ZORAM

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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).

The third possibility for ZORAM is that it could be patterned after Psalm 78:35, "God was thier rock," where "their rock" in Hebrew is ṣûrām. In this etymology, ZORAM would be a hypocoristicon with the theophoric element "God" (ʾĕlōhîm in Psalm 78:35) omitted. That "Rock" is a name or title for the God of Israel is not in doubt, especially from passages such as Deutreronomy 32:30 where ṣûrām, "their Rock" parallels YHWH "the LORD" (LXX Greek theos "God")[13] (RFS).

The fourth possibility has been suggested by Matthew Bowen, namely, that ZORAM is formed from two parts, zu and ram. The first would be common West Semitic deictic particle zû and would mean "the one of" or "that one of,"[14]and the second could be the stative verb rām, meaning "is exalted." The two vocables together would yield the meaning "The one who is exalted," referring of course to the God of Israel.[15]

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."
  13. ↑ See also Deuteronomy 32:15, Psalm 89:26 "God,... the Rock" | Jacob 7:25; cf. PGP Moses 7:53 "Rock of Heaven" (caps in current LDS edition).
  14. ↑ This deictic particle is represented variously in the West Semitic languages: Hebrew: zû, Ugaritic: d, Phoenician: z, and Arabic: zû.
  15. ↑ Matthew Bowen, "See That Ye Are Not Lifted Up," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 19 (2016): 113-4.
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