BOUNTIFUL
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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) 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. Notes 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.
