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|'''[[:Category:Lehite PN|Lehite PN]]'''
|'''[[:Category:Lehite PN|Lehite PN]]'''
|1.
|1.
|Queen's maid in the land of '''[[ISHMAEL]]''' (hence perhaps an Ishmaelitess), ca. 90 BC ([http://scriptures.lds.org/en/alma/19/16#16 Alma 19:16])
|Queen's maid in the land of [[ISHMAEL|I<small>SHMAEL</small>]] (hence perhaps an Ishmaelitess), ca. 90 BC ([http://scriptures.lds.org/en/alma/19/16#16 Alma 19:16])
|}
|}


This Lamanite female name can best be understood as “father is a man,” from the two Hebrew elements, ''ʾab'' meaning “father,” and ''ʾiš'' meaning “man.” The biblical names Abiah “Father is Yahweh” and Abijah “(My) Father is Yahweh” both contain the vocable ''ʾab''. The second element appears in the biblical names Esh-baal ''ʾšbʿl'' “Man of the Lord/Baal” in [http://lds.org/scriptures/ot/1-chr/8.33?lang=eng#32 1 Chronicles 8:33], Ishbosheth ''ʾšbšt'' “Man of Shame” (the same person as Esh-baal, but with disphemism*), and in a Hebrew inscription from Arad ''ʾšyhw'' Eshyahu “Man of Yahweh.”<ref>Y. Aharoni, ''Arad Inscriptions'' (Jerusalem, 1981), 32–34; compare also KJV Abijah = Hebrew ''ʼAbîyâ'' “Yah(weh) is father,” as in Abi, Abiyah, wife of King Ahaz of Judah ([http://lds.org/scriptures/ot/2-kgs/18.2?lang=eng#1 2 Kings 18:2] = [http://lds.org/scriptures/ot/2-chr/29.1?lang=eng#primary 2 Chronicles 29:1]); and also Abiyam ([http://lds.org/scriptures/ot/1-kgs/14.31?lang=eng#30 1 Kings 14:31] = [http://lds.org/scriptures/ot/1-chr/7.6,8?lang=eng#5 1 Chronicles 7:6,8]).</ref>
'''Etymology'''


With the two vocables reversed, ''ʾšʾb'', the name occurs on a 7th century stamp seal found, most likely, in Israel, though the compilers vocalized the name ''ʾašʾab'', “Gift of Father.<ref>Robert Deutsch and André Lemaire, ''Biblical Period Personal Seals in the Shlomo Moussaieff Collection'' (Tel Aviv: Archaeological Center Publications, 2000), 44, #38.</ref>
'''A<small>BISH</small>''' may best be understood as ''ab-iš'', with the meaning "father is a man," or "father of man" or the reading ''abî-iš'' "my father is a man."<ref>Or in a theologically more adventurous vein, "my (divine) father is a (divine) man."</ref> Following this path of interpretation, the first element would be the common Semitic word for "father," ''ʾāb''. The second element would be the West Semitic word for "man," ''ʾîš''. For analogical [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] name constructions see ''ʾăbîyāhû'', "Father is Yahweh,"<ref>See also the derived (shortened) name ''ʾăbîyāh'', e.g. [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/1-sam/8.2?lang=eng#1 1 Samuel 8:2] and [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/1-kgs/14.1?lang=eng#primary 1 Kings 14:1].</ref> A Judean king mentioned in [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/2-chr/13.20?lang=eng#19 2 Chronicles 13:20], and ''ʾiššîyāhû'', "(The Divine) Man of Yahweh"<ref>This name is discussed by [[John A. Tvedtnes]],[[John Gee]], and [[Matthew Roper]], "Book of Mormon Names Attested in Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions," [http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/jbms/?vol=9&num=1&id=210 ''Journal of Book of Mormon Studies'' 9/1 (2000):46], citing Nahman Avigad and Benjamin Sass, ''Corpus of West Semitic Stamp Seals'' (Jerusalem: Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1997), 66-67.</ref>. See also ''ʾešbaʿal'' "Man of the Lord/Baal" in [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/1-chr/8.33?lang=eng#32 1 Chronicles 8:33], and ''ʾîšbōšet'' (the same person as ''ʾešbaʿal'' but with the dysphemism "Man of shame").<ref>The best two suggestions are a combination of ''ʾāb'' "father" plus ''yēš'' "there is;" or a shortened form of ''ʾăb''(''î'')''-šālôm'' "father is salvation." See [[Koehler, Ludwig, and Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament. 5 vols. revised by W. Baumgartner and Johann J. Stamm. Leiden: Brill, 1994. trans. of 5-volume 3rd German edition.|''HALOT'']] sub אבישי and אבישלום.</ref> Lest objection be made that a woman would not bear a name containing the masculine element "father," see the biblical [[Personal Name|PN]]s for women Abigail and Abishag, and note Abi, short for Abiyahu that, though generally used as a male name, was also used as the name of the mother of Hezekiah in [https://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/2-kgs/18.1,%2002?lang=eng#1 2 Kings 18:1-2]; [https://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/2-chr/29.1?lang=eng 2 Chronicles 29:1].
For other similar names in Semitic languages see Eblaite ''iš-a-bu'', “a man is the father,and ''iš-i-lum'', “a man is El.”<ref>G. Pettinato, “The Royal Archives of Tell Mardikh-Ebla,''BA'' 39 (1976): 50 (RFS).</ref> See also Akkadian ''abu-ša-la-i-du'', “her father she did not know.” (JH)


Many forms of names in Hebrew are not gender specific.<ref>Scott C. Layton, ''Archaic Features of Canaanite Personal Names'' (Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press, 1990), 148-149, specifically of ''ʼab'' in first position.</ref> For example, see the female biblical PNs Abigail and Abishag. Therefore, the presence of the masculine relational noun, “father,” poses no problems for this female name.  
Another possibility for '''A<small>BISH</small>''' presents itself on a seal that predates 587 BC, ''ʾbšʾ''.<ref>These names all begin with ''ʾāb'' "father" plus a nominal or verbal predicate.</ref> The name could consist of ''ʾbš'' plus the hypocoristic ''aleph'' ending, but no etymology for ''ʾbš'' is forthcoming. ''ʾbš'' may also be related to the biblical masculine [[Personal Name|PN]] ''ʾbîšay'' ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/1-sam/26.6?lang=eng#5 1 Samuel 26:6] and passim), which also has no certain etymology.<ref>The best two suggestions are a combination of ''ʾāb'' "father" plus ''yēš'' "there is;" or a shortened form of ''ʾăb''(''î'')''-šālôm'' "father is salvation." See [[Koehler, Ludwig, and Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament. 5 vols. revised by W. Baumgartner and Johann J. Stamm. Leiden: Brill, 1994. trans. of 5-volume 3rd German edition.|''HALOT'']] sub אבישי and אבישלום.</ref> Cf. Akkadian ''abu-ša-la-i-du'', "her father she did not know" ([[Jo Ann Hackett|JH]]).


Other suggestions include deriving the second element from ''ʾš'', “there is/are.” The name would then mean “father exists”(RFS). '''ABISH''' could also be related to the pre-exilic Hebrew name ''ʼbšʼ'' (Abisha) on a seal in the Hecht Museum in Haifa, as well as to the far more ancient Semitic name ''ʼbšʼ'' (Abisha) from the 12th Dynasty tomb of Khnum-hotep III at Beni Hasan, Egypt.<ref>John A. Tvedtnes, John Gee, and Matthew Roper, “Book of Mormon Names Attested in Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions,” ''Journal of Book of Mormon Studies'' 9/1 (2000):46, citing Nahman Avigadand Benjamin Sass, ''Corpus of West Semitic Stamp Seals''(Jerusalem: Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, et al., 1997), 66-67; and James B. Pritchard, ''The Ancient Near East in Pictures Relating to the Old Testament'', 2nd ed. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1969), 2-3, 249.</ref>  
It is possible that '''A<small>BISH</small>''' derives from a shortened form of names such as Abishag, Abishai, Abishua, and Abishur, all known from the Bible.<ref>These names all begin with ''ʾāb'' "father" plus a nominal or verbal predicate.</ref> While shortened names are possible, such shortenings are not usually hypocoristic in nature because hypocoristic names usually substitute a  letter (most often ''aleph'' or ''heh'') for entire theophoric element ([[Paul Y. Hoskisson|PYH]] and [[John A. Tvedtnes|JAT]]). That is, hypocoristic elements are not made by dropping some phonemes from a lexeme while retaining other phonemes. Shortened names, on the other hand, may do exactly that, while intended to be endearing.<ref>For a discussion of shortened names in [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]], see Martin Noth, ''Die israelitischen Personennamen im Rahmen der gemeinsemitischen Namengebung. Beiträge zur Wissenschaft vom Alten und Neuen Testament, III,'' 10. Stuttgart, 1928 (Reprint: Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1966), 6-41.</ref>


Much less likely is a hypocoristicon from names like Abishag, Abishai, Abishua, and Abishur, all known from the Bible. PYH and JAT object because hypocoristic names in Hebrew are not produced by dropping the last part of a vocable, e.g., the /ag/ of Abishag, to produce '''A<small>BISH</small>'''. Rather, hypocoristic names are produced by substituting a short form, such as an aleph א, a heh ה, or a yod י for the entire theophoric element. In the case of Abishag, Abishai, Abishua, and Abishur, the theophoric element is actually the first vocable in each instance, ''ʾab'', and not the final element, ''shag'', ''shai'', ''shua'', and ''shur'', respectively.
The second element could also be ''ʾiš'', "there is/are," yielding the meaning "father exists." ([[Robert F. Smith|RFS]])


See '''[[ISABEL]]'''.
The following suggestions for the source of [[ABISH|A<small>BISH</small>] are somewhat less likely: from [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] ''ʾbh'' "to want; to consent to," or [[EGYPT|E<small>GYPTIAN</small>]] ''3bi'', "desire, want," '''A<small>BISH</small>''' would be ''ʾāb-ʾîš'' "desire of man" ([[Robert F. Smith|RFS]]); possibly [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]]-Akkadian ''ʾabiš'', "cloudy, cloud-like," from ''ʾab'', "cloud" + ''iš'', dative-adverbial case ending in Akkadian ([[Robert F. Smith|RFS]]). Other suggestions include possibly [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] ''bīš'' with degenerate definite article, (''h'')''ab-bīš'', "the bad one, the unholy one" ([[Robert F. Smith|RFS]]); and perhaps from the [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] root ''ʾbš'', "shrivel," though an unlikely name unless it describes the woman's physical appearance ([[John A. Tvedtnes|JAT]]).


See [[ISABEL|I<small>SABEL</small>]].


==Notes==
'''Variants'''
 
'''[[Deseret Alphabet]]:''' 𐐁𐐒𐐆𐐟 (eɪbɪʃ)
 
'''Notes'''
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[[Category:Names]][[Category:Lehite PN]]
[[Category:Names]][[Category:Lehite PN]]
<div style="text-align: center;"> [[ABINADOM|<<]] Abish [[ABLOM|>>]] </div>
==[[Name Index]]==
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|<font color="lightgray">Y</font>
|[[Z]]
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Revision as of 18:16, 17 October 2016

Lehite PN 1. Queen's maid in the land of ISHMAEL (hence perhaps an Ishmaelitess), ca. 90 BC (Alma 19:16)

Etymology

ABISH may best be understood as ab-iš, with the meaning "father is a man," or "father of man" or the reading abî-iš "my father is a man."[1] Following this path of interpretation, the first element would be the common Semitic word for "father," ʾāb. The second element would be the West Semitic word for "man," ʾîš. For analogical HEBREW name constructions see ʾăbîyāhû, "Father is Yahweh,"[2] A Judean king mentioned in 2 Chronicles 13:20, and ʾiššîyāhû, "(The Divine) Man of Yahweh"[3]. See also ʾešbaʿal "Man of the Lord/Baal" in 1 Chronicles 8:33, and ʾîšbōšet (the same person as ʾešbaʿal but with the dysphemism "Man of shame").[4] Lest objection be made that a woman would not bear a name containing the masculine element "father," see the biblical PNs for women Abigail and Abishag, and note Abi, short for Abiyahu that, though generally used as a male name, was also used as the name of the mother of Hezekiah in 2 Kings 18:1-2; 2 Chronicles 29:1.

Another possibility for ABISH presents itself on a seal that predates 587 BC, ʾbšʾ.[5] The name could consist of ʾbš plus the hypocoristic aleph ending, but no etymology for ʾbš is forthcoming. ʾbš may also be related to the biblical masculine PN ʾbîšay (1 Samuel 26:6 and passim), which also has no certain etymology.[6] Cf. Akkadian abu-ša-la-i-du, "her father she did not know" (JH).

It is possible that ABISH derives from a shortened form of names such as Abishag, Abishai, Abishua, and Abishur, all known from the Bible.[7] While shortened names are possible, such shortenings are not usually hypocoristic in nature because hypocoristic names usually substitute a letter (most often aleph or heh) for entire theophoric element (PYH and JAT). That is, hypocoristic elements are not made by dropping some phonemes from a lexeme while retaining other phonemes. Shortened names, on the other hand, may do exactly that, while intended to be endearing.[8]

The second element could also be ʾiš, "there is/are," yielding the meaning "father exists." (RFS)

The following suggestions for the source of [[ABISH|ABISH] are somewhat less likely: from HEBREW ʾbh "to want; to consent to," or EGYPTIAN 3bi, "desire, want," ABISH would be ʾāb-ʾîš "desire of man" (RFS); possibly HEBREW-Akkadian ʾabiš, "cloudy, cloud-like," from ʾab, "cloud" + , dative-adverbial case ending in Akkadian (RFS). Other suggestions include possibly HEBREW bīš with degenerate definite article, (h)ab-bīš, "the bad one, the unholy one" (RFS); and perhaps from the HEBREW root ʾbš, "shrivel," though an unlikely name unless it describes the woman's physical appearance (JAT).

See ISABEL.

Variants

Deseret Alphabet: 𐐁𐐒𐐆𐐟 (eɪbɪʃ)

Notes


  1. Or in a theologically more adventurous vein, "my (divine) father is a (divine) man."
  2. See also the derived (shortened) name ʾăbîyāh, e.g. 1 Samuel 8:2 and 1 Kings 14:1.
  3. This name is discussed by John A. Tvedtnes,John Gee, and Matthew Roper, "Book of Mormon Names Attested in Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9/1 (2000):46, citing Nahman Avigad and Benjamin Sass, Corpus of West Semitic Stamp Seals (Jerusalem: Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1997), 66-67.
  4. The best two suggestions are a combination of ʾāb "father" plus yēš "there is;" or a shortened form of ʾăb(î)-šālôm "father is salvation." See HALOT sub אבישי and אבישלום.
  5. These names all begin with ʾāb "father" plus a nominal or verbal predicate.
  6. The best two suggestions are a combination of ʾāb "father" plus yēš "there is;" or a shortened form of ʾăb(î)-šālôm "father is salvation." See HALOT sub אבישי and אבישלום.
  7. These names all begin with ʾāb "father" plus a nominal or verbal predicate.
  8. For a discussion of shortened names in HEBREW, see Martin Noth, Die israelitischen Personennamen im Rahmen der gemeinsemitischen Namengebung. Beiträge zur Wissenschaft vom Alten und Neuen Testament, III, 10. Stuttgart, 1928 (Reprint: Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1966), 6-41.
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