ANCIENT KANESH IN CENTRAL TURKEY

The first volume in a series of editions on Old Assyrian texts from Kultepe, (the modern name is Kayeri, the ancient name was Kanesh, also spelled Kanis, Kanish, or Kanes), is THE ASSUR-NADA ARCHIVE, Vol. 1. (Larsen p. xi)  Four additional volumes are being prepared on other archives from Kanesh, these include the archives of INBI-ISTAR,  PUSU-KEN, IMDI-ILUM, and PUZUR-ASSUR. (Larsen p. xi) When obtained the names in those archives will also be utilized and compared with the 337 unique names found in the Book of Mormon.  Even if the effort only finds one name in each archive, the effort will be worth it because that will confirm the Book of Mormon is an authentic ancient document and Joseph Smith did not conjure out of his imagination the unique names found in abundance in the Book of Mormon.  At first it was thought the Assur-nada Archive would supply very little, but the following study testifies how underestimated an archive can be.   

Most of the previous studies in this Web series concentrated on ancient cities and sites in Egypt and Mesopotamia. This study will deal with tablets found in Turkey at Kultepe, the site of an ancient Assyrian colony at Kanesh (as noted also spelled and referred to as Kanes, and Kanis).  These ancient texts, now housed in museums and collections all over the world, were dug up by local peasants and sold on the antiquities market in the period between ca. 1880 and 1948. The first actual archive found in place was in 1925 by Bedric Hrozny. Hrozny had tried desperately to trace down where looted tablets were coming from. They had been dug up from a large ruin area at the foot of the great City and Temple Mound of Kanesh, in a part of the surrounding area of the great City used just for traders. His initial excavation recovered 1000 tablets. To his great chagrin. while digging and finding these tablets local inhabitants kept supplying him with an additional four thousand tablets from their private little digs! (Veenhoff p. 859) It would be another 23 years before Turkey would step in and stop this clandestine flow of tablets. They would find earlier levels than the Assyrian traders.  About 2000 BC the Assyrian Kingdom, based in Assur, established this and other trade centers, to obtain and trade raw materials, especially metals. (Whitehouse p. 267)  The larger city mound had double fortification, enclosed palace complexes, public buildings, and temples.

MORE THAN TWENTY- FIVE THOUSAND TABLETS 

In going over lists of books received from time to time, it is the prompting of the Spirit that decides what publications to acquire. The thin yellow paper back book on THE ASSUR-NADA ARCHIVE was acquired through such a prompting, because it was purported to be an Old Assyrian archive, Vol. l  (Larsen, on the cover) The first cursory glance through the book was disappointing, it did not seem there was much there, it did not represent a great city archive and the personal name list was very short, so it was put back on the shelf where it stayed for a long time. Removed once again to glance through its pages did not stimulate a particular urge to get into it in depth. This reticence generated a little guilt, if the spirit had prompted its acquisition; surely it had significance not at first seen beyond the initial examinations of its content. So, almost reluctantly, it was taken from the shelf and looked at very carefully. It was amazing what was contained in the archive. Perhaps repentance is required for making light of a prompting from the Spirit who really knows the merits of all things.

This study takes us far to the north into Anatolia, to ancient Kanis in the center of modern Turkey. (See Map of Anatolia)  Kanesh, as it appears in most archaeological books, is an ancient city. "The fourth king of the dynasty of Akkad, a dominating power about 2400 BC, fought against a coalition of seventeen kings, among them kings of Hatti, Kanesh, and perhaps Puruskhanda. But history begins in Anatolia with the arrival on the plateau of Assyrian traders about 1900 BC, [including our Assur-nada or his father]." (Gurney p. 18) The people of Assur were familiar with the cuneiform script of Babylonia. "Clay tablets on which these Assyrian merchants inscribed their day-to-day business...have been found in large numbers at several sites, but chiefly at Kultepe, the ancient Kanesh, near Kayseri." (Gurney p. 18) King Anittas, ruler of northern mountain peoples, and his father after many struggles overcome all opposition, and Anittas transferred his residence to Kanesh where a dagger inscribed with his name has been found. The city became the capital, for a time, of the Hittite Empire. (Gurney p. 19)          

ANKARA UNIVERSITY EXCAVATIONS

In 1948 official Turkish excavations began under Tahsin Ozguc of Ankara University, on behalf of the Turkish Historical Society and the Directorate General of Antiquities. These excavations were so successful that they have continued to the present. (Veenhof p. 859) Two levels in the series of dated levels of the larger city yielded 15,000 tablets. (Whitehouse p. 267)  But the publishing process of more than 25, 000 tablets  found so far is only now getting started. The tablets are inscribed in Assyrian Cuneiform, and represent the earliest writing found until then in Anatolia. (Whitehouse p. 267) The texts found by the Turkish excavations will be published by the Turkish Historical Society. The digging after 1948 was carried out both on the large city mound of Kultepe, of more than 20 acres, as well as in lower city, called the Karum, of more than 10 acres, where those engaged in ancient trade had their houses and offices. (Larsen p. xi; Veenhof p. 859)  The ruins are eleven miles north of Kayseri. (See Map) Anciently the region was "called Cappadocia, hence their designations as ‘Cappadocian tablets', is still used." (Veenhof p. 859)  This present study will not deal with any of the discoveries after 1948.  Those later discoveries will be incorporated into future web site additions.  

THE ASSUR-NADA ARCHIVE

The tablets of Assur-nada stem from a private archive of several hundred tablets that was stored in a home used also as a business place with a separate room for records; inhabited by Assyrians traders, from the Assyrian capital city of Asshur (or Assur), 600 miles to the southeast in Ancient Assyria. (See Map) The home of the Assyrian Trader, Assur-nada, (Veenhof p. 861) was in the lower city that surrounded the city-mound of ancient Kanesh. (Larsen p. xii)  It was located in a commercial community called the Karum Kanes, or ‘the Kanes Port', where a quay was located, for importing tin and textiles, copper, gold and silver,  and many other commodities; all for the primary purpose of trading and exporting silver back to Assur. (Larsen p. xii)  Karum Kanesh was the ‘capital' of trade administration, with great economic power, provided the basis for settlements, a clearing house for debts and consignments, provided a court of law, and was backed by the main City. (Veenhof p. 867) The tablets attest to the far-flung and extensive trade that was involved, from all over Anatolia, to Armenia, Iran, through Mesopotamia to the Persian Gulf and on to India, to ancient Bactria and beyond to the gem fields of Afghanistan  and distant places in the Mediterranean and elsewhere; wherever the goods obtained could be traded for silver. "The transactions involved...were often of extraordinary complexity, but the end result was the procurement of silver...sent back to Assur...to be invested in new caravans." (Larsen xii)  The silver also accumulated as wealth in the religious centers of the Assyrian Empire.

THE CARAVANS 

The amount of weight involved probably did not require more than a few donkeys. (Larsen p. xxi) These would be included for security with other traders, to make up large caravans to penetrate the Taurus Mountains, the Syrian steppe, crossing the Euphrates and Tigres in both directions, and onto the Anatolian Plateau. (Larsen p. xii)  "A large group of Assyrian merchants were...permanently installed, not just at Kanes but in several other Anatolian cities, foremost among which were Durhamit and Burushaddum, [where smelting works were located dating back to before 2500 BC] the centers for production of copper and silver." (Larsen p. xiii)  "The texts from Kanes cover a period of 65 years," (Larsen p. xii) just a small window in time more than 4,500 years ago.  "Kanes was also the administrative center for the Assyrian presence in the foreign land." (Larsen p. xiii)  It was subordinated to the political powers in the Capital City; permitted and functioning under the city assembly. The responsible person was the eponym, or limmum, a member of the city assembly holding office for one year. "The Assyrian presence in northwestern Syria and Anatolia was based on a system of treaties with local rulers. Two such treaties were found in a house in Kanes in 2000 AD, one the name of the king of Kanes and one with the name of the ruler of Hahhum, a major town on the upper Eurphates." (Larsen p. xiii)  It appears that what we are dealing with is the archive of a family Firm, some 176 texts reflecting the activities of an Assyrian trader called Assur-nada whose house in Kanes originally held the tablets and records. (Larsen p. xv) Assur-nada seems to have died in Kanes, his son Iddin-Istar took over and continued the commercial activities with a close associate, if not family member, Adad-sululi, and moved relevant texts from the home archive to Adad-sululi's place. (Larsen p. xvii) 

Each donkey, the beast of burden in that area at that time, could carry 150 pounds. Textiles, a big item of trade, were 4.5 yards square and weighed 5 pounds, so a donkey could carry 30 of them. "Camels became prominent [years later] during the time of Ashurbanipal" (Saggs p. 219) Babylonian textiles and fleece were preferred and that region had a highly developed industry. Tin was one of the main products [used] to alloy with copper to make bronze; about 67.5 kilograms of tin could be carried by a donkey. In the Assyrian capital city of Assur one could buy fifteen shekels of tin for one shekel of silver and then resell it in Anatolia near the copper mines for nearly sixteen times what was paid to buy it.  It took one pound of tin for ten pounds of copper to make bronze. Bronze was the preferred metal for implements of war. On one occasion when tin was in short supply, and when outfitting for a caravan, a tablet requested 30 minas of silver (42 pounds) to pay for 672 pounds of tin, which when delivered to the smelting works at Barushaddum where it was to be sold for 480 minas of silver; nearly a sixteen to one increase. That shipment of tin would be alloyed with copper to produced 6792 pounds of bronze. (Larsen p. 27)  This would provide a lot of war implements of swords, broad head axes, spears, knives, etc. After all expenses the profit would be enormous.  A round trip to Assur took about 3 months. "A caravan going through foreign territory paid toll-charges to local officials and was then entitled to the use of wells [water supplies] and the protection of the local ruler." (Saggs p. 218) There were up to thirty way-stations along the route, but three to four months during the winter no caravans traveled. On the average, a trader could make 50 to 100 % net profit annually. (Veenhof p. 864)  No wonder Lehi the Merchant became rich. 

RULES OF TRADE

The traders were reimbursed for losses due to brigandage by paying an ‘insurance' deposit with the local ruler. The Assyrians seem somehow to have monopolized tin imports into Anatolia.  They administered a very efficient caravan system, a vast linked network, making themselves welcome in Anatolia. (Veenhof p. 865)  Treaties or ‘oaths' were standardized involving all of the rulers located in the domain of the trade activity. The local ruler was entitled to take 4 pounds from a metal load, and 5 percent of the textiles being imported. (Veenhof p. 866)  The rulers were thus getting up to about 5 % of the gross value of the caravan. Some excess goods for which a market was not immediately available, could be stored in a consignment warehouse, or type of open market, maintained by the rulers or trading community, and the overseer there could sell the items for market price when appropriate, or a price the trader stipulated as a minimum, and credit the trader accordingly. The trader would indicate a price below which the goods would not be sold; most goods did not stay in the warehouse long. So the trader was not always trying to run around and find an outlet for his products. Thus, the merchant Lehi would have inherited a tried and proven system of caravans and trade that was of great antiquity.

The tin trade suffered when Iron replaced bronze as the preferred implements for war, in the shifting political times, Kanesh was destroyed about 1830 BC. (Veenhof p. 865)  But according to the Ebla texts and the Mari archives, both mentioned in Kanesh tablets, and under a new king of Assyria, Shamshi-Adad 1, by 1776 BC, a second period of Assyrian trade was established. This only lasted a few generations then Kanesh was destroyed again, this time it never recovered. (Veenhof p. 865)   

PAPPONYMY IN THE ASSUR-NADA ARCHIVE

In an earlier study (Erickson 2 March 2005) the degree to which the Book of Mormon employed Papponymy and patronymics was outlined. Both Jaredites and the other peoples of the Book of Mormon employed Papponymy to a great extent. The Book of Mormon was absolutely correct in using this system of maintaining family names. If Papponymy did not exist in the Book of Mormon it would have been a grevious omission. The Book of Mormon authentically reflects the ancient cultures in more ways than one.

The central persons identified in the Assur-nada archive had extremely common names. "For the name Assur-idi we have 23 different patronymics attested; 22 are known for Assur-nada; 26 different patronymics are attested for Assur-tablaku, ...only 12 for Ili-alum." (Larsen p. ix) Over the duration of the record keeping, some 25 persons had the name Assur-idi, 25 had the name Assur-nada, and 25 had the name Assur-taklaku, probably some were contemporary, but all were in one Assyrian family.  This archive almost out did the Book of Mormon; in some instances it did. This practice of preserving names of ancestors through the use of Papponymy goes back to the most ancient records.

The first "Assur-idi comes across as the undisputed boss of the merchant firm which he conducted with the help of his oldest son [named after his grandfather Assur-nada] in Kanes." (Larsen p. xxi)  The matron of the family is only referred to in the texts as ‘our mother'.  It may be that this Assur-idi was the grandson of first Assur-nada, who also had a son named Assur-Suli. (Larsen p. xx)  Assur-idi seems to have also been a member of the City Assembly, and himself enjoyed the one year office as the eponym, and in one tablet he may have been a witness. If it is the same man, he would have been 70 years old at the time. At any rate, he seemed to have been boss for 47 years.  In a discovery made in 195l of another archive, there is an Assur-idi closely associated with a certain Alahum son of Sukuhum, a central person in an archive of 600 tablets.  "Alahum named his son Assur-idi," continuing the patronymics, showing family relationships. (Larsen xxi)      

BOOK OF MORMON NAME PARALLELS 

In his book, The Assur-nada Archive, Larsen provides complete transliterations of the ancient cuniform text into the language the cuniform represents, and then he translates everything into English, he then provides some commentary and interpretation, which are both informative and interesting. Most of the ancient texts are now being processed IN this manner. Of main interest for us, however, are the personal and place names, how they were constructed, the use of the consonantal elements, the prefixes, and in some instances, suffixes. Do any of the names found on the tablets from this old and distant city show an affinity or parallels to those in the Book of Mormon?  As in many of the studies of this series we find the consonant-vowel-consonant, (CVS)or vowel-consonant (VC), or vowel-consonant-vowel, (VCV) elements that make up names, or more commonly, how they make up the prefix or suffix portions of the names. We find, as well, portions or complete names that are distinctly parallel to many Book of Mormon names.

PREFIXES AND NAMES IN THE KANESH ARCHIVE

ABINADI

The prefix ‘abi' (VCV) is found in three book of Mormon names, Abinadi, Abinadom, Abish. The prefix ‘ab' (VC) is found in three names in the Book of Mormon, one is Ablom, the other two are Adamic and Biblical; Abel and Abraham.  The discovery and discussion of this prefix, and the name of Abinadi, in Mesopotamian sites has been discussed earlier in this series (Erickson 17 Aug 2005) and will not be repeated here. There are seven names in the Kanesh archives that have the ‘ab' prefix: Abaya, Abu-salim. Abu-salim, son of Abu-salim, Abu-salim son of Eamma, Abu-salim son of Iddin Erra, and Abum-ili. There is also a geographic name, Abum, (Larsen p. 243) in the archive. These names, along with others mentioned above, also illustrate Papponymy in Kanesh. (Erickson 2 March 2005)  Ab means ‘father'.  (Radner p. xxiii)  In the Neo-Assyrian Empire tablets found contain more than ninety-two names with these prefix elements. (Radner pp. 1-8, 15-20) The prefix elements Abi, which means ‘my father' is found in three Book of Mormon names, Abinadi, Abinadom and Abish, and more than 62 times in the Neo-Assyrian lists. (Radner pp. 8-15)  As common as the prefixes were in the ancient records, it would have been an error to have not had some names with the prefixes.  The name Abinadi and a variant, Abuandi, found in the ancient texts means ‘the Father is Exhalted'. (Radner p. 18) 

"It is at times impossible to tell from the spelling for example, whether a particular name is Assyrian, Babylonian, Aramaic, Phoenician, Hebrew, Edomite, Moabite, Arabic, or Assyrianized West Semitic, even if the name itself can be completely understood and translated. The exact phonetic realization [insertion of vowels] of the name would in all cases be slightly different."  (Radner p. xxii)  There are 28 names in the Tanakh starting with the elements ‘ab'. (Mandel pp. 2-19).  

AHA AND AHAH

The prefixes, Ah, (VC) and (VCV) Aha, (Alma 16:5) found in the ancient archives, are also in names for persons in the Book of Mormon. Ahah,  found in Ether 1:9, is an Adamic name and therefore an ancient name. He was the 40^th descendant of Ether. (Ether 1:10; 11:10) . Ah and Aha both mean ‘brother', followed by some modification suffix, in whatever name they are included. In the Jewish Tanakh there are 47 names that begin with these two prefixes, and in all of them they mean ‘brother'. (Mandel pp. 29-45)  Therefore it would be surprising not to find these prefixes used as names or in the construction of names, in the Book of Mormon.  These prefixes have been discussed elsewhere in this series (Erickson 18 Feb 2005; 17 Aug 2005; l Dec 2005) as they are found in nearly all archives discovered in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. In the Neo-Assyrian name lists there are more than 176 names utilizing this prefix retaining its meaning. (Radner pp. 56-88) In the Assur-nada archives there are six names with this prefix. Clearly the Book of Mormon is consistent and inclusive.

ADAM

While this is an Adamic name, the The First Born on this earth, the first man on earth, the first father,  (Abraham l:3) one should find close to the end of the life of Adam, or right after the flood, the use of the prefix ‘ad' (VC) in various names. In the Kanesh tablets the prefix is in the names Adad-ili, Adad-sului, Adad-bani, Adad-banic son of Dudu, Adad-elat, Adad-rabi. (Larsen p. 237)  Like other names that repeat themselves in the ancient documents, Adam is discussed in earlier studies. The name means, ‘man',  (Mandel p. 24), ‘ground' (Reyburn p. 63)  ‘all human beings' (Reyburn  p. 97), ‘blood', and ‘many'. (Moses 1:34; 3:7; 6:45)  The ‘First Born' [on this earth],  ‘first man' and ‘first father'. (Abr. 1:3; l Ne. 5:11, D&C 84:16; McConkie p. 17)  The name was evidently not just borrowed or lifted from the Biblical texts.   

AGOSH 

The prefix ‘ag' is found in the Kanesh tablets in such names as Agua and Aguza. In the Book of Mormon, the name with this prefix is Agosh. It is the name of a plain in Ether 14:15, which makes it an Adamic name not confused after the Tower of Babel. Two names, Agag and Agee, both old and of uncertain meaning, are found in the Tanakh (Mandel p. 28)  The suffix ‘ua' is not found as a prefix in the Kanesh name lists but it appears in four names in the Ebla lists. (Pagan p. 371)  It is used in the names meaning ‘he is', or ‘humble'.  The suffix uza, in Aguza is not found as a prefix in the Kanesh tablets, but it is an authentic suffix found in fives names in the form uzi; the ‘i' or ‘a' or  ‘u' are interchangeable, in the Ebla texts. (Pagan p. 373)  It means ‘strength' in three names, and ‘went out' and ‘potter' in two others.  In the huge name lists from Ebla, no names have been found as yet beginning with ‘o' so the suffix 'osh' in Agosh has uncertain meaning.  Two thousand years after Ebla, the Hebrew Language was being developed and thus some 23 names beginning with ‘o' are found in the Tanakh. (Mandel)  Eleven names starting with ‘o' are found in the Book of Mormon. One is Omer, the 13^th descendant of Jared, so there should be in ancient lists some names beginning with the letter ‘o'.  Because the Book of Mormon has names beginning with ‘o' there should be names appearing in the ancient records. No doubt they will eventually be found. There are still a lot of archives to be studied, and thousands of tablets yet to be translated. The Book of Mormon is consistent with chronological changes and lexical and name changes as well, and provides some predictive possibilities along with everything else of what might be expected to be found.

AIATH 

This strange name is found in 2 Nephi 20:28, and would seem most difficult to find in any ancient document. The occurrence in the Book of Mormon is from a quote from Isaiah 10:28. The Kings James Version has the name Aiath, where "Isaiah pictured [prophetically] the Assyrian armies advancing on Jerusalem by way of Ai (Isaiah 10:28, ‘Aiath')." (Douglas p. 27) The name appears to be always written with the definite article in Hebrew, ‘ha ay', meaning ‘ruin'.  In either form the name does not appear in the name list in the Tanakh. (Mandel p. 45).  It is not mentioned in most atlas and dictionaries of the bible. Some do refer to it as Ai, the city mentioned in Genesis 12:8, east of the mountain near Bethel where Abraham pitched his tent on his arrival in Canaan and offered sacrifice. Ai "was excavated in 1933-35 by Mme Judith Marquet-Krause and found to be site of an ancient city going back to the  3d Millennium BC [3100 BC]." (Miller p. 10)  The city was destroyed in 2400 B.C.  Just before the settlement Emphraim in the region, it became the site of a small city during the Iron 1, age.  It was destroyed by Josh 7:2-5, 8:1-29.  It was excavated again in 1964-69 by J.A. Callaway. (Miller p. 10)  The results are confusing. Among archaeologists there is much dispute about the city and its timing during the conquest by Israel. (Douglas pp. 27-29)  The original village was 27.5 acres, the rebuilt Iron Age city was only 2.5 acres, without any defenses. An aerial photo of excavated city is provided by Avi-Yonah,  pp. 36-37.  A city by the name of ‘Ai' is also located in Moab, occupied by descendants of Lot. (Jer. 49:3; Douglas p. 28) 

Aia is a rare example of an extreme usage of just vowels in a prefix, an unusual vowel-vowel-vowel, (VVV) prefix, meaning ‘where'in the Neo-Assyrian name list. (Radner p. 94)  It is ancient Akkadian and West Semitic, the latter were in contact with members of the Ten Tribes. The name no doubt may have been in the Brass Plates. Eight men carried that prefix in their names down through Assyrian and Babylonian history, little wonder, therefore, that it shows up in the Book of Mormon. In the Neo-Assyrian name lists there are more than 66 names with the prefix ‘aia'. (Radner pp. 94)  In ancient times, the prefix ‘aia', meaning ‘where', was a fairly abundant in names, just as the shorter prefix ‘Ai' was.   

ALMA

The largest Book in the Book of Mormon is that of Alma. The name is composed of two elements, the prefix ‘al', ‘meaning the way' (Radner p. 97), and the suffix ‘ma' meaning ‘with', depending on the addition or substitution of other suffixes. (Baker p. 673)  There are seven names with the prefix ‘al' in the Jewish Tanakh (Mandel p. 46), and 12 names with the prefix ‘al' in the Neo-Assyrian lists. (Radner p. 97), and in the Assur-nada archive there are 14 names with the same prefix. (Larsen p. 237)  The name Alma was also found in documents from the Dead Sea Area, and in ancient tablets dating nearly 3500 BC. Alma was discussed in one of the earlier studies of this series. (Erickson 23 Feb 2005)  Anciently it was also used for the name of a Queen.  Modern Hebrew did not lose  the use of Alma as a male name, now the ancient records show that it was a well known male name. (Nibley p. 77) 

AMGID, AMNOR, AMLICI, AMORN, AMOZ AND AMOS

These names are only six of the twenty eight found in the Book of Mormon starting with the prefix element ‘am', which means in later Semitic ‘burden, burdensome, toil, burdened, lofty, strength, reliable, people, trustworthy, strong', most of the time meaning ‘burden'. (Mandel pp. 46-54) This prefix has been discussed (Erickson 25 Feb) in this web site, and need not be repeated in detail here. The prefix ‘am' appears in the Kanesh tablets in names such as Am-ri-a, a well attested names in Ancient Assyrian. (Larsen pp. 87, 237) There are eleven names in the Kanesh tablets utilizing this prefix. (Larsen p. 237)  There are more than 73 names with this prefix in the Neo-Assyrian name lists. (Radner pp. 97-106-109)  In most instances the ‘am' prefix means ‘man'. 

The suffix Gid in Amgid, is also used as a name and as a prefix to names in the Book of Mormon such as Gid, (Alma 51:26) and Giddonah, which was the ancient Phoenician name for the great trading port of Sidon. (Alma 10:2) There are six names in the Book of Mormon using the suffix Gid in a name as a prefix. The meaning is unknown. Striking parallels to the Book of Mormon names Gidgiddonah and Gidgiddoni, and Gidgidonah, are found in the Neo-Assyrian lists as Gidgidanu and Gidgiddani, which are ancient Akkadian names. (Radner Vol. 1,  Part 11 B-G, p.  422). More on these names is found in Erickson 18 May 2005.

The suffix, ‘nor' in the Book of Mormon name Amnor, (Alma 2:22; 11:6; 11:11) is akin to ‘nur' in Akkadian and West Semitic, which means ‘light', thus Amnor may mean ‘man's light' or ‘light of man'. The suffix is used in many ancient names and most often is spelled ‘nur', but means the same in all the names, since the vowels are interchangeable.  In the Neo-Assyrian name lists there are more than 33 names with the suffix ‘nur'. (Baker, pp. 967-972)  In the Assur-nada archives there are two names with this suffix. (Larsen p. 241) 

The suffix, ‘lici'  in Amlici (Alma 2:1, et. al.)  is at present unknown, though in the form of lisi, which means ‘may he lift up' it is found in the Ebla Personal Name lists, it is a very old form. (Pagan p. 346),   The name lists for the names beginning with the letter ‘o' for the suffix in Amorn do not contain any names beginning with ‘o', future discoveries may be made.  It is found in the Jewish Tanakh in the name Ornan, which is a sort of hypocoristicon meaning ‘the Lord'. (Mandel p. 416)  This is also true for the name Amoz  with its suffix of ‘oz', which appears in the Tanakh in the names Ozem and Ozni, the first meaning ‘strong', the other meaning ‘ears'. (Mandel p. 418)  Amos of course is a biblical name, a famous Old Testament Prophet. The main point, is that both prefixes and suffixes, that appear in strange looking names in the Book of Mormon, are composed from authentic elements that appear in names, even in the most ancient name lists, and in some instances, in the Jewish Scriptures that Lehi would certainly have been familiar with. The name constructs obey Onomastic rules for constructing names.  

‘AN' AND ‘ANT' ELEMENTS IN BOOK OF MORMON NAMES FROM ANGOLAH TO ANTUM 

The vowel-consonant element (VC), ‘an' is found in the Book of Mormon in 13 names (Book of Mormon p. 533) from Angola (Mormon 2:4) to Antum (Mormon 1:3), with different meanings depending on the suffix.  ‘Ant' can also be considered a vowel consonant-consonant (VCC) construct, and in the case of Ani-Anti  (Alma 21:11), it is a vowel-consonant-vowel (VCV) construct. In the Assur-nada archive there are six names with the prefix ‘an' element in its various forms. In the Neo-Assyrian name lists there are more than 50 names with this prefix.  (Radner pp. 109-111)  There are also thirteen names in the Jewish Tanakh that use this prefix. (Mandel pp. 54 -55)  The prefix has an ancient history with more than 53 names having this prefix in ancient Ebla name lists from 2250 BC. (Pagan pp. 281-282)  In most instances the prefix has a variety of meanings, essentially meaning ‘strong' or ‘gracious'. (Pagan pp. 281-282)  The prefix ‘ant' is also quite common.  More research is being done on the full meaning of the prefixes and suffixes found in the 13 names contained in the Book of Mormon. The study of Book of Mormon names with the expectation of finding parallels in most of the ancient texts is possible because the various elements comprising the names runs strong and deep throughout Middle East history. The elements utilized as prefixes and suffixes are authentic elements, and justify intense research. The results, as evident, are most rewarding.   

THE PREFIXES ‘AM' AND ‘AMU'

In the Book of Mormon, the prefix elements ‘am' are found in twelve names from Amaleki (Omni 1:12) to Amoz (father of Isaiah, 2 Ne. 12) and the prefix element ‘amu' appear in an additional three names, Amulek, Amulon, and Amulonites. (Book of Mormon page 533) In the Assur-nada archive lists there are three names with the prefix ‘am': Amay, Amaya (female) and Amrial. The ‘amu' element appears in eight more names. (Larsen  p. 237) In the Neo-Assyrian name lists there are more than 70 names with this prefix, often meaning ‘hope', ‘god', and ‘chosen'. (Radner pp. 97-102)  Of these, 26 have the ‘amu' form. In the Ebla lists there are more than 71 names with this prefix, with similar meanings, depending on the suffix, including ‘father', ‘uncle', ‘powerful', and ‘to see'. (Pagan pp.  279-281)  Of these, 38 have the ‘amu' form.  In the Tanakh the ‘am' form occurs in ten names, and the ‘amu' form is found in seven names, including the Biblical names of Amos and Amoz, found also in the Book of Mormon names. (Mandel pp. 46-54) From these various sources it is apparent that the Book of Mormon's use and inclusion of these two prefixes in name construction was consistent with the use in ancient names down to and including the Bible when it was compiled. .   

ARPAD AND ARCHAENTUS

Two names in the Book of Mormon, Arpad (2 Ne 20:9) and Archaentus (Moro 9:2)  have the prefix element ‘Ar', which seems to be derived from ‘Lion' and ‘mountain' (Radner p. 282)  and found in the Bible in the name Ara son of Jether, a brave warrior of the tribe of Asher. (Mandel p. 56)  So the name Arpad may very well have been in the Brass Plates.  Archaentus may have also been in the Brass Plates, it seems to be a Greek name. In the Assur-nada archive the prefix ‘ar' is found in such names as Arawa, arsi-ah, and arar. (Larsen p. 237) In the Tanakh there are 23 names with this prefix. (Mandel pp. 56-59)  In the Neo-Assyrian lists there are more than 80 names with this prefix. (Radner pp. 124-135)  In the lists of names from Ebla there are fifteen names beginning with Ar. (Pagan pp. 282-283) 

HAGOTH AND HAMATH AND THE PREFIX ‘HA'

In the Assur-nada archive, the prefix element Ha is distinctive with fourteen names having this prefix. (Larsen p. 239) In the Book of Mormon there are two unique names with this prefix, the famous boat builder and explorer, Hagoth, (Alma 63:5) and Hamath.. (2 Ne 20:9)  This is another correctly used prefix element of the consonant-vowel, (CV) type. In the Tanakh there are 84 names with this prefix.  It was used quite often in Biblical times.  It was extensively used in the Neo-Assyrian names, both anciently and down to New Testament times. In the Neo-Assyrian lists there are more than 520 names with this prefix; one of the most used prefixes in ancient names. (Baker Vol. 2, Part l, H-K, pp. 435-470)  There are 113 names with this prefix in the Ancient Ebla name lists. (Pagan pp. 315-318)  The prefix has various meanings depending on the suffix used to modify, it. Anciently it meant something close to the ‘living one' ‘excellent' ‘chosen', and so forth. (Pagan p. 317)  Not to have some names in the Book of Mormon beginning with Ha prefix would have been a serious omission. Did Joseph Smith keep a record of the names he was using so he could keep track of them and not  reuse them, or make sure he had all the possibilities he could think of?  If he was the one who conjured up all of these names out of whole cloth he would have had to do something extremely extraordinary.  But claiming the names were all spelled out for him during the process of translating an ancient set of Gold Plates is even more extraordinary. Since the texts, being referred to,  the number of occurrences of various prefixes were published after 1998! It is evident that divine providence was involved in the equation! He was a prophet! It is clear that he was a prophet, when I lean back, and see all of the documents and books and names lists surrounding me as this is being assembled, the truth is extremely evident.   

THE PREFIX ‘IR' AS IN IRREANTUM

The prefix ‘ir' is unusual, the name Irreantum (I Ne. 17:5) the name Lehi's family gave to the sea they came too after their long trek in the wilderness, is also unusual. The prefix ‘Ir' is used as the name of a member of the royal court at Kalhu during the reign of Sennacherib. ((Baker Vol. 2, Pt. l, H-K. p. 565)  As a prefix in many other names, such as Ir'anni, meaning ‘He has shepherded', it is found in ancient Akkadian lists. There are more than 23 names with this prefix in the Neo-Assyrian lists (Baker pp. 563-565)  In Hebrew the prefix occurs in the Tanakh also as Ir meaning ‘city' (l Chron. 7:12), and as ‘Ir' descendant of Benjamin, (Mandel p. 214) so the name may have been in the Brass Plates as well. It is contained in the well known name of Ira. There are seven names in the Tanakh using this prefix. (Mandel pp. 214-215)  The doubling of consonants, ‘Irr' is common in ancient names and was discussed in an earlier study of this series (Erickson 17 Aug 2005) In the Assur-nada archive there are three names with this prefix. (Larsen p. 240) There are 30 names in the Ebla name lists using this prefix, (Pagan p. 325) where it most often means ‘generous', or ‘much' semantically agreeing with the interpretation given for this name in the Book of Mormon itself. After eight years in the wilderness Lehi and his family came to what now would be called the Arabian Sea, and named the vast waters, Irreantum, which was said to mean ‘many waters', (This is certainly in keeping with the meaning ‘generous' or ‘much'). The use in the Book of Mormon interpreted how they were applying the meaning of the name, they slightly modified the meaning, they used it to mean ‘many', the prefix ‘Ir' meaning ‘many' (Largey p. 339) and the suffix ‘reantum',  meaning ‘waters'.  During the translation activity, Joseph Smith had been given the spelling of the name and its meaning. The meaning was changed from ‘generous' to ‘many', semantically nearly the same. But the Book of Mormon makes it explicitly clear how they were interpreting the name. If he conjured up the name, how did Joseph get it correct? Only a few names were given exceptional treatment in the Book of Mormon with their interpretation as used by the Nephite authors provided, and always they were correct. A singular confirmation of the authenticity of the Book of Mormon. 

LAMAH, LAMAN, LAMONI AND LAMANITE

The common prefix in these names is Lam and Lama, or lamo, a consonant-vowel-consonant construction (CVC), in Hebrew, Arabic and Phoenician, it would a consonant-conaonant, (CC) construction: ‘lm'. This prefix means ‘why?' (Gelb p. 224) The suffix endings in the first three of these names,   ‘h' ‘n', ‘ni'   are hypocoristicons, or abbreviations for God.  Therefore the names would mean ‘Why God?' Appropriate for the attitude evidenced by the carriers of the name. There are two names in the Amorite name list with the prefix ‘lam'. (Gelb p. 24) The Amorites were West Semitic peoples in contact with the northern boundaries of the Ten Tribes, so the names may have been known to Lehi, and also they may have been preserved in the Brass Plates. There is only one name with the prefix in the Ebla name lists. (Pagan p. 345)  There is only one name in the Tanakh, that of the Lamech, the son of Methusael. (Mandel p. 327)  And there are only seven names in the Neo-Assyrian name list. (Baker p. 651) In the Assur-nada archive there are four names with the ‘lm' prefix. (Larsen pp. 238, 241) Some form of the name and the prefix is found in all of the name lists. The prefix ‘lm' or ‘lam' has  been discussed in several of the earlier studies of this series in conjuction with the names Laman and Lemuel. In most instances the prefix means ‘Why'?   

LIB

This is an old name (Ether 1:17). Lib was the 31^st descendant of Jared, a son of Kish, another old name.  (Ether 1:18) The name is pre-flood, therefore Adamic in origin, but many names were carried intact through the confusion of tongues initiated by the Tower of Babel. A name with Lib as a prefix, Libaad, is found in the Ebla lists attesting to its use right after the tower of Babel. (Pagan p. 345)  There it has the meaning of ‘compensation'. It is found in the name Libni, meaning ‘whiteness' in the Tanakh. (Mandel p. 331)  In the Neo-Assyrian lists there are more than 22 names with the prefix Lib. (Baker pp. 660-662)  Some of these are old Akkadian names as old as the Ebla names, going back to just after the Tower of Babel episode. In the Assur-nada archive lists there is only one name, Libbaya. (Larsen p. 241)  In the Amorite lists the name libbum, meaning ‘heart' is also found; the ‘Li' in the Amoritic lists means ‘to be white'. (Gelb p. 24) So, again, like all the other Book of Mormon names it is not an imagined name, it has historical authenticity.  This name has also been discussed in earlier studies  of this series. 

SAM

Sam was one of the four brothers, sons of Lehi. (l Ne. HD; l Ne. 2.5) when the family went into the wilderness. Two younger sons, Jacob and Joseph, was added later. In the Assur-nada archive the name Sam appears as a prefix in two names: Sama, and Samaya, (Larsen p. 242) and two others with the name Sam used as a suffix:  Assur-samsi, and Assur-Samsi-s. (Larsen pp. 238; 241)  The prefix Assur is a polite way of identifying one with the God Assur, thus being politically correct. Without the prefix ‘Assur', the names would be simply Samsi and Samsi's  It appears also in the name of Idden-Samas, ‘Idden' means ‘to give', in most instances Sam means ‘posterity'. The name Idden-Samas would then likely mean ‘to give posterity', where Samas is used as a suffix. (Larsen p. 240) The name Sam was transmitted down through time, in the Amorite name lists there are 22 names with this prefix, several with the name Sam with an hyprocoristic ending such as ‘i' for God. (Gelb p. 31) Sami pr Samsi would then likely mean ‘Gods posterity'. In the early name lists of the Ebla period, right after the Tower of Babel, there are thirteen names with Sam as the prefix or as the name of Sam. (Pagan p. 366)  In the time of Ebla the name at times meant ‘proud' or ‘posterity'.  (Pagan p. 366) This name has been discussed in detail in an earlier study in this series. (Erickson Web site, p. 11, 17 Aug 2005) 

NAHOM

Nahom, the name of the burial place of Ishmael during the wilderness journey of Lehi's family. (l Ne.16:34)  A discussion and a map showing the location is available. (Hilton pp 124-125) The prefix Nah means ‘comforter' in the name Naham in l Chron. 4:19, and ‘consolatory' in the name Nahamani (Nehemiah 7:7)  The vowel, whether an ‘a' or an ‘o', does not change the meaning. These names are found in the Tanakh (Mandel p. 394), and in the Assur-nada archive, the prefix of Nah is found in the name Nahistum.  (Larsen p. 241)  There are nine names in the Tanakh beginning with that prefix. (Mandel pp. 394-396)  In the Neo-Assyrian name lists there are more than 20 names with prefix ‘Nah'. (Baker p. 922)  In the Ebla name lists there are only two. The increase in the use of this prefix in later centuries seems to have been reflected in the Tanakk.  Especially during the Amoritic period about the time the Ten Tribes occupied northern Palestine. In the Amoritic lists there are seven names, including Nahum. (Gelb p. 26)  

The Assur-nada archive yielded more about the Book of Mormon names and prefixes and suffixes than was expected.  The vindication of the Prophet Joseph continues, even in the modest archives of an ancient commodities trader living at what was to become the capital of the great Hittite Kingdom. He was a long way from his home in Assur, Assyria.  But it must have been a good life, he died there, and many of his family for a number of generations likewise spent their lives in Kanesh.  Little did he realize that the records being kept on clay tablets by him and his family would survive for nearly four thousand years and contribute to the confirmation that an unschooled young man, Joseph Smith could repeat the names found on the tablets into a marvelous remarkable book of history and doctrine.   

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Avi-Yonah, Michael, Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, Vol. 1, Oxford University Press, London, 1975

Baker, Heather D., The Prosopography of The Neo-Assyrian Empire, Vol. 2/11, L-N, The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, University of Helsinki, 2001

Douglas, J.D., The Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Tyndale House, Sydney, 1980

Erickson, Einar, The Governor's Archive from the Ancient City of Nippur, Web site, 17 Aug 2005

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

Gurney, O.R., The Hittites, The Folio Society, London 2002

Hilton, Lynn M., & Hope A. Hilton, Discovering Lehi, New Evidence of Lehi and Nehi in Arabia, CFI Publishing, Springfield, Utah 1996

Largey, Dennis L., Ed. Book of Mormon Reference Companion, Deseret Book Co., Salt Lake City, Utah  2003

Larsen, Mogens Trolle, The Assur-nada Archive (Old Assyrian Archives Vol. l) Nederlands Instituut Voor Het Nabije Ooosten,  Leiden, 2002

Mandel, David, Who's Who in Tanakh, Ariel Books, Savyon, Israel, 2004

McConkie, Bruce R., Mormon Doctrine, Bookcraft, Salt Lake City, Utah 1966

Miller, S. Madeleine & J. Lane Miller, Harper's Bible Dictionary, Harper and Row, New York, 1973

Nibley, Hugh, An Appoach to The Book of Mormon, FARMS, Vol. 6, Deseret Book Co., Salt Lake City, 1988

Pagan, Joseph Martin, A Morpholongical and lexical Study of Personal Names in the Ebla Texts, Archive reali di Ebla  Studia 111,  University Degli Studi Di Roma, La Sapienza, Missione Archeologica Italiana in Siria, 1998

Pedersen, Olaf, Archives and Libraries in the Ancient Near East 1500-300 B.C., CDL Press, Bethesda Maryland, 1998

Radner, Karen,  The Prosopography of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, The new-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, Vo. l. Part l, A, University of Helsinki, 1998

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Reyburn, William D. &  Euan McG. Fry., A Handbook on Genesis, UBS Handook Series, New York, 1983

Saggs, H. W. F., The Babylonians, The Folio Society, London 2002

Sasson, Jack M., Ed. Civilizations of the Ancient Near East, Vol. 1-4, Hendrickson, Peabody, Mass. 1995

Veenhof, Klaus R.,  KANESH: An Assyrian Colony in Anatolia, In Sassons, Civilizations of the Ancient Near East, Vol. 2, Hendrickson, Peabody, Mass 1995 

Whitehouse, Ruth D., Ed., The Facts on File Dictionary of Archaeology, Facts on File Publications New York, 1983