SARIAH: Difference between revisions

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The feminine personal name Sariah is attested, albeit in a partial restoration, in the Aramaic papyri of Elephantine and appears in Papyrus #22.<ref>[[Arthur E. Cowley]],  Aramaic Papyri of the Fifth Century B.C (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1923), 67. In a later and more exhaustive study, Archives from Elephantine (Berkeley: University of California, 1968), 320, Bezalel Porten agrees with Cowley’s reading and translation.  In the most recent study of the papyri, [[Frank Moore Cross]]’s.</ref> Although the language of the documents is Aramaic, Cowley observes that the names are in fact Hebrew.  Line 4 of C-22 lists the personal name as sry[h br]t hws‘ br hrman, which may be vocalized as  
SARIAH is the name of the wife of LEHI, the first prophet in the Book of Mormon, and would mean “Jehovah is (my) prince/ruler. A similar etymology, “princess of Jehovah,” was proposed years ago.”
Sariah barat Hoshea bar Harman and translated as “Sariah daughter of Hoshea son of Harman.” Cowley was obliged to reconstruct part of the text, supplying the final h of Sariah and the initial b and r of barat, but the spacing of the letters is reasonable, and the reconstructed text established by Cowley has been accepted as accurate. “The extant final t of barat assures us,” observes Jeffrey Chadwick, “that the person was a daughter, not a son and, after the letters b-r are supplied, there is only room for one additional letter—the final h of Sariah.”<ref>[[Jeffrey R. Chadwick]], “Sariah in the Elephantine Papyri,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 2/2 (1993): 197.</ref> Further, although Sariah is not attested as a woman’s name in the Old Testament, it is mentioned nineteen times in its masculine form, Seraiah, in reference to nine persons.<ref>There are examples in Hebrew of the same name being used for a man or a woman, though it is not the norm.  For example, Abijah is an Israelite man’s name (e.g., Abiah in 1 Chronicles 6:28 and 7:8) as well as a woman’s name—the name of Hezekiah’s mother (e.g., 2 Chronicles 29:1). In the Anglo-American tradition of naming are the interchangeable man’s and woman’s names Aubrey, Dana, Jordan, Kim, Leslie, Morgan, Robin, Shirley, Stac(e)y, and Tracy in the Anglo-American tradition of naming</ref>
 
SDR)
This etymology has been born out recently. This feminine personal name SARIAH is attested, albeit in a partial restoration, in the Aramaic papyri of Elephantine, appearing in Papyrus #22. Although the language of the documents is Aramaic, the author observes that the names are in fact Hebrew.  Line 4 of C-22 lists the personal name as śry[h br]t hwš‘ br ḥrmn, which may be vocalized as Saria[h bar]at Hoshea bar Harman and translated as “Sari[ah daugh]ter of Hoshea son of Harman.” As the brackets indicate, the author has reconstructed part of the text, supplying the final h of Sariah and the initial b and r of barat, but the spacing of the letters is reasonable, and the reconstructed text established by the author has been accepted as accurate. “The extant final t of barat assures us,” observes Jeffrey Chadwick, <ref>[[Jeffrey R. Chadwick]]“that the person was a daughter, not a son and, after the letters b-r are supplied, there is only room for one additional letter—the final h of Sariah.” Further, although SARIAH is not attested as a woman’s name in the Old Testament, it is mentioned nineteen times in its masculine form, Seraiah, שריה, in reference to nine persons. (PYH)
 
The name is composed common Hebrew (and Semitic) elements, and would mean  Jehovah is (my) prince/ruler, which is the meaning of the masculine biblical personal name Seraiah.  The first element of her name, sar, stems from the common Semitic root  rr (the reduplicated r is not represented in most Semitic scripts), and is exemplified in Hebrew name Sar(ah), r(h), “prince(ness),” and in Akkadian by šarru, king. At the same time, it is not surprising to note that the ending of Sariahs is identical to the common Hebrew theophoric element of the shortened form for Jehovah. In fact, Jeremiah 36:26 preserves the full theophoric element of the biblical name Seraiah, śryhw. Because it declares both allegiance to and honor of Jehovah, Jehovah is (my) prince/ruler would be an appropriate name for the wife of a prophet of God. (SDR)</ref>(SDR)


Cf. Biblical [[SARAI]] and [[SARAH]] (also named in the Book of Mormon)
Cf. Biblical [[SARAI]] and [[SARAH]] (also named in the Book of Mormon)

Revision as of 13:10, 11 February 2011

Lehite PN Wife of Lehi No. 1, ca. 600 BC (1 Nephi 2:5; 8:14)

SARIAH is the name of the wife of LEHI, the first prophet in the Book of Mormon, and would mean “Jehovah is (my) prince/ruler. A similar etymology, “princess of Jehovah,” was proposed years ago.”

This etymology has been born out recently. This feminine personal name SARIAH is attested, albeit in a partial restoration, in the Aramaic papyri of Elephantine, appearing in Papyrus #22. Although the language of the documents is Aramaic, the author observes that the names are in fact Hebrew. Line 4 of C-22 lists the personal name as śry[h br]t hwš‘ br ḥrmn, which may be vocalized as Saria[h bar]at Hoshea bar Harman and translated as “Sari[ah daugh]ter of Hoshea son of Harman.” As the brackets indicate, the author has reconstructed part of the text, supplying the final h of Sariah and the initial b and r of barat, but the spacing of the letters is reasonable, and the reconstructed text established by the author has been accepted as accurate. “The extant final t of barat assures us,” observes Jeffrey Chadwick, [1](SDR)

Cf. Biblical SARAI and SARAH (also named in the Book of Mormon)

Notes

  1. ↑ Jeffrey R. Chadwick“that the person was a daughter, not a son and, after the letters b-r are supplied, there is only room for one additional letter—the final h of Sariah.” Further, although SARIAH is not attested as a woman’s name in the Old Testament, it is mentioned nineteen times in its masculine form, Seraiah, שריה, in reference to nine persons. (PYH) The name is composed common Hebrew (and Semitic) elements, and would mean Jehovah is (my) prince/ruler, which is the meaning of the masculine biblical personal name Seraiah. The first element of her name, sar, stems from the common Semitic root rr (the reduplicated r is not represented in most Semitic scripts), and is exemplified in Hebrew name Sar(ah), r(h), “prince(ness),” and in Akkadian by šarru, king. At the same time, it is not surprising to note that the ending of Sariahs is identical to the common Hebrew theophoric element of the shortened form for Jehovah. In fact, Jeremiah 36:26 preserves the full theophoric element of the biblical name Seraiah, śryhw. Because it declares both allegiance to and honor of Jehovah, Jehovah is (my) prince/ruler would be an appropriate name for the wife of a prophet of God. (SDR)
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