ZENEPHI
| Lehite PN | 1. | Apparently a renegade general, ca. 400 AD (Moroni 9:16) |
Etymology
Possibly a hybrid Hebrew-Egyptian name *ze-nfy, "The One of Nephi," beginning with the Hebrew demonstrative ze-, and adding ancient EGYPTIAN nfy "captain; sailor; wind," or EGYPTIAN nf(r) "beautiful, good."[1] Cf. Hebrew Ze-Sînay "The One of Sinai," as treated by Albright (epithet of Jehovah at Judges 5:5),[2] Lihyanite Ḏ-ʿmn, Ḏ-rḥmh, Ḏ-mslmh, Ḏ-blʹ, and Thamudic Ḏû-baraq "The One of Lightning."[3]
Val Sederholm sugests EGYPTIAN Z3-Nfy "Son of Nephi" (RFS).
Another possibility is the nisbe form of ZENIFF, i.e., hypothetical Hebrew gentilic ṣenipî "tiaraed, crowned, enwrapped (with turban)," a derivation from Hebrew ṣanif, miṣnefet "tiara, turban," worn by men (Job 29:14), such as the high priest (Leviticus 16:4, Zechariah 3:5), or by women (Isaiah 3:23||2 Nephi 13:23).
Cf. Book of Mormon NEPHI, LEHI-NEPHI, NEPHIHAH, et al., also ZENIFF
Variants
Deseret Alphabet: 𐐞𐐀𐐤𐐀𐐙𐐌 (ziːniːfaɪ)
Notes
Bibliography
Albright, William F. From the Stone Age to Christianity: Monotheism and the Historical Process, 1st ed. Baltimore: John Hopkins, 1940; 2nd ed. Baltimore: John Hopkins/Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1957/reprint Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2003. FSAC
Al-Ansary, A.R. "Lihyanite Personal Names: A Comparative Study," ALUOS 7 (1969-73):5-16.
Muchiki, Yoshiyuki. Egyptian Proper Names and Loanwords in North-West Semitic, SBL Dissertation Series 173. Atlanta: SBL, 1999.
