MORONIHAH

Lehite PN	1.	Prophet/general, son of MORONI No. 1, ca. 60 BC (Alma 62:43; 63:15 (x2); Helaman 1:25, 26 (x2), 28, 30, 33; 2:1; 4:6, 9, 14, 16, 18, 19)
	2.	General, 4th c. AD (Mormon 6:14)
Lehite GN	3.	City, ca. 30 AD, perhaps named from No.1 (3 Nephi 8:10, 25; 9:5)

Etymology

For derivations see MORON and MORONI and the discussion in the “Introduction” under “-hah.”

Less likely is a derivation from Aramaic marōnīyah, “Jehovah is (my) lord” (JH; similar is Reynolds, Commentary on the Book of Mormon, IV, p. 238). Though Aramaic was certainly known by educated people in JERUSALEM at least a century before LEHI left (2 Kings 18:26, where Syrian = Aramaic), this reading would require Aramaic marōn, “lord,” to be preserved by the Lehites in the new world for over 400 years and to use a form of the tetragrammaton, yhh, not attested until the Elephantine documents of the Persian Period (Porter, Archives, p. 235; Legacy of Egypt, 2nd ed., p. 261, n. 1) (RFS).

Cf. Book of Mormon MORON, MORONI.

Variants

Deseret Alphabet: 𐐣𐐄𐐡𐐄𐐤𐐌𐐐𐐂 (moʊroʊnaɪhɑ), 𐐣𐐃𐐡𐐄𐐤𐐌𐐐𐐂 (mɔroʊnaɪhɑ), 𐐣𐐃𐐡𐐃𐐤𐐌𐐐𐐂 (mɔrɔnaɪhɑ), 𐐣𐐄𐐡𐐃𐐤𐐌𐐐𐐂 (moʊrɔnaɪhɑ)

Notes

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