An Egyptian Linguistic Component in Book of Mormon Names

Authors

Eve Koller

Keywords

Mormon studies, Egyptian language, Book of Mormon

Abstract

In February 2012, while studying the Book of Mormon, I searched in the index of the Triple Combination to clarify the identity of an individual. I came across names starting with “Z” and noticed a pattern—Zenephi, Zenos, Zenock. They looked as though they were composed of scriptural names (Nephi, Enos, Enoch, and so forth) with different forms of a z- prefix that might mean “son of ” or “descendant of.” Later, I noticed the name Cezoram and wondered if it was part of the same pattern, with a variation of the same prefix. Over the years, I investigated the matter further, and I eventually came across the work of Stephen Ricks and John A. Tvedtnes. They suggested that Zeezrom (see Alma 10–12, 14–15, 31; and Hel. 5) incorporates the Hebrew zeh, which would render the meaning of Zeezrom as “he of ezrom.”

Recommended Citation

Koller, Eve (2018) "An Egyptian Linguistic Component in Book of Mormon Names," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 57: Iss. 4, Article 7.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol57/iss4/7