Anachronisms: Accidental Evidence in Book of Mormon Criticisms

Chapter 5
Book of Mormon Names

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 65 (2025): 153-180
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[Editor’s Note: We are pleased to present chapter 5 from a book entitled Anachronisms: Accidental Evidence in Book of Mormon Criticisms. It is presented in serialized form in this volume of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship.]

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1 — Book of Mormon Animals

Chapter 2 — Warfare in the Book of Mormon

Chapter 3 — Metals and Metallurgy

Chapter 4 — Ancient Culture

Chapter 5 — Book of Mormon Names

Chapter 6 — Old World Journeys by Land and Sea

Chapter 7 — Records, Writing, and Language

Chapter 8 — Events in Third Nephi

Chapter 9 — Concluding Observations

Bibliography

 
 

Chapter 5: Book of Mormon Names

Many names found in the Book of Mormon have been considered anachronistic by some readers. Research on Book of Mormon names since its publication in 1830 has shed light on many of these. Some names, including non-biblical ones that appear in the text, have been discovered in ancient Near Eastern inscriptions.

Speaking of Hebrew names in the Bible, Moshe Garsiel states:

Many hundreds of puns on names are to be found throughout the Bible. Some of them are explicated in so many words by figures in the narrative; many are overt and recognizable within the context; but very many are worked into the text in a clandestine manner. These last constitute a kind of riddle, offering a challenge to the reader to probe more deeply in order to uncover them with the help of various hints and directives supplied by the author.1

Current research by Latter-day Saint scholars trained in ancient Near Eastern languages has found that some Book of Mormon names [Page 154]have significant etymologies. Like those in the Bible, these often also point to evidence of significant wordplay in the text when considered in light of ancient Hebrew or Egyptian.2

This chapter only treats names that readers have claimed to be anachronistic and a product of modern invention. Those names which are attested in ancient Near Eastern inscriptions or which have been shown to have plausible etymologies are considered confirmed.

138. Sam

Status: Confirmed (1845–1965)

Critics’ Claim: Some have claimed that the name Sam (1 Nephi 2:5) is a modern name with no ancient support.

One of [Nephi’s] brothers was a real Yankee—Sam! Well done, Prophet Smith; you can’t get rid of your Jonathanisms. Sam indeed! Fie, Joseph, how you forget yourself. Can’t you forge better than this? Precious little of the Yankee wit, have you in your composition, to let a Yankeeism creep into the ancient “Book of Nephi” in this manner.3

“This name Sam, by the way, sounds very modern.”4 “Nor did any Hebrew name his child ‘Sam’ (v. 5). That is a Yankee name but not Hebrew.”5

Response: The name Sam is attested in ancient Egyptian.6 It is also a Hebrew name that is attested on a ring seal dating to the seventh century BC.7 Paleo Hebrew characters such as those found on this inscription make no distinction between two types of s sounds—ś (s) and š (sh). The form of Sam in the Book of Mormon, assuming it follows early Israelite orthography, could therefore be a viable spelling no matter how it was anciently pronounced (whether as Sam or Shem). It may be significant that the name would have been pronounced as Sam in the northern dialect of Ephraim to which Lehi and Ishmael’s families had familial ties.8

139. Josh

Status: Confirmed (1966–2024)

Critics’ Claim: Some have claimed that the name Josh (3 Nephi 9:10; Mormon 6:14) is modern and has no ancient support.9 “Josh. . . . There’s Yankee for ye. Rather out of place, however, in ancient writings.”10

[Page 155]Response: The name Josh is attested in several preexilic inscriptions.11 It is a hypocoristic (shortened) form of the name Josiah, one of the last kings of Judah (Jeremiah 27:1). Robert Deutsch and Michael Heltzer note that “this hypocoristic name is not found in the OT but is known from epigraphic sources” from the time of the prophet Jeremiah when it was likely pronounced Yaush.12 It is found on two clay bullae (seal impressions) and three ostraca (inscribed fragments of pottery) from the site of Lachish dating to 586 BC. Four persons mentioned in documents from the Jewish colony of Elephantine in Egypt are also identified by this name.13

140. Gid

Status: Partially Confirmed (1966–2024)

Critics’ Claim: Some have claimed that the name Gid (Alma 57:28) is modern and has no ancient support.14

Response: Gid may be a hypocoristic form of the place name Gidom15 or possibly derived from Gideon.16

141. Giddianhi

Status: Partially Confirmed (1966–2024)

Critics’ Claim: Some have claimed that the name Giddianhi (3 Nephi 3:9) is a modern name inspired by an individual involved in an anti-Masonic controversy.17

Response: Several scholars have drawn attention to the Egyptian element anchi/anhi/ʿnh(i) in the names Giddianhi and Paanchi (two names associated with the Gadianton robbers), which means “to live” and denotes “life” or “oath” and “to swear” as a verb.18 Matthew Bowen suggests a possible etymology of “my fortune (-deity) is my (life) oath.”19

142. Gadianton

Status: Partially Confirmed (1966–2024)

Critics’ Claim: Some critics of the Book of Mormon have claimed that the name Gadianton (Helaman 2:4) is of modern origin.20

Response: Gadianton is actually spelled with a double-d (Gaddianton) in its first appearance in the Original Manuscript of the Book of Mormon (Helaman 2:11–12). This is interesting since the Hebrew word for robber is spelled gedud (notice the double-d) and appears in [Page 156]Hosea 6:9 as “band of robbers.” This could suggest a wordplay on the name Gaddianton and the word robber. Several possible etymologies have been proposed, including “provide (my) good fortune, O Lord (Yah)/Jehovah” or alternatively, but less likely, “(my) good fortune is oppression/affliction/rapine.”21

143. Abbreviated Names

Status: Confirmed (1966–2024)

Critics’ Claim: In addition to being perceived as modern, names such as Sam, Josh, and Gid have been seen by some critics as a clearly modern attempt to abbreviate longer biblical names.22

Response: Hypocoristic or abbreviated names are now recognized as a legitimate form of ancient Israelite proper names, examples of which have since been attested in Hebrew inscriptions predating 587 BC.23 These include the names Sam, Josh, Aha, and others.24

144. Sheum

Status: Confirmed (1966–2024)

Critics’ Claim: Some critics have claimed that the term sheum (Mosiah 9:9) is nonsense and has no evidence to indicate it is an ancient name for a grain.25

Response: Sheum is an authentic Mesopotamian name (found in Sumerian and Akkadian) for grains going back to the third millennium BC, suggesting a likely Jaredite origin.26

145. Neas

Status: Partially Confirmed (1966–2024)

Critics’ Claim: Some critics have claimed there is no evidence suggesting that neas (Mosiah 9:9) is an authentic ancient term for a grain.27

Response: Some evidence suggests that neas may have been a word of Mesopotamian origin.28

146. Ziff

Status: Partially Confirmed (1966–2024)

Critics’ Claim: Some have claimed that the term ziff (Mosiah 11:3) has no support as an authentic ancient word.29

[Page 157]Response: Some have concluded that since ziff is mentioned in connection with gold, silver, copper, and brass, that ziff, possibly a loan word, may also be a metal. Several scholars have suggested that the name may be related to the Hebrew ziw, “glow” or “shine,” although none of the Hebrew cognates of ziw end in a consonant.30 Jerry Grover has noted that the name zyf is documented in old Arabic texts and is associated with a form of metal of some kind. Although Arabic script is currently only known from funerary inscriptions before AD 500, it is possible this name may go back to earlier times and could have been known to Lehi and his family.31

147. Money Names

Status: Partially Confirmed (1966–2024)

Critics’ Claim: Some have claimed that there is no evidence to suggest that any of the names of monetary units among the Nephites are of ancient origin.

The golden—a senine, a seon, a shum, a limnah, an antion, a shublon. The silver—a senum, an amnor, an ezrom, an onti, a shiblon, a shiblum, a leah . . . This gibberish . . . will do very well to be placed alongside of the ‘new tongues’ of the Mormonites, the jabber of Miss Carraboo, and Sheridan’s Greek.32

Response: According to Mormon, the Nephites,

did not reckon after the manner of the Jews who were at Jerusalem; neither did they measure after the manner of the Jews; but they altered their reckoning and their measure, according to the minds and the circumstances of the people, in every generation, until the reign of the judges, they having been established by king Mosiah. (Alma 11:4)

Thus, based on the text itself, we should expect the Nephite system to substantially differ from earlier systems known to ancient Israelites.

That being said, the names of some of these monetary units seem to reflect an ancient Near Eastern background. For instance, limnah, one of the Nephite measures of gold (Alma 11:5), could plausibly be derived from the Hebrew word manah or minah (a measuring unit for precious metals). The preposition le can mean “to, for, according to.” Thus a limnah may mean “according to a mina.”33

Onti and antion may be related to the Egyptian participle int, [Page 158]“bringing; buying.”34 The name Shiblum (Alma 11:16) actually reads shilum in the Printers Manuscript of the Book of Mormon. Shillum is Hebrew (Micah 7:3) for “reward, payment, compensation” and appears in Northwest Semitic inscriptions with the meaning “to be paid, repaid.”35 The Nephite silver measure senum and the gold measure senine plausibly derive from the Egyptian monetary term sniw or snny.36 The gold measure seon (or sean as it appears in the Printers Manuscript) may derive from the Hebrew sea, which is rendered “measure” in the Old Testament.37

It is also interesting that the measures ezrom and antion show up in the names of two antagonists (Zeezrom and Antionah) in the same narrative in which the monetary units are delineated (Alma 10:31; 12:20). The fact that these are the only two named antagonists in this account suggests intentional wordplay, in which the characters symbolize the greedy desire for gold and silver that had apparently corrupted their community.38

Collectively, these naming practices and monetary terms—several of which relate to concepts of measurement and payment—point to a system that drew upon ancient Hebrew and Egyptian ideas associated with economy. At the same time, differences between these systems are consistent with the Book of Mormon’s internal claims.

148. Rameumptum

Status: Partially Confirmed (1966–2024)

Critics’ Claim: Alma says that the Zoramites “had a place built up in the center of their synagogue, a place for standing, which was high above the head; and the top thereof would only admit one person” (Alma 31:13) and that this stand was called Rameumptum (Alma 31:21). Some critics have claimed that there is no evidence that Rameumptum is an authentic ancient name.39

Response: While a fully satisfactory etymology has not yet been identified, the Hebrew element ram in this name signifies something that is high, which seems appropriate in the context of Alma’s description.40 A possible but tentative etymology has been suggested.41

149. Onidah

Status: Confirmed (1966–2024)

Critics’ Claim: Some have claimed that the name Onidah (Alma 32:4) [Page 159]was derived from a native American tribe and is not an authentic ancient name.42

Response: The name Onidah has a plausible Hebrew meaning, either “He attends (my) sorrow” or “he knows (my) affliction.” The theme of afflictions is a significant part of the account of the Zoramites whose “afflictions had truly humbled them” (Alma 32:6; see also 32:24; 33:11). Alma and Amulek teach them how by their faith in Christ and repentance of their sins they can find rest from their afflictions (Alma 34:40–41).43

150. Com

Status: Unconfirmed

Critics’ Claim: Some have claimed that there is no evidence to indicate that the Jaredite name Com (Ether 10:32) was an authentic ancient name.44

Response: There is currently no evidence supporting the antiquity of this name.

151. Kim

Status: Unconfirmed

Critics’ Claim: Some have claimed that the Jaredite name Kim (Ether 10:13) is not an authentic ancient name.45

Response: There is currently no evidence supporting the antiquity of this name.

152. Nephi

Status: Confirmed (1966–2024)

Critics’ Claim: Some have claimed that the name Nephi (1 Nephi 1:1) is not an authentic ancient name.46

Response: Nephi is an attested Egyptian name meaning “good,” “goodly,” “fine,” “fair,” “beautiful,” and would have been known at the time of Lehi. Furthermore, in many Book of Mormon passages, a strong case can be made for intentional and repeated wordplay.47

153. Alma

Status: Confirmed (1966–2024)

[Page 160]Critics’ Claim: Some have claimed that the name Alma (Mosiah 16:2; 27:8; Alma 1:2) is not an authentic ancient name.48 Others have claimed that the name is anachronistically Latin, rather than Hebrew, or that Alma is strictly a feminine name. As one writer put it, “Alma is supposed to be a prophet of God and of Jewish ancestry in the Book of Mormon. In Hebrew Alma means a betrothed virgin maiden—hardly a fitting name for a man.”49 Another claimed, “It reminds us of the ‘Boy Named Sue.’”50

Response: The name Alma ben Yehudah, the first ancient attestation of the name, appears in a land deed from the time of the Bar Kochba rebellion discovered in the Cave of Letters in 1961 (figure 42).51 Another example of the name is found on an ossuary from the first century AD.52 The name is also attested at Ebla by the end of the third millennium BC. 53 There are also several significant examples of apparent wordplay in the Book of Mormon text based upon its meaning.54

[Page 161]

Figure 42. Land deed containing the name of Alma ben Judah. Babatha Scroll, GetArchive (website), jenikirbyhistory.getarchive.net/amp/media/babathascroll-5d18ca.

[Page 160]154. Moroni

Status: Partially Confirmed (1966–2024)

Critics’ Claim: Some have claimed that the name Moroni (Alma 43:16; Mormon 6:6) is not an authentic ancient name.55

Response: Although not attested as an ancient name, there are plausible meanings for the name. One possible meaning is “belonging to Moron” or “from Moron,” or possibly “my beloved” or “I was beloved.”56

155. Mormon

Status: Confirmed (1966–2024)

Critics’ Claim: Some critics have claimed that the word Mormon (Mormon 1:1, 5) is not an authentic ancient name.57

Response: The name Mormon (mrmn) appears on a stela inscription dating to the nineteenth to twenty-first Egyptian dynasties (1292–943 BC).58 The name may be based on Egyptian roots meaning “truly beloved” or “love is established” or “love remains steadfast/firm.”59 Matthew Bowen suggests the meaning, “desire is enduring” or “love is enduring,” and discusses apparent wordplay in the Book of Mormon text relating to this theme.60

[Page 162]156. Deseret

Status: Confirmed (1845–1965)

Critics’ Claim: After they departed into the wilderness, the Jaredites carried with them “deseret, which by interpretation, is a honey bee, and thus they did carry with them swarms of bees” (Ether 2:3). Some have claimed that deseret is not an authentic ancient name. As one early critic stated, “There is not the slightest reason for thinking that the word Deseret means Honey Bee in any language ever spoken by man.”61

Response: In ancient Egypt, the crown of Lower Egypt, the Red Crown, has a distinctive appearance with a curly protuberance like that of a bee and it is portrayed on potsherds as early as Pre-Dynastic times (4000–3500 BC).62 Egyptologist Sir Allen Gardiner noted that the name of this crown was dšrt (pronounced Deshret), and that the name dsrt was substituted for the word bee in some Egyptian texts, possibly for sacred reasons.63

The need for Moroni to interpret this word in the text suggests it was not a name that originated in the land of Jaredite origins and may have been borrowed from another language, possibly Egyptian. Evidence for cultural exchanges between Egypt and Mesopotamia between 3200 and 2900 BC points to one possible way that this name, as a loan word, could have been introduced to ancient Mesopotamia from where the Jaredites originally migrated.64 The attestation of dšrt, a name closely associated with the honey bee, and the evidence for cultural connections between Egypt and Mesopotamia, at an early period, provides significant confirmation of the authenticity of this Book of Mormon name.

157. Liahona

Status: Confirmed (1966–2024)

Critics’ Claim: Some have claimed that there is no evidence that the word Liahona (Alma 37:38) is an authentic ancient name.65

Response: Liahona has a plausible meaning of “To Yahweh Look!” or “Look to the Lord!”66

158. Irreantum

Status: Confirmed (1966–2024)

[Page 163]Critics’ Claim: Some critics have claimed that the name Irreantum, which Nephi interpreted as meaning “many waters” (1 Nephi 17:5), is not an authentic ancient name.67 As one writer put it, “Irreantum signifies a complete ass, nearer than anything else.”68 Another wrote, “Just in whose language this sea was called Irreantum, Nephi does not say. . . . There is not a Mormon on this side of heaven that can tell.”69

Response: A plausible etymology in ancient South Arabian with the meaning “place of abundant watering” is consistent with Nephi’s interpretation “many waters” (1 Nephi 17:5).70

159. Shazer

Status: Confirmed (1966–2024)

Critics’ Claim: Some have claimed that there is no evidence that the name Shazer (1 Nephi 16:13–14) is an authentic ancient Near Eastern name.71

Response: A plausible Semitic etymology of Shazer yields the meaning “young gazelle,” which fits the hunting context of Nephi’s narrative (1 Nephi 16:13–14).72

160. Jarom

Status: Confirmed (1966–2024)

Critics’ Claim: Some have claimed that the name Jarom (Jarom 1:1) is not an authentic Hebrew name.73

Response: Jarom is an attested Hebrew name found on several inscriptions dating to the preexilic period.74

161. Jonas

Status: Unconfirmed

Critics’ Claim: Some claim that the name Jonas (3 Nephi 19:4) is a Greek name and would not have been known to an Israelite with origins in preexilic Israel in the ancient Near East.75

Response: Strictly speaking, the name Jonas is currently unattested from preexilic Hebrew inscriptions. It should be noted, however, that Jonas is merely a Greek form of the Hebrew name Jonah. Thus, in this case, it can’t be certain whether Jonas reflects an underlying Greek (rather than Hebrew) version of the name or if it is simply an artifact of [Page 164]the translation itself (the opting for one acceptable English variant of the name over another).

162. Timothy

Status: Unconfirmed

Critics’ Claim: Some claim that the name Timothy (3 Nephi 19:4) is a Greek name and would not have been known to an Israelite with origins in preexilic Israel in the ancient Near East.76

Response: The name Timothy is currently unattested from preexilic inscriptions.

163. Non-Biblical Hebrew Names in the Book of Mormon

Status: Confirmed (1966–2024)

Critics’ Claim: Some have claimed that there are no authentic Hebrew names in the Book of Mormon that are not found in the Bible.77

Response: There are many examples of Hebrew and other ancient Near Eastern names in the Book of Mormon, some of which do not appear in the Hebrew Bible or are transliterated differently in English translations.78 Additionally, there are many examples of notable wordplay based on the meaning of Hebrew words found in the Book of Mormon text.79

164. Egyptian Names in the Book of Mormon

Status: Confirmed (1845–1965)

Critics’ Claim: Some have claimed that there is no evidence that any of the names found in the Book of Mormon are authentic Egyptian names.80

Response: There are a number of Egyptian names in the Book of Mormon, including Nephi, Paanchi, Mormon, and others.81 Furthermore, in several cases, the text seems to be cognizant of the meaning of these names, either through wordplay or glosses.82 The authenticity of some of these names has even been pointed out by a non-Latter-day Saint scholar. In a letter to Grant Heward, William F. Albright of Johns Hopkins University wrote:

As you know, when the Book of Mormon was written, Egyptian had just begun to be deciphered and it is all the more surprising that there are two Egyptian names, Paanch [Page 165]and Pahor(an) which appear together in the Book of Mormon in close connection with a reference to the original language as being “Reformed Egyptian.”83

165. Zarahemla

Status: Confirmed (1966–2024)

Critics’ Claim: Zarahemla was the name of a descendant of Mulek, the only surviving son of king Zedekiah, and a land and city in the land of promise were named after him (Omni 1:14; Mosiah 25:2; Helaman 8:21). Some have claimed that Zarahemla is not an authentic ancient name.84

Response: Zarahemla appears to be a compound of the Hebrew nouns zera (“seed, offspring, descendant”) and hemlah (“compassion, pity, mercy”), rendering the meaning “seed of compassion.” When the root of hemlah is used as a verb, it can convey the meaning “to spare, have compassion” and the Lord warns king Zedekiah, his servants, and the wicked of Jerusalem that he will not spare them by using that verb (lōʾ ʾeḥmôl) (Jeremiah 13:14; 15:5; 21:7). The Book of Mormon text displays significant wordplay examples relating to the meaning of this name.85

166. Zeniff

Status: Partially Confirmed (1966–2024)

Critics’ Claim: Some have claimed that the name Zeniff (Mosiah 9:1) has no evidence to support it as an ancient name.86

Response: The name Zeniff may possibly be taken from a conjectured Hebrew gentilic senipi “tiaraed, crowned, enwrapped (with turban),” derived from Hebrew sanif, misnefet (Job 29:14). If the name is related to the name Zenephi, the ze prefix could be Hebrew demonstrative-relative ze(h)-, meaning “he, one of.” This would make Zeniff, like Zenephi, a compound Hebrew and Egyptian name, although we do not know if niff and Nephi are the same name.87

167. Omni

Status: Confirmed (1966–2024)

Critics’ Claim: Some have claimed that the name Omni (Jarom 1:15; Omni 1:1) is not an authentic Hebrew name.88

[Page 166]Response: The name Omni may derive from a root which means “my faithfulness, trust” and yields a plausible meaning “faithfulness (of the Lord/God),” “(the Lord/God) is my trust,” or “(the Lord/God) is (the object of) my trust.”89

168. Mosiah

Status: Confirmed (1966–2024)

Critics’ Claim: Some have claimed that the name Mosiah (Omni 1:12; Mosiah 1:2) is not an authentic Hebrew name.90

Response: The name Mosiah yields a plausible meaning of “The Lord is a deliverer, savior.”91

169. Helaman

Status: Partially Confirmed (1966–2024)

Critics’ Claim: Some have claimed that there is no evidence that the name Helaman (Mosiah 1:2; Alma 37:1; Helaman 2:2) is an authentic ancient name.92

Response: The name Helaman may derive from a Hebrew root meaning “the strong, healthy strong, robust one” or possibly “seer” or “visionary.”93

170. Ether

Status: Unconfirmed

Critics’ Claim: Some have claimed that the name Ether (Ether 1:6) is a modern name and not an ancient one.94

Response: There is currently no evidence for the name Ether in antiquity.

171. Anti

Status: Confirmed (1966–2024)

Critics’ Claim: Some have claimed that element anti in Anti-Nephi-Lehi (Alma 24:1) shows modern origin and was possibly influenced by an anti-Masonic controversy that occurred in New York before the publication of the Book of Mormon.95

Response: The element anti appears to be an Egyptian pronomial nty (pronounced “nety” or “enty”) with the meaning “he, she of; partisan, [Page 167]adherent of.” The name Anti-Nephi-Lehi would then mean “he/adherent/partisan of Nephi and Lehi,” which perfectly fits the context of the Lamanite converts who received the Gospel as taught by the Nephite missionaries.96

Summary of Results

During the first period (1830–1844), seventeen names of the Book of Mormon text were considered implausible or anachronistic, none of which could be confirmed (figure 43). In the next 120 years (1845–1965), the total number of anachronisms increased to twenty-seven. One name was confirmed, two were partially confirmed, and the remaining twenty-four lacked confirmation (figure 44). During the last period (1966–2024), while the total number of items rose to thirty-four, nineteen items found confirmation, ten partial confirmation, and five lacked confirmation (figure 45).

[Page 168]

Figure 43. Anachronisms for names in the Book of Mormon (1830–1844).


[Page 169]

Figure 44. Anachronisms for names in the Book of Mormon (1845–1965).


[Page 170]

Figure 45. Anachronisms for names in the Book of Mormon (1966–2024).


[Page 171]1. Moshe Garsiel, Biblical Names: A Literary Study of Midrashic Derivations and Puns (Ramat Gan, IL: Bar-Ilan University Press, 1991), 9.
2. John Gee, “Book of Mormon Names: Beyond Etymology,” in Perspectives on Latter-day Saint Names and Naming: Names, Identity, and Belief, ed. Dallin D. Oaks, Paul Baltes, and Kent Minson (New York: Routledge, 2023), 217–27; Matthew L. Bowen, “Striking While the Irony Is Hot: Hebrew Onomastics and Their Function within the Book of Mormon Text,” in Perspectives on Latter-day Saint Names and Naming, ed. Oaks, Baltes, and Minson, 228–49; Matthew L. Bowen, Name as Key-Word: Collected Essays on Onomastic Wordplay and the Temple in Mormon Scripture (Orem, UT: Interpreter Foundation; Salt Lake City: Eborn Books, 2018); Matthew L. Bowen, Ancient Names in the Book of Mormon: Toward a Deeper Understanding of a Witness of Christ (Orem, UT: Interpreter Foundation; Salt Lake City: Eborn Books, 2023); Stephen D. Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names and Foreign Words in the Book of Mormon (Orem, UT: Interpreter Foundation; Salt Lake City: Eborn Books, 2022).
3. Origen Bacheler, Mormonism Exposed, Internally and Externally (New York: printed by the author, 1838), 11. See also LaRoy Sunderland, “Mormonism,” Zion’s Watchman (New York), 17 February 1838; C. Lee, Mormonism: A Sketch of Its Rise and Progress (London: Houlston and Stoneman, 1852), 27; T. B. H. Stenhouse, The Rocky Mountain Saints (New York: D. Appleton, 1873), 530; Clark Braden, “Braden-Kelly Debate,” Independent Patriot (Lamoni, IA), 9 July 1891; Charles A. Shook, Cumorah Revisited (Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing, 1910), 500.
4. Edgar E. Folk, The Mormon Monster (Chicago: Fleming H. Revell, 1900), 186.
5. Marvin Cowan, Mormon Claims Answered (Salt Lake City: printed by the author, 1979), 39.
6. Herbert E. Winlock, “The Eleventh Egyptian Dynasty,” Journal of Near Eastern Studies 2, no. 4 (1943): 266; Hugh Nibley, Lehi in the Desert / The World of the Jaredites / There Were Jaredites (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1988), 20–21.
7. Nahman Avigad, Corpus of West Semitic Stamp Seals (Jerusalem: Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1997), 69; Scripture Central Staff, “Attestation of Sam,” Evidence 338, 9 May 2022, scripturecentral.org/evidence/attestation-of-sam; Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names and Foreign Words, 292–93; John A. Tvedtnes, John Gee, and Matthew Roper, “Book of Mormon Names Attested in Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9, no. 1 (2000): 51, 78.
8. According to Franklin D. Richards and Erastus Snow, the Prophet Joseph Smith taught that Ishmael’s children with whom Nephi’s children intermarried were Ephraimites. “Joseph replied . . . ‘This Ishmael and his family were of the lineage of Ephraim.’” Franklin D. Richards, “Origin of American Aborigines,” Contributor 17, no. 7 (May 1896): 425. And according to Snow, “the Prophet Joseph Smith informed us that . . . Ishmael was of the lineage of Ephraim, and that his sons married into Lehi’s family, and Lehi’s [Page 172]sons married Ishmael’s daughters.” Erastus Snow, in Journal of Discourses, 23:184–85. See also Don Bradley, The Lost 116 Pages: Reconstructing the Book of Mormon’s Missing Stories (Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2019), 157–63.
9. Bacheler, Mormonism Exposed, Internally and Externally, 14; Sunderland, “Mormonism”; Braden, “Braden-Kelly Debate.”
10. Bacheler, Mormonism Exposed, Internally and Externally, 14.
11. Scripture Central Staff, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Attestation of Josh,” Evidence 348, 14 June 2022, scripturecentral.org/evidence/attestation-of-josh; Tvedtnes, Gee, and Roper, “Book of Mormon Names Attested,” 49.
12. Robert Deutsch and Michael Heltzer, New Epigraphic Evidence from the Biblical Period (Tel Aviv: Archaeological Center Publication, 1995), 56, emphasis added.
13. Deutsch and Heltzer, New Epigraphic Evidence, 56–57; Avigad, Corpus of West Semitic Stamp Seals, 184, 202–3; Shmuel Ahituv, Echoes from the Past: Hebrew and Cognate Inscriptions from the Biblical Period (Jerusalem: CARTA, 2008), 481–82.
14. Bacheler, Mormonism Exposed, Internally and Externally, 14; Sunderland, “Mormonism.”
15. Gary A. Herion, “Gidom,” in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, ed. David Noel Freedman, 6 vols. (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 2:1015.
16. Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names and Foreign Words, 122.
17. David Persuitte, who argued for a nineteenth-century origin for the Book of Mormon account, claimed the name Giddianhi may have been derived from the name of a man named Giddens or Giddings who was involved in the trial for the murder of Mason William Morgan. David Persuitte, Joseph Smith and the Origins of the Book of Mormon (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1985), 176–77.
18. Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names and Foreign Words, 123; Matthew L. Bowen, “‘Swearing by Their Everlasting Maker’: Some Notes on Paanchi and Giddianhi,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 28 (2018): 164–68, journal.interpreterfoundation.org/swearing-by-their-everlasting-maker-some-notes-on-paanchi-and-giddianhi/.
19. Bowen, “‘Swearing by Their Everlasting Maker,’” 164–68.
20. One reader facetiously defined the name Gadianton as “a prudent ruler, or governor of a territory or province—one who expels black-legs, thieves, robbers and murderers, from his province” or “one who has justice prudently administered to all honest subjects.” “Mr. Editor,” Warsaw Signal, 11 August 1841.
21. Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names and Foreign Words, 116–17.
22. “Sam, Josh, and Gid are half names, or Jonathanisms.” Bacheler, Mormonism Exposed, Internally and Externally, 14; see Sunderland, “Mormonism.”
23. Richard S. Hess, “Hypocoristic Names,” in Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics, ed. Geoffrey Khan (Leiden: Brill, 2013).
[Page 173]24. Ahituv, Echoes from the Past, 481; Deutsch and Heltzer, New Epigraphic Evidence, 21, 56; Yair Shoham, “A Group of Hebrew Bullae from Yigael Shiloh’s Excavations in the City of David,” in Ancient Jerusalem Revealed, ed. Hillel Geva (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1994), 58; I. Ben-Dor, “Two Hebrew Seals,” Quarterly of the Department of Antiquities in Palestine 13 (1948): 67; George Andrew Reisner, Clarence Stanley Fisher, and David Gordon Lyon, Harvard Excavations at Samaria: 1908–1910 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1924), 1:244; Scripture Central Staff, “Attestation of Sam”; Scripture Central Staff, “Attestation of Josh”; Scripture Central Staff, “Attestation of Aha,” Evidence 117, 27 November 2020, scripturecentral.org/evidence/book-of-mormon-evidence-attestation-of-aha. Tvedtnes, Gee, and Roper, “Book of Mormon Names Attested,” 40–51.
25. “Pray tell me what kinds of grain neas and sheum are. Joseph Smith’s translation needs another translation, to render it intelligible.” Bacheler, Mormonism Exposed, Internally and Externally, 14; G. Townshend, Why I Am Not a Mormon (Denver: Alexander & Meyer, 1907), 14; George Bartholomew Arbaugh, Revelation in Mormonism: Its Character and Changing Forms (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1932), 55; Latayne Colvette Scott, The Mormon Mirage: A Former Mormon Tells Why She Left the Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1979), 84; Rick Branch, “Book of Mormon Fails,” Utah Evangel 30, no. 2 (1983): 3; Thomas Key, A Biologist Looks at the Book of Mormon (Marlow, OK: Utah Missions, 1985), 2.
26. Mark Weeden, “The Akkadian Words for ‘Grain’ and the God Haya,” Die Welt des Orients 39, no. 1 (2009): 77–107; John Huehnergard, A Grammar of Akkadian (Altanta: Scholars Press, 1997), 528; Scripture Central Staff, “Attestation of Sheum,” Evidence 138, 19 January 2021, scripturecentral.org/evidence/book-of-mormon-evidence-attestation-of-sheum; Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names and Foreign Words, 321–25.
27. Bacheler, Mormonism Exposed, Internally and Externally, 14; Scott, Mormon Mirage, 84; Branch, “Book of Mormon Fails,” 3; Key, Biologist Looks at the Book of Mormon, 2.
28. Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names and Foreign Words, 248–49; Jeremy Black, Andrew George, and Nicholas Postgate, A Concise Dictionary of Akkadian (Wiesbaden, DE: Harrassowitz Verlag, 1999), 28; A. Leo Oppenheim et al., eds., The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, vol. 1, part 2 (Chicago: Oriental Institute, 1968), 450–52.
29. Bacheler, Mormonism Exposed, Internally and Externally, 15.
30. Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names and Foreign Words, 368–70.
31. Jerry D. Grover, Ziff, Magic Goggles, and Golden Plates: Etymology of Zyf and a Metallurgical Analysis of the Book of Mormon Plates (Provo, UT: Grover Publishing, 2015), 39.
32. Bacheler, Mormonism Exposed, Internally and Externally, 15.
33. Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names and Foreign Words, 211–12.
34. Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names and Foreign Words, 51–53, 268.
[Page 174]35. Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names and Foreign Words, 329–30.
36. Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names and Foreign Words, 301–3.
37. Genesis 18:6; 1 Samuel 25:18; 1 Kings 18:32; 2 Kings 7:1, 16, 18; Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names and Foreign Words, 303–5.
38. See Scripture Central Staff, “Wordplay on Antion,” Evidence 260, 25 October 2021, scripturecentral.org/evidence/wordplay-on-antion; Scripture Central Staff, “Wordplay on Zeezrom,” Evidence 49, 19 September 2020, scripturecentral.org/evidence/book-of-mormon-evidence-wordplay-on-zeezrom.
39. Bacheler, Mormonism Exposed, Internally and Externally, 15.
40. See Matthew L. Bowen, “‘See That Ye Are Not Lifted Up’: The Name Zoram and Its Paronomastic Pejoration,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 19 (2016): 109–43, journal.interpreterfoundation.org/see-that-ye-are-not-lifted-up-the-name-zoram-and-its-paronomastic-pejoration/. For an interesting contrast between the the Zoramite Rameumptom and the Hill Onidah, see Matthew L. Bowen, “He Knows My Affliction: The Hill Onidah as Narrative Counterpart to the Rameumptom,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-Day Saint Faith and Scholarship 34 (2020): 195–220, journal.interpreterfoundation.org/he-knows-my-affliction-the-hill-onidah-as-narrative-counterpart-to-the-rameumptom/.
41. Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names and Foreign Words, 284–85.
42. “Page 318, a place is called ‘Onidah.’ Perhaps the writer has heard of a county in this state the name of which sounds exactly like the above.” Sunderland, “Mormonism.”
43. Bowen, “Striking While the Irony Is Hot,” 240–41; Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, eds., A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1974), 777; G. Johannes Botterweck, Helmer Ringgren, and Heinz–Josef Fabry, Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, trans. David E. Green (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2001), 11:234, 239–40; Scripture Central Staff, “Wordplay on Onidah,” Evidence 292, 27 December 2021, scripturecentral.org/evidence/wordplay-on-onidah; Bowen, “He Knows My Affliction,” 195–220.
44. Sunderland, “Mormonism.”
45. Sunderland, “Mormonism.”
46. In 1830, a writer for the Rochester Gem parodied the Book of Mormon, “containing the books of Nephi, Nimshi, Pukei, and Buckeye,” and called it the work of “an ignoramus.” “Imposition and Blasphemy!!—Moneydiggers, Etc,” Rochester Gem, 15 May 1830, 15. See also “The Book of Pukei—Chap. 1,” Reflector (Palmyra, NY), 12 June 1830; “Book of Pukei.—Chap. 2,” Reflector (Palmyra, NY), 7 July 1830. Another writer purported, “There is not a single discovery or scrap of evidence in support of any of the following names of heads, under which the book has been divided, viz . . . Nephi.” M. A. Sbresny, Mormonism: As It Is Today. Some Striking Revelations (London: Arthur H. Stockwell, 1911), 24–25. One writer suggested “‘Nephi,’ might have been a corruption of ‘Nepheg,’ Hebraic for ‘offshoot,’ one of those begotten in Exodus.” [Page 175]Grover C. Loud, Evangelized America (New York: Dial Press, 1928), 150. Others have claimed it derives from the word naphthar, or naphtha, a flammable oil-like liquid that is mentioned in the apocryphal Book of Maccabees and that the KJV renders “nephi.” Jerald Tanner and Sandra Tanner, Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? (Salt Lake City: Utah Lighthouse Ministry, 1987), 72. See 2 Maccabees 1:36.
47. Gee, “ Beyond Etymology,” 221–22; Scripture Central Staff, “Wordplay on Nephi,” Evidence 160, 1 March 2021, scripturecentral.org/evidence/book-of-mormon-evidence-wordplay-on-nephi; Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names and Foreign Words, 251–53; Scripture Central Staff, “What Is So Good about Nephi’s Name?,” KnoWhy 445, 28 June 2018, scripturecentral.org/knowhy/what-is-so-good-about-nephis-name; John Gee, “Four Suggestions on the Origin of the Name Nephi,” in Pressing Forward with the Book of Mormon: The FARMS Updates of the 1990s, ed. John W. Welch and Melvin J. Thorne (Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies [FARMS], 1999), 1–5. On the rich and remarkable wordplay on this Egyptian name, see Matthew L. Bowen, “Internal Textual Evidence for the Egyptian Origin of Nephi’s Name,” Insights 22, no. 11 (2002): 2, scholarsarchive.byu.edu/insights/vol22/iss11/3/; Matthew L. Bowen, “‘O Ye Fair Ones’: An Additional Note on the Meaning of the Name Nephi,” Insights 23, no. 6 (2003): 2–3, scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1308&context=insights; Matthew L. Bowen, “‘O Ye Fair Ones’—Revisited,” Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 20 (2016): 315–44, journal.interpreterfoundation.org/o-ye-fair-ones-revisited/; Matthew L. Bowen, “Nephi’s Good Inclusio,” Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 17 (2016): 181–95, journal.interpreterfoundation.org/nephis-good-inclusio/; Bowen, “‘He Is a Good Man’: The Fulfillment of Helaman 5:6–7 in Helaman 8:7 and 11:18–19,” Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 17 (2016): 167–68, journal.interpreterfoundation.org/he-is-a-good-man-the-fulfillment-of-helaman-56-7-in-helaman-87-and-1118-19/.
48. Shook, Cumorah Revisited, 500; Sbresny, Mormonism, 24–25.
49. Walter Martin, The Maze of Mormonism (Santa Ana, CA: Vision House, 1978), 327. See also Robert McKay, “A Mormon Name,” Utah Evangel 31, no. 8 (August 1984): 4; McKay, “What about Alma?” Inner Circle 2, no. 9 (September 1985): 6.
50. John L. Smith, “That Man Alma,” Utah Evangel 33, no. 3 (April 1986): 2.
51. Yigael Yadin, Bar-Kokhba: The Rediscovery of the Legendary Hero of the Last Jewish Revolt against Imperial Rome (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1971), 176; Hugh Nibley, The Prophetic Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1989), 281–82.
52. Neal Rappleye and Allen Hansen, “More Evidence for Alma as a Semitic Name,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith 62 (2024): 415–28, journal.interpreterfoundation.org/more-evidence-for-alma-as-a-semitic-name/.
53. Terrence L. Szink, “The Personal Name ‘Alma’ at Ebla,” Religious Educator 1 (Spring 2000): 53–56. Scripture Central Staff, “Wordplay on Alma,” Evidence 161, 8 March 2021, scripturecentral.org/evidence/book-of-mormon-wordplay-on-alma; Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names and Foreign Words, 17–18.
54. Bowen, “Striking While the Irony Is Hot,” 233–34; Matthew L. Bowen, “Alma: [Page 176]Young Man, Hidden Prophet,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-Day Saint Faith and Scripture 19 (2016): 343–53, journal.interpreterfoundation.org/alma-young-man-hidden-prophet/; Matthew L. Bowen, “‘He Did Go About Secretly’: Additional Thoughts on the Literary Use of Alma’s Name,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-Day Saint Faith and Scripture 27 (2017): 197–212, journal.interpreterfoundation.org/he-did-go-about-secretly-additional-thoughts-on-the-literary-use-of-almas-name/; Aaron P. Schade and Matthew L. Bowen, “‘To Whom Is the Arm of the Lord Revealed?,’” Religious Educator 16, no. 2 (2015): 91–111, rsc.byu.edu/vol-16-no-2-2015/whom-arm-lord-revealed-part-1.
55. Sbresny, Mormonism, 24–25. According to one critic, “Moroni is a good Italian name.” Ralph Leonard Foster, The Book of Mormon on Trial (Klamath Falls, OR: printed by the author, 1963), 16.
56. Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names and Foreign Words, 238–39.
57. Sbresny, Mormonism, 24–25. Early critics of the Book of Mormon claimed that the name Mormon was derived from the Greek word mormo. “Mr Howe,” Letter to the Editor, Painesville Telegraph, 1 March 1831. “The word Mormon, the name given to his book, is the English termination of the Greek word ‘Mormoo,’ which we find defined in an old, obsolete Dictionary, to mean ‘bug-bear, hob-goblin, raw-head, and bloody-bones.’ It seems, therefore, that the writer gave his book not only a very appropriate, but classic name. His experiment upon the human mind, he thought, would be more perfect, by giving it a name, in addition to its contents, which would carry upon its very face the nature of its true character—a fiction of hob-goblins and bug-bears.” E. D. Howe, Mormonism Unvailed (Painesville, OH: printed by the author, 1834), 21. “It is a singular fact that, in the Greek language, the word Mormon signifies a mischievous fool or idiot.” “Mormonism,” Supplement to the Connecticut Courant 5, no. 22 (1838): 175–76; James H. Hunt, Mormonism (St. Louis: Ustick and Davies, 1844), 17; George Wotherspoon, Mormonism; or, The Faith of the Latter-day Saints (London: Sunday Lecture Society, 1886), 15; “Joseph Smith as an Etymologist, or, The Origin of the Word ‘Mormon,’” Sword of Laban 1, no. 3 (October 1908): 1–6. Walter Prince suggested the name was derived from the name William Morgan, whose murder inspired the anti-Masonic controversy. Walter Franklin Prince, “Psychological Tests for the Authorship of the Book of Mormon,” American Journal of Psychology 28, no. 3 (1917): 379. “Mormon—A writer of wicked, absurd, fictitious nonsense, for evil purposes, to make sorcerers.” “Mr. Editor,” Warsaw Signal.
58. Wilhelm Spiegelberg, “Zu den semitischen Eigennamen in agyptischer Umschrift aus der Zeit des ‘neuen Reiches’ (um 1500–1000),” Zeitschrift fur Assyriologie 13 (1898): 51; Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names and Foreign Words, 232–36; Hugh Nibley, An Approach to the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: FARMS, 1988), 500n30.
59. Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names and Foreign Words, 232.
60. Matthew L. Bowen, “‘Most Desirable above All Other Things’: Onomastic Play on Mary and Mormon in the Book of Mormon,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scripture 13 (2015): 27–61, journal.interpreterfoundation.org/most-desirable-above-all-things-onomastic-play-on-mary-and-mormon-in-the-book-of-mormon/; Matthew L. Bowen, “‘That Which They Most Desired’: [Page 177]The Waters of Mormon, Baptism, the Love of God, and the Bitter Fountain,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scripture 39 (2020): 261–98, journal.interpreterfoundation.org/that-which-they-most-desired-the-waters-of-mormon-baptism-the-love-of-god-and-the-bitter-fountain/. See also Paul Y. Hoskisson, “What’s in a Name? Mormon—Part 1,” Insights for the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship 32, no. 2 (2012): 2–3, scholarsarchive.byu.edu/insights/vol32/iss2/3/; Paul Y. Hoskisson, “What’s in a Name? Mormon—Part 2,” Insights for the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship 32, no. 3 (2012): 2–3, 7, scholarsarchive.byu.edu/insights/vol32/iss3/2/.
61. Franklin, “The State of Deseret,” Warsaw Signal (Warsaw, IL), 30 March 1850; see also T. W. P. Taylder, The Mormon’s Own Book (London: Partridge, Oakey, 1855), 12; Enos T. Hall, Mormon Bible (Columbus: Fred J. Heer, 1899), 54; Key, Biologist Looks at the Book of Mormon, 1.
62. Toby A. H. Wilkinson, Early Dynastic Egypt (New York: Routledge, 1999), 163.
63. Alan Gardiner, Egyptian Grammar: Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Griffiths Institute, 1964), 504.
64. Gardiner, Egyptian Grammar, 504; Scripture Central Staff, “Deseret,” Evidence 343, 6 June 2022, scripturecentral.org/evidence/deseret; Scripture Central Staff, “Where Does the Word ‘Deseret’ Come From?,” KnoWhy 236, 22 November 2016, scripturecentral.org/knowhy/where-does-the-word-deseret-come-from; Nibley, Lehi in the Desert / The World of the Jaredites / There Were Jaredites, 189–94, for his full discussion on deseret.
65. Key, Biologist Looks at the Book of Mormon, 1.
66. Matthew L. Bowen, “Look to the Lord! The Meaning of Liahona and the Doctrine of Christ in Alma 37–38,” in Give Ear to My Words: Text and Context of Alma 36–42, ed. Kerry M. Hull, Nicholas J. Frederick, and Hank R. Smith (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2019), 275–95. See also Timothy Gervais and John L. Joyce, “‘By Small Means’: Rethinking the Liahona,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 30 (2018): 207–32, journal.interpreterfoundation.org/by-small-means-rethinking-the-liahona/; Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names and Foreign Words, 205–6.
67. Bacheler, Mormonism Exposed, Internally and Externally, 14; Samuel W. Traum, Mormonism against Itself (Cincinnati: Standard Publishing, 1910), 92; Key, Biologist Looks at the Book of Mormon, 1.
68. Bacheler, Mormonism Exposed, Internally and Externally, 14.
69. Traum, Mormonism against Itself, 92; Key, Biologist Looks at the Book of Mormon, 1.
70. Scripture Central Staff, “Irreantum,” Evidence 77, 19 September 2020, scripturecentral.org/evidence/book-of-mormon-evidence-irreantum; Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names and Foreign Words, 148–49; Paul Y. Hoskisson, Brian M. Hauglid, and John Gee, “What’s in a Name? Irreantum,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 11 (2002): 90–93, scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jbms/vol11/iss1/15/.
[Page 178]71. Key, Biologist Looks at the Book of Mormon, 1.
72. Matthew L. Bowen, “Shazer: An Etymological Proposal in Narrative Context,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 33 (2019): 1–12, journal.interpreterfoundation.org/shazer-an-etymological-proposal-in-narrative-context/.
73. Sbresny, Mormonism, 24–25.
74. Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names and Foreign Words in the Book of Mormon, 161–62; Tvedtnes, Gee, and Roper, “Book of Mormon Names Attested,” 49; Deutsch and Heltzer, New Epigraphic Evidence from the Biblical Period, 90–91.
75. Scott, Mormon Mirage, 64; Gary Workman, “An Examination of Mormon ‘Inspiration’ (Part II),” Thrust 2, no. 4 (1982): 167.
76. Scott, Mormon Mirage, 64; Workman, “An Examination of Mormon ‘Inspiration,’” 167.
77. “Most of the names appearing in the Book of Mormon are either derived directly from the Bible or are made by slightly changing or combining names found in the Bible.” Tanner and Tanner, Shadow or Reality?, 94; Key, Biologist Looks at the Book of Mormon, 1; Key, Book of Mormon in the Light of Science, 41.
78. Scripture Central Staff, “Attestation of Aha”; Scripture Central Staff, “Attestation of Sebus,” Evidence 137, 19 January 2021, scripturecentral.org/evidence/book-of-mormon-evidence-attestation-of-sebus; Scripture Central Staff, “Attestation of Shilum,” Evidence 142, 25 January 2021, scripturecentral.org/evidence/book-of-mormon-evidence-attestation-of-shilum; Scripture Central Staff, “Attestation of Sariah,” Evidence 153, 15 February 2021, scripturecentral.org/evidence/book-of-mormon-evidence-attestation-of-sariah.
79. See examples in Bowen, Name As Key-Word; Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names and Foreign Words; and by filtering for wordplay-related articles at Evidences, Scripture Central (website), scripturecentral.org/evidence?selectedTag=linguistics/wordplays.
80. Key, Biologist Looks at the Book of Mormon, 1; Key, Book of Mormon in the Light of Science, 41.
81. Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names and Foreign Words, 232–36, 251–53, 271–72; Matthew L. Bowen, “‘Swearing by Their Everlasting Maker’: Some Notes on Paanchi and Giddianhi,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 28 (2018): 155–70, journal.interpreterfoundation.org/swearing-by-their-everlasting-maker-some-notes-on-paanchi-and-giddianhi/.
82. See Scripture Central Staff, “Deseret”; Bowen, “‘Swearing by Their Everlasting Maker’,” 155–70; Scripture Central Staff, “Irreantum”; Bowen, “‘That Which They Most Desired,’” 261–98; Bowen, “Nephi’s Good Inclusio,” 181–95; Bowen, “‘He Is a Good Man,’” 165–70; Bowen, “‘Most Desirable above All Things,’” 27–61; Matthew L. Bowen, “‘What Meaneth the Rod of Iron?,’” Insights 25, no. 2 (2005), 2–3, scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1213&context=insights; Nathan J. Arp, “Joseph Knew First: Moses, the Egyptian Son,” [Page 179]Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 32 (2019): 187–98, journal.interpreterfoundation.org/joseph-knew-first-moses-the-egyptian-son/. See 2 Nephi 3:17 for evidence of this wordplay in the Book of Mormon.
83. William F. Albright to Grant S. Heward, 25 July 1966, copy in the author’s possession.
84. Walter Prince suggested the name Zarahemla was derived from the New York town Zaradatha. Prince, “Psychological Tests,” 383.
85. Bowen, “Striking While the Irony Is Hot,” 238–39; John A. Tvedtnes, “Names of People: Book of Mormon,” in Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics, ed. Geoffrey Khan (Boston: Brill, 2013), 2:787; Brown, Driver, and Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon, 282, 328; Scripture Central Staff, “Wordplay on Zarahemla,” Evidence 116, 26 November 2020, scripturecentral.org/evidence/book-of-mormon-evidence-wordplay-on-zarahemla; Matthew L. Bowen, “‘Can You Suppose That the Lord Will Spare You?’: Moroni’s Charged Rhetoric in Alma 60:30–32,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-Day Saint Faith and Scholarship 51 (2022): 199–210, journal.interpreterfoundation.org/can-you-suppose-that-the-lord-will-spare-you-moronis-charged-rhetoric-in-alma-6030-32/.
86. Sbresny, Mormonism, 24–25.
87. Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names and Foreign Words, 360–61.
88. Sbresny, Mormonism, 24–25.
89. Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names and Foreign Words, 264–65. See also Matthew L. Bowen, “‘I of Myself Am a Wicked Man’: Some Notes on Allusion and Textual Dependency in Omni 1:1–2,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 40 (2020): 71–88, journal.interpreterfoundation.org/i-of-myself-am-a-wicked-man-some-notes-on-allusion-and-textual-dependency-in-omni-11-2/.
90. Sbresny, Mormonism, 24–25; Tanner and Tanner, Shadow or Reality?, 95.
91. Bowen, “Striking While the Irony Is Hot,” 236–37; Scripture Central Staff, “Mosiah,” Evidence 148, 9 February 2021, scripturecentral.org/evidence/book-of-mormon-evidence-the-meaning-of-mosiah; Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names and Foreign Words, 241–42; John W. Welch, “What Was a Mosiah?,” in Reexploring the Book of Mormon: A Decade of New Research, ed. John W. Welch (Provo, UT: FARMS; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1992), 105–7; John Sawyer, “What Was a Mošiaʿ?,” Vetus Testamentum 15 (1965): 475–86.
92. Sbresny, Mormonism, 24–25.
93. Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names and Foreign Words, 137–39.
94. Sbresny, Mormonism, 24–25.
95. Braden, “Braden-Kelly Debate.”. Walter Prince argued that the element anti in this and other Book of Mormon names was derived from the term anti-Masonic. Prince, “Psychological Tests,” 380.
96. Ricks et al., Dictionary of Proper Names and Foreign Words, 48–51.

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