BOUNTIFUL

Lehite GN	1.	A place probably on the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, ca. 600 BC (1 Nephi 17:5–7)
	2.	City and land, 1st c. BC–ca. 30 AD (Alma 22:29; 3 Nephi 11:1)

Etymology

The object with translated names, such as BOUNTIFUL, is to provide a Vorlage and not an etymology. Because Semitic languages usually place nouns in attribution rather than employ adjectives, the most likely Vorlage of BOUNTIFUL is a noun. Possible are nouns such as abundance, fatness and bounty, from the Hebrew roots špʿ, šmn, and rbb, respectively.

Reynolds and Sjodahl were the first to suggest a connection with the Hebrew root špʿ, and pointed out the related PN Shiphi in 1 Chronicles 4:37 (R&S, 1:174). Less likely is an etymology based on the Hebrew root ntn, “to give,” with its derived noun “gift.” The least likely suggestion is that “BOUNTIFUL” is a translation of the name “JERUSALEM;” see “JERUSALEM” below.

Variants

Deseret Alphabet:

Notes

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Bibliography

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Warren P. Aston "The Arabian Bountiful Discovered? Evidence for Nephi's Bountiful." Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 7, no. 1 (1998): 4-11.