HEM
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| Lehite PN | 1. | Accompanied the Mulekite AMMON in search of NEPHI, ca. 122 BC. It may be that the name is Mulekite, if the term “brethren” here is to be taken literally. (Mosiah 7:6) |
Etymology
The Lehite PN HEM may be related to the biblical Hebrew PN ḥām, son of Noah. As a noun, ḥām means "father-in-law," as in Genesis 38:13, 25, and 1 Samuel 4:19,21. Less likely is an etymology from the Hebrew root, ḥmm, "to be hot" (JH).
There are several Egyptian etymologies that might also provide an etymology for HEM. Hugh Nibley suggests Egyptian ḥm, "shrine, sacred image"; and ḥm, "servant," especially in the title ḥm tp n imn, "chief servant of Amon," i.e., the high priest of Thebes.[1]
Cf. Book of Mormon HIMNI
Variants
Deseret Alphabet: 𐐐𐐇𐐣 (hɛm)
Notes
- ↑ Hugh W. Nibley, Lehi in the Desert/The World of the Jaredites/There Were Jaredites. (Salt Lake City/Provo: Deseret Book/FARMS, 1988), 21,26. Nibley's suggestion is based partly on the fact that the Book of Mormon HEM is the brother of AMMON, thus tying both names to the Egyptian priesthood at Thebes, which is highly doubtful (LID, 21,26). If the actual vocalization of the Egyptian is with /a/ rather than the arbitrary /e/ assigned by Egyptologists to make reading easier, then the Egyptian connection may not exist (JH) any more than the connection with Hebrew Ham.
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