital Small Plates of Nephi from his father OMNI and eventually conferred them upon his brother CHEMISH. AMARON observed the judgments of God upon wicked Nephites who had been destroyed. His short contribution was his testimony that the Lord would not suffer that the words should not be verified, which he spake unto our fathers, saying: "Inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall not prosper in the land" (Omni l:4-8; Largey p. 46) And they didn't!
There are those who think the name AMARON may have Hebrew derivations. "Assuming that the suffix --on is an affirmative ending alternating with the -om (cf. Gershom-Gershon), the name could mean; "eloquent," deriving from the Biblical Hebrew consonant construction mr, "to speak"...Equally, the name could mean "worship''...from the Hebrew omri or Arabic mr, "to worship" or "to live." (Carlton p. 8) But earlier than the Arabic Semitic element mr is the Phoenician element mr, which is a Divine title. In Aramaic the prefix element mr is in mar, "Lord," a title of deity. (Benz p. 353) See the Phoenician studies in this web site.
The element AMAR- is ancient. Quite a number of names are found in Sumerian sources with the prefix AMAR, which means "faithful, hero, warrior". (De Vito 45, 66) It appears in the name AMARIAH, some consider it of Hebrew origin because of the hypocoristicon -IAH or abbreviation for Jehovah added as a suffix on the end of the name to give the meaning "GOD SAID", where AMAR- means "SAID" and the abbreviation or hypocoristicon -IAH means "GOD" or Jehovah. (Mandel p. 47). AMARIAH is the only name in the Hebrew Tanakh with the element AMAR-. There are seven other names in the Tanakh with the element AMA- which vary in meaning depending on the suffix. (Mandel pp. 46-48) However, in the usage of the name in the Tanakh, the Jewish Holy Scriptures, there are at least nine references to persons with the name AMARIAH, the oldest of these occurrences is in the 11th century BC, nearly 1200 years after the Akkadian Empire was established, where a person named AMARIAH was the son of the priest Meraioth and grandfather of Zadok, King David's High Priest. (1 Chronicles 6:37; Mandel p. 47)) "A large portion of the Book of Mormon names end in -iah and -iliah, [the hypocoristicon or abbreviation for Jehovah]. The name ending is peculiar to Palestinian names of Lehi's time but not so prevalent other times." (Nibley p. 282) So, Omni, to name a son AMARON, could have obtained the name from the Brass Plates which includes a more complete version of the Tanakh. But, as noted, the name can be tracked back much earlier than that. The main point is that AMAR is a genuine ancient Semitic name, and the suffix -ON, is a genuine Egyptian place name; it is another name for the great temple city of HELOPOLIS. (Nibley p. 603)
In the superb dictionary known as The Prosopography of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, in Volume 1, Part 1, A, which followed close in time to the Akkadian Empire, and includes many Akkadian names, we find the name AMAR, referred to as being AKKADIAN, having the meaning of "chosen", and in that dictionary is the name AMAR-ASSOR, meaning "chosen of God". There are four such names: AMAR-ILI, "chosen of the god", also AKKADIAN or WEST SEMITIC, "The God (El) has said" . (Black p. 98) Note above where Hebrew, much later on, reflected the use of AMAR as meaning SAID. There is also the name AMAR-ISSAR, meaning "chosen of Istar" [ISSOR], a name Black indicates as being AKKADIAN; and the name AMAR-MARDUK, meaning "chosen of Marduk" [Marduk is an Assyrian God]. (Black p. 98) Black also includes a female with the name AMAR-USA, with a feminine ending. (Black p. 98) Probably the name means "a chosen female". In the Neo-Assyrian sources there are many names beginning with the AM- element, (Black pp. 98-109) where it is very common as it is in Egyptian.
Huffman has also pointed out that names beginning with AM- were found on tablets from ancient MARI, and were derived from the word, HAM (father in law) or even the Qatabanian god AMM, one of the kingdoms of southern Arabia before 1000 BC. (Huffman p. 166). There are 18 names in the Book of Mormon beginning with the prefix AM-. The consonant construct AMR is found among Amorite personal names also at Mari and means "to speak or command". (Huffman p. 168) Compare the meaning with that above with the meaning of "said". The finds at MARI have been the subject of a study in this web site. As noted, and future studies will provide more detail, many Egyptian names begin with AM- as well.
To return to Akkadian sources we find the prefix AMAR- in a number of names dating to about the time the various City States had been conquered by Sargon and his grandson to establish the Akkadian Empire. The prefix occurs in the Akkadian name AMAR(GRIM)ILIBU, meaning "a stone", the Akkadian dictionary suggests it even may trace back to Sumerian times, at or before 2500 BC.. (Black p. 14) In the Akkadian dictionary, there are eight names with the prefix AMAR-: AMARIDU, which is Babylonian for a spiny plant; AMARIS, meaning "strange" to look at, in jungbabylonisch (JB); AMARTU(M), Neo-Babylonian for a "partition wall", with the (m) ending, showing mimation, which was common for that period of time and in Jaredite name; AMARTU, meaning "a measure"; AMARU(M), a pile of rocks, or "to see", again showing a suffix or ending of names or words with an m; AMARU, with the meaning of "side wall" or "of bed". Black p. 14) Mimation was current in the Semitic dialects of Palestine and Syria between 2100 and 1800 BC but was dropped a few centuries later. (Nibley 2, p. 288) Mimation was quite prevalent in Akkadian names and times as well as in Jaredite times and names. The Jaredites never went back after leaving the Mesopotamian region, therefore they were unaware of the naming changes occurring in the Fatherland, and retained mimation in their names in the western hemisphere until their fatal internecine wars led to self-destruction just before 130 BC. (Largey p. 436). So the use as a prefix of the name AMAR was common in Ancient Akkad and during Neo-Assyrian times and then transmitted down through various Semitic lines, until the name AMARON was given to a son by OMNI, who added ending of -ON. That suffix ending is most interesting. OMNI had a very clear reason in naming his sons as he did.
THE TEMPLE CITY OF ON
The suffix '-on' ending of the name AMAR-ON takes us on an interesting journey. A long, long time ago and far, far away, there was an important religious center in Egypt about 1780 BC, shortly before the time of the HYKSOS, descendants of Shem, who had made a conquest of Egypt and ruled Egypt before or about the time Joseph was sold by his bothers into slavery. The capital of Lower Egypt was East of the Nile, a little North of Memphis; in ancient documents it was also known as HELIOPOLIS, but it was also known as ON (Nibley 3, 603) and at times as BETH SHEMISH, "house of the sun". [Note the parallel of SHEMISH to the name CHEMISH, brother of AMARON] (Young p. 715) Living in ON was a very beautiful and virtuous young women, the Daughter of Poti-Pherah, priest of ON. Her father had taught her well in religious doctrines and blessed her. ON, or HELIOPOLIS, or BETH SHEMISH, was the temple city and capital of Lower Egypt. Nephi writes: "...my father, Lehi, also found upon the plates of brass genealogy of his father's; wherefore he knew that he was a descendent of Joseph; yea even that Joseph who was the son of Jacob, who was sold into Egypt, and who was preserved by the hand of the Lord, that he might preserve his father; Jacob, and all his household from perishing with famine. (l Nephi 5:14-16) Lehi's family would have known the details surrounding Joseph who was sold into Egypt and the genealogy of their fathers back to Adam. From the enlarged book of Genesis contained in the Brass Plates, they would have known the full story. They would have known from that genealogy that Poti-Pherah, the priest of ON, was a great ancestor and his record would go back to Shem and then to Adam. (Alma 37:5) Omni, keeper of the records, when naming his sons would also have had all this knowledge, and gave his sons significant names: AMARON, and CHEMISH. Most readers of the Book of Mormon miss the importance of these names, both are connected to names by which the ancient city of Heliopolis was known, names for the temple city of ON, where an ancestor was the Priest of On, the father of a very important ancestor, the Mother of Ephraim!
For the internal consistency of the Book of Mormon it is desirable to recognize that OMNI linked his sons to that ancient city by using two names ON and SHEMISH, (CHEMISH) for their names. Many Book of Mormon names are repeated names of heroes, or well known ancestors, but in the case of OMNI, he gave his two sons, place names of important places that figured in their ancestral history. Had it taken a conquest by HYKSOS of Egypt to get POTI-PHERAH into ON or Heliopolis, and it would be more than nice to know about the life of that Priest who was the father of a daughter who would be the mother of one of the most important man ever to be born on earth. All descendants of Ephraim, meaning most of the Latter Day Saints, will have this ancestry So let's dig a little deeper. I know of no one who has concerned themselves with this important history.
POTI-PHERAH AND ASENATH
There is still considerable debate on events in Egypt around 1788-1800 BC when Shepherd Kings or Princes conquered northern Egypt and gradually expanded their rule. (Posener, pp. 133-135) They seem to have come out of the central Palestine regions and may have been related to Shem. Probably their initial period of rule included the time of Joseph's presence in Egypt.
Sometime during the eighteenth century BC, Poti-Pherah, who may have been a descendant of Shem, was the powerful High Priest of On, and close in power to the Pharaoh of Egypt, had summoned his daughter ASENATH. He knew she would be devastated by what he had to tell her. She had in blessings and prayers been promised, if she would live worthily, she would marry a noble and virtuous man. She had lived her life with that expectation in her mind and heart. Pharaoh had no daughters, in the Hierarchy of the Court of Pharaoh, the next family in line with an eligible daughter who could be given in marriage was Poti-Pherah's. So, Pharaoh promised the daughter of Poti-Pherah in marriage to a man he had elevated to power second only to his own, because that man had convinced Pharaoh he was a dream interpreter. The man had just been released from 12 years in prison for an alleged charge of assaulting with the intent to do sexual harm to the wife of Potiphar, a high steward and military commander, in fact, he was the captain of Pharaoh's guard who had bought the man as a slave, and had fully trusted him with his whole house, only to have his wife come screaming to him that slave had tried to attack her. (Genesis 37:23-28; 39:1-20a; Anderson pp. 214,217-219) You know the rest of the story?
"All of Egypt --its land, its people, its vineyards, its livestock--was considered to be Pharaoh's property." (Payne p. 36) This seems to not have been the case during the early years of the Hyksos rule, because Joseph, the rescued slave, acquired, during the famine period he bought all the land for Pharaoh. (Genesis 47:20; Anderson p. 240)
PHARAOH'S COURT
Poti-Pherah had been ordered by Pharaoh to bring his daughter to Pharaoh's court for presentation to the former slave to be his wife. Pharaoh could not be refused! His daughter was devastated. She kept weeping and pleading with her father- but, but the blessings? the promises? Alone in her room she was so wrought that when looking out of the window at the Nile River, quietly flowing by, she became so distraught that in a fury of despair she contemplated throwing herself out the window. But! But! Was there something, something trying to pierce her desperate fears and dashed dreams? With great reluctance she made her preparations for her ordered appearance with her father in Pharaoh's court. The court was spectacular, the glint of gold and precious stones everywhere. Pharaoh, stiff on his throne with the symbols in each hand of the power over the lower and upper lands of Egypt and the diadems of power on his head, regally commanded the court. Poti-Pherah brought his trembling daughter forward to introduce her to the former prison inmate and slave who she must marry. The former slave was dressed in a brilliant seamless white garment like one someone else would wear, way in the future. Around his neck was a massive gold chain, the symbol of great power, and Pharaoh's own signet ring was on his finger, the symbol of power second only to Pharaoh. The garment was slightly open and she could see another garment beneath, her breath caught in her breast. Why would he wear a second garment? Did she dare recognize it as one like her father wore? The kind of garment only a priest could wear and only one who held power and ...priesthood! Close now to the man she was reluctantly being forced to marry, she looked into eyes that only a pure and powerful man could possess. He was the most virtuous man on earth at the time! He was the First Great Joseph, she could marry no greater man, her blessings and the promises would come true! She was to bear him at least two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And her son Ephraim would be given the birth right to the twelve tribes because of the adultery of Ruben, and Manasseh would replace Dan, and for centuries descendants of her two sons would occupy the western hemisphere of the world and generate most of the Book of Mormon, and in the last days would provide the Prophets and men of priesthood and virtuous women to convert and prepare the world for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Asenath and Joseph had found each other -foreordained from eternity. God did not lose track of their genealogies, or whatever it took to get them together.
My oldest son, Ranel, had a very spiritual experience with this episode in the life of Joseph, so much so, he named one of his own daughters, ASENATH . For details of this long ago event one can go to the teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his translation of the Book of Genesis. This was one of the great and significant events in religious history: "37. And Joseph's counsel was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. 38. And Pharaoh said unto his servants, "Can we find any other man such as this one is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?" 39. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph. "Since God has shown you all these things, there is no one as discerning and as wise as you are. 40. "You shall be over my household and according unto your word all my people shall be ruled; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you are."41. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph. "See, I have placed you over all the land of Egypt." 42. And Pharaoh took off his ring from his finger and put it upon Joseph's finger and arrayed him with robes of fine linen, and placed a gold chain around his neck. 43. And Pharaoh made Joseph ride in his second chariot; and they cried before him. "Bow your knees." And Pharaoh made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. 44. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph. I am Pharaoh and without your consent no man shall lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. 45. And Pharaoh called Joseph's name, Zaphnath-paaneah (meaning "Savior of the Age'): and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of ON, as his wife. And Joseph travelled all over all the land of Egypt. 46. And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king Egypt..." (Genesis JST 41:37-46; Anderson p. 224) Joseph had been sold when he was 17 years old, bought as a slave by Potipher, courtier of Pharaoh and served him for one year. He had been in prison for 12 years. Joseph was 30 years old when he became second in authority over Egypt. (Shulman p. 32) Imagine an Egyptian prison about 1700 BC,
EPHRAIM AND THE BIRTHRIGHT OF THE TEN TRIBES
Some years later when, due to famines, Joseph had been reunited in Egypt with his father Jacob and his brothers: "1...it was told to Joseph, saying, "Behold, your father is sick." And Joseph took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim with him.2. And it was told to Jacob, saying "Look and behold, your son Joseph is coming to see you. " And Israel gathered his strength and sat upon the bed...5. "And now of your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born unto you in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, behold, they are mine, and the God of my father's shall bless them...6a..."and shall be called after the name of their brothers in their inheritance in the tribes; therefore they were called the tribes of Manasseh and of Ephraim." (Genesis 48:l-6) ...9. And Joseph said unto his father "They are my sons, whom God has gave me in this land. And Israel said, "Please bring them unto me and I will bless them." 10. Now the eye of Israel were weakened with age so that he could not see well. And he brought them near him and he kissed them and embraced them. 11. And Israel said to Joseph I had not expected to see your face; and now God has shown me your children also". 12. And Joseph removed them from Israel's knees...13. And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim with his right hand facing Israel's left hand and Manasseh with his left hand facing Israel's right hand and brought them near him. 14. And Israel reached out his right hand and laid it upon the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand upon the head of Manasseh, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn...17. And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim. It displeased him; and he held up his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. 18. And Joseph said unto his father, "Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn; put your right hand upon his head." 19. But his father refused and said, "I know my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations." 20. And he blessed both of them that day, saying, "In these shall the house of Israel be blessed". And he also said, "May God make thee, O house of Israel, like Ephraim and like Manasseh." And he placed Ephraim ahead of Manasseh. 21. And Israel said unto Joseph "Behold, I am about to die, but God shall be with you and bring you again to the land of your fathers. 22. Moreover I have given to you one more portion than your brothers of that which was taken out of the hands of the Amorites with sword and with Bow." (Genesis 48:12- 21) The dying Jacob then called all of his sons for a final blessing. To Joseph he added: "Joseph is a fruitful bough even a fruitful bough by a well, who branches run over the wall." (Genesis 49:22) Joseph would be fruitful and his posterity would go over the ocean wall (Nephites) and throughout the everlasting hills. (Anderson p. 246) By the blessing given by Jacob to his grandson Ephraim, he had appointed Ephraim the first-born of the twelve tribes. Manasseh was appointed as a tribe, but Dan, on the northern edge of the land of inheritance in Israel and interfacing with the Amorites, was lost through apostasy. In the City of Dan, the golden calves were placed, the city became a religious center of the worship of the golden calves and Dan's people would not turn to Jerusalem as the center of their religious life. (Mandel p. 103) Manasseh replaced Dan as a tribe. So, without Dan, there were still just 12 tribes. Just before he died, Jacob prophetically had described his fifth son, Dan, the son of Rachel, as "a serpent by the road, an adder in the path, that bites the horses heels, so that their riders shall fall back ward in the way," (JST Gen. 49:17; Anderson p. 245) ) There is no inheritance for Dan and his people in the last days. Dan is not listed among the tribes of those who were sealed. (Rev. 7:2-8) Dan has lost his inheritance but why is not clear. (Judges 18; Jeremiah 8:16; Amos 8:11-14; McConkie p. 494) Remnants of Dan, however, have joined the church and will enjoy all the Abrahamic blessings.
THE BIRTHRIGHT TO EPHRIAM
Although Reuben was the Firstborn of the sons of Jacob he lost his birthright. "28. Now Reuben was the firstborn of Israel; but since he defiled his father's bed [With Bilhah one of Jacob's four wives, the maid Laban had given to Rachel] his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel. (Mandel p. 444) And the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birth-right. ..28c. For Judah prevailed over his brethren and of him came the chief ruler; [Christ] but the birthright was Joseph's." (JST Genesis 49:28; Anderson p. 246-247) "1. Now... Reuben the first-born of Israel, (for he was the first-born; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his birth-right was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel; and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birth-right. 2. For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; [Christ] but the birth-right was Joseph's. (JST l Chronicles 5:1-2) This shift of the rights and role of the firstborn to Ephraim was confirmed by the Prophet Jeremiah who speaking prophetically of the return of the Ten Tribes stated: "8. Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together; a great company shall return thither. 9. They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them; I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, where they shall not stumble; for I am a father to Israel and Ephraim is my first-born." (Jeremiah 31:8-9; D&C 133:34-35)
Most of the above would have been known to Omni (Alma 37:3) so when he named one of his sons AMARON he did so to memorialize and honor the history and genealogy of his ancestors. He named his other son CHEMISH, because it also was another name, Beth Shemish, for the temple city of ON, or HELIOPOLIS, (Nibley 3, 603) again for profound historical and genealogical reasons that will be discussed in a future study in this series when the study of names reaches the C's.
AMGID, GID: GIDDAGIDDU, GIDIMDUHUM, GIDIMMU, GIDIMMU (2), GIDLU(M), GIDMU. GIDU(M)
The name AMGID first appears in the Book of Mormon in Ether 10:32. He was a king of the Jaredites but was not a descendant of Jared. The king list and list of descendants of Jared have been assembled by Largey. (Largey p. 431) "30. King Hearthom reigned twenty and four years, when the kingdom was taken from him and he was placed in captivity the rest of his life. 31. And he begat Heth, and Heth lived in captivity all his days, and Heth begat Aaron, and Aaron dwelt in captivity all his days; and he begat AMNIGADDAN, and AMNIGADDAN [note the double 'd's] also dwelt in captivity all his days; and he begat Coriantum, and Coriantum dwelt in captivity all his days; and he begat Com. 32. And it came to pass that Com drew away the half of the kingdom. And he reigned over the half of the kingdom forty and two years; and he went to battle again the king AMGID, and they fought for the space of many years, during which time Com gained power over AMGID and obtained power over the remainder of the kingdom.: (Ether 10:30-32) Com became righteous, he listened to the prophets who came to him for protection, he died a good old age, his son Shiblom reigned next, but Shiblom's brother rebelled and caused that all the prophets should be killed.(Ether 11:2-5) It was a dark period for the Jaredites. Com is listed as the 21st descendent of Jared. AMGID just disappears from the record. He may have been a descendant of the brother of Jared, or from one of the families of the Jaredite colony, how he became king is not given in the record. The nature of the captivity of others mentioned may have been some kind of house arrest because many of those mentioned had families. (Ether 10:30-34; 11:1-6; Largey p. 431)
THE PREFIX AM-
AMGID reigned at a time when the Jaredite kingdom was divided. After many years of fighting with his rival, king Com, AMGID was deposed, and Com grained "Power over the remainder of the kingdom." (Ether 11:22)
There are 26 names in the Book of Mormon that begin with AM-, a prefix common in ancient Akkadian, Biblical, Phoenician, Neo-Assyrian, ancient Ebla and Mari, and especially Egyptian. Some Scholars have written that they believe the prefix AM- was derived from the word, HAM, (father in law), or the Gatabanian [Southern Arabia] god AMM -. (Huffman p. 166) The element, AM-, in the Akakdian dictionary means "to me" and in the form of AMA it may have considerable antiquity in ancient Sumerian. (Black p. 15) In the Akkadian dictionary there are more than 125 words and names that begin with AM. (Black pp. 13-16) These, of course are modified in meaning, by different suffixes appended to the prefix element AM-.
THE SUFFIX -GID
The suffix ending of the name AMGID, is GID. GID is also the place name of a city in Alma 51:26, and the name of an important military commander in Alma 57:29. In the Akkadian dictionary we find the name GIDDAGIDDA, [GID-DA-GID-A], a typical construct of a name for those times, which means an eye complaint. (Black p. 92) The suffix in this name is, DAGIDDA, with the name GID in the center of the suffix. In the dictionary the suffix does refer to a meaning that includes "to see, look"; something to do with the eye. (Black p. 53) This name may also have ancient roots in Sumerian as Black records the equivalent of a portion of the name, GIDDE, in Sumerian it would be BUDU, which in Neo-Babylonian could mean "a cake" but with the addition of mimation it makes it BUDU(M), you would then have, in Old Akkadian, "an implement", or a "shoulder" (of a human being), or even "Festival" as found on a tablet from ancient Mari. (Black p. 47) The name was frequently used and, modified by suffixes, and was transmitted down through time eventually to show up in Phoenician as BODI, meaning "by the hand of". (Benz p,. 283); and in Neo-Assyrian the name BUGIDDANU, is referred back to the ancient form of GIDGIDDANU. (Radner p. 150) Note the unusual use of an element that is doubled: GID GID. Some detractors have said Joseph Smith was getting pretty far out here because he had also introduced two other names with this very unusual doubled element: GIDGIDONAH, who was killed in the final battle at Cumorah. (Mormon 6:13) And GIDGIDDONI, (3 Nephi 3:18), these are two Nephite generals and have equivalents in Egyptian proper names and mean "Thoth hath said I shall live, and Thoth hath said: we shall live, respectively." (Nibley 1, p. 26) These two names are related to another Book of Mormon name, GIDONAH, the name the Phoenicians gave to one of their great coastal port cities: SIDON, probably very familiar to Lehi. He must have known the port city was really called GIDONAH, how else could that name get into the Book of Mormon. SIDON is the name the Nephites gave to a river that plays a great role in the Book of Mormon, no doubt named afater the port city they were familiar with, where it is referred to 37 times. (Alma 2:15) The name elements had gone full circle and was recorded in Neo-Assyrian with a meaning that was "based on a disease or deformation of the eyes." (Radner p. 422) But look in the Book of Mormon on page 533 and you have six names that knock your eyes out: GID, GIDDONAH, GIDDIANHI, GIDEON, GIDGIDDONAH, GIDGIDDONI, , two of those have the elements that are doubled: GID GID, DD, DD, with suffix endings that are sophisticated and important, almost a duplicate of the ancient form GIDGIDDANU, a disease or deformation of an eye. (Radner p. 422) There is also GIDAIA, a witness to a broken slave deal, date is lost. (Radner p.422) These are ancient names, and some derive from ancient Phoenician inscriptions that have been discussed in earlier studies of this web site, and will be discussed in additional detail when this series reaches the "G"s in the Book of Mormon. See, also, entries in this web site under the PHOENICIAN studies. When research starts on any given name in the Book of Mormon there is no telling where it will lead and just how much is imbedded in the names, Some are absolutely unique in the Book of Mormon, and to find them on clay tablets in Mesopotamia just blows the mind, but does wonders for the spirit! There is no way that these names and all the others could have been conjured up in less than the three months the Book of Mormon was composed and have the most intimate details substantiated by discoveries of little clay tablets and other inscriptions throughout, Turkey, Mesopotamia, Palestine, Egypt and other Middle and Near Eastern countries.
The other names in the Akkadian Dictionary related to this suffix include: GIDDAGIDDU; GIDIMIDUHUM, found on a tablet from Mari, but may trace back to ancient Sumerian, meaning "an alcoholic drink"; GIDIMMU 1, found also in jungbabylonish, meaning 'water scoop"; GIDIMMU 2, meaning "a bundle of reeds, also in jungbabylonish (early Babylonian) and also may be traced back to Sumerian; GIDLU(M) Babylonian and Neo-Assyrian meaning "plaited string", notice the mimation ending; GIDMU meaning "bunch, spray of dates", in Aramaic it is GIDIMMU; GIDU(M) meaning "sinew, gristle" in Babylonian, associated with chariot manufacture, it also has a mimation, -m, ending. (Black p. 92)
In the Tanakh, there are a number of names that have the GID- element. These include GIDDAKTI, (l Chro. 25:4) meaning 'I have made great'; the well known GIDEON, (Judges 6:11) meaning 'Warrior'; GIDDEL, (Esra 2:47) meaning 'Increased' and GIDEONI, meaning 'warlike'. The ancient name GID was therefore transmitted down to ancient Hebrew before 1200 BC, and continued in use to the time of Ezra a few hundred years BC. It is these complicated names the Book of Mormon contains that is such a marvel. It would take a book larger than Book of Mormon itself just to discuss the names, their origins and meanings and history. We will return with more information on the name GID and names with that element in them when we get to the 'G's' in the Book of Mormon name list.
For sites and cities mentioned, such as MARI, refer to the map provided in PART 4 of this series. PART 6 will continue this study of names of the Book of Mormon found in the ancient Akkadian Dictionary, and sources earlier, contemporary or following in time to the Akkadian.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ANDERSON, Todd G., Genesis Made Whole, Best Books Publishing, Provo, Utah, 1989
BENZ, Frank L., Personal Names in the Phoenician and Punic Inscriptions Biblical Institute Press, Rome, 1972
BLACK, Jeremy, Eds., Andrew George, Nicholas Postgate, A Concise Dictionary of Akkadian, Harrassovitz Verlag, Wiesbaden, Germany, 2000
CARLTON, JoAnn, John Welch, Possible Linguistic Roots of Certain Book of Mormon Proper Names, Foundation For Ancient Research & Mormon Studies, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah 1981
DI VITO, Robert A., Studies in Third Millennium Sumerian and Akkadian Personal Names, Editrice Pontificio Istituto Biblico, Rome 1993
HUFFMAN, Herbert, Amorite Personal Names in the Mari Texts, John Hopkins Press, Baltimore, 1965
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MANDEL, David, Who's Who in Tanakh, Ariel Books, Tel Aviv, Israel, 2004
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NIBLEY, Hugh, Vol. 5, Lehi in the Desert, The World of the Jaredites, There were Jaredites, FARMS,DeseretBookCo.,SaltLakeCity,Utah,1988
..............Vol. 6, An Approach to the Book of Mormon, Deseret Book Co., Salt Lake City, Utah, FARMS, Provo, Utah, 1988
..............Vol. 16, The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri, An Egyptian Endowment, FARMS, Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2005
PAYNE, Elizabeth, The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt, Random House, New York, 1964
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RADNER, Karen, The Prosopography of The Neo-Assyrian Empire, Vol. l/l A, University of Helsinki, Finland, 1998
...............The Prosopography of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, Vol. l/ll, B-G, University of Helsinki, Finland, 1999
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YOUNG, Robert, 22ed Analytical Concordance to the Bible, Funk & Wagnalls Co., N. Y. 1960