TIMOTHY

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Lehite PN 1. NEPHITE disciple (3 Nephi 19:4)

Etymology

TIMOTHY derives from the Greek timotheos, "honoring God" or "honored by God."

The occurrence of names of Greek origin suggests the possibility of Greek contacts with the eastern Mediterranean area in antiquity. Since the late second millennium B.C. Syrians and Phoenicians had trading contacts with the Aegean kingdoms, and in the first millennium B.C. Greek mercenaries and merchants maintained a significant and ongoing presence in Syro-Palestinian territories.[1] Alternatively, it is also possible that ethnic Greek mariners made contact with the Nephites before AD 30 and may have passed on Greek names.[2]

Variants

Deseret Alphabet: 𐐓𐐆𐐣𐐄𐐛𐐆 (tɪmoʊθɪ)

Notes


  1. ↑ Stephen D. Ricks, "I Have a Question: The name of one of the Lord's disciples listed in 3 Nephi 19:4—TIMOTHY—seems to be Greek in origin. Is there an Explanation for the Appearance of a Greek Name in the Book of Mormon?" Ensign 22/10 (October 1992): 53-54.
  2. ↑ An analogous example can be seen among the ancient Mitanni, which were a Hurrian-speaking people that lived in northern Mesopotamia and wrote in cuneiform, but whose personal names suggest a link with South Asian—specifically Indic–culture and language; cf. P.-É. Dumont, “Indo-Aryan Names from Mitanni, Nuzi, and Syrian Documents,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 67 (1947): 251-53; Subash Kak, “Akhenaten, Surya, and the Rgveda,” in G. C. Pande, A Golden Chain of Civilizations: Indic, Iranic, Semitic and Hellenic up to 600 B.C. in History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization 1:4 (New Delhi: Centre for Studies in Civilizations, 2007), 618-38.
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