AMNOR
| Nephite PN & Lehite PN | 1. | Captain, ca. 87 BC (Alma 2:22) |
| Nephite measure | 2. | Silver measure, ca. 82 BC (Alma 11:6, 11) |
Etymology
It is possible that two etymologies may need to be suggested for the two NEPHITE usages of this name, unless the silver amount is named after the PN AMNOR.
AMNOR may be composed of two elements in Hebrew, *ʿmm, “people, clan, paternal uncle, grandfather,” which is used in Semitic names as a theophoric element ("divine kinsman"), and *nwr, “light.” The name might then mean “people of light” (JAT), or “(my divine) kinsman is light” (JH). Several biblical PNs contain the root element *nr, including Abner ("the [divine] father is light") and Neriah ("the Lord is light"); cf. the Ugaritic PNs nu-ra-nu, nûr-i-dma-lik [1] and the Palmyrene PNs nwrbl and nwry [2] and the EA PN amunira.[3]
AMNOR may also be composed of אמן ʾmn, “craftsman; faithfulness; truth,” and אור ʾwr, “light,” yielding the meaning “faithfulness is light.” For “light” in a positive passage, see Micah 7:8 (RFS).
The silver unit AMNOR remains unexplained. Generally, monetary terms fall into two categories, words of foreign origin and words derived from roots meaning to weigh or measure (JH). The common Semitic root mny, “to weigh, count, measure,” forms the basis for several monetary terms, but is probably not connected to AMNOR.
Nibley believes this name contains the EGYPTIAN element imn, the god Amon. [4][5] A mixed Semitic and EGYPTIAN name, such as “Amon is light” (RFS), is also possible, though somewhat less likely.
Cf. Book of Mormon COMNOR, AMNIHU, LIMNAH
See also Amnor, amnor / omnor Variant
Variants
Deseret Alphabet: 𐐈𐐣𐐤𐐊𐐡 (æmnʌr)
Notes
- ↑ Gröndahl, Frauke. Die Personennamen der Texte aus Ugarit. (Studia Pohl 1. Rome: Pontificium Institutum Bilibum, 1967), p. 166.
- ↑ Stark, Jürgen Kurt. Personal Names in Palmyrene Inscriptions. (Oxford: Clarendon, 1971.), p. 99
- ↑ Knut L. Tallqvist, Assyrian Personal Names (Leipzig: A. Pries/Helsingfors, 1914), 22.
- ↑ NIbley, Hugh. Lehi in the Desert., John W. Welch, Darrell L. Matthews, and Stephen R. Callister, eds. (vol. 5 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley; Salt Lake City/Provo: Deseret Book/FARMS, 1988), 30.
- ↑ NIbley, Hugh, An Approach to the Book of Mormon. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book/Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Studies, 1988), 287.
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