NEPHI: Difference between revisions

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The current LDS "Pronouncing Guide" for Book of Mormon words, and the Deseret Alphabet spelling of the PN [[NEPHI|NEPHI]], 𐐤𐐀𐐙𐐌, (IPA: ''niːfaɪ''), and 𐐤𐐁𐐙𐐌, (IPA: ''neɪfaɪ''), suggest that the search for an etymology should focus on ''nēʹfī'' and not ''nēpʹhī''. Most of the suggestions below are based on that assumption.
The current LDS "Pronouncing Guide" for Book of Mormon words, and the Deseret Alphabet spelling of the PN [[NEPHI|NEPHI]], 𐐤𐐀𐐙𐐌, (IPA: ''niːfaɪ''), and 𐐤𐐁𐐙𐐌, (IPA: ''neɪfaɪ''), suggest that the search for an etymology should focus on ''nēʹfī'' and not ''nēpʹhī''. Most of the suggestions below are based on that assumption.


The most likely derivation of the PN [[NEPHI|N<small>EPHI</small>]] is ancient [[EGYPT|E<small>GYPTIAN</small>]] ''nfr'' "good, beautiful."<ref>[[John Gee]], "A Note on the Name ''Nephi''," [[Journal of Book of Mormon Studies|''JBMS'']] 1/1 (1992): 189-191; [[John Gee]], “Four Suggestions on the Origin of the Name Nephi,” in ''Pressing Forward with the Book of Mormon'', ed. [[John W. Welch]], and [[Melvin J. Thorne]] (Provo, Utah: [[Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies|FARMS]], 1999), 1-5.</ref> That the ''r'' is nowhere evident in the Book of Mormon is not an issue because the final ''r'' in late [[EGYPT|E<small>GYPTIAN</small>]] can elide.<ref>William F. Edgerton, "Stress, Vowel Quality, and Syllable Division in Egyptian," ''Journal of Near Eastern Studies'' 6/1 (1947): 10-17.</ref> For example, ''knpi'', "(My) ''ka'' is good" (from Egyptian ''kз-npy''), appears in North-West Semitic documents.<ref>Yoshiyuki Muchiki, ''Egyptian Proper Names and Loanwords in North-West Semitic'' (Atlanta, Georgia: Society of Biblical Literature, 1999), 26. In the same work see ''npr'' (28); ''unpr'', “(The) good exists;” ''npnʾ'', “Good one belonging to Thebes” (96); ''nprʾyt'', “The beautiful one is come” (97); ''tnupy'', “She who belongs to the good one” (151); and see p. 293.</ref> Additionally, the PN [[NEPHI]] is attested at the time of [[LEHI|L<small>EHI</small>]].<ref>[[Hermann Ranke|Ranke]], [[Hermann Ranke, Die ägyptischen Personennamen. 2 vols. Glückstadt: Augustin, 1935-52.|''Die ägyptischen Personennamen'']] 1:194.</ref> Thus, if [[NEPHI]] means "The Good" the name could be metonymic based on Nephi's self-declaration that he was "born of goodly parents" (1 Nephi 1:1).<ref>See Matt Bowen, “Internal Textual Evidence for the Egyptian Origin of Nephi's Name,” FARMS’ ''Insights'', 21/11 (2001),  online at http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/insights/?vol=22&num=11&id=301 .</ref> Additionally, the likely Egyptian name ''npsy'', "Isis is good," occurs on a West Semitic stamp seal.<ref>''Corpus of West Semitic Stamp Seals'', ed. Nahman Avigad, revised and completed by Benjamin Sass (Jerusalem: The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1997), 543</ref>
The most likely derivation of the PN [[NEPHI|N<small>EPHI</small>]] is ancient [[EGYPT|E<small>GYPTIAN</small>]] ''nfr'' "good, beautiful."<ref>[[John Gee]], "A Note on the Name ''Nephi''," [[Journal of Book of Mormon Studies|''JBMS'']] 1/1 (1992): 189-191; [[John Gee]], “Four Suggestions on the Origin of the Name Nephi,” in ''Pressing Forward with the Book of Mormon'', ed. [[John W. Welch]], and [[Melvin J. Thorne]] (Provo, Utah: [[Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies|FARMS]], 1999), 1-5.</ref> That the ''r'' is nowhere evident in the Book of Mormon is not an issue because the final ''r'' in late [[EGYPT|E<small>GYPTIAN</small>]] can elide.<ref>William F. Edgerton, "Stress, Vowel Quality, and Syllable Division in Egyptian," ''Journal of Near Eastern Studies'' 6/1 (1947): 10-17.</ref> For example, ''knpi'', "(My) ''ka'' is good" (from Egyptian ''kз-npy''), appears in North-West Semitic documents.<ref>Yoshiyuki Muchiki, ''Egyptian Proper Names and Loanwords in North-West Semitic'' (Atlanta, Georgia: Society of Biblical Literature, 1999), 26. In the same work see ''npr'' (28); ''unpr'', “(The) good exists;” ''npnʾ'', “Good one belonging to Thebes” (96); ''nprʾyt'', “The beautiful one is come” (97); ''tnupy'', “She who belongs to the good one” (151); and see p. 293.</ref> Additionally, the PN [[NEPHI]] is attested at the time of [[LEHI|L<small>EHI</small>]].<ref>[[Hermann Ranke|Ranke]], [[Hermann Ranke, Die ägyptischen Personennamen. 2 vols. Glückstadt: Augustin, 1935-52.|''Die ägyptischen Personennamen'']] 1:194.</ref> Thus, if [[NEPHI]] means "The Good" the name could be metonymic based on Nephi's self-declaration that he was "born of goodly parents" ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/1.1?lang=eng#primary 1 Nephi 1:1]).<ref>See Matt Bowen, “Internal Textual Evidence for the Egyptian Origin of Nephi's Name,” FARMS’ ''Insights'', 21/11 (2001),  online at http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/insights/?vol=22&num=11&id=301 .</ref> Additionally, the likely Egyptian name ''npsy'', "Isis is good," occurs on a West Semitic stamp seal.<ref>''Corpus of West Semitic Stamp Seals'', ed. Nahman Avigad, revised and completed by Benjamin Sass (Jerusalem: The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1997), 543</ref>


In Semitic languages, two directions exist for seeking the etymology of this important Book of Mormon name, ''nph''/''ḥ'' or ''nv̄ p'' or ''n'' aleph ''p''. Historical and current [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|LDS]] pronunciation of the name  
In Semitic languages, two directions exist for seeking the etymology of this important Book of Mormon name, ''nph''/''ḥ'' or ''nv̄ p'' or ''n'' aleph ''p''. Historical and current [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|LDS]] pronunciation of the name  
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([[Personal Name|PN]]). The root also occurs in the Akkadian term ''nappahu'' "smith".
([[Personal Name|PN]]). The root also occurs in the Akkadian term ''nappahu'' "smith".


[[Hugh W. Nibley|Nibley]] wrote that "''nfy'' was the name of an Egyptian captain," implying a PN rather than a word meaning "captain"<ref>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.|LID]], 27; see also [[Hugh Nibley, An Approach to the Book of Mormon. 3rd ed. Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 6. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, FARMS, 1988.|''ABM'']], 290.</ref>;  the term ''nfy'' is indeed attested as an Egyptian name in Nephi's own time, <ref>Compare the 7th cent. B.C. nomarch of Athribis, ''BЗk-n-nfy'' “Servant-of-the-Captain” (L. Habachi, ''MDAIK'' 15:69-77, cited by R. F. Smith at ''JBMS'' 5/2 [1996]:110 n. 65), whose name appears in syllabic cuneiform transliteration as ''<sup>I</sup>Bu-uk-ku-na-an-ni-iʼ-pi'' (Rykle Borger, ''Babylonisch-Assyrische Lesestücke'', 2nd ed., I:90 [Rome: PBI, 1979], line 102).</ref> despite claims to the contrary.<ref>Despite [[Hermann Ranke, Die ägyptischen Personennamen. 2 vols. Glückstadt: Augustin, 1935-52.|Ranke,Die ägyptischen Personennamen]] 1:193.</ref> This derivation would come from ancient Egyptian ''nfw'' (in late Egyptian ''nfy''), "captain, skipper, chief of sailors" (Coptic ''ne''(''e'')''f'', ''neeb''), from the meaning "breathe, blow at" ([[Robert F. Smith|RFS]], [[Jo Ann Carlton Hackett|JH]], [[John A. Tvedtnes|JAT]]).<ref>Ranke, Die ägyptischen Personennamen 1:194</ref> It would also appear that ''npy'' comprises part of the name ''šmynpy'' (שמינפי, Šemenufe) found in Aramaic documents from Egypt.<ref>Bezalel Porten and Jerome A. Lund, ''Aramaic Documents from Egypt: A Key-Word-in Context Concordance'' (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2002), 415a.</ref> We must also note that there might be a play on words with this proposal, using the Hebrew root ''nûp'' "to shake," as in Isaiah 10:15,32, 11:15, 19:16, Exodus 29:26), applied to 1 Nephi 2:14, 1:45,54-55, 2 Nephi 1:13,23, 4:31, 8:25, 9:44-45.
[[Hugh W. Nibley|Nibley]] wrote that "''nfy'' was the name of an Egyptian captain," implying a PN rather than a word meaning "captain"<ref>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.|LID]], 27; see also [[Hugh Nibley, An Approach to the Book of Mormon. 3rd ed. Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 6. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, FARMS, 1988.|''ABM'']], 290.</ref>;  the term ''nfy'' is indeed attested as an Egyptian name in Nephi's own time, <ref>Compare the 7th cent. B.C. nomarch of Athribis, ''BЗk-n-nfy'' “Servant-of-the-Captain” (L. Habachi, ''MDAIK'' 15:69-77, cited by R. F. Smith at ''JBMS'' 5/2 [1996]:110 n. 65), whose name appears in syllabic cuneiform transliteration as ''<sup>I</sup>Bu-uk-ku-na-an-ni-iʼ-pi'' (Rykle Borger, ''Babylonisch-Assyrische Lesestücke'', 2nd ed., I:90 [Rome: PBI, 1979], line 102).</ref> despite claims to the contrary.<ref>Despite [[Hermann Ranke, Die ägyptischen Personennamen. 2 vols. Glückstadt: Augustin, 1935-52.|Ranke,Die ägyptischen Personennamen]] 1:193.</ref> This derivation would come from ancient Egyptian ''nfw'' (in late Egyptian ''nfy''), "captain, skipper, chief of sailors" (Coptic ''ne''(''e'')''f'', ''neeb''), from the meaning "breathe, blow at" ([[Robert F. Smith|RFS]], [[Jo Ann Carlton Hackett|JH]], [[John A. Tvedtnes|JAT]]).<ref>Ranke, Die ägyptischen Personennamen 1:194</ref> It would also appear that ''npy'' comprises part of the name ''šmynpy'' (שמינפי, Šemenufe) found in Aramaic documents from Egypt.<ref>Bezalel Porten and Jerome A. Lund, ''Aramaic Documents from Egypt: A Key-Word-in Context Concordance'' (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2002), 415a.</ref> We must also note that there might be a play on words with this proposal, using the Hebrew root ''nûp'' "to shake," as in [https://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/isa/10.15,%2032?lang=eng Isaiah 10:15,32], [https://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/isa/11.15?lang=eng 11:15], [https://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/isa/19.16?lang=eng 19:16] (''hēnîp'', ''tĕnûpâ'', "wave-offering," ''mēnîp''; = [https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/20.15,%2032?lang=eng#primary 2 Nephi 20:15,32], [https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/21.15?lang=eng#primary 21:15], [https://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/ex/29.26?lang=eng Exodus 29:26]), applied to [https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/2.14?lang=eng#primary 1 Nephi 2:14], [https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/17.45,%2054,%2055?lang=eng#primary 17:45,54-55], [https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/1.13,%2023?lang=eng#primary 2 Nephi 1:13,23],[https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/4.31?lang=eng#primary 4:31], [https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/8.25?lang=eng#primary 8:25], [https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/9.44,%2045?lang=eng#primary 9:44-45].


The Aramaic [[Geographical Name|GN]] ''npʾ'' occurs in the Elephantine documents (7:4) ([[Edward H. Ashment|EHA]]).
See also Egyptian ''nfˁ=i'', "I am driven away, removed" (passive) ([[Edward H. Ashment|EHA]]).<ref>R. Faulkner, ''Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian'', 131.</ref> If correct, the name could be metonymic, in view of [[NEPHI]]'s forced departure from his homeland ([[John A. Tvedtnes|JAT]]). However, this is unlikely because first of all, it would have to be a dependent clause and would not be nominalized. Second, the so-called passive ''sdm=f'' is a circumstantial past passive meaning in this case "since I had been driven away."


Implausible is the suggestion to derive '''N<small>EPHI</small>''' from the [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] word for prophet, ''nābīʾ''. Such a derivation ([[George Reynolds|Reynolds]], Commentary on the Book of Mormon, I, p. 3 and IV, p.  
Nibley pointed to a variety of possible Arabic sources.<ref>Nibley, [[Hugh Nibley, An Approach to the Book of Mormon. 3rd ed. Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 6. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, FARMS, 1988.|''An Approach to the Book of Mormon'']], Lesson 22 n. 27 = Collected Works VI:290 n. 28.</ref> Ancient Safaitic and Minaean ''Nfy'' (perhaps Arabic ''nafaiy'' "exile") are good examples.<ref>R. F. Smith in [[Journal of Book of Mormon Studies|''JBMS'']] 5/2:147 n. 268, citing E. Littmann, ''Safaitic Inscriptions'', 1025.</ref> Nibley also suggested the PN 'nfy' on at least 10 Nabatean inscriptions. In one case, ''nfy'' is the father of one ''lmy'', where the ''y'' is defective and may, according to Jaussen, have been ''n'', hence Laman (if it is really ''y'', cf. Book of Mormon Lamah - [[John A. Tvedtnes|JAT]]), while in another ''h-nfy'' appears with the name ''mrm-lw'', for which cf. Mormon.<ref>Nibley,  [[Hugh Nibley, An Approach to the Book of Mormon. 3rd ed. Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 6. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, FARMS, 1988.|''ABM'']], 239 and esp. fn. 28 (in the reprint by FARMS; fn. 27 in the 1964 Deseret edition) to Chap. 22.</ref>
275) is based on the erroneous reading “nevi” from “nebhi,” which is the masoretic pronunciation of the first two syllables of the plural “prophets.” But we do not know if
masoretic pronunciation held in [[LEHI|L<small>EHI</small>]]’s day; and even if the pronunciation were certain for [[LEHI|L<small>EHI</small>]]’s day, part of the plural form cannot be used to explain a word that looks
singular. The fact that the niphal form may mean “speak under divine influence” is irrelevant. In other words, the [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] “bet” in ''nābīʾ'', despite spirantization, cannot be
turned into the [''f''] of '''N<small>EPHI</small>'''.


Some would like to see the '''N<small>EPHI</small>''' in 2 Macc. 1:36 of the [[King James Version|KJV]] (Greek ''neai'', an alternate name for ''naphtha'', the Aramaic word for petroleum, which is usually rendered by Greek
An etymology from within the Semitic languages seems at present less likely than from Egyptian.  Assuming again that ''nēʹfī'' is correct and not ''nēpʹhī'', the Semitic roots ''nʾp'', ''nʿp'', '''npv''' (''npā'', ''npū'', ''npī'', ''npē'') or ''nvp'' (''nāp'', ''nūp'', ''nīp'', ''nēp'') provide a beginning point. However, none of these options in Hebrew provide anything close to a useful etymology. Even ''nāpâ'', "yoke," is not helpful, except perhaps as the hypocoristicon ''nāpî'', "my yoke."
''near'') as the most likely origin of Book of Mormon '''N<small>EPHI</small>''' ([[Jo Ann Hackett|JH]]). In view of the fact that the Greek does not read '''N<small>EPHI</small>''', neither would the Aramaic, Joseph Smith would have to
 
have taken the name from his [[King James Version|KJV]] Bible which, it is now known, contained the Apocrypha ([[John A. Tvedtnes|JAT]]). But it seems unlikely that Joseph Smith would have rendered a [[Personal Name|PN]] from the  
The only North-West Semitic language that provides a useful etymology is Ugaritic, with the root ''npy'', which means "drive away, expel."<ref>''Analytic Ugaritic Bibliography'' 1972-1988, ed. Manfried Dietrich and Oswald Loretz (Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1996), 777.</ref> This is likely related to the Ugaritic sacrificial term ''np'', ''npy'' "atonement, expurgation, purification, expiration."<ref>G. del Olmo Lete, ''Canaanite Religion according to the Liturgical Texts of Ugarit', 2<sup>nd</sup> ed. (Ugarit-Verlag, 2014), 16-17,123; KTU 1.40:1,19,36.</ref> This might even make an interesting play on words, with Lehi and his family being driven away from Jerusalem. But that meaning would require the ''niphal'' form of the verb, not the ''qal'', and [[NEPHI]] does not fit the form of a ''niphal'' finite verb. However, a ''niphal'' active participle form, ''*nippay'', could account for [[NEPHI]] and could mean, "driven away/expelled," a possible metonymic explanation.
Plates with an erroneous [[King James Version|KJV]] reading of a Greek noun of an Aramaic/[[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] word for petroleum. Confer also ''nea'', ''near'' in 1 Esdr. 5:2. ([[Robert F. Smith|RFS]]; *CANNOT FIND IN 1 [[Esdras in the Apocrypha|ESDR]]. 5:2!!!!)
([[Robert F. Smith|RFS]]).


[[Thelona D. Stevens|Thelona Stevens]] suggested that '''N<small>EPHI</small>''' was related to the Nahua arguing that "the Nahuas had lost all the labial sounds except ''p'' and ''u''." and therefore "the word 'Nahua' may, therefore, as far as the pronunciation indicates, be considered identical with '<b>N<small>EPHI</small></b>.'"<ref>[[Thelona D. Stevens]], "Book of Mormon Names in Indian Languages," ''Saints' Herald'' 115 (1 July 1968): 456.</ref> Since there is a phoneme ''p'' in Nahuatl,<ref>Thelma D. Sullivan and Neville Stiles, ''Compendium of Nahuatli Grammar'' (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1988), 6.</ref> however, there is no reason that '''N<small>EPHI</small>''' would need to be represented as "Nahua" rather than "'''N<small>EPHI</small>'''."
[[Thelona D. Stevens|Thelona Stevens]] suggested that '''N<small>EPHI</small>''' was related to the Nahua arguing that "the Nahuas had lost all the labial sounds except ''p'' and ''u''." and therefore "the word 'Nahua' may, therefore, as far as the pronunciation indicates, be considered identical with '<b>N<small>EPHI</small></b>.'"<ref>[[Thelona D. Stevens]], "Book of Mormon Names in Indian Languages," ''Saints' Herald'' 115 (1 July 1968): 456.</ref> Since there is a phoneme ''p'' in Nahuatl,<ref>Thelma D. Sullivan and Neville Stiles, ''Compendium of Nahuatli Grammar'' (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1988), 6.</ref> however, there is no reason that '''N<small>EPHI</small>''' would need to be represented as "Nahua" rather than "'''N<small>EPHI</small>'''."

Revision as of 16:27, 15 September 2016

Lehite PN 1. Son of prophet LEHI No. 1, founder of NEPHITES (1 Nephi 1:Preface (x4), 1, 16, 20; 2:16, 19; 3:1, 7, 9; 4:5, 14, 31; 6:1; 7:2, 3, 6, 8, 16; 8:3, 14, 29; 9:2; 10:1, 17 (x2); 11:6, 14, 33; 12:12; 13:16, 19, 20, 23; 14:5, 14, 27, 28; 15:1, 4, 19, 25; 16:1, 4, 7, 8, 18, 21, 22, 23, 28, 30, 37; 17:7, 11, 15, 19, 23, 49, 52; 18:2, 3, 10 (x2), 22; 19:3, 4, 18, 22; 22:1, 2, 21, 27, 29; 2 Nephi 1:Preface, 1, 28, 30; 2:3; 3:25; 4:1, 11, 14; 5:1, 5, 6, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, 26, 29, 31; 6:1, 2; 11:2; 25:1, 2, 6; 26:7; 29:2; 30:1; 31:1; 32:7; 33:1, 3; Jacob 1:1, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 18; 2:1 (x2); 3:14; 7:27; Words of Mormon 1:3; Mosiah 10:13, 17; 11:13; 17:2; 24:4; 25:2 (x2); 25:12 (x2), 13; Alma 3:6, 14, 17; 10:3; 47:35; Helaman 2:14; 7:7; 3 Nephi 1:Preface, 2; 5:9, 10; 4 Nephi 1:21, 39; Mormon 1:5; 8:13)
2. Eldest son of HELAMAN No.3, brother of LEHI No. 4 (Helaman 3:21, 37; 4:14; 5:1, 4, 18, 20, 23 (x2), 26, 36, 37, 44; 6:6; 7:Preface, 1, 6, 10, 11, 12; 8:1, 3 (x2), 7, 10, 22; 9:1, 4, 5, 8, 11, 14, 15, 16 (x2), 18, 19, 21, 27, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40; 10:1, 2, 4, 6, 12, 13, 14, 15; 11:3, 5, 7, 8, 9 (x2), 18, 23; 16:1, 3, 4; 3 Nephi 1:10; 2:9; Ether 12:14)
3. Eldest son of No. 2, One of the Twelve Disciples of Jesus (3 Nephi 1:2, 3, 10, 15, 23; 2:9, 17; 5:9; 7:15, 17, 23, 25; 11:18 (x2), 19; 12:1; 19:4, 11; 23:7, 8, 12)
4. Son of No. 3 (4 Nephi 1:19)
Lehite GN 5. Land of, land of Lehites' first inheritance = Land of LEHI-NEPHI (2 Nephi 5:8 (x2); Omni 1:12, 27; Words of Mormon 1:13; Mosiah 7:6, 7; 9:1, 14; 19:15, 19, 22, 24; 20:7; 21:21, 26; 23:35, 36, 37, 38; 27:16; 28:1, 5; 29:3; Alma 2:24; 5:3; 17:Preface, 8; 18:9 (x2); 20:1, 2; 22:1, 28 (x2), 32, 34; 24:20; 25:13; 26:23; 27:1, 14, 20, 23; 28:8; 29:14; 46:29; 47:1, 20; 49:10, 25; 50:8, 11; 53:6; 54:6; 56:3, 12; 58:38; Helaman 4:12; 5:20)
6. City of, chief city in Land of NEPHI (Mosiah 9:15; 20:3; 21:1, 12; 23:11; Alma 47:20, 31)
Lehite Gentilic 7. People of (2 Nephi 5:9; 6:1; Jacob 1:Preface, 2, 14 (x2), 15; 2:1; 3:12; 7:1, 25; Enos 1:19, 20, 21; Jarom 1:5, 10; Mosiah 25:3, 4; 29:47; Alma 1:Preface, 1, 33; 2:16, 26; 3:11, 20; 4:1, 5, 19, 20; 8:2, 3, 7; 9:19; 14:23; 15:19; 16:1, 12 (x2), 21; 18:41; 27:27; 28:3 (x2), 4, 7; 30:2, 4; 35:12; 43:19; 44:24; 45:Preface, 1, 2, 11, 13 (x2), 20, 22; 46:7; 47:1; 48:1; 49:28, 29; 50:17 (x2), 21, 23 (x2), 25, 32, 35, 37, 40; 51:1, 9, 37; 52:1, 14, 18; 53:2, 23; 55:1, 35; 56:54; 59:1; 62:11, 12, 39, 40, 42, 48, 52; 63:1, 16; Helaman 1:1, 5, 12; 2:12, 13; 3:1, 17, 22; 5:14, 16; 6:32, 41; 7:Preface (x2); 11:1, 5, 20, 24 (x2), 27, 29; 15:3 (x2); 16:9, 24; 3 Nephi 2:17 (x2), 18 (x2); 4:16 (x2); 7:13; 10:18; 11:Preface, 1; 28:23; 4 Nephi 1:Preface, 10, 43, 45; Mormon 2:1, 11, 20; Ether 8:21)
Lehite Title 8. Title meaning "king" (Jacob 1:11 (x2))
9. Plates of, large and small (1 Nephi 9:2 (x2); Jacob 7:26; Jarom 1:14; Words of Mormon 1:3, 5, 9; Mosiah 1:6, 16; 28:11; Alma 37:2; 44:24; 3 Nephi 5:10; 26:7, 11; 4 Nephi 1:19 (x2), 21; Mormon 1:4 (x2); 2:17, 18; 6:6)

Etymology

Careful readers of the King James Bible apocrypha will have noticed in 1 Esdras 5:21 the close match of the PN NEPHI with the patronymic Nephis (Greek Νιφις), one of the names of the Jewish families who returned from the Babylonian captivity. Also, in the KJV version of 2 Maccabees 1:36 is Nephi (Greek νεφθαι), an alternate name for the cleansing agent naphtha, (Greek νεφθαρ). Neither of these Greek words seems a likely source for the PN NEPHI.

The current LDS "Pronouncing Guide" for Book of Mormon words, and the Deseret Alphabet spelling of the PN NEPHI, 𐐤𐐀𐐙𐐌, (IPA: niːfaɪ), and 𐐤𐐁𐐙𐐌, (IPA: neɪfaɪ), suggest that the search for an etymology should focus on nēʹfī and not nēpʹhī. Most of the suggestions below are based on that assumption.

The most likely derivation of the PN NEPHI is ancient EGYPTIAN nfr "good, beautiful."[1] That the r is nowhere evident in the Book of Mormon is not an issue because the final r in late EGYPTIAN can elide.[2] For example, knpi, "(My) ka is good" (from Egyptian kз-npy), appears in North-West Semitic documents.[3] Additionally, the PN NEPHI is attested at the time of LEHI.[4] Thus, if NEPHI means "The Good" the name could be metonymic based on Nephi's self-declaration that he was "born of goodly parents" (1 Nephi 1:1).[5] Additionally, the likely Egyptian name npsy, "Isis is good," occurs on a West Semitic stamp seal.[6]

In Semitic languages, two directions exist for seeking the etymology of this important Book of Mormon name, nph/ḥ or nv̄ p or n aleph p. Historical and current LDS pronunciation of the name would favor the latter, reading the ph as one phoneme [f], rather than as two, [p] and [h/ḥ]. However, I am unaware of any root in Semitic corresponding with nv̄/ʿp. Both npḥ, “to breathe, blow” (JAT, JH), and nph, “to discard, banish, reject” (JH) exist in West Semitic, though the latter is not attested in North-west Semitic (JH). Nap_pnu means “anblasen, entzünden; aufgehen” and appears in the form niphu “Aufleuchten, Entbrennen” and refers metaphorically to sun up and star up. It occurs in the feminine names i-na-ni-ip-pni-ša-al-si-iš and i-na-nippni(SAR)-ša-al-si-iš (Stamm, ANG, 200). The form may be related to the biblical Zimri/Omri and Book of Mormon LEHI/LIMHI, etc. (PN). The root also occurs in the Akkadian term nappahu "smith".

Nibley wrote that "nfy was the name of an Egyptian captain," implying a PN rather than a word meaning "captain"[7]; the term nfy is indeed attested as an Egyptian name in Nephi's own time, [8] despite claims to the contrary.[9] This derivation would come from ancient Egyptian nfw (in late Egyptian nfy), "captain, skipper, chief of sailors" (Coptic ne(e)f, neeb), from the meaning "breathe, blow at" (RFS, JH, JAT).[10] It would also appear that npy comprises part of the name šmynpy (שמינפי, Šemenufe) found in Aramaic documents from Egypt.[11] We must also note that there might be a play on words with this proposal, using the Hebrew root nûp "to shake," as in Isaiah 10:15,32, 11:15, 19:16 (hēnîp, tĕnûpâ, "wave-offering," mēnîp; = 2 Nephi 20:15,32, 21:15, Exodus 29:26), applied to 1 Nephi 2:14, 17:45,54-55, 2 Nephi 1:13,23,4:31, 8:25, 9:44-45.

See also Egyptian nfˁ=i, "I am driven away, removed" (passive) (EHA).[12] If correct, the name could be metonymic, in view of NEPHI's forced departure from his homeland (JAT). However, this is unlikely because first of all, it would have to be a dependent clause and would not be nominalized. Second, the so-called passive sdm=f is a circumstantial past passive meaning in this case "since I had been driven away."

Nibley pointed to a variety of possible Arabic sources.[13] Ancient Safaitic and Minaean Nfy (perhaps Arabic nafaiy "exile") are good examples.[14] Nibley also suggested the PN 'nfy' on at least 10 Nabatean inscriptions. In one case, nfy is the father of one lmy, where the y is defective and may, according to Jaussen, have been n, hence Laman (if it is really y, cf. Book of Mormon Lamah - JAT), while in another h-nfy appears with the name mrm-lw, for which cf. Mormon.[15]

An etymology from within the Semitic languages seems at present less likely than from Egyptian. Assuming again that nēʹfī is correct and not nēpʹhī, the Semitic roots nʾp, nʿp, npv (npā, npū, npī, npē) or nvp (nāp, nūp, nīp, nēp) provide a beginning point. However, none of these options in Hebrew provide anything close to a useful etymology. Even nāpâ, "yoke," is not helpful, except perhaps as the hypocoristicon nāpî, "my yoke."

The only North-West Semitic language that provides a useful etymology is Ugaritic, with the root npy, which means "drive away, expel."[16] This is likely related to the Ugaritic sacrificial term np, npy "atonement, expurgation, purification, expiration."[17] This might even make an interesting play on words, with Lehi and his family being driven away from Jerusalem. But that meaning would require the niphal form of the verb, not the qal, and NEPHI does not fit the form of a niphal finite verb. However, a niphal active participle form, *nippay, could account for NEPHI and could mean, "driven away/expelled," a possible metonymic explanation.

Thelona Stevens suggested that NEPHI was related to the Nahua arguing that "the Nahuas had lost all the labial sounds except p and u." and therefore "the word 'Nahua' may, therefore, as far as the pronunciation indicates, be considered identical with 'NEPHI.'"[18] Since there is a phoneme p in Nahuatl,[19] however, there is no reason that NEPHI would need to be represented as "Nahua" rather than "NEPHI."

Alex Morgan has suggested in a private communication (postmarked 24 May 2001) that Nehemiah 7:52: Nephishesim and Ezra 2:50 Nephusim may have something to do with NEPHI. Both refer to “Nachkommen v. Kriegsgefangen aus d. ismaelitishcen Stamm npyš,” (HALOT, pwsym) a son of ISHMAEL.

Cf. Book of Mormon LEHINEPHI, NEPHIHAH, ZENEPHI (and perhaps ZENIFF), and NEPHITE(S)

Variants

Deseret Alphabet: 𐐤𐐀𐐙𐐌 (niːfaɪ), 𐐤𐐁𐐙𐐌 (neɪfaɪ)

Notes

  1. ↑ John Gee, "A Note on the Name Nephi," JBMS 1/1 (1992): 189-191; John Gee, “Four Suggestions on the Origin of the Name Nephi,” in Pressing Forward with the Book of Mormon, ed. John W. Welch, and Melvin J. Thorne (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 1999), 1-5.
  2. ↑ William F. Edgerton, "Stress, Vowel Quality, and Syllable Division in Egyptian," Journal of Near Eastern Studies 6/1 (1947): 10-17.
  3. ↑ Yoshiyuki Muchiki, Egyptian Proper Names and Loanwords in North-West Semitic (Atlanta, Georgia: Society of Biblical Literature, 1999), 26. In the same work see npr (28); unpr, “(The) good exists;” npnʾ, “Good one belonging to Thebes” (96); nprʾyt, “The beautiful one is come” (97); tnupy, “She who belongs to the good one” (151); and see p. 293.
  4. ↑ Ranke, Die ägyptischen Personennamen 1:194.
  5. ↑ See Matt Bowen, “Internal Textual Evidence for the Egyptian Origin of Nephi's Name,” FARMS’ Insights, 21/11 (2001), online at http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/insights/?vol=22&num=11&id=301 .
  6. ↑ Corpus of West Semitic Stamp Seals, ed. Nahman Avigad, revised and completed by Benjamin Sass (Jerusalem: The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1997), 543
  7. ↑ Nibley, LID, 27; see also ABM, 290.
  8. ↑ Compare the 7th cent. B.C. nomarch of Athribis, BЗk-n-nfy “Servant-of-the-Captain” (L. Habachi, MDAIK 15:69-77, cited by R. F. Smith at JBMS 5/2 [1996]:110 n. 65), whose name appears in syllabic cuneiform transliteration as IBu-uk-ku-na-an-ni-iʼ-pi (Rykle Borger, Babylonisch-Assyrische Lesestücke, 2nd ed., I:90 [Rome: PBI, 1979], line 102).
  9. ↑ Despite Ranke,Die ägyptischen Personennamen 1:193.
  10. ↑ Ranke, Die ägyptischen Personennamen 1:194
  11. ↑ Bezalel Porten and Jerome A. Lund, Aramaic Documents from Egypt: A Key-Word-in Context Concordance (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2002), 415a.
  12. ↑ R. Faulkner, Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, 131.
  13. ↑ Nibley, An Approach to the Book of Mormon, Lesson 22 n. 27 = Collected Works VI:290 n. 28.
  14. ↑ R. F. Smith in JBMS 5/2:147 n. 268, citing E. Littmann, Safaitic Inscriptions, 1025.
  15. ↑ Nibley, ABM, 239 and esp. fn. 28 (in the reprint by FARMS; fn. 27 in the 1964 Deseret edition) to Chap. 22.
  16. ↑ Analytic Ugaritic Bibliography 1972-1988, ed. Manfried Dietrich and Oswald Loretz (Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1996), 777.
  17. ↑ G. del Olmo Lete, Canaanite Religion according to the Liturgical Texts of Ugarit', 2nd ed. (Ugarit-Verlag, 2014), 16-17,123; KTU 1.40:1,19,36.
  18. ↑ Thelona D. Stevens, "Book of Mormon Names in Indian Languages," Saints' Herald 115 (1 July 1968): 456.
  19. ↑ Thelma D. Sullivan and Neville Stiles, Compendium of Nahuatli Grammar (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1988), 6.

Bibliography

  • M. Wells Jakeman “Izapa Stela 5 and the Book of Mormon.” Instructor 96 (December 1961): 410-11, 429.
  • Henry A. Smith “Interesting Clipping.” Church News 35 (September 11, 1965): 6; reprint from "Chiapas Find of Relevance to Document." El Paso Times, July 5, 1965.
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