BOUNTIFUL

Lehite GN	1.	A place probably on the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, ca. 600 BC ([ 1 Nephi 1:Preface]; [ 17:5, 6, 7])
	2.	City and land, 1st c. BC–ca. 30 AD (Alma 22:29, 31, 32, 33; 27:22 (x2); 50:11, 32; 51:28, 30, 32; 52:9, 15, 17, 18, 27 (x2), 39; 53:3 (x2), 4; 55:26; 63:5; Helaman 1:23, 28, 29; 4:5, 6; 5:14; 3 Nephi 3:23 (x2); 11:Preface, 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.