ZARAHEMLA

Possibly hypothetical Hebrew *zeraʿ-ḥemlâ “Seed of Compassion” (JH, JAT), or “Merciful scattering,” employing ḥemlâ “mercy, compassion, pity, commiseration” (Genesis 19:16), and the same Semitic root is a loanword (ḥml) in 20th Dynasty EGYPT as ḥa-ma-nra “Be merciful, Have compassion!” PYH argues that ḥemlâ looks like a feminine participle from the verb “to pity.” If so, the preceding element in the name would probably not be a verb, thus perhaps leaving us with the meaning “Merciful-scion.” This proposed name may have the meaning, and be structured somewhat like Hebrew zeraʿ hammělûkâ “royal descendant” (Jeremiah 41:1; 2 Kings 25:25; Ezekiel 17:13; Daniel 1:3), zeraʿ hammamlākâ “royal descendant” (2 Kings 11:1), and like Hebrew zeraʿ ʼĕlōhîm “progeny of God, godly offspring” (Malachi 2:15), and the Neo-Babylonian PN Zer-babili, the PN of the late biblical prince and governor Zerubbabel “Scion/Offspring of Babylon, Seed-of-Babylon, Born-in-Babylon” (1 Chronicles 3:19; Ezra 3:2 = Sheshbazzar, Ezra 1:8; NT Zorobabel Matthew 1:12-13). Note also that each is a royal descendant of the House of DAVID. Word-play based on this etymology has been found by Pedro Olavarria and David Bokovoy at Mosiah 9:2, and 3 Nephi 8:24 (based on use of ḥml “spared” at 1 Samuel 15:9), but the alternative meaning as “royal descendant” may play on “a descendant of MULEK” (Mosiah 25:2). Cf. also Semitic zrh, zrʿ “to sow” in Demotic drʿ, dlЗ “spread, scatter” (> Coptic dōōre, dar, dar=, dare=, dēr, čer=), as the possible prefix of the name. Alternatively, JH compared KJV PNs Zarah (Genesis 38:30, 46:12), Zerah (Genesis 36:13, 17, 33; 1 Chronicles 1:37, Nehemiah 11:24), Zara (Matthew 1:3), all based on Hebrew Zaraḥ, Zeraḥ “Shine forth, Light up; Dawn; Risen-Like-the-Morning-Sun” (hypocoristic PN for KJV Zerahiah Zeraḥ-Yah “YHWH has Risen Like the Morning Sun” ) = Greek zara, zēra. Wevers observes that Hebrew Zrḥy = LXX Zaraei, and that Hebrew Zryh = LXX Zaraia. Cf. the Assyrian practice of naming a land for its capital city. Less likely is hypothetical Hebrew *zĕrōʿ-ḥemla “Arm of mercy,” an English phrase used thrice in the Book of Mormon, including once by Jesus at 3 Nephi 9:14, which could be a play on words (pun) on the name of ZARAHEMLA (using a folk etymology), whose destruction he had just mentioned (JAT). Cf. for example, the reading of zeraʿ in MT, which is not supported by LXX Greek omos “shoulder” and Vulgate brachium “forearm,” which means that the correct reading should be zĕrōʿa “arm.” Less likely is hypothetical Hebrew *Zārâ-ḥemlâ “Scattering of mercy,” employing piel Hebrew zrh “to scatter, spread,” i.e., the scattering of JUDAH among the nations (RFS). Margaret Barker combines several of these meanings into complex wordplay designed to communicate the deeper meaning of the Servant Songs of Isaiah: “To whom has the arm [zĕrōʿa] of the LORD been revealed?” can also mean “To whom has the seed/son [zeraʿ] of the LORD been revealed?” (Isaiah 53:1 ǁMosiah 14:1; cf. Mosiah 15:31 “The Lord hath made bare his holy arm”) without changing the Hebrew consonantal text – especially since the next line reads “he grew up before him as a suckling child” (Isaiah 53:2 [RSV “young plant”; LXX “little child”] ǁMosiah 14:2) – and this coheres with Isaiah 53:10 ǁMosiah 14:10 “he shall see his seed/offspring,” which can also be read “he shall be revealed as the son.” This is merely part of the much broader liturgical and esoteric content of First Temple ISRAELITE religion which Barker believes was jettisoned by Deuteronomistic revisionism – a revisionism which did not infect the Book of Mormon. See ZERAHEMNAH, ZERAM, ZERIN.

Bibliography

Barker, Margaret. Temple Mysticism: An Introduction. SPCK, 2011.

Beyer, Bryan E. “Zerubbabel,” in Freedman, ed., Anchor Bible Dictionary, VI:1085.

Hoch, James E. Semitic Words in Egyptian Texts of the New Kingdom and Third Intermediate Period. Princeton Univ. Press, 1994.

Knauf, Ernst A. “Zerah,” in Freedman, ed., Anchor Bible Dictionary, VI:1080-1081.

Reynolds, George, Dictionary of the Book of Mormon. SLC: J. H. Parry, 1891.

Ricks, Stephen D., and John A. Tvedtnes. “The Hebrew Origin of Some Book of Mormon Place- Names,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 6/2 (Fall 1997):255-259.

Shearer, Rodney H. “Zerahiah,” in Freedman, ed., ABD, VI:1081.

Tawil, Hayim ben Yosef. An Akkadian Lexical Companion for Biblical Hebrew: Etymological- Semantic and Idiomatic Equivalents with Supplement on Biblical Aramaic. Jersey City: KTAV, 2009.

Tvedtnes, John A. “Hebrew Names in the Book of Mormon,” paper delivered at the 13th World Congress of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, August 12-17, 2001, which is available online at [www.fairlds.org/pubs/HebrewNames.pdf] (7pp).

Westendorf, Wolfhart. Koptisches Handwӧrterbuch, 2nd ed. Heidelberg: Carl Winters Universitätsverlag, 2008.

Wevers, J. W. “Ḥeth in Classical Hebrew,” in Wevers & Redford, eds., EASW, 101-112.

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Hebrew zeraʿ ’ănāšîm “male descendant” (1 Samuel 1:11) zeraʿ hammělûkâ “royal descendant” (Jeremiah 41:1) zeraʿ hammamlākâ “royal descendant” (2 Kings 11:1) zeraʿ měraʿîm “seed of evildoers” (Isaiah 1:4; 14:20) zěrūbbābel “Seed-of-Babylon, Offspring-of-Babylon” (Haggai 1:1,12; 3:1) PN Akkadian zēr-bābili “Seed, Offspring of Babylon” PN zēr šarrūti “royal descendant” ǁHebrew zeraʿ hammělûkâ “royal descendant” (Jeremiah 41:1) zēr nērti “seed of a murderer” zēr amēlūti “mankind” zēr bānītu “creatress of seed/offspring”

Cf. Akkadian Arad-dNIN (pronounced Arda-milissu) ǁHebrew ’Adrammelek (Isaiah 37:38) Akkadian Yauḫazi “Jehoahaz” ǁHebrew ’Āḥāz (Isaiah 7:1) hypocoristicon Akkadian Aššur-bâni-apli “Ashurbanipal” ǁHebrew ’Āsnappar (Ezra 4:10) Akkadian Aššur-aḫ-iddin(a) “Esarhaddon” ǁHebrew ’Ēsar-ḥaddōn (Isaiah 37:38) Akkadian Tuba’il (Tiglath-pileser III inscript) ǁHebrew ’Etbaʿal “Ethbaʿal” Akkadian Balaṭ-šarri-uṣur/Balassu-uṣur ǁHebrew Bēlṭěš’aṣṣar “Belteshazzar” (Daniel 1:7; 10:1) Akkadian Ausi’i “Hosea” ǁHebrew Hôšēʿa (2 Kings 15:30) Akkadian Ḫirumm(y)u “Hiram” ǁPhoen. ’Aḥirâm ǁHebrew Ḥîrôm, Ḥîrām (1 Kings 5:24; 2 Samuel 5:11) Akkadian Samerīnāya “Samaria” ǁHebrew Šōmrôn “Samaria” (Isaiah 7:9) Akkadian Menasi, Minsi “Manasseh” ǁHebrew Měnašše “Manasseh” (2 Kings 20:21) Akkadian Ibnaḫaza “Nibḫaz” ǁHebrew Nibḥaz (2 Kings 17:31) Akkadian Sakkud, dSAG.KUD ǁHebrew Sikkût “Sikkuth” (Amos 5:26) Akkadian Sîn-uballiṭ “Sanballat” ǁHebrew Sanbalaṭ (Nehemiah 2:10,19) Akkadian Sîn-aḫḫē-erība “Sennacherib” ǁHebrew Sanḥērîb (2 Kings 18:13; Isaiah 36:1) Akkadian Ḫumri “Omri” ǁHebrew ʿOmrî (1 Kings 16:16) Akkadian Raḫi’anu / Raqi’anu “Rezin” ǁHebrew Rěṣîn (2 Kings 15:37) Akkadian Šulmānu-ašaridu “Shalmaneser” ǁHebrew Šalman’eser (2 Kings 17:3) Akkadian Tukulti-apil-Ešarra “TIglath-pileser III” ǁHebrew Tiglat pil’eser (1 Chronicles 5:6) Akkadian Dumuzû, dDumu-zi “Tammuz” ǁHebrew Tammûz (Ezekiel 8:14) RFS

See also Zarahemla / Zarrahemla Variants

NOTES

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Lehite PN	1.	Royal descendant of MULEK, and ancestor of AMMON and CORIANTUMR (Omni 1:14, 18; Mosiah 7:3, 13; 25:2; Helaman 1:15)
2.	People of (Omni 1:14; Mosiah 1:18; 7:13-14)
Lehite GN	3.	Land of Omni 1:12-13, 24, 28; Mosiah 1:1, 18; 2:4; 7:9, 13-14; [Mormon 1:6, 10 Mormon 1:6, 10])