View source for MULEK

{| class="wikitable"
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|'''[[:Category:Mulekite PN|Mulekite PN]]'''
|1.
|Son of [[ZEDEKIAH|Z<small>EDEKIAH</small>]], king of [[JUDAH|J<small>UDAH</small>]], ca. 590 BC ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/25.2?lang=eng#1 Mosiah 25:2]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/hel/6.10?lang=eng#9 Helaman 6:10]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/hel/8.21?lang=eng#20 8:21]) 
|-
|
|2.
|Name of all of the land northward, originally settled by colony which included No. 1 ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/hel/6.10?lang=eng#9 Helaman 6:10])
|-
|
|3.
|City east of [[ZARAHEMLA|Z<small>ARAHEMLA</small>]] by the seashore and near the cities of [[GID|G<small>ID</small>]] and [[BOUNTIFUL|B<small>OUNTIFUL</small>]], ca. 67 BC ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/51.26?lang=eng#25 Alma 51:26]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/52.2,%2016,%2017,%2019,%2020,%2022,%2026,%2028,%2034?lang=eng#1 52:2, 16, 17, 19, 20, 22, 26, 28, 34]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/53.2,%206?lang=eng#1 53:2, 6]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/hel/5.15?lang=eng#14 Helaman 5:15])
|}

'''Etymology'''

This entry will treat the two most likely spellings of this name, '''M<small>ULEK</small>''' and [[Mulek / Muloch Variants|M<small>ULOCH</small>]], independently, even though the spellings may not represent different individuals, but simply spelling variants of the same name. The texts actually contain four slightly different spellings: The city name, found only in the books of [[ALMA|A<small>LMA</small>]] and [[HELAMAN|H<small>ELAMAN</small>]], is consistently spelled ''Mulek''. The descriptor of the ''Land Northward'', a hapax that occurs only in [https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/hel/6.10?lang=eng Helaman 6:10], is written ''Mulek'' in the printer’s manuscript through the 2013 edition. The only deviation from the current standard spelling, ''Mulek'', occurs with the three occurrences of the [[Personal Name|PN]]. The first time it occurs in the Book of Mormon, in [https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/25.2?lang=eng#1 Mosiah 25:2], it is spelled ''Muloch'' in the printer’s manuscript. In the 1830-1852 printings, and in all [[Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (now the Community of Christ)|RLDS]] editions, ''Mulok'' appears. The spelling was changed in the 1879 [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|LDS]] edition to ''Mulek'' and has remained ''Mulek'' through the 2013 [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|LDS]] edition.  When the [[Personal Name|PN]] occurs again, in [https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/hel/6.10?lang=eng#9 Helaman 6:10] (the second occurrence), the printer’s manuscript originally had ''Muleh'' but the ''h'' is overwritten with a ''k'' (probably immediately), producing the correction ''Mulek'', followed by the 1830 through the 2013 editions. In [https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/hel/8.21?lang=eng#20 Helaman 8:21], the third and final appearance of the [[Personal Name|PN]], it is spelled consistently ''Mulek'' in the printer’s manuscript through the 2013 edition.

As [[Royal Skousen]] has noted, “It is, of course, theoretically possible that the Book of Mormon is referring to two different individuals: [[Mulek / Muloch Variants|M<small>ULOCH</small>]], an ancestor of [[ZARAHEMLA|Z<small>ARAHEMLA</small>]], in the book of [[MOSIAH|M<small>OSIAH</small>]]; and '''M<small>ULEK</small>''', a son of king [[ZEDEKIAH|Z<small>EDEKIAH</small>]], in the book of [[HELAMAN|H<small>ELAMAN</small>]].”<ref>''[[Royal Skousen, Analysis of Textual Variants in the Book of Mormon. 6 Parts. Provo, Utah: FARMS, Brigham Young University, 2004-2009.|''Analysis of Textual Variants in the Book of Mormon'']]'' 3:1464.</ref> Therefore, in the interest of completeness this onomasticon entry will treat the two most promising spellings, '''M<small>ULEK</small>''' and [[Mulek / Muloch Variants|M<small>ULOCH</small>]], as different names belonging to two different persons, even though it is more likely that they are textual variants of one and the same [[Personal Name|PN]].

The common Semitic root ''mlk'', which in West Semitic means “to reign (''malāk''), king (''melek''),” and in East Semitic, “to counsel (''malāku''), counselor (''malku''),” provides the most likely etymology for '''M<small>ULEK</small>'''.<ref>This suggested has been made long ago; see [[Ariel L. Crowley|Ariel Crowley]], “The Escape of Mulek,” ''Improvement Era'', May 1955, p. 324; and [[Janne M. Sjodahl|Sjodahl]], ''Authenticity of the Book of Mormon'', p. 11.</ref> '''M<small>ULEK</small>''' was the son of [[ZEDEKIAH|Z<small>EDEKIAH</small>]] ([https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/hel/6.10?lang=eng Helaman 6:10], [https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/hel/8.21?lang=eng#20 8:21]), the king in [[JERUSALEM|J<small>ERUSALEM</small>]] when [[LEHI|L<small>EHI</small>]] left.<ref>  '''M<small>ULEK</small>''' came with a party of people to the New World, disembarking in the Land Northward ([https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/hel/6.10?lang=eng Helaman 6:10]). At least some of the descendants of that group migrated southward to found [[ZARAHEMLA|Z<small>ARAHEMLA</small>]] ([https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/25.2?lang=eng#1 Mosiah 25:2]), where Mosiah<sub>1</sub> and his people found them.</ref>

It is very tempting to read '''M<small>ULEK</small>''' as a shortened form, perhaps a hypocoristicon, of a longer name. For example, from the same time period, the days of [[ZEDEKIAH|Z<small>EDEKIAH</small>]], the name ''Malchiah'' in [https://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/jer/38.6?lang=eng#5 Jeremiah 38:6], reads in Hebrew מלכיהו ''malkiyahû'' and means “Yahweh is (my) king.” It has been proposed by some scholars that Malchiah may have been the son of [[ZEDEKIAH|Z<small>EDEKIAH</small>]],<ref>Yohanan Aharoni, "Three Hebrew Ostraca from Arad." ''[[Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research|BASOR]]'' No. 197 (Feb 1970), pg. 22. Others have disputed the connection. See Lundbom, ''Jeremiah 37-552'', Anchor Bible 21 C (Doubleday, 2004), 64 (regarding Jeremiah 38:6).</ref> which, if it is correct, has been obscured by the King James translation. That is, the Hebrew, ''malkiyahû ben hammelek'', can be translated most readily, as the Septuagint does, as “Malchiah the son of the king,” rather than the King James rendering, “Malchiah the son of Hammlech.” Because of the suggested identity of Malchiah as a son of [[ZEDEKIAH|Z<small>EDEKIAH</small>]], [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|LDS]] scholars have also suggested a connection between Book of Mormon '''M<small>ULEK</small>''' and biblical Malchiah.<ref>See [[Robert F. Smith]], "New Information About Mulek, Son of the King," ''Reexploring the Book of Mormon'', ed. John W. Welch (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1992), 142-144; and [[John A. Tvedtnes]], [[John Gee]], and [[Matthew Roper]], "Book of Mormon Names Attested in Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions," ''Journal of Book of Mormon Studies'' 9/1 (2000): 51.</ref>

The form '''M<small>ULEK</small>''', if it is a hypocoristicon of a name similar to ''Malchiah'', would be from the noun pattern for a diminutive or caritative, ''puʿail'' (''fuʿayl'' in Arabic), meaning “little king.”<ref>For examples in Arabic see Karin C. Ryding, ''A Reference Grammar of Modern Standard Arabic'' (Cambridge, England: Cambridge, 2005), p. 90. See also Gesenius, note to §86g, “Diminutives in Semitic languages are, however, most commonly formed by inserting a y after the second radical.” Already in 1894, Morris Jastrow, “Hebrew Proper Names Compounded with יה and יהו,” ''Journal of Biblical Literature'' 13 (1894):117, mentions the use of the diminutive “Arabic ''fuʿail''” form as the explanation of the biblical [[Personal Name|PN]] ''Obadiah'', as opposed to the biblical [[Personal Name|PN]] ''Abdiel'' ([https://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/1-chr/5.15?lang=eng#14 1 Chronicles 5:15]).</ref>The diphthong –''ai''- can shorten to /e/.<ref>See the diminutive Arabic [[Personal Name|PN]] ''Husein''.</ref> Given that '''M<small>ULEK</small>''' was the son of King [[ZEDEKIAH|Z<small>EDEKIAH</small>]] (see [https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/hel/8.21?lang=eng#20 Helaman 8:21]), then a [[Personal Name|PN]] based on a diminutive of the Semitic root ''mlk'' would seem appropriate.<ref>Hugh Nibley first made the suggestion that '''M<small>ULEK</small>''' derived from the Arabic diminutive ''mulik'', “little king” ([[Hugh W. Nibley|Hugh Nibley]], "Two Shots in the Dark," in ''Book of Mormon Authorship: New Light on Ancient Origins'', ed. Noel B. Reynolds (Provo, UT: [[Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies|FARMS]], 1982), 119.), which would make sense if '''M<small>ULEK</small>''' had been little when he escaped the Babylonian siege of [[JERUSALEM|J<small>ERUSALEM</small>]], or if he had been derisively called '''M<small>ULEK</small>''' by those who did not recognize him as king. See footnote 5 above for [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|LDS]] suggestions to link Malchiah in [https://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/jer/38.6?lang=eng Jeremiah 38:6]  with '''M<small>ULEK</small>'''. The context in Jeremiah seems to indicate that Malchiah was at least of age, and not a small babe or child. Therefore, if '''M<small>ULEK</small>''' is Malchiah, then the name may be a caritative or a term of derision. </ref>

Another possible etymology for '''M<small>ULEK</small>''' involves the fairly common West Semitic word ''mlk'', “a type of sacrifice.” As is indicated by Latin terms derived from Punic (e.g., ''molchomor'', probably from ''mlʾk ʾmr'', “sacrifice of a lamb”<ref>[[J. Hoftijzer, and K. Jongeling, Dictionary of the North-West Semitic Inscriptions. 2nd ed. HOSANE/HOSNME 21 Leiden/N.Y.: Brill, 2003.|''Dictionary of the Northwest Semitic Inscriptions'']] 642.</ref>), it would appear to have the requisite vowels. '''M<small>ULEK</small>''' would then be a hypocoristicon with a meaning similar to “(the divine) sacrifice.” The meaning “sacrifice” seems to derive from the meaning “vow”<ref>''[[J. Hoftijzer, and K. Jongeling, Dictionary of the North-West Semitic Inscriptions. 2nd ed. HOSANE/HOSNME 21 Leiden/N.Y.: Brill, 2003.|Ibid.]]'' 634.</ref> or Arabic ''mulk'' “power.”<ref>''[[J. Hoftijzer, and K. Jongeling, Dictionary of the North-West Semitic Inscriptions. 2nd ed. HOSANE/HOSNME 21 Leiden/N.Y.: Brill, 2003.|Ibid.]]'' 640.</ref> Alternatively, the meaning sacrifice may derive from the West Semitic [[Divine Name|DN]] ''Molk''.<ref>[[Koehler, Ludwig, and Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament. 5 vols. revised by W. Baumgartner and Johann J. Stamm. Leiden: Brill, 1994. trans. of 5-volume 3rd German edition.|The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament]] ''molek''. See [[William F. Albright|Albright]] [[William F. Albright, Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan: A Historical Analysis of Two Contrasting Faiths. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1968/ reprint Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1978. Pagination differs from London edition.|''Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan'']], 205–210; and [[Janne M. Sjodahl|Sjodahl]] Improvement Era 24:140–141. ([[Robert F. Smith|RFS]], [[Jo Ann Hackett|JH]]).</ref> If '''M<small>ULEK</small>''' is to be derived from ''mulk'' or ''molk'', then the preferred etymology would be a hypocoristic form involving the verb ''to vow''.

A less likely possibility is to derive '''M<small>ULEK</small>''' from the common Semitic root ''hlk'', “to go, walk,” which has been suggested by some as the root of the divine name Molech. If so, '''M<small>ULEK</small>''' would mean “traveler, sojourner” ([[Jo Ann Hackett|JH]]). But there is no [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] form that would produce '''M<small>ULEK</small>''' from the root ''hlk''. Nevertheless, “sojourner” may be attractive for metonymic reasons (befitting an individual who had traveled a great distance from his homeland), and could therefore add to the growing evidence of metonymy being a factor in the determination of Book of Mormon names ([[John A Tvetdnes|JAT]]). 

The (possibly independent) name [[Mulek / Muloch Variants|M<small>ULOCH</small>]] could also derive from the common Semitic root ''mlk'', as described above, though the form is not readily transparent. [[Mulek / Muloch Variants|M<small>ULOCH</small>]] looks very much like a participle from a hollow verb in an oblique conjugation. However, no Hebrew root matches the form [[Mulek / Muloch Variants|M<small>ULOCH</small>]]. There is a South-west Semitic root, ''lwḥ'', that appears to mean “shine,” and would work with [[Mulek / Muloch Variants|M<small>ULOCH</small>]]. <ref>See E. W. Lane, ''Arabic—English Dictionary'', 2679, for ﻻﺡ,ﻟﻭﺡ </ref>


Cf. Book of Mormon [[MULOKI|M<small>ULOKI</small>]], [[MELEK|M<small>ELEK</small>]], [[AMALEKI|A<small>MALEKI</small>]], [[AMALICKIAH|A<small>MALICKIAH</small>]], [[AMLICI|A<small>MLICI</small>]], [[AMULEK|A<small>MULEK</small>]], [[MELCHIZEDEK|M<small>ELCHIZEDEK</small>]].

See also [[Mulek / Muloch Variants]]

'''Variants'''

[[Mulek / Muloch Variants|M<small>ULOCH</small>]], [[Mulek / Muloch Variants|Mulok]], [[Mulek / Muloch Variants|Muleh]]

'''[[Deseret Alphabet]]:''' 𐐣𐐆𐐅𐐢𐐊𐐗 (mɪuːlʌk), 𐐣𐐆𐐅𐐢𐐇𐐗 (mɪuːlɛk), 𐐣𐐆𐐄𐐢𐐇𐐗 (mɪoʊlɛk)

'''Notes'''
----
<references/>

'''Bibliography'''
----
*[[William F. Albright|Albright, William F.]], ''Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan: A Historical Analysis of Two Contrasting Faiths''. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1968.  Pagination differs from London edition.  [[William F. Albright, Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan: A Historical Analysis of Two Contrasting Faiths. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1968/ reprint Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1978. Pagination differs from London edition.|''YGC'']]
*[[Jeffrey R. Chadwick|Chadwick, Jeffery R.]] "Has the Seal of Mulek Been Found?" [http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/jbms/?vol=12&num=2&id=324 Journal of Book of Mormon 	Studies 12, no. 2 (2003): 72-83.]
*[[Ariel L. Crowley]] About the Book of Mormon. Idaho City, ID: Deseret News, 1961.
*[[Royal J. Skousen]] [http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/books/?bookid=104&chapid=1165 History of the Critical Text Project of the Book of Mormon] found in [[Gerald M. Bradford]] and [[Alison V. P. Coutts]]' [http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/books/?bookid=104 Uncovering the Original Text of the Book of Mormon. Provo, UT: FARMS, 2002.]

[[Category:Names]][[Category:Mulekite PN]]

<div style="text-align: center;"> [[MOSIAH|<<]] MULEK [[MULOKI|>>]] </div>

==[[Name Index]]==
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