INTRODUCTION
JOSEPH SMITH TRANSMITTER AND TRANSLATOR
Most still desire to know more about the Book of Mormon coming forth and how it was translated. Upon Hyrum's suggesting that his brother, the prophet Joseph Smith, disclose such information to a group of assembled elders, Joseph told his brother that it was not intended to tell the world all the particulars of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. It was not expedient for him to relate these things. (History of the church l:220) Joseph was always reluctant to provide details. The marvelous work and a wonder of Isaiah 29:14 has come to pass. The past 180 years testify to that. But we might ask some of the participants and observers of the translation for whatever they can provide. Joseph Smith worked by the "gift" and "power of God" amid numerous interruptions, bitter persecutions, and the "most strenuous exertions of others to steal the actual plates from him." (D&C 1:29; 135:3; Joseph Smith-History l:69; Maxwell p. 59) "Joseph sometimes saw words (such as names of people and places) and at other times received thoughts, making Joseph Smith both a transmitter and a translator." (Largey p. 159)
DAVID WHITMER.
David Whitmer indicated that by Joseph using the divine instrumentalities "the hieroglyphics would appear, and also the translation in the English language...in bright luminous letters", and Joseph would read the words to Oliver. (Maxwell p. 64.) David also mentioned the Prophet's spelling out loud unfamiliar names, for which there is evidence on the original manuscript itself. (Maxwell p. 67) Emma said the same thing. The spelling out loud of unfamiliar names and places is exceedingly important, because in any other format, comparison to the many Semitic languages of the Middle and Near East could not be made.
MARTIN HARRIS
Martin Harris related of the Seer Stone, "sentences would appear and were read by the Prophet and written by Martin." (Maxwell p. 64) Martin said that a blanket was hung between the scribe and Joseph. (Maxell p. 67) But this may have applied to only when he and Joseph were working on the first 116 pages.
OLIVER COWDERY
Oliver Cowdery, who was one really close to the process, involved daily as a scribe, and himself allowed to try his hand at translating, but he failed to perform, (D&C 9:5-7) testified in court that the Urim and Thummim enabled Joseph "to read in English, the reformed Egyptian characters, which were engraved on the plates." (Maxwell p. 64) "Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated, with the Urim and Thummin, or, as the Nephites [would] have said, 'Interpreters.'" (Baugh p. 38) Oliver, in this attempt to translate may have had a brief access to the plates and the instruments, but was not spiritually and personally up to the task. Oliver said "I wrote with my own pen the entire Book of Mormon (save a few pages) as it fell from the lips of the prophet ." (Maxwell p. 68)
"If by means of these divine instrumentalities the Prophet was "seeing" ancient words rendered in English and then "dictating," Joseph was not simultaneously and constantly scrutinizing the characters on the actual plates-the usual translating process of going "back and forth" between pondering an ancient text and providing modern rendering. The revelatory process was more crucial than the constant presence of opened plates, which by instruction were to be kept from the view of unauthorized eyes." (Maxwell p. 65)
ORSON PRATT
Orson said Joseph told him that he used the Urim and Thummim when he was inexperienced at translation, but later did not need it. This was certainly the case when he worked on the Inspired Translation of the Old and New Testaments. Joseph's capabilities grew as alternately he involved the Urim and Thimmim and the Seer Stone, eventually he did not need either of them. (Maxwell p. 65) The Seer Stone was in the personal safe of President Joseph Fielding Smith. At his death the contents of the safe were willed to the First Presidency. It was brown in color, not very large. I learned of this in 1974 not long after the death of President Smith.
EMMA SMITH
Emma was the first to act as a scribe, she said of the inspired process: "When returning from meals, or after interruptions, Joseph would at once begin where he had left off, without either seeing the manuscript or having any portion of it read [back] to him." (Maxell p. 67) None of those working with the prophet were aware of any reference materials being present. Emma was emphatic on this very point. "He had neither manuscript nor book to read from. If he had had anything of the kind he could not have concealed it from me." She does mention the Prophet's spelling out loud unfamiliar names. Emma said of her days as scribe, early on, that Joseph dictated "hour after hour with nothing between us." (Maxwell pp. 67) "...the plates often lay on the table without any attempt of concealment, wrapped in a small linen table cloth, which I had given him...once she felt the plates as they lay on the table, tracing their outline and shape. They seemed to be pliable like thick paper, and would rustle with a metalic [sic] sound when the edges were moved by the thumb." (Largey p. 158)
ELIZABETH ANNE WHITMER COWDERY
Elizabeth, Oliver's wife whom he married four years after going to be scribe to Joseph, (Baugh p. 33) with whom he may have discussed the experience he had the nearly three months he was scribe to the prophet, said "Joseph never had a curtain drawn between him and his scribe." (Maxell p. 67) The blanket hung to separate the translator and the scribe may have been only during the scribal activity with Martin Harris.
THE TRANSLATION
Joseph obtained the plates the 22 Sept. 1827; in Dec. 1827 he moved to Harmony where most of the translation would take place. During the winter of 1827-1828 his wife Emma served as his first scribe. They would sit side by side and she would write as he dictated. They started with the Book of Lehi. From April to June of 1828 Martin Harris served as a scribe, they finished 116 pages, mostly of the Book of Lehi DOWN TO THE REIGN OF KING BENJAMIN WHERE THE CURRENT BOOK OF MOSIAH BEGINS. (Words of Mormon 1:2) In June 1828 the 116 pages were stolen and lost, Joseph had the plates and Urim and Thummium taken from him, they were given back in August (D&C 3) and translation began again in September 1828 where Joseph and Martin had broken off. During the winter of 1828 to 1829, Emma Smith, Reuben Hale, her brother, and Samuel H. Smith, brother of Joseph, served as scribes, but at a very slow place. Reuben and Samuel did not leave any record that has been found yet as to their experience. On April 7, 1829 Oliver Cowdery, with a special witness of the Book of Mormon, arrived to be scribe to Joseph, they started immediately keeping up the sequence already in progress and continued until the end of May when mob activity forced them to move to the Whitmer Farm in Fayette in June where the translation continued, perhaps with the help of others in the Whitmer family, until finished the book, then Joseph and Oliver began work on l Nephi...that means the first six books of the Book of Mormon, were translated last. These were the small plates of Nephi. (Largey p. 158) Near the middle of the month they seemed to have finished or nearly so because on June 11 Joseph applied for a copyright on the Book of Mormon. By March of the following year the Book of Mormon was published. (Largey pp. 158-159)
In 1829 while translating at an average rate of seven to ten printed pages a day, for the 69 to 85 days Oliver and Joseph were engaged in the work, could Joseph or Oliver fully or immediately comprehend all the powerful, deep and enhancing doctrines that were passing through them? Alma 7:11-12, represents one of the most powerful additions to our understanding of Jesus' suffering and of His atonement and how His empathy for each one of us is perfect and very personal! Jesus understood the full range of human suffering, in 1829 did Joseph? And Joseph was encountering for the first time the doctrines of God's foreknowledge, man's pre-mortal existence, God's use of foreordination, the character of Satan, angelic messengers, doctrine of predestination, priesthood powers, epical migrations, accurate history and geography, knowledge of the Holy Ghost and especially the Father, and of course 337 unique names? These were, along with a whole book of others, profound insights which Joseph, and not even the best of us, could have fully or immediately comprehended. And strange as it may seem, the Book of Mormon cannot be exhausted. It is a mysterious book, the insights go on and on. (Van Orden p. vi-vii) Teaching the gospel doctrine class for more than 44 years took me through the Book of Mormon 20 or 30 times and many books about it, at each reading I learned something new.
THE NAMES
As in earlier studies, the Book of Mormon name or names, are given on the left side, then those names that are found to be related in some way, similiar, or carrying the dominant prefix, in the Akkadian Dictionary, are given on the right.
AMMARON: AMMAR, AMMARKARRA, AMMARTU, AMMARTU (2) AMMARANI
AMMARON
AMMARON first appears in 4 Nephi 1:47. He was one of the last great Nephite record keepers, maintaining the sacred records of the Nephites, beginning about 306 AD, in a century of great decline and destruction. He also was the one who hid all the Nephite records for safekeeping in a hill called Shim, (4 Nephi 1:47-49; Largey pp. 721-722) later called Cumorah . He was the great-grandson of Nephi, leader of the twelve Christ called and ordained when he visited the Nephites at Bountiful and who was translated. Nephi, his brother and a son were translated and became the Three Nephites. AMMARON was an illustrious historian. AMMARON's grandfather, also called Nephi, and his father, Amos, as well as a brother also called Amos, all served as record keepers and all were sources for what Mormon compiled in 4 Nephi. (Largey p. 47) His family for generations had access to all the records and all of them added to those records. His parents would have selected an appropriate name when he was born, taken either from the Brass Plates or the Jaredite records. AMMARON's name may even have been in both records. There is no way Joseph Smith could have made up this name. It was a joy to work on this name and find the elements of the name in ancient records. The shock of finding AMMAR at the first glance on page 15 of the Akkadian Dictionary was really testimony inspiring.
AMMARON was that great perceptive record keeper who instructed a ten-year old boy whom he knew would compile all the records and synthesize them into what in the last days would be a book named after him: The Book of Mormon. AMMARON had instructed the boy Mormon who would be appointed, at a very young age. to serve as commander of the armies of the Nephites and perhaps saw into the future the great final battles when Mormon would be wounded, healed and then killed by the Lamanites, but not until after he had turned the records and responsibilities over to a son, MORONI, who would eventually, himself, be killed by Lamanites in a personal battle. (Peterson p. 77) But not until after he buried the abridgements he and his father had prepared at a place where he had carried the plates of gold. There 1400 years later the resurrected MORONI would give the plates to the Great Joseph, after four years of instruction, who was prepared before the world was, (Alma 13; D&C 136) to take the record and establish, under Christ, the Church. That church would take the message of the ancient records to all the world as the winding up scenes prepared for this world unfold and the assignments to the world completed. AMMARON told Mormon To get the PLATES of NEPHI when he was about twenty-four years old and to continue the history. (Mormon l:2-3; 2:17; 4:23) MORMON was a zealous keeper of the records. I wouldn't be writing this sentence if he had not obeyed.
The name AMMARON is a complex name, rich in Semitic elements that are true ancient words and names. In the name there are six elements: AM, AMM, AMMA, AMMAR, AR and the suffix -ON. The suffix element -ON, in the name AMMAR-ON, is ancient Semitic and found in early Egyptian, it was discussed in PART 5 of this series in relationship with Joseph and Asenath and her father Poti-Pherah, High Priest of On. The other four elements are ALL found in the AKKADIAN DICTIONARY, They have great antiquity. The element AM found in the Akkadian Dictionary (Black p. 13), means : "to me" and has been discussed earlier in this series. The prefix AM- is found in Hebrew in 19 names. (Mandel pp. 44-54) There are more than 126 names and words with additional variations in the Neo-Assyrian lists. (Radner pp. 97-109). The element AMM-, is a prefix found in five Book of Mormon names, each discussed separately elsewhere in this series. AMM is the Moon God of ancient Mesopotamia and was discussed in detail in PART 6 of this series. There are more than 25 names with this element in the Neo-Assyrian lists. (Radner pp. 102-106) And there are 8 names in the Hebrew from the Tanakh. (Mandel pp. 50-51) The other three elements AMMA, AMMAR and AR, especially AMMAR are old genuine WORDS and NAMES and are found in Akkadian sources. These elements were transmitted in names and words through most of the Semitic languages down to the time Lehi left Jerusalem. There would have been a significant challenge for authenticity of the Book of Mormon has these elements not been included. A series of studies are planned for the names in the Book of Mormon that are found to be present in the Neo-Assyrian lists in six volumes prepared by the University of Helsinki. Details on names and words from that source will not be included in this study which is essentially identifying names and words present in the Akkadian Sources. The newly available Hebrew Dictionary will also be included in the future studies.
AMMA is OLD AKKADIAN and means ''look!; lo!", it is used for emphasis, and has five variations as given in the AKKADIAN DICTIONARY. (Black p. 15) AMMAR is AKKADIAN and means "as much as" , (Black p. 15) but in this element is an older element MAR! It is a contraction of AMMAR, meaning "as much as." (Black p. 197; 15) In the Neo-Assyrian lists there is the element AMAR which means "Chosen" such as in the name AMAR-ILI, meaning "chosen of the God Elohim" or "chosen of Elohim." It is also listed as Akkadian in origin. In my library, after completing Part 5 of this series, I noticed I had a book that also contained a section on SUMERIAN PERSONAL NAMES. There are enough parallels in Ancient Sumerian to justify a separate series of studies. These names are of the greatest antiquity in the region. On page 65 of that source is the name AMAR-SIN. AMAR found in the Book of Mormon name AMMARON was discussed earlier. In the SUMERIAN lists, the suffix "-ON" an Egyptian name, is replaced by the name of the Sumerian moon god "-SIN" who also goes by the name AMM also discussed in PART 5. In Sumerian the name AMAR-SIN means "(The) godis (a) hero/warrior," or "chosen of the God Sin." (Di Vito p. 65) The presence of AMAR in ancient SUMERIAN, gives great antiquity to the some Book of Mormon names and places.
The assertion that the records included in the Book of Mormon were written in reformed Egyptian suggests that we look into the ancient Egyptian dictionaries for parallels in Southern Semitic and Southwest Semitic, under which Egyptian is listed (Weiss p. 39) So, referring to the Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary by the famous Egyptologist, E.A.Wallis Budge, we find AMAR, meaning "like." (Budge p. 50) This shouldn't surprise us, there is divine guidance to the names in the Book of Mormon. Its absence from the Egyptian sources would have surprised us.
ELOHIM
"El, as the Hebrew word for God, or Divine Being, is used in various Hebrew word combinations to identify Deity and to reveal particular things about him. Thus El Elyon means the Highest God, the Possessor or Creator of heaven and earth.(Gen 14:19) El Shaddai signifies God Almighty (Gen 17:1) El Elohe Ysrael is the God of Israel. (Gen 33:20) Elohim is the plural of the Cannanite El or Hebrew Eloah...the Prophet pointed out...in the Beginning the head of the Gods brought forth the Gods," and they created the heavens and the earth. ( Teachings pp. 370-371.) ...Elohim...is used as the exalted name title of God the Eternal Father....he being God above all Gods." (McConkie p. 207) Anciently the suffixes or endings that referred to deity in some form or other were an abbreviation or hypocoristicon, of the god, in various languages the abbreviation for Elohim or the Divine Being, literally the Highest, was El, Ili, as used above, and other variations.
TIME PERIODS FOR NAMES AND WORDS
DI Vito who prepared the SUMMERIAN PERSONAL NAMES lists, has also separated occurrence of names and their onomasticon constructions and identified five certain time periods (SEE CHART) the oldest being (1) Early Dynasty (archaic Ur) into which the above names and others are identified, (Di Vito p. 23), then (2) FARA, into which AMAR-SIN falls (de Vito p. 65), then (3) PRE-SARGONIC before Naram-Sin, (grandson of Sargon). The Jaredites were gone. Then (4) SARGONIC, time of Naram-Sin who had destroyed EBLA 2250 BC; SAR-KALI-SARRI and later SARGONIC) and (5) UR 111. (Di Vito p. 20) No. 5 is the period of time in which Abraham lived in UR. So all the other four preceded Abraham who was born about 2052 BC. It was in UR where Abraham received "a knowledge of the beginning of the creation, and also of the planets and the stars, as they were made known unto the fathers." (Abraham l:31; Hunter 1, p. 78; Hunter 2, pp. 88-91) . By the time Abraham was born the Jaredites had left the region more than 300 years earlier. The first three divisions, especially l and 2, would predate the spread of AKKADIAN language which was mostly to the north of UR. Ur was in ancient Sumer. So some names in the book of Mormon are of great antiquity and quite likely were in the earlier portions of the Brass Plates and/or Jaredite Records. Joseph Smith could not have known about any of this nor could he have kept everything straight. It is the internal continuity and connections of threads of the ancient Semitic languages, that almost baffles present day students, that hangs together so beautifully by the "translations" of an equally baffling abridgements and compilations by Mormon and Moroni. When Moroni translated the Book of Ether, he laid the foundation for all of the above and wherever the above would lead, it could have been the death Nell to the Book of Mormon, if the names and words were fiction, instead it is one of the firmest of foundations.
AMMARKARRA
AMMARKARRA is in the Akkadian Dictionary, it is found in Neo-Babylonian and Old Persian sources and means "accountant." (Black p. 15)
AMMARTU AND VARIATONS
AMMARTU (1)also found in the Akkadian Dictionary has a feminine ending or suffix -TU, and is the designation of a goddess, it means in Akkadian, "overseer of people" found in jungbablonisch, or young- Babylonian. (Black p. 15)
AMMARTU (2), means "eaglet" and reflects the antiquity of the prefix AMMAR- in ancient Sumerian and would have been found in use in ancient UR. Again showing the continuity and linkages mentioned above. (Black p. 15)
AMMARU (1)
This name, while in the Akkadian Dictionary, has a suffix of' 'U' which would be a name or word modifier, but in the dictionary a meaning is not given, but is also found in the discoveries at another site in the Middle East, Nuzi. Nuzi will be the subject of a future entry. (Black p. 15)
AMMARU (2)
The suffix in this second usage in the Dictionary the meaning of this abbreviated form is "overseer", but it is the feminine form without divinity being involved or gender. (Black p. 15)
The -ON suffix, or ending, has been discussed above and in PART 5 of this series, it is also an authentic Hebrew suffix characteristic of a Hebrew hypocoristicon (abbreviation, nick name), usually dropping a theophoric name component, and was found frequently in the old world, common in the discoveries at MURASU. (Coogan p. 112)
AMMON, AMMONITE, AMMONIHAH, AMMONIHAHITE: AMMATU (M), AMMATU 11, AMMATU 111, AMMI, AMMIDAKKUM, AMMINANNA, AMMINI(M) AMMISA(M), AMMIU(M), AMMU(M) 1, AMMIU(M)111, AMMU(M), AMMU 11, AMMURI, AMMUSMU
The name AMMON has a distinctive prefix AMM-, in part discussed earlier, and a suffix -ON, also discussed earlier. The prefix is found in more than fifteen names in the Akkadian Dictionary. These are as listed above , but there are some variations to many of them.
The name AMMON first appears in the Book of Mormon in 2 Nephi 21:14, (550 BC) where in a text from Chapter 11 of Isaiah reference is made to the people of AMMON, of Edom and Moab, who shall be in servitude to the children of Ephraim and Judah. In Hebrew, the name means "tribal, inbred'' (Mandel p. 51), because of his origin. (Number 21:24) In the 19th century BC his mother, the youngest daughter of LOT, nephew of Abraham, called him Ben-Ammi [AMMON]. He was born of the incestuous union of LOT and his younger daughter (Genesis 19:38). He was the ancestor of the AMMONITES, constant enemies of the Israelites. Their capital, Rabbath Ammon, is called today AMMAN, the Capital of Jordan. (Mandel p. 51) In Hebrew, the names AMMANI, AMMON AND AMMAN are interchangeable. But the name AMMON, with the elements of a prefix AMM- and a suffix of -ON can be traced back four or five hundred years earlier, into the time of the Akkadians. The partial prefix AM-, the moon God, has been discussed above and in PART 5. The suffix -ON, the sanctuary of the High Priest of On, has also been previously discussed.
AMMON is the most frequent proper name in the Book of Mormon. Most of these are listed by Shapiro. (Shapiro pp. 40-41) The name is also a theophoric name of Egypt, the great universal God of the Egyptian empire, also the commonest Egyptian name, (Amon, Amun). (Nibley p. 25; Budge pp. 51-54) Clearly the name reflects the Egyptian influence on the Nephites, and while briefly discussed in early web site entries, a future study of Egyptian names will also entertain this connection as there are two Egyptian dictionaries in my library. But because of its antiquity it may have also been in the brass plates which would have had more details of the life of LOT, and in the Jaredite records, because the prefix of AM- is also in the Sumerian Dictionary, in Dynasty III of Ur, before and about the time of Abraham, where the meaning is given as "hero/warrior", (Di Vito p. 65) The Sumerian sources will be discussed as a separate study in the future.
AMMON is one of the important individuals in the Book of Mormon taking up a lot of Mosiah and Alma. AMMON was one of the four sons of Mosiah (Mosiah 27:34). Once numbered among the unbelievers, he sought secretly to destroy the Church (Mosiah 27:8-10) . In the Midst of Ammon's rebellion, an angel appeared to him, his brothers and Alma, which resulted in their sincere and effective repentance (Mosiah 27:11-12), suffering much agony of soul. In part because of their conviction of truth of the gospel and to repair the damage they he and the others began a long missionary commitment. (Mosiah 27:35) As a courageous and devoted man, AMMON served for at least 14 years as leader among the missionaries (Alma 17:18). About 121 BC he was sent by Mosiah as a leader of an expedition from Zarahemla to the land of Lehi-Nephi to ascertain the fate of Nephite colonists (Mosiah 7:1-5) where he met his companions Almaleki, Helem and Hem, and with them were captured and imprisoned by king Limhi. The conversion of Limhi and his people along with the later conversion of Lamoni and his queen, are among the great stories in the Book of Mormon, but more importantly are the immense doctrinal messages and principles woven into the account of this great man. Moroni testified that it was AMMON's faith that "wrought so great a miracle among the Lamanites." (Ether 12:15; Mosiah 28:2; Alma 23:5) Mormon called him a man of God for he was protected, led, and taught by God. His teachings were from the sacred Nephite records and the "holy scriptures", from the Creation to the Redemption (Alma 18:36, 39). His life was a model for modern effective missionary work. From him we learn the meaning and source of true joy (Alma 19:12-14; 27:17-19) For details of this descendant of Zarahemla (Mosiah 7:3) and his life see the accounts in Largey and Price, listed in the Bibliography.
AMMONITE
The Anti-Nephite-Lehies were the people of AMMON. Ammonites, the name given to thousands of Lamanites from seven Lamanite lands and cities (Alma 23:8-113) who were converted to the. Lord through the efforts of AMMON and his fellow missionaries. The Anti-Nephite-Lehies were utterly firm in their testimony and afterwards "never did fall away" from the truth (Alma 23:6) They refused to take up arms against their brethren and would not even make any preparations for war. (Alma 24:6) "they were firm , and would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin; and thus we see that they buried their weapons of peace, or they buried the weapons of war, for peace." (Alma 24:19) (See the six Part series, On the HOPI and THEY BURIED THEIR WEAPONS, 18 May 2009 to 7 Jan 2010) The Hopi Indians have the traditions that their ancestors buried their weapons, their ancestors would not fight, rather they knelt down and let themselves be killed.)
After a murderous attack by Lamanites, apostate Amalekites and Amulonites, where the Ammonites preferred to die and not defend themselves, so mortified the attackers that more than a thousand of them threw down their arms and joined them. (Alma 24:21-26) The AMMONITES while they would not fight provided substantial support to the Nephite armies. (Alma 27:4-9) The wars became so bad that the AMMONITES would have broken their oath in order to assist the Nephites but were dissuaded by Helaman not to do so, rather 2000 of their sons (Alma 53:22; 57:6, 19-20, 25) and sixty others who joined them later, (Alma 57:12) formed a valiant force. These sons, who had not taken the oath, joined in the battles with Helaman as their leader (Alma 56: 10, 17, about 64 BC), enabling their parents to keep their sacred oath (Alma 53:10-22) and fought many battles and though wounded, none of them perished as their mothers who had taught them were promised. (Alma 53:20-22; 57:26-27) By the power of God they were victorious. The name ANTI-NEPHI-LEHI, meaning "those of Nephi and Lehi" which those who buried their weapons and those who joined them later, took upon themselves after their conversion, later they were called the people of AMMON, or AMMONITES. (Largey p. 68)
AMMONIAH
AMMONIAH, the place name for a great city whose inhabitants boasted that "God could not destroy, because of its greatness." Yet the city suffered complete annihilation in a single day at the hands of the Lamanites (Alma 9:4; 16:9-10 about 81 BC). The city was near the City of Noah, it was three days journey from Melek and bordered on the west by wilderness. The land and the city were named after their first possessor, of whom the record is silent. (Alma 8:7; Largey p. 50) The city was the fourth and most difficult Alma encountered on his journey to strengthen the Church and reconvert apostate Nephites. (Alma 8:16) He left the city only to be turned back by an angel and guided to Amulek who became a close companion. (Alma 9:2, 6; 10:12) After the verbal duel with Zeezrom, Alma and Amulek were bound, tried, and abused, and were forced to witness the martyrdom by fire of women and children. (Alma 14:8) God delivered them from imprisonment and the city was destroyed by the Lamanites. The stench of the city was so great it was left barren for many years, and was called the Desolation of Nehors. Ten years later, captain Moroni rebuilt and fortified the city so completely that the Lamanites were astonished and withdrew. (Alma 49:4-9) The city's significance is measured by the important doctrines taught there: Accountability for light and knowledge (Alma 9) resurrection details (Alma 11), the judgment, fall of Adam and Eve, purpose of life, plan of redemption (Alma 12), verification of other truths taught in the Book of Mormon, that deliverance comes through faith in Jesus Christ. (Alma 14:25-29) God's wrath, warnings, (Alma 10:23; 14:7-8; 16:3), martyrs are celestial, (Alma 14:11) weights and measures, (Alma 11:4-10, See web site article on Weights and Measures) and especially priesthood and foreordination in the pre-mortal world (Alma 13). (Largey pp. 50 -51) The ending or suffix of -IAH, is the abbreviation or hypocoristicon for Jehovah, so the name may have meant "My God, Jehovah, is a hero/warrior,"
AMMONIHAHITES
This is the name given to apostate Nephites living in the city of AMMONIHAH, which bordered the land of Zarahemla. It was west of the River Sidon. (Alma 8:6) In fulfillment of prophecy, "every living soul of the AMMONIHAHITES was destroyed along with the city." (Alma 16:9) Don't mock God.
AKKADIAN NAMES AND WORDS with the AMM- element:
AMMATU(M) meaning "forearm; cubit, linear measure."
AMMATU 11, meaning "strong, stable, synonym for "earth.
AMMATU 111, synonym for "mother", the feminine ending in this word.
AMMATU IV, Ugaritic, meaning unknown.
AMMI, old Akkadian for: "there."
AMMIDAKKUM, in metal treatment, "lye"
AMMINANNA, meaning "why now."
AMMINI(M), meaning "why?"
AMMISA(M), meaning "there thither."
AMMIU(M), meaning "that."
AMMU(M), meaning "people" in west Semitic.
AMMU, a name of the Tigris River in jungBabylonian.
AMMURI, meaning "at that time."
AMMUSMU, meaning "a storehouse."
The above listed words and names are found in the Akkadian dictionary. (Black p. 15)
The element AMM, discussed above and in other entries of this series is found abundantly in the Book of Mormon names and place names, it is also abundant in Akkadian words and names. Also note the mimation, the use of "m", is common to Jaredite Names. The Egyptians used "n" and the vowel "o" consistently. These observations further confirm the Book of Mormon was not fiction, the names were not conjured up out of thin air. It is absolutely remarkable that these details stand out so prominently. PART 8 will continue the search for Book of Mormon names in Ancient Akkadian resources.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BLACK, Jeremy, Andrew George, Nicholas Postgate, A Concise Dictionary of Akkadian, Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden, 2000
BUDGE, E.A. ]Wallace, Vol. l A-Kha, An Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary, Frederick Ugar Publishing Co., New York, 1920
COOGAN, Michael D., West Semitic Personal Names in Murasu Documents, Edwards Brothers, Inc., Ann Arbor, 1976
DI VITO, Robert A., Studies in Third Millennium Sumerian and Akkadian Personal Names , Editrice Pontificio Istituto Biblico, Roma, 1993
HUNTER, Milton R., 1, The Gospel Through the ages, Deseret Book Co., Salt Lake City, 1958 2. Pearl of Great Price Commentary, Deseret Book Co., Salt Lake City, 1948
LARGEY, Dennis L., ED. Book of Mormon Reference Companion, Deseret Book Co., Salt Lake City, Utah, 2003
MANDEL, David, Who's Who in Tanakh, Ariel Books, Tel Aviv, Israel, 2004
MAXWELL, Neal, A., Lord Increase Our Faith, Bookcraft, Salt Lake City, Utah 1993
McCONKIE, Bruce, R., Mormon Doctrine, Bookcraft, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1958
NIBLEY, Hugh, Vol. 5, Lehi In the Desert, The World of The Jaredites. There Were Jaredites, Deseret Book Company Salt Lake City, Utah FARMS, Provo, Utah
PETERSON, H. Donl, Moroni, Ancient Prophet, Modern Messenger, Horizon Publishers, Inc., Bountiful, Utah, 1983
PRICE, Lynn F., Every Person in the Book of Mormon, Horizon Publishers and Distributors, Bountiful, Utah, 1995
RADNER, Karen, The Prosopography of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, Vol I. Part I. A. University of Helsinki, Finland, 1998
SHAPIRO, R. Gary, An Exhaustive Concordance of the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price. Hawkes Pub. Co., Salt Lake City, Utah 1977
VAN ORDEN, Bruce A. & Brent L. Top, Ed. Doctrines of the Book of Mormon, Deseret Book Co., Salt Lake City, Utah 1992