ZERAM

Lehite PN

Spy, ca. 87 BC (Alma 2:22)

To the root ṣr, “XX” it would be possible to add ʿam, “people,” rendering the name “distress of the people.” For PNs with ṣr, see Zeri ṣry, (1 Chronicles 25:3), Zeruiah ṣrwyh, (1 Samuel 26:6), and Zereth ṣrt, “distress”(?) (1 Chronicles 4:7). For names ending in “people” see Jeroboam and Rehoboam.

Less likely would be a meaning from the root zrʿ, “seed, posterity.” With the 3m.p. pronominal ending, the resulting combination would require an a vowel, not the extent e vowel in the first syllable, because the noun form, zrʿ, is a segholate katl (RFS and JAT). zrʿ plus the noun ʿam, “people,” yielding “posterity of the people,” would require another syllable. But note the biblical PN Hadoram, hdrm (2 Chronicles 10:18), from hdr, “glory, splendor,” with -am ending.

Even less likely are derivations based on the following PNs because the heth would not necessarily elide and the m would remain unexplained: Zerah (Genesis 36:13), Zerah ṣrh (Genesis 36:13), Zerahiah ṣrḥyh (1 Chronicles 6:6 in KJV, but 1 Chronicles 5:32 in Tanakh).

Notes The Hebrew word for rain, zerem, would at first glance seem to provide a suitable root. But the noun is a segholate katl form which would not provide the vowels of Zeram, and it would yield an unusual PN (JH).

The North-west Semitic root zrwʿ, “arm,” from whence perhaps the fPN Zeruah ṣrwʿh (1 Kings 11:26) is to be derived, would require a u or o vowel and does not account for the m. The El-Amarna form shows the original vowels, zu-ru-uhḫ (EA 28727, 28834, as cited in DNWSI 342).

Cf. Book of Mormon Zoram, et al. and per RFS, Zerahemnah, Zarahemla