Book of mormon onomasticon project

Alma is in fact an anciently attested semitic masculine personal name something that joseph smith would have been, to. A project to share with the world what is the book of mormon. Willes center for book of mormon studies in byus maxwell institute. An onomasticon is a collection of names and the book of mormon onomasticon project looks at all the names in the book of mormon. This article introduces five subsequent articles that. The earliest text author royal skousen has made it his lifes work to bring readers back to the original text of the book of mormon. I also commonly suggested that what had once seemed a weakness in the book of mormon was now evidently an asset. The scripture study project is dedicated to helping you discover the scriptures in a fresh way, invest your mind and heart into your personal study, and connect to god in your everyday life. Volume 4 of royal skousens book of mormon critical text project contains six parts that detail the textual variants found throughout the text of the book of mormon. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. The languages in turn can help inform us about the culture and customs of people who spoke the languages. Although it is still under development, there is plenty of great information and research available already on. Does the name alma challenge the historicity of the book. Nearly three years ago, i wrote a blog post about the book of mormon onomasticon project, and it became a pretty popular post, even being featured on real clear religion.

Seeking agreement on the meaning of book of mormon names. If the textual passages common to the book of mormon and the bible are excluded, 53 names occur in both books. A subset of these changes does not come from definitive evidence found in the manuscripts or printed editions but are conjectural emendations. We are not official representatives of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. When i first encountered brigham young universitys online book of mormon onomasticon project, i promptly turned to zenephi. Launch into the book of mormon and its history with incredible and free tools from scholars including internactive maps, apps, and much more.

Some have wondered whether this peculiarsounding name has any plausible ancient etymology. Jun 12, 20 an onomasticon is a collection of names and the book of mormon onomasticon project looks at all the names in the book of mormon. In fact, the work done by scholars associated with the book of mormon onomasticon project have suggested possible ancient elements in the name, thus lending support to the book of mormons historicity. The book of mormon onomasticon is a vast work that compiles possible etymologies and origins of all personal names mentioned in the book of mormon text. Skousen, analysis of textual variants, part 1, 259. Although some of those names appear in the bible, a large majority of them are unique to the book of mormon. Additional book of mormon study resources book of mormon. The book of mormon is a musical comedy with music, lyrics and book by trey parker, robert lopez, and matt stone first staged in 2011, the play is a satirical examination of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints beliefs and practices that ultimately endorses the positive power of love and service.

Biblical minimalists have sought to undermine or deemphasize the significance of the tel dan inscription attesting to the existence of the house of david. Coutts uncovering the original text of the book of mormon. Given this grouping of the book of mormon onomasticon, 142 of the 188 unique book of mormon names are lehitemulekite, 41 are jaredite, and 5 are common to both groups. Nov 26, 2014 bowne connects mary and mormon together and demonstrates how the principle authors of the book of mormon knew precisely the meaning of these two names and used them to teach gospel truths to their audiences.

Book of mormon onomasticon project launched online the book of mormon onomasticon project, which has long been in the works, has finally been launched online. The book of mormon and the bible, growing together, strengthen each other 2 nephi 3. The scripture study project scripture study book of mormon. New study tool to find the meaning of book of mormon names. To view any of the parts, click on one of the links below. The book of mormon onomasticon project done through brigham young university gives compelling etymologies for the names moroni and cumorah. The transliterations of the english text allow only educated conjectures and approximations about the nature of the names and their possible semantic. The name might also designate a nephite prince, or any nephite for that matter. The book of mormon onomasticon project is dedicated to looking at the proper names in the book of mormon in order to provide a unique and useful tool for the study of the peoples of that book and make possible new insights for understanding the text. Widtsoes brother wrote, the following chapters on the subject of the restoration are the outcome of an invitation to write, during the winter of 191011, a series of lessons for the young ladies mutual improvement association.

The objective is not to find the most correct meaning for each passage of the book of mormon, but to find the most likely sources which joseph smith remixed to create the book of mormon. The interpreter foundation currently hosts digital versions of all six parts of this volume. Several possible meanings for cumorah have been proposed see book of mormon onomasticon, article. Though the intent of the onomasticon project was never apologetic, the results of the project could be used by apologists.

He is manager of the farms onomasticon project, which seeks to. Bowne connects mary and mormon together and demonstrates how the principle authors of the book of mormon knew precisely the meaning of these two names and used them to teach gospel truths to their audiences. Jun 18, 20 book of mormon onomasticon project launched online the book of mormon onomasticon project, which has long been in the works, has finally been launched online. Learn more about archaeological discoveries and their relevance regarding the book of mormon. See more ideas about book of mormon, lds books and lds scriptures. Easy access to current research for further studies. Seeking agreement on the meaning of book of mormon names by. On this revelation, see book of mormon central, why does an angel reveal the name of christ to jacob. This threevolume set is now available on project gutenberg in its entirety. I am a syriac orthodox priest ordained by the famed former owner of the dead sea scrolls, athanatius yesua samuel. Jan 11, 2016 the book of mormon onomasticon project is dedicated to looking at the proper names in the book of mormon in order to provide a unique and useful tool for the study of the peoples of that book and make possible new insights for understanding the text. In 1988, with that preliminary phase of the project completed, professor skousen took over as editor and head of the farms critical text of the book of mormon project and proceeded to gather still scattered fragments of the original manuscript of the book of mormon and to have advanced photographic techniques applied to obtain fine readings. Volume 4 of royal skousens book of mormon critical text project contains six parts that detail the textual variants found throughout the text of the book of.

Book of mormon onomasticon the interpreter foundation. Over two hundred proper names of peoples or places appear in the book of mormon text. Although it is still under development, there is plenty of great information and research available already on every single name in the book of mormon. He responded by saying that finding any meaning for such a root was difficult, however, a possible interpretation might be found from the. Apr 24, 2017 royal skousen, analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon. For example, pomeroy tucker in his 1867 book origin, rise, and progress of mormonism 37 years after the book of mormon was published and 23 years after josephs death, portrayed the smith family as an illiterate. Welcome to our project to crowd source the origins of the book of mormon, a controversial text published in 1830. The onomasticon project also provides some insight. Ramahcumorah is large enough that 230,000 people could encamp around it for a period of up to four years mormon 6. May 31, 2014 when i first encountered brigham young universitys online book of mormon onomasticon project, i promptly turned to zenephi. Nephis words are strong because they reinforce the earlier text 2 nephi 3.

Do names in the book of mormon have a hebrew meaning. Smith and robert mckay and, for that matter, one of their more serious arguments involved the book of mormon proper name alma, which belongs to two of the books most significant characters. Onomasticon variants as disclosed by the book of mormon critical text project the purpose of this list of variants is to provide dependable information on the variant readings among book of mormon words of foreign origin. Oct 09, 2014 the objective of the book of mormon project is to help the world understand what the book of mormon is. Skousen history of the critical text project of the book of mormon found in gerald m. The book of mormon onomasticon project done through brigham young university gives compelling etymologies for the names. For the present, lehite and mulekite names must be treated together. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. Where the pattern may be real namesthe geography is forced, sloppy, and inconsistent with the hemispheric model touted previously, biblical connections can explain many of them, and the book of mormon onomasticon project takes a much more careful and thorough approach to the issue of names. My father once asked about the book of mormon name zenephi. Book of mormon minimalists and the nhm inscriptions. Though the intent of the onomasticon project was never apologetic, the results of.

Some names in the book of mormon do have hebrew derivations and meanings to them, so far as they can be recovered at the present. Critics have typically assumed that joseph smith modified either. The result, now available as a free ebook on project gutenberg, was originally published with a preface by. But the book of mormon onomasticon project is not the only place where research of this kind is being conducted. The mormon texts project free, highquality ebooks of. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which, according to adherents, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. We provide relevant details on each word discussed, in order to make it possible to judge which variants to take seriously. Hoskisson leads the onomasticon project, which seeks to identify and interpret book of mormon names using standard principles and methods.

In a personal communication with paul hoskisson, director of the book of mormon onomasticon project, i asked if there were any meanings for the root hemla or hemlah in the near eastern languages. The book of mormon convinces people of the truthfulness of the bible. New light from ancient yemen, journal of book of mormon studies 81 1999. Welch, ten testimonies of jesus christ from the book of mormon, in doctrines of the book of mormon, ed. From the original manuscript to the current lds edition of the book of mormon, various changes have made their way into the text. Journal of book of mormon studies volume 11 issue 1 jstor. Mckay found it uproariously funny and patently ridiculous that two supposedly ancient and more or less semitic men bore what everybody knew to be a womans name with a latin. The book of mormon onomasticon project operated for years under the auspices of the laura f. Book of mormon words will come out of gods own mouth 2 nephi 3. Royal skousens book of mormon critical text project has proposed many hundreds of changes to the text of the book of mormon. Aston, newly found altars from nahom, journal of book of mormon studies 102 2001. Dec 29, 2016 the book of mormon convinces people of the truthfulness of the bible. Parker and stone were best known for creating the animated comedy south park.

Royal skousen, analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon. Hebrew documents of the bar kokhba period yadin, p. Similarly, those who might be called book of mormon minimalists such as dan vogel have marshaled evidence to try to make the nhm inscriptions from south arabia, corresponding to the book of mormon nahom, seem as. A look at the book of mormon onomasticon since the appearance of the book of mormon in 1830, critics and believers alike have sought to explain the ori gin and meaning of the more than 200 nonbiblical names in the nephite record. The new witnesses roberts discusses are joseph smith volume one, 1895 and the book of mormon volumes two and three, both released 1909. The site is mostly a work in progress so accessing it at any given time will inform people of the latest thought on any particular name. For a summary of the current state of the ancient evidence, see the entry on alma on the website of the book of mormon onomasticon project. One of the favorite arguments deployed against the claims of the restoration by the evangels principal authors, pastor john l. Book of mormonplagiarism accusationscomoros islands and. Sep 26, 2019 the book of mormon onomasticon project operated for years under the auspices of the laura f. Hugh nibley and others have done extensive research into the names used in the book of mormon, some of which have egyptian as well as other semitic roots. Part one, 1 nephi 12 nephi 10, the book of mormon critical text project, volume 4 provo, ut. The single greatest impediment to understanding the semantic possibilities for the book of mormon proper names remains the lack of the original nephite text. Mormon interpreters most desirable above all things.

We host a weekly podcast covering the bible and book of mormon. In fact, the work done by scholars associated with the book of mormon onomasticon project have suggested possible ancient elements in the name, thus lending support to the book of mormon s historicity. The earliest text, attempts to sift through changes in the manuscript to. The book of mormon certainly doesnt look less ancient or less authentic because it features men named alma. Oct 12, 2016 northward from ramahcumorah is a relatively large body of water 11 the nephites called ripliancum ether 15. Jun, 20 book of mormon onomasticon project launched online the book of mormon onomasticon project, which has long been in the works, has finally been launched online. See more ideas about book of mormon, scripture study and lds scriptures. July 28,1991 i met burk childers in vancouver, washington, a few years later in 1997. I commented on volume one here and volume two here back when they were released. A curious feature of the book of mormon is the existence of apparent semitic wordplays such as puns or other plays on hebrew words. Archaeology and the book of mormon book mormon history. In that post, i used the name zoram as a case study on how the meaning of names can shed light on the te.

Mar 18, 2016 nearly three years ago, i wrote a blog post about the book of mormon onomasticon project, and it became a pretty popular post, even being featured on real clear religion. Much preliminary work remains to be done on the book of mormon onomasticon. This initiative is dedicated to deciphering the linguistic roots of book of mormon names to show the anitquity of book of mormon personal names. Of these 337 proper names, 188 are unique to the book of mormon, while 149 are common to the book of mormon and the bible. It is hoped that the book of mormon onomasticon can inform us about the languages used to compose the book. This is a very useful resource, to which any knowledgeable reader can contribute further information. The methodological errors in thinking book of mormon locations ought to be identified today are thoroughly and insightfully addressed in a 1993 article by william hamblin, entitled basic methodological problems with the antimormon approach to the geography and archaeology of the book of mormon journal of book of mormon studies 21 spring. The book of mormon onomasticon project, which has long been in. In that post, i used the name zoram as a case study on how the meaning of names can shed light on the text. An onomasticon, from the greek onoma or name, is a list of proper nouns, often including their meanings. In this respect, the proper names in the book of mormon form a unique and useful tool for the study of the peoples of that book and make possible new insights for understanding the book of mormon. Do names in the book of mormon bear witness of its. Willes center for book of mormon studies book of mormon onomasticon.