SHURR
| Jaredite GN | 1. | Valley of, near hill COMRON / COMNOR(Ether 14:28 (x2)) |
Etymology
Because the source language for names found in the JAREDITE record is unknown, any proposed etymology must be based on guesswork. However, etymologies from ancient Near Eastern sources should be given preference.
There are several ancient Near Eastern possibilities for SHURR, some of which could prove promising. Hebrew šôrer, possibly from a root *šrr, means “foe” or “enemy.” (See the Hebrew text of Psalm 5:9; 92:12; etc.) This etymology would explain the doubled r in the Book of Mormon GN (see the Hebrew text of Psalm 92:12 where the r is virtually doubled) and would fit well with the place where CORIANTUMR gathered his armies and invited his enemies to battle.
The King James Bible GN Shur (Hebrew šûr, Genesis 16:7; 20:1; 25:18; Exodus 15:22; 1 Samuel 15:7), a wilderness region in NW Sinai, would seem to be an appropriate analog to SHURR, though the doubling of the r remains unexplained.
A Hebrew word for “wall” or “barrier,” šûr (Genesis 49:22; 2 Samuel 22:30; and Psalm 18:30 [verse 29 in the KJV]) would also provide an appropriate etymology for a GN name, but would not account for the doubled r.
Hebrew šôr, “bull,” with cognates in nearly all Semitic languages, would not account for the doubled r.
Akkadian (East Semitic) šurrȗ, meaning, “inception, beginning,” (and it verb šurrȗ) is possible, even though the vowel on the end is phonemic.[1] Akkadian šurru, meaning, “to go down, bow down,” is perhaps plausible.[2] Šūru is a Sumerian loanword in Mari and Nuzi texts that is some kind of geographic feature.[3] But again, the doubled r is unaccounted for. Akkadian words such as šarȗ, “to be(come) rich,” šâru, “to malign,” etc., are long shots. Akkadian šūru, “reed bundle,”[4] is interesting.
Akkadian surrȗ appears to be a loanword from Sumerian and could mean “lamentation priest.” But this does not explain the /š/ of the Book of Mormon GN.[5] Sumerian š[u]-ur4 is rendered as Akkadian kisittu, meaning a “stump, trunk (of a tree).”[6] In addition, there are other Sumerian words with multiple meanings,[7] but none of the meanings is particularly appropriate for a GN.
Variants
Deseret Alphabet: 𐐟𐐊𐐡 (ʃʌr)
Notes
- ↑ AHw 1285b; CAD Š3, 357-60.
- ↑ CAD Š3, 356.
- ↑ The Sumerian is SUR and SÙR. See CAD Š3, 369.
- ↑ CAD Š3, 368-9; Rykle Borger, Mesopotamisches Zeichenlexikon, 2nd edition, (Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, 2010), 595. The Sumerian is giššu-kin.
- ↑ CAD S, 413. Normally, an Akkadian word that ends in a long vowel that has been borrowed from Sumerian indicates that the Sumerian word ended in a vowel. This would seem to rule out Akkadian surrȗ as the source for the Book of Mormon GN.
- ↑ CAD K, 422.
- ↑ For Sumerian šur1-6 and sur1-14, see Borger, 520 and 526, respectively.
