SARIAH
| Lehite PN | 1. | Wife of Lehi No. 1, ca. 600 BC (1 Nephi 2:5; 8:14) |
SARIAH is the name of the wife of LEHI, the first prophet in the Book of Mormon, and would mean “Jehovah is (my) prince/ruler. A similar etymology, “princess of Jehovah,” was proposed years ago.”
This etymology has been born out recently. SARIAH as a feminine Hebrew personal name is attested twice (probably the same person) in the Aramaic papyrus texts of Elephantine: śryh brt […]ḥrmn, and śry[h br]t hwš‘ br ḥrmn. The former would be vocalized śariah barat […]ḥarman, and translated as “Sariah daughter of […]Harman.” Although SARIAH is not attested as a woman’s name in the Old Testament, nine males (in nineteen places) carry the name Seraiah, שריה, the identical consonantal spelling found in the Elephantine papyri. (PYH)
The name is composed of common Hebrew elements, and would mean Jehovah is (my) prince/ruler, which is the meaning of the masculine biblical personal name Seraiah. The first element of her name, śar, stems from the common Semitic root rr (the reduplicated r is not represented in most Semitic texts), and is exemplified in the Hebrew name Sar(ah), r(h), “prince(ness),” and in Akkadian by šarru, king. At the same time, it is not surprising to note that the ending –iah of Sariahs is identical to the common Hebrew theophoric element of the shortened form for Jehovah. In fact, Jeremiah 36:26 preserves the full theophoric element of the biblical name Seraiah, śryhw. Because it declares both allegiance to and honor of Jehovah, the name Jehovah is (my) prince/ruler would be an appropriate name for the wife of a prophet of God. (SDR)
Cf. Biblical SARAI and SARAH (also named in the Book of Mormon)
Notes
Bibliography
- Jeffrey R. Chadwick "The Names Lehi and Sariah—Language and Meaning." Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9, no. 1 (2000): 32-34.
- Jeffrey R. Chadwick "Sariah in the Elephantine Papyri." Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 2, no. 2 (1993): 196-200.
- Camille Fronk Olsen "Desert Epiphany: Sariah and the Women in 1 Nephi." Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9, no. 2 (2000): 4-15.
- 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.
