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{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
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|Lehite PN
|'''[[:Category:Lehite PN|Lehite PN]]'''
|1.
|1.
|Son of '''LEHI''' I, brother of '''NEPHI''' I, ca. 600 BC ([http://scriptures.lds.org/en/1_ne/2/5#5 1 Nephi 2:5]; [http://scriptures.lds.org/en/alma/3/6#6 Alma 3:6])
|Son of [[LEHI|L<small>EHI</small>]] I, brother of [[NEPHI|N<small>EPHI</small>]] I, ca. 600 BC ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/1?lang=eng 1 Nephi 1:Preface]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/2.5,%2017?lang=eng#4 2:5, 17]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/4.28?lang=eng#27 4:28]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/7.6?lang=eng#5 7:6]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/8.3,%2014?lang=eng#2 8:3, 14]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/1.28?lang=eng#27 2 Nephi 1:28]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/4.11?lang=eng#10 4:11]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/5.6?lang=eng#5 5:6]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/3.6?lang=eng#5 Alma 3:6])
|}
|}


The eyymology of this name remains open. In north-west Semitic languages the element ''sumu/samu/šumu'' is well attested in texts that predate the Hebrew Bible, namely Amorite and Ugaritic.1 The meaning however remains uncertain, though it has been linked to the common Semitic vocable ''šm'', meaning "name."2 If '''SAM''' is related to biblical ''Samuel'' (see below), then ''samu'' may be a theophoris element.3 Or the name itself could be hypocoristic. The final /''u''/ of ''sumu/samu/šumu'' is most likely a nominative case ending and need not be considered when determining etymology.
'''Etymology'''


The vocable ''šm'' appears in Aramaic names in Egypt, e.g., ''šm'', ''šmṭb'', and ''šmʾdd''.4
'''S<small>AM</small>''' is most likely a shortened form of the biblical name [[SAMUEL|S<small>AMUEL</small>]], even though neither '''S<small>AM</small>''' nor [[SAMUEL|S<small>AMUEL</small>]] reflect the [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] pronunciation, שמואל ''šĕmûʾēl'' that might be expected from the plates of [[NEPHI|N<small>EPHI</small>]]. That '''S<small>AM</small>''' is the English version of what was on the Vorlage of the Book of Mormon is supported by examples of other names in the Book of Mormon that also take King James biblical spellings rather than reflecting the [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] pronunciation, such as [[JACOB|J<small>ACOB</small>]], not the [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] form ''Ya’akob'', and [[MESSIAH|M<small>ESSIAH</small>]] and not ''Mašiaḥ''.<ref>That some of the names in the Book of Mormon were consciously corrected to the King James spelling, rather than rendering them as a transliteration, is illustrated, for example, by the fact that in [http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/1.1-4?lang=eng#primary 1 Nephi 10:4 passim] the original manuscript reads, ''masiah'', a close phonetic approximation of the [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] ''mašiaḥ''. The printer's manuscript, the 1830 edition, and all subsequent editions all use the King James Bible spelling [[MESSIAH|M<small>ESSIAH</small>]].</ref> Additionally, besides the regular though mutable nature of the sibilants /''š''/, /''ś''/ and /''s''/ in and between the various Semitic languages, the change from the [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] /''š''/ in [[SAMUEL|S<small>AMUEL</small>]] to /''s''/ (as in English) occurs in the Greek text of the Old Testament because Greek has only one character, sigma, for transcribing the [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] sibilants.<ref>The same is true in Latin, which has only one character for sibilants. However, on occasion the vocable ''šm'' did come into the King James Version with initial /''š''/ and not /''s''/, e.g., [[NOAH|N<small>OAH</small>]]’s son [[SHEM|S<small>HEM</small>]] and Shemida in [http://lds.org/scriptures/ot/num/26.32?lang=eng#31 Numbers 26:32]. This latter name also occurs on several ostraca found in [[JUDAH|J<small>UDAH</small>]] where “the orthography suggests an original vocalization: ''Šēmyādāʿ''.” See Schmuel Aḥituv, ''Echoes From the Past: Hebrew and Cognate Inscriptions from the Biblical Period'', trans. Anson F. Rainey (Jerusalem: Carta, 2008), 267.</ref>  Therefore, the explanation of '''S<small>AM</small>''' as the English equivalent of a hypocoristicon (shortened form) of [[SAMUEL|S<small>AMUEL</small>]] has merit.<ref>[[Dana M. Pike|Dana Pike]], email communication, 13 May 2011.</ref>


Because the English name ''Sam'' is a shortened version of the Hebrew ''Samuel'', it has often been assumed that this is the origin of Book Mormon '''SAM'''. While there is no evidence that the ancient Hebrews ever shortened ''Samuel'' to ''Sam'', the Amorite PNs containing the element ''sam''- would support the sugestion that '''SAM''' could be a hypocoristicon meaning, "Name of..." See the Amorite PN ''sa-mu-ú-i-la''.5
If '''S<small>AM</small>''' is a hypocoristicon from [[SAMUEL|S<small>AMUEL</small>]], '''S<small>AM</small>''' would represent the common Semitic vocable ''šm'' and would most likely mean “the name,” “Name,” or even “descendant/offspring.”<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'']], sub שמואל. See also Scott C. Layton, ''Archaic Features of Canaanite Personal Names in the Hebrew Bible'', Harvard Semitic Monographs 47 (Atlanta, GA: Shcolars Press, 1990), 78, 86, and note 232.</ref>  '''S<small>AM</small>''' may even be a theophoric element in its own right.<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'']], sub שמואל. For a discussion of the possibility that ''šm'' is a [[Divine Name|DN]], see Layton, 85-86.</ref> 


Other etymologies have been suggested. Early on it was suggested that '''SAM''' is '''EGYPTIAN'''.6 Nibley suggested the Egyptian title ''s3m'', "uniter."7 Others have referred to the Arabic SAM, which is the Arabic form of the biblical name '''SHEM'''.8 However, it is unlikely that the Lehites would have used the Arabic form of '''SHEM''' when the Hebrew form of the name is attested at the close of the Lehite period, late in the Book of Mormon (JAT).9
Hypocoristica are well known in the Semitic languages. Though '''S<small>AM</small>''' does not occur in the [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] Bible,<ref>Some critics of the Book of Mormon have therefore made fun of the name '''S<small>AM</small>''' for appearing in a “supposedly” ancient text when it is obviously a modern English form. For example, “‘Sam, Josh, and Gid.’  . . .There’s Yankee for ye. Rather out of place, however, in ancient writings . . . . Sam, Josh, and Gid, are half names, or Jonathanisms,” Origen Bachelor, ''Mormonism Exposed, Internally and Externally'' (New York: 1838), 14; and “This name Sam, by the way, sounds very modern” Edgar E. Folk, ''The Mormon Monster, or the Story of Mormonism'' (New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1900), 186. These two quotes are from anti-Mormon authors; but as is often the case, criticisms from sources that are not cumbered by authentic information can point to the genuinely ancient nature of the Book of Mormon.</ref>  the [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] name שם ''šm'' does appear in a biblical period signet ring, but the authors read the name as [[SHEM|S<small>HEM</small>]], the same King James Version pronunciation as the son of [[NOAH|N<small>OAH</small>]].<ref>See the discussion in [[John A. Tvedtnes]], [[John Gee]], and [[Matthew Roper]], “Book of Mormon Names Attested in Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions,” [http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/jbms/?vol=9&num=1&id=210 Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9, no. 1 (2000)]: 51 and p. 79, note 60 (Israel Museum No. 68.35.199).</ref>  The Arabic pronunciation of [[NOAH|N<small>OAH</small>]]’s son is '''S<small>AM</small>'''. The element ''šm'' also seems to occur in other west Semitic languages. See the Aramaic name ''šm'', along with longer forms, ''šmṭb'', and  ''šmʾdd'';<ref>Bezalel Porten and Jerome A. Lund, ''Aramaic Documents from Egypt: A Key-Word-in-Context Concordance'' (Winona Lake IN: Eisenbrauns, 2002), 414-415.</ref>  the Amorite [[Personal Name|PN]] ''sa-mu-um''<ref>[[Herbert B. Huffmon|Herbert B. Huffmon]], [[H. B. Huffmon, Amorite Personal Names in the Mari Texts: A Structural and Lexical Study. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins, 1965.|''Amorite Personal Names in the Mari Texts'']], 247.</ref>  (with the masculine singular nominative ending ''–um''); and the Ugaritic name elements ''sumu/samu/šumu''.<ref>[[Frauke Gröndahl|Frauke Gröndahl]].[[Frauke Gröndahl, Die Personennamen der Texte aus Ugarit. Studia Pohl 1. Rome: Pontifical Bible Institute, 1967.|''Die Personennamen der Texte aus Ugarit']], 193f. For a general discussion of ''Samuel'' see Scott C. Layton, ''Archaic Features of Canaanite Personal Names in the Hebrew Bible'', Harvard Semitic Monographs 47 (Atlanta, GA: Shcolars Press, 1990), 78-87;</ref>


==Notes==
Other etymologies have been proffered, including the suggestion that '''S<small>AM</small>''' is [[EGYPTIAN(S)|E<small>GYPTIAN</small>]].<ref>[[George Reynolds|Reynolds]] and [[Janne M. Sjodahl|Sjodahl]], 1:16&26; and [[George Reynolds|Reynolds]], ''Story of the Book of Mormon'', p. 298.</ref>  [[Hugh W. Nibley|Nibley]] has interpreted the [[EGYPTIAN(S)|E<small>GYPTIAN</small>]] title ''sm3/s3m'' as “uniter,”<ref>[[Hugh W. Nibley|Hugh W. Nibley]], [[Hugh W. Nibley, "Lehi in the Desert; The World of the Jaredites; There Were Jaredites." John W. Welch, Darrell L. Matthews, and Stephen R. Callister, eds. Collected Works of Hugh Nibley. 5. Salt Lake City/Provo: Deseret Book/FARMS, 1988.|''Lehi in the Desert'']], 28, 42.</ref> as in the PN ''sm3-t3wy'' "Unifier of the Two Countries."<ref>Erhart Graefe, ed., ''Prosopographia Aegypti'', ##15815, 15816, etc.</ref>
1. See Huffmon, ''Names'', 247-49; and Gröndahl, ''Peronennamen'', 193f.


2. Huffmon, ''Names'', 247.
Minaean [[Epigraphic South Arabian|ESA]] [[Personal Name|PN]] ''ʿmsmy'' may hold promise. But the [[Personal Name|PN]] ''smʿ'' cannot be appealed to because it would require dropping the last phoneme of the vocable.


3. ''HALOT'', sub שמואל
Confer [[SHEM|S<small>HEM</small>]] and [[MOSIAH|M<small>OSIAH</small>]].


4. Bezalel Porten and Jerome A. Lund, ''Aramaic Documents from Egypt: A Key-Word-in-Context Concordance'' (Winona Lake IN: Eisenbrauns, 2002), 414-415.
'''Variants'''


5. Huffmon, ''Names'', 247.
'''[[Deseret Alphabet]]:''' 𐐝𐐈𐐣 (sæm)


6. Reynolds and Sjodahl, 1:16&26; and Reynolds, ''Story of the Book of Mormon'', p. 298.
'''Notes'''
----
<references/>


7. ''LID'', 30&45.
[[Category:Names]][[Category:Lehite PN]]


8. ''ABM'', 59-60.
<div style="text-align: center;"> [[SALEM|<<]] Sam [[SAMARIA|>>]] </div>


9. Mormon 2:20-21 and 6:14.
==[[Name Index]]==
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Latest revision as of 00:00, 25 October 2023

Lehite PN 1. Son of LEHI I, brother of NEPHI I, ca. 600 BC (1 Nephi 1:Preface; 2:5, 17; 4:28; 7:6; 8:3, 14; 2 Nephi 1:28; 4:11; 5:6; Alma 3:6)

Etymology

SAM is most likely a shortened form of the biblical name SAMUEL, even though neither SAM nor SAMUEL reflect the HEBREW pronunciation, שמואל šĕmûʾēl that might be expected from the plates of NEPHI. That SAM is the English version of what was on the Vorlage of the Book of Mormon is supported by examples of other names in the Book of Mormon that also take King James biblical spellings rather than reflecting the HEBREW pronunciation, such as JACOB, not the HEBREW form Ya’akob, and MESSIAH and not Mašiaḥ.[1] Additionally, besides the regular though mutable nature of the sibilants /š/, /ś/ and /s/ in and between the various Semitic languages, the change from the HEBREW /š/ in SAMUEL to /s/ (as in English) occurs in the Greek text of the Old Testament because Greek has only one character, sigma, for transcribing the HEBREW sibilants.[2] Therefore, the explanation of SAM as the English equivalent of a hypocoristicon (shortened form) of SAMUEL has merit.[3]

If SAM is a hypocoristicon from SAMUEL, SAM would represent the common Semitic vocable šm and would most likely mean “the name,” “Name,” or even “descendant/offspring.”[4] SAM may even be a theophoric element in its own right.[5]

Hypocoristica are well known in the Semitic languages. Though SAM does not occur in the HEBREW Bible,[6] the HEBREW name שם šm does appear in a biblical period signet ring, but the authors read the name as SHEM, the same King James Version pronunciation as the son of NOAH.[7] The Arabic pronunciation of NOAH’s son is SAM. The element šm also seems to occur in other west Semitic languages. See the Aramaic name šm, along with longer forms, šmṭb, and šmʾdd;[8] the Amorite PN sa-mu-um[9] (with the masculine singular nominative ending –um); and the Ugaritic name elements sumu/samu/šumu.[10]

Other etymologies have been proffered, including the suggestion that SAM is EGYPTIAN.[11] Nibley has interpreted the EGYPTIAN title sm3/s3m as “uniter,”[12] as in the PN sm3-t3wy "Unifier of the Two Countries."[13]

Minaean ESA PN ʿmsmy may hold promise. But the PN smʿ cannot be appealed to because it would require dropping the last phoneme of the vocable.

Confer SHEM and MOSIAH.

Variants

Deseret Alphabet: 𐐝𐐈𐐣 (sæm)

Notes

  1. ↑ That some of the names in the Book of Mormon were consciously corrected to the King James spelling, rather than rendering them as a transliteration, is illustrated, for example, by the fact that in 1 Nephi 10:4 passim the original manuscript reads, masiah, a close phonetic approximation of the HEBREW mašiaḥ. The printer's manuscript, the 1830 edition, and all subsequent editions all use the King James Bible spelling MESSIAH.
  2. ↑ The same is true in Latin, which has only one character for sibilants. However, on occasion the vocable šm did come into the King James Version with initial /š/ and not /s/, e.g., NOAH’s son SHEM and Shemida in Numbers 26:32. This latter name also occurs on several ostraca found in JUDAH where “the orthography suggests an original vocalization: Šēmyādāʿ.” See Schmuel Aḥituv, Echoes From the Past: Hebrew and Cognate Inscriptions from the Biblical Period, trans. Anson F. Rainey (Jerusalem: Carta, 2008), 267.
  3. ↑ Dana Pike, email communication, 13 May 2011.
  4. ↑ The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, sub שמואל. See also Scott C. Layton, Archaic Features of Canaanite Personal Names in the Hebrew Bible, Harvard Semitic Monographs 47 (Atlanta, GA: Shcolars Press, 1990), 78, 86, and note 232.
  5. ↑ The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, sub שמואל. For a discussion of the possibility that šm is a DN, see Layton, 85-86.
  6. ↑ Some critics of the Book of Mormon have therefore made fun of the name SAM for appearing in a “supposedly” ancient text when it is obviously a modern English form. For example, “‘Sam, Josh, and Gid.’ . . .There’s Yankee for ye. Rather out of place, however, in ancient writings . . . . Sam, Josh, and Gid, are half names, or Jonathanisms,” Origen Bachelor, Mormonism Exposed, Internally and Externally (New York: 1838), 14; and “This name Sam, by the way, sounds very modern” Edgar E. Folk, The Mormon Monster, or the Story of Mormonism (New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1900), 186. These two quotes are from anti-Mormon authors; but as is often the case, criticisms from sources that are not cumbered by authentic information can point to the genuinely ancient nature of the Book of Mormon.
  7. ↑ See the discussion in John A. Tvedtnes, John Gee, and Matthew Roper, “Book of Mormon Names Attested in Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9, no. 1 (2000): 51 and p. 79, note 60 (Israel Museum No. 68.35.199).
  8. ↑ Bezalel Porten and Jerome A. Lund, Aramaic Documents from Egypt: A Key-Word-in-Context Concordance (Winona Lake IN: Eisenbrauns, 2002), 414-415.
  9. ↑ Herbert B. Huffmon, Amorite Personal Names in the Mari Texts, 247.
  10. ↑ Frauke Gröndahl.Die Personennamen der Texte aus Ugarit', 193f. For a general discussion of Samuel see Scott C. Layton, Archaic Features of Canaanite Personal Names in the Hebrew Bible, Harvard Semitic Monographs 47 (Atlanta, GA: Shcolars Press, 1990), 78-87;
  11. ↑ Reynolds and Sjodahl, 1:16&26; and Reynolds, Story of the Book of Mormon, p. 298.
  12. ↑ Hugh W. Nibley, Lehi in the Desert, 28, 42.
  13. ↑ Erhart Graefe, ed., Prosopographia Aegypti, ##15815, 15816, etc.
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