AKISH
| Jaredite PN & Jaredite GN | 1. | Son of Kimnor (Ether 8:10; 9:12) |
| 2. | Wilderness near the plains of Agosh and Heshlon (Ether 14:3–4, 14) |
Until Jaredite can be connected to a known, ancient language or culture, such guesses are at best plausible. The element Kish seems to be a Jaredite lexeme, though it may not be a separate lexeme in this name. See KISH.
If casting about for Hebrew possibilities is necessary, see the biblical PNs Achish in 1 Samuel 21:10 (and in chapters 27, 28, 29) and Ikkesh in 2 Samuel 23:26 (and in 1 Chronicles 11:28; 27:9). The former, from ʾkš, is the Philistine king of Gath, and has been connected with the Aegean name Achish=Ikausu (See S. Gittin in Barry M. Gittlen, ed. 2002. Sacred Time, Sacred Place: Archaeology and the Religion of Israel [Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2002], 115). The later, from ʿqš, has the root meaning “twisted” or “perverted,” and was the name of an Israelite (?) (RFS & JAT). Based on this last root, Akish would be a fine name for a wilderness (RFS).
Cf. AGOSH.
Notes
Kish is the name of a major Mesopotamian city near Babylon (RFS). See the Egyptian Hittite name for Cyprus, Akish (HWN in LID 33, ABM 238). Reynolds, CBM VI, 41, suggests Semitic, “akash,” to be froward, false.
