MOSIAH

Lehite PN	1.	Prophet/king of Zarahemla, b. ca. 174 BC (???—RFS has him king 279–200 BC) (Omni 1:12, 14–20, 23)
	2.	King ca. 125–91 BC, grandson of No. 1 (Mosiah 1:2; Ether 4:1)

The name Mosiah may derive from the Hebrew for moši‘yahu, “the Lord delivers, saves.” The name can be parsed as the hiphil participle of the Hebrew root yš‘, “to save, deliver,”93 with the theophoric element yahu, “Jehovah, Lord.” Isaiah, yeša‘yahu, “the Lord is deliverance, salvation,” presents a compelling analogue. The hiphil participle form—moši‘a—occurs at least 17 times with verbal or nominal force in the Old Testament; cf., e.g., the participle without suffix, moši‘a “deliverer,” Judges 3:9 and 1 Samuel 11:3; and the participle with pronominal suffixes: Judges 3:15; 2 Samuel 22:42; Isaiah 49:26; Jeremiah 14:18; Psalm 7:11; 17:7; 18:42; 106:21.

Alternatively, Mosiah may derive from the Hebrew root MŠḤ, “messiah,” though this does not produce the /o/ of the first syllable (RFS, JAT, JH).

SDR

Bibliography

• John Sawyer “What Was a Mosia?” Provo, UT: FARMS, 1965.