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'''Etymology'''
'''Etymology'''
'''Z<small>ORAM</small>''' has five plausible etymologies, though only the first etymology given below is attested in an ancient Semitic source (see below). The first three of the five are only slightly different from each other: "The Rock is the (divine) kinsman," "Rock of the people," and "Their Rock." These three plausible etymologies will be discussed in that order, with the first discussion supplying most of the basic information. The fourth and fifth suggested meanings were made by [[Matthew_L._Bowen|Matthew L. Bowen]], "The one who is exalted," and approximately, "[The diety] has flooded forth."


Likely theophorous [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] ''ṣûrām'' “Their-Rock”  (ǁYHWH; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/deut/32.30?lang=eng#29 Deuteronomy 32:30] = [[Septuaginta. Alfred Rahlfs, ed. 8th ed. Stuttgart: Württembergische Bibelanstalt, 1965.|LXX]] theos “God”), and more explicitly ''ʼĕlōhîm ṣûrām'' “God was their Rock” ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/ps/78.35?lang=eng#34 Psalm 78:35] ; ''ṣûr yîśrāʾēl'' “Rock of Israel,” [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/2-sam/23.3?lang=eng#2 2 Samuel 23:3]; see also [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/2-sam/22.47?lang=eng#2 2 Samuel 22:47]; and ''ṣûr yîśrāʼēl'' “Mighty One of Israel,” [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/isa/30.29?lang=eng#28 Isaiah 30:29]; ''ṣûrî'' “My strength,” [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/ps/18.2?lang=eng#1 Psalm 18:2] [3]; or simply ''ṣûr'' “Mighty God,” [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/hab/1.12?lang=eng#11 Habakkuk 1:12]), etc. Cf. usage of this Semitic root in [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] ''Ṣōr'', ''Ṣôr'' “Tyre; the Rock” (= [[EGYPT|E<small>GYPTIAN</small>]] ''Dr'', ''DЗ''(''y'')''r'', ''DЗwyr'', ''DЗwЗr''  “Tyre”<ref> Pap Anastasi I, 21, 1, ''Urkunden'' IV:891, El Amarna Letters; cf. the [[EGYPT|E<small>GYPTIAN</small>]] root word ''dri''(''t''), ''drry'' “wall, siege-wall”; ''drw'' “walls; boundary.”</ref>  = Phoenician ''Ṣr'', Greek Tyros).<ref> Margaret Barker. ''Temple Mysticism: An Introduction.'' (London: [[The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge|SPCK]] Publishing, 2011), 120-121, 136, suggests that [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] ''ṣûr'' in these instances actually means “form, essence; engraved archetype; Invisible One” ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/deut/32.4,%2015?lang=eng#3 Deuteronomy 32:4, 15]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/2-sam/23.3?lang=eng#2 2 Samuel 23:3]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/isa/44.8?lang=eng#7 Isaiah 44:8]; 4Q405:19), like [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] ''děmût'', the “invisible reality” in the Holy of Holies – upon which physical realization is based.</ref>  
In the first of the five etymologies, the only etymology with an attested ancient Semitic instance, the first part of the [[Personal Name|PN]] '''Zoram''' is the [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] word ''ṣûr'', meaning "rock, cliff face,"<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.|''HALOT'']]</ref> but is used metaphorically for the God of Israel, as in [https://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/2-sam/22.47?lang=eng 2 Samuel 22:47], "The Lord liveth; and blessed be my rock [ṣûr]; and exalted be the God of the rock [ṣûr] of my salvation" ([[Paul Y. Hoskisson|PYH]]). <ref>See also passages such as [https://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/deut/32.15?lang=eng Deuteronomy 32:15], "the Rock of his salvation."</ref> The vocable ''ṣûr'' also appears in several biblical personal names, such as Zur ''ṣûr'' "Rock" ([https://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/num/25.15?lang=eng Numbers 25:15]), Zuriel, ''ṣûrî-ʾēl'' "El (God) is my rock" ([https://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/num/3.35?lang=eng Numbers 3:35]). <ref>That “Shadday” is an epithet of the God of Israel is clear from [https://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/gen/49.25?lang=eng Genesis 49:25]. The [[King James Version|KJV]] mistranslates it in this verse as “Almighty.” The [[Jewish Publication Society|JPS]] Tanakh, published by Oxford as ''The Jewish Study Bible'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), translation transliterates the Hebrew, “El Shaddai.” [[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.|''HALOT'']] derives ''šaddai'' from the Akkadian word for “mountain,” i.e., “mountain dwelling.”</ref>


Another possibility is hypothetical [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] ''*ṣûr''-''ʿām'' “Rock of the people” ([[Paul Y. Hoskisson|PYH]]), or as a theophoric "God is a rock" ([[Stephen D. Ricks|SDR]]).
The second part of the [[Personal Name|PN]] '''Z<small>ORAM</small>''' could come from the common Semitic vocable ''ʿām'', meaning "father's brother," "(divine) kinsman," and "people."<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.|''HALOT'']] The possiblity that ''ḫamm'', ''*ḥam'' and ''ʿam'' ("people") can be confused with the various Semitic orthographies complicates the efforts to provide a clear etymology. This tripartite etymology is reflected in [[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.|''HALOT'']], which lists for ''ʿam''  three definitions, A. "father's brother," B. "clan, kin," and C. "people." In the Mari [[Personal Name|PN]]s, ''ḫamm'', meaning "paternal uncle," and ''ʿam'', an Amorite divine name, possibly from ''*ḥam '' and possibly meaning "father-in'-law," are not confused. See H. Huffmon, ''Ammmonite Personal Names in the Mari Texts'' (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1965), 166 and 196-7.</ref> The vocable ''ʿām'' is qutie common in ancient Semitic name giving.<ref>The most widely known example of the vocable ''ʿām'' in an ancient Semitic name is the famous Old Babylonian ruler ''Hammurapi'', where ''ḫammu'' is the East Semitic reflex of West Semitic ''ʿām''.</ref> As an element in Hebrew names, there is no question that it is a theophoric element, <ref>Note that the element ''ʿām'' in Amminadab is replaced by "my brother" in '''ʾǎḥî'''-''nādāb'' ([https://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/1-kgs/4.14?lang=eng 1 Kings 4:14]) by "my father in '''ʾabî'''-''nādāb'', and by "Jehovah" in '''yĕhô'''-''nādāb'' ([https://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/2-sam/13.5?lang=eng 2 Samuel 13:5]), demonstrating that ''ʿām'' functions as a theophoric element emphasizing kinship with God.</ref> appearing in names such as Jekameam, ''yĕqam-ʿām'' ([https://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/1-chr/23.19?lang=eng 1 Chronicles 23:19]). <ref>Other bibilcal names with the element ''ʿām'' include Amram ([https://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/ex/6.18?lang=eng Exodus 6:18]) and Ammizabad ([https://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/1-chr/27?lang=eng 1 Chronicles 27:6]).</ref> In addition to appearing as the final element in [Personal Name|PN]]s, it also can be found at the beginning of names, e.g., Amminadab, ''ʿammî-nādāb'' ([https://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/num/1.7?lang=eng Numbers 1:7]), "my father's brother is generous" ([[Paul Y. Hosskison|PYH]]).<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.|''HALOT'']]</ref> (Note that this biblical [[Personal Name|PN]] also appears in the Book of Mormon as '''A<small>MINADAB</small>''' - [[Robert F. Smith|RFS]]).


[[William J. Hamblin|Bill Hamblin]] (2012) suggests that the etymology is a form of [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] ''zerem'' “flowing water, rain,” and that '''Z<small>ORAM</small>''' is not simply a “servant,” but a “slave” to [[LABAN|L<small>ABAN</small>]], since [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] ''ʿebed'' means both, and since [[NEPHI|N<small>EPHI</small>]] convinces '''Z<small>ORAM</small>''' to take an oath to join the Lehite clan so that he will then be free and no longer a slave ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/4.33?lang=eng#32 1 Nephi 4:33]).  If '''Z<small>ORAM</small>''' is [[LABAN|L<small>ABAN</small>]]’s slave, then his name might very well reflect foreign nationality ([[ISRAELITES|I<small>SRAELITES</small>]] were not allowed to hold other [[ISRAELITES|I<small>SRAELITES</small>]] in slavery in perpetuity), and the possibility that he was Tyrian might help explain the tendency to heresy of the much later [[ZORAMITE(S)|Z<small>ORAMITES</small>]].
The question of meaning hinges partly on how to view ''ʿām'' as a theophoric element. The translation "father's brother/paternal uncle" does not convey the same connotation in English as it does in Hebrew. To approximate the Semitic connotation, some translators render ''ʿām'' with "divine kinsman." To avoid the issue of meaning, some translations simply transliterate the vocable. For example, in the [[Personal Name|PN]] mentioned above, Jekameam, [[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.|''HALOT'']] The possiblity that ''ḫamm'', ''*ḥam'' and ''ʿam'' ("people") can be confused with the various Semitic orthographies complicates the efforts to provide a clear etymology. This tripartite etymology is reflected in [[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.|''HALOT'']] renders ''yĕqam-ʿām'' with "may ''ʿAm'' deliver,"<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.|''HALOT'']]</ref> where ''ʿAm'' is understood as a deity, a divine kinsman ([[Paul Y. Hosskison|PYH]]).


Cf. [[EGYPT|E<small>GYPTIAN</small>]] divine name ''zrm'' [[LGG|Lexikon der ägyptischen Götter und Götterbezeichnungen]], 6:431; see also the variant name of ''zrm''', '''rks''', that appears in the ''Book of the Dead'', utterance 39 S 5.  
Combining ''ṣûr'' with ''ʿām'' would give the meaning "The Rock is the (divine) kinsman." To modern ears, this meaning may seem like a strange [[Personal Name|PN]]. HOwever, though ''ṣûr'' and ''ʿām'' are not used together in any known biblical [[Personal Name|PN]], they are used together in the Amorite Bronze Age [[Personal Name|PN]] ''ṣûrî-ʿammu'', which is translated as "My rock is the Father's brother" <ref>Michael P. Streck, ''Das amurrittische Onomasticon der altbabylonischen Zeit'' (Münster, Germany: Ugarit-Verlag, 2000), 345.</ref> ([[Paul Y. Hosskison|PYH]]).
 
A second possibility for '''Z<small>ORAM</small>''' is hypothetical ''ṣûr-ʿām'', "Rock of the people," where ''ʿām'' would not mean "paternal uncle," but rather "people," though in [[Personal Name|PN]]s the meaning "people" seems to be quite rare ([[Paul Y. Hosskison|PYH]]). Biblical [[Personal Name|PN]]s such as Jeroboam and Rehoboam may lend legitimacy to the use of "people." Jeroboam can be interpreted as "may the people increase."<ref>[[Martin Noth, Die israelitischen Personennamen im Rahmen der gemeinsemitischen Namengebung. Beiträge zur Wissenschaft vom Alten und Neuen Testament, III, 10. Stuttgart, 1928 /reprint: Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1966.|''IPN'']], 207, "es mehre sich das Volk." But Stamm in the same passage seems to prefer the meaning "may Baal appeaer as great." [[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.|''HALOT'']] also translates differently, "the uncle (-god) has done justice."</ref> Rehoboam can mean "The people have become extensive."<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.|''HALOT'']]. See also [[Martin Noth, Die israelitischen Personennamen im Rahmen der gemeinsemitischen Namengebung. Beiträge zur Wissenschaft vom Alten und Neuen Testament, III, 10. Stuttgart, 1928 /reprint: Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1966.|''IPN'']], 193, "Das Volk ist weit geworden, hat sich ausgebreitet." but HALOT also gives the meaning, "the uncle-god [Jehovah] has made wide."</ref> Additionally, the [[Personal Name|PN]] Jekameam could mean "may the people arise" ([[Robert F. Smith|RFS]]).
 
Cf. [[EGYPT|E<small>GYPTIAN</small>]] divine name ''zrm'' ([[LGG|LGG]], 6:431); see also the variant name of ''zrm'', ''rks'', that appears in the ''Book of the Dead'', utterance 39 S 5.  




Revision as of 16:51, 24 May 2016

Lehite PN 1. Servant of LABAN (1 Nephi 4:35 (x2), 37; 16:7; 2 Nephi 1:30; 5:6; Alma 54:23)
2. Chief captain of NEPHITE armies, ca. 81 B.C. (Alma 16:5 (x2), 7)
3. NEPHITE apostate and leader of ZORAMITES (Alma 30:59; 31:1)

Etymology ZORAM has five plausible etymologies, though only the first etymology given below is attested in an ancient Semitic source (see below). The first three of the five are only slightly different from each other: "The Rock is the (divine) kinsman," "Rock of the people," and "Their Rock." These three plausible etymologies will be discussed in that order, with the first discussion supplying most of the basic information. The fourth and fifth suggested meanings were made by Matthew L. Bowen, "The one who is exalted," and approximately, "[The diety] has flooded forth."

In the first of the five etymologies, the only etymology with an attested ancient Semitic instance, the first part of the PN Zoram is the HEBREW word ṣûr, meaning "rock, cliff face,"[1] but is used metaphorically for the God of Israel, as in 2 Samuel 22:47, "The Lord liveth; and blessed be my rock [ṣûr]; and exalted be the God of the rock [ṣûr] of my salvation" (PYH). [2] The vocable ṣûr also appears in several biblical personal names, such as Zur ṣûr "Rock" (Numbers 25:15), Zuriel, ṣûrî-ʾēl "El (God) is my rock" (Numbers 3:35). [3]

The second part of the PN ZORAM could come from the common Semitic vocable ʿām, meaning "father's brother," "(divine) kinsman," and "people."[4] The vocable ʿām is qutie common in ancient Semitic name giving.[5] As an element in Hebrew names, there is no question that it is a theophoric element, [6] appearing in names such as Jekameam, yĕqam-ʿām (1 Chronicles 23:19). [7] In addition to appearing as the final element in [Personal Name|PN]]s, it also can be found at the beginning of names, e.g., Amminadab, ʿammî-nādāb (Numbers 1:7), "my father's brother is generous" (PYH).[8] (Note that this biblical PN also appears in the Book of Mormon as AMINADAB - RFS).

The question of meaning hinges partly on how to view ʿām as a theophoric element. The translation "father's brother/paternal uncle" does not convey the same connotation in English as it does in Hebrew. To approximate the Semitic connotation, some translators render ʿām with "divine kinsman." To avoid the issue of meaning, some translations simply transliterate the vocable. For example, in the PN mentioned above, Jekameam, HALOT The possiblity that ḫamm, *ḥam and ʿam ("people") can be confused with the various Semitic orthographies complicates the efforts to provide a clear etymology. This tripartite etymology is reflected in HALOT renders yĕqam-ʿām with "may ʿAm deliver,"[9] where ʿAm is understood as a deity, a divine kinsman (PYH).

Combining ṣûr with ʿām would give the meaning "The Rock is the (divine) kinsman." To modern ears, this meaning may seem like a strange PN. HOwever, though ṣûr and ʿām are not used together in any known biblical PN, they are used together in the Amorite Bronze Age PN ṣûrî-ʿammu, which is translated as "My rock is the Father's brother" [10] (PYH).

A second possibility for ZORAM is hypothetical ṣûr-ʿām, "Rock of the people," where ʿām would not mean "paternal uncle," but rather "people," though in PNs the meaning "people" seems to be quite rare (PYH). Biblical PNs such as Jeroboam and Rehoboam may lend legitimacy to the use of "people." Jeroboam can be interpreted as "may the people increase."[11] Rehoboam can mean "The people have become extensive."[12] Additionally, the PN Jekameam could mean "may the people arise" (RFS).

Cf. EGYPTIAN divine name zrm (LGG, 6:431); see also the variant name of zrm, rks, that appears in the Book of the Dead, utterance 39 S 5.


See Book of Mormon ZORAMITE(S).

Cf. Book of Mormon ZERAM, CEZORAM, SEEZORAM, ZEEZROM, ESROM, EZROM/EZRUM, AMINADI, AMINADAB, AMMAH.

See also Zoram / Zorum Variants

Deseret Alphabet: 𐐞𐐄𐐡𐐊𐐣 (zoʊrʌm)

Notes

  1. ↑ HALOT
  2. ↑ See also passages such as Deuteronomy 32:15, "the Rock of his salvation."
  3. ↑ That “Shadday” is an epithet of the God of Israel is clear from Genesis 49:25. The KJV mistranslates it in this verse as “Almighty.” The JPS Tanakh, published by Oxford as The Jewish Study Bible (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), translation transliterates the Hebrew, “El Shaddai.” HALOT derives šaddai from the Akkadian word for “mountain,” i.e., “mountain dwelling.”
  4. ↑ HALOT The possiblity that ḫamm, *ḥam and ʿam ("people") can be confused with the various Semitic orthographies complicates the efforts to provide a clear etymology. This tripartite etymology is reflected in HALOT, which lists for ʿam three definitions, A. "father's brother," B. "clan, kin," and C. "people." In the Mari PNs, ḫamm, meaning "paternal uncle," and ʿam, an Amorite divine name, possibly from *ḥam and possibly meaning "father-in'-law," are not confused. See H. Huffmon, Ammmonite Personal Names in the Mari Texts (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1965), 166 and 196-7.
  5. ↑ The most widely known example of the vocable ʿām in an ancient Semitic name is the famous Old Babylonian ruler Hammurapi, where ḫammu is the East Semitic reflex of West Semitic ʿām.
  6. ↑ Note that the element ʿām in Amminadab is replaced by "my brother" in ʾǎḥî-nādāb (1 Kings 4:14) by "my father in ʾabî-nādāb, and by "Jehovah" in yĕhô-nādāb (2 Samuel 13:5), demonstrating that ʿām functions as a theophoric element emphasizing kinship with God.
  7. ↑ Other bibilcal names with the element ʿām include Amram (Exodus 6:18) and Ammizabad (1 Chronicles 27:6).
  8. ↑ HALOT
  9. ↑ HALOT
  10. ↑ Michael P. Streck, Das amurrittische Onomasticon der altbabylonischen Zeit (Münster, Germany: Ugarit-Verlag, 2000), 345.
  11. ↑ IPN, 207, "es mehre sich das Volk." But Stamm in the same passage seems to prefer the meaning "may Baal appeaer as great." HALOT also translates differently, "the uncle (-god) has done justice."
  12. ↑ HALOT. See also IPN, 193, "Das Volk ist weit geworden, hat sich ausgebreitet." but HALOT also gives the meaning, "the uncle-god [Jehovah] has made wide."
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