Nephi is a syropalestinian semitic form of an attested egyptian mans name and the npy egyptian nfr spelling is found in the phoenician as knpy. The book of 1 nephi is mostly historical, dealing with with the familys journey to the promised land, the rebellion of laman and lemuel, and nephi s purpose for keeping the record. The first means sea captaina fitting name for the amateur but faithful shipbuilder. Could the idea for the names for the major groups found.
Three of the four etymologies proposed for the name nephi are egyptian. In the first book of the book of mormon, first nephi, lehi and nephi lead their family out of jerusalem, and across the sea to the promised land the americas. Like proper names in most languages, the proper names of the book of mormon probably had semantic meanings for book of mormon peoples. What does the name nephi mean in other origin if you know then please suggest. Jaredite names exhibit no consistently obvious linguistic affinity. It is also used in the book of mormon as the name of a prophet.
Nephi is most likely derived from an egyptian word nfr which means good, goodly, fine, or fair meaning beautiful. The name anti in the book of mormon book of mormon. Lessons from the elephantine papyri regarding book of mormon names and nephi s temple. In semitic languages, two directions exist for seeking the etymology of this important book of mormon name, nph. Four suggestions on the origin of the name nephi i, nephi. Authentic egyptian names in the book of mormon the book of mormon claims a close tie to all things egyptian 1 nephi 1. As nonmormon scholars view the book of mormon as a work of fiction, and do not recognize nephi as a historical figure, the predominant scholarly view is that the name was selected or coined by joseph smith. History of name and famous personality with nephi will help to update our database and other website users. Nephi meaning and origin of the name nephi nameaning. Moroni, pronounced mor own eye, often comes out as mor on knee. The english name nephihah is a derivative of nephi. The name nephi one may confidently conclude, whether from nfr or nfw, the name nephi is an attested egyptian name. Tvedtnes, ma, graduate student in semitic linguistics and archaeology, hebrew university, jerusalem.
The know i, nephi, having been born of goodly parents 1 nephi 1. Nephi is an ancient egyptian name with multiple meanings. As with most settlements in utah, nephi s founders were mormons, and the name of the town came from the book of mormon. Hebrew names having meanings, the book of mormon claims. Nephis name may come from one of two ancient egyptian words. The name derives from hebrew, to comfort, or, to moan, both suitable for a burial site. Joseph smith was fascinated by stones as were his characters in the book of mormon.
It consists of 5 letters and 2 syllables and is pronounced nephi. Fox, the territorial surveyor, were instructed by church leaders to lay out the town of. Further suggestion or detail on what is the meaning of name nephi. Such meanings are evident from sseveral instances wherein the book of mormon provides a translation for a proper name. Leehy was a prophet who lived in jerusalem during the reign of king zedekiah approximately 600 bc. One meaning is sea captain see john gee, four suggestions on the origin of the name nephi, in pressing forward with the book of mormon, f. Given this information, it is possible that nephi could be a hypocoristicon meaning the rising of x is celebrated, though an akkadian etymology for a book of mormon name should take backstage to hebrew or egyptian. Nephi is the author of the first two books in the book of mormon, called 1 nephi and 2 nephi. Even if you assume the book of mormon to be true and that it was written in reformed egyptian, nephi was an israelite of israelite ancestry living in jerusalem.
Lehi and his wife sariah, and his four sons, being called, beginning at the eldest laman, lemuel, sam, and nephi. First and second were added to the titles of the books of nephi by oliver cowdery when preparing the book for printing. Book of mormon nuggets jeff lindsays site and the shake. Nephi, of hebrew origin, is not a popular first name. Indeed, the very script that mormon used in abridging the plates was, according to him, an egyptian script called amongst the nephite scribes reformed egyptian mormon 9. Everything name meaning, origin, pronunciation, numerology, popularity and more information about nephi at nameaning. Anti nephi lehi, antiomno, antion, antionah, antionum, antiparah and antipus. Brandt, the name jesus christ revealed to the nephites, in second nephi, the doctrinal structure, ed.
Nephi, son of lehi mormonism, the mormon church, beliefs. Nephi makes two sets of recordseach is called the plates of nephi the larger plates contain a secular history. Book of mormon names attested in ancient hebrew inscriptions. It is the city we know today as memphis, located across the nile from cairo, but it is referred to by its original name of noph a variant of nephi in the writings of hosea, isaiah, and jeremiah. I think this is nephi s way of saying how much he loved his wife and was grateful for her.
An account of lehi and his wife sariah, and his four sons, being called, beginning at the eldest laman, lemuel, sam, and nephi. One meaning is sea captain see john gee, four suggestions on the origin of the name nephi, in pressing forward with the book of. We are thankful for all the contribution on meaning of boy name nephi. Both the origin and meaning of the name nephi is inherited by all variant forms. The origin of the name nephi is uncertain, and disputed. Anti nephi lehi was the name given to the son of the chief lamanite king in the greater land of nephi after his conversion to the true gospel. As nonmormon scholars view the book of mormon as a. Treasures from the book of mormon, volume one by w.
Elder george reynolds apparently traced this name to an egyptian root. Four suggestions on the origin of the name nephi book of. Based on a nonmormon or secular perspective, hypotheses for the name s origin. Was this name or others like it in use around jerusalem in lehis day. Egyptian meaning of nephi and 3 other book of mormon names. Many readers of the book of mormon are left with the impression that father lehi had no daughters. And, indeed, in the superscription of 1 nephi only the names of sons are set forth.
I have found that the savior is referred to by one hundred different names. The actual meaning of nephi and 3 other book of mormon names. Could the idea for the names for the major groups found in the book of mormon nephites and jaredites come from this contemporary dictionary entry. Lehi was an israelite of the tribe of manasseh, and father to nephi, another prominent prophet in the book of mormon. The book of mormon uses the biblical name of antipas and builds on it to form these book of mormon names. One meaning is sea captain see john gee, four suggestions on the origin. From an old testament place name meaning jawbone in hebrew, so called because it was the site where the hero samson defeated 1,000 warriors using only the jawbone of a donkey as a weapon. Nephi name meaning historically, surnames evolved as a way to sort people into groups by occupation, place of origin, clan affiliation, patronage, parentage, adoption, and.
Understanding the meaning of a name can shed light on the meaning of scripture, especially since scriptural names can be metonymic. The book of mormon proper name josh mentioned as a place name in 3 nephi 9. It is amusing i suppose for those familiar with mormon names to hear the variety of mispronunciations people come up with. On the other hand, ishmael is an ancient arabic name also found among kindred hebrews. The classic one is nephi, the name of the main book of mormon writer, and of no fewer than four characters in the book.
It is noteworthy that the text says that the daughters of ishmael did mourn exceedingly 1 nephi 16. Many of them had names later found in the book of mormon. After lehi left jerusalem, other jewish families fled the city and went to egypt for their safety. We do not have enough data to determine in which part of the world this name is used. The surprising meanings of abish and 5 other book of. Nibley wrote that nfy was the name of an egyptian captain, implying a pn rather than a word meaning captain. We know this is a fitting name for nephi, who built a ship and navigated the seas with the lords help. I posted a few comments in response, but wanted to pull them together here with a few other things ive run across just in the last day or so to lay out my own arguments a bit more. This article explores several book of mormon proper names that are attested from hebrew inscriptions. The name nephi may be derived from the names nfr meaning good or.
Religious studies center, brigham young university, 1989, 2016. Supplementing jeff lindsays book of mormon evidences page. The jah suffix often appears as iah and was frequently used by the hebrews to refer to the name of god. This demonstrates the name is at home in the right place and at the right time as the book of mormon claims. Commentary on the book of mormon deseret news, 1955, 1. According to a user from an unknown location, the name nephi is of english origin and means adventrous. The names of lehis family are true hebrew, arabic and egyptian names and were well in use in 600 b. What probably goes unrecognized, though, is that nephi s introduction includes a pun on his own name. Usually pronounced knee feye, it can often come out as neffee. Summary of 1 nephi the first book of nephi can be broken down into six sections below. Last of all, among the list of proper names in the book of mormon, are those names of jaredites origin that may either be a near eastern or of afroasiatic background, but are quite uncertain in their origin among the names that we have of jaredite origin or such as coriantumr. According to george reynolds and janne sjodahl, the name of lehis wife, sariah, is probably a compound of two hebrew words. Bowen proposed that the answer can be found in the meaning of marys name itself, which most likely derives from the egyptian root mri or mry which means love or desire.
The name nephi most likely derives from an egyptian word nfr. Is there an explanation for the appearance of a greek name in the. Updated 032608 made some additions and changes bruce nielson had a post over at mormon matters earlier this month on the use of the name anti nephi lehi in the book of mormon and what it could mean. Is there an explanation for the appearance of a greek name in the book of mormon. The original translation of the title did not include the word first. This list is intended as a quick reference for individuals mentioned in the book of mormon.
In any event, it is a great new tool for book of mormon study. Sjodahl, commentary on the book of mormon, vol 1, p. Book of mormon names the encyclopedia of mormonism. That is, names more relevant to the actions or role of a person in a narrative may be substituted for that actual persons name. To distinguish themselves from the lamanites, they took upon themselves the name anti nephi lehies. Meaning, origin and history of the name lehi behind the name. The usage of the names, anti nephi lehi and anti nephi lehies has provoked considerable discussion among lds book of mormon scholars and lay members alike. Nephi is used mostly in english and its language of origin is hebrew. The name jesus christ revealed to the nephites religious.