SHEUM

Lehite noun

1.

Grain or Herb used by Zeniffites for food, ca. 200 BC (Mosiah 9:9)

Etymology

SHEUM is a Book of Mormon hapax legomenon. It occurs in a list with food items, namely, corn, wheat, barley, NEAS (another Book of Mormon hapax legomenon), and fruit seeds. Therefore, SHEUM is a food item. Though it appears in a list of seeds and grains, the context in Mosiah 9:9 allows the possibility that SHEUM, along with NEAS, need not be a grain or a seed.

The fact that the Prophet Joseph Smith did not translate this name, but rather transliterated it, indicates that he did not know of an English word for this grain or food item. Therefore, SHEUM cannot be equated with any English names of seeds or grains attested by their English name in the Book of Mormon. Additionally, any suggestions for an etymology probably should also be narrowed to a New World food for which the Prophet would not have known the English translation. Thus, SHEUM is probably not to be equated with wheat, barley, rye, oats, garlic, onion, sorghum, millet, lentils, pulse, peas, squash, beans, perhaps even emmer wheat, etc. Native American grains or food items that Joseph Smith might not have been familiar with could include amaranth, chili-peppers (JLS), jocote (mombin), manioc (cassava), huauzontle, chia, teosinte (RFS), possibly quinoa (PYH), etc.

The closest known term available is in Sumerian cuneiform and was used throughout Mesopotamia as a primary word for “grain,” Sumerian ŠE.UM, ŠE.AM, ^ŋešše, še, še-am, ŠE (ŠE.PAD.MEŠ) “barley; grain; length measure 3.33 cm; 1/180 GIN₂ [shekel of silver],” and long thought to have been borrowed as Old Akkadian *šeʼum “barley; grain; cereal; pine nut (pignolia); grain-measure,” and Mari *šeʼum “barley,” though those Akkadian readings are now rejected. Naturally, that Sumerian logographic form would have to have been passed on to the Zeniffites and people of Zarahemla as part of Jaredite cultural baggage. Zipora Cochavi-Rainey points to the same sort of "habitual spellings" used by Egyptian scribes writing Akkadian.

Over the years, several other suggestions for an etymology of SHEUM have been proffered and have gained traction in some circles. The discussion here will treat some of these suggestions.

SHEUM might not have an ancient Near Eastern language origin, i.e., it might have been borrowed into Lehite from an indigenous vocabel native to the Americas but unknown to Joseph Smith. In light of this possibility, the suggestion of Maya ixim (pronounced ishim) “maize” would be intriguing if it were not for the inclusion of “corn” in the same passage where SHEUM occurs.

On the other hand, SHEUM may be a Semitic or an EGYPTIAN word used for a New World plant. Therefore, looking for a Near Eastern derivation, even if the meaning of the root does not match the parameters outlined above, is appropriate.

The EGYPTIAN noun sm, seems to offer a possible etymology. It means “herb, herbage, vegetables, plants,” etc. In Demotic (a later script and dialect of EGYPTIAN roughly contemporary with LEHI) this noun appears as both sm and sym, pronounced sim in Coptic (JG).The EGYPTIAN s appearing as a Semitic š would present no problems (JG). Thus SHEUM, meaning a New World herb or vegetable for which Joseph Smith did not have a word in English, could have been derived from EGYPTIAN sm.

It might be tempting to equate SHEUM with HEBREW sěʾâ, a grain measure. HEBREW sěʾâ is cognate with Akkadian šeʾatum "milled-grain," and sūtum, "a measuring vessel," which (like šeʼum) are ultimately derived from Sumerian ŠE. However, it is unlikely that HEBREW sĕʾâ (Akkadian sūtu) and Akkadian šeʾum are related. While sūtu is middle weak, šeʾum appears to be final weak. Additionally, samakh and shin are not easily mistaken. Therefore, HEBREW sĕʾâ is probably not the origin of SHEUM, especially since sĕʾâ does not explain the final m.

Other possible starting points in HEBREW are not particularly fruitful. For example, HEBREW has not produced any appropriate words built on šʾm, šʿm, š̴ām, š̴īm, or š̴ūm (for this latter root, “garlic,” see below). The HEBREW noun šōham has been defined on the basis of Akkadian siāmu (“red, brown”), as meaning “red, brown, redness,” a plausible name for a grain or herb. Less fruitful would be Akkadian šâmu, “to buy.” šiʾāmu, “to determine, establish.”

A long shot is the HEBREW word for garlic, šūm, from a root šûm, with a medial waw or long u vowel (Akkadian šūmu, Sumerian SUM, Arabic tˍūm, Aramaic tūmâʾ). It only occurs in the plural in the HEBREW Bible. Besides the obvious philological problems, this suggestion is unlikely because Joseph Smith would have been able to provide the translation “garlic” instead of a transliteration.

Several other EGYPTIAN nouns are distant possibilities, namely, šmʿ meaning "rush”; šmʾ.t, "granary;" and šmʿ, "southern," which is used to refer to a type of grain. The final weak nature of all three and the feminine ending on the second one make these suggestions unlikely.

See also Sheum Variants

Variants

Deseret Alphabet: 𐐟𐐀𐐊𐐣 (ʃiːʌm)

Notes

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