© 2024 The Interpreter Foundation. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
All content by The Interpreter Foundation, unless otherwise specified, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available here.
Interpreter Foundation is not owned, controlled by or affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All research and opinions provided on this site are the sole responsibility of their respective authors, and should not be interpreted as the opinions of the Board, nor as official statements of LDS doctrine, belief or practice.
Pingback: Ep 58 | Alma 17-22, Come Follow Me (June 22-28) - LDS Scripture Teachings
Regarding the word “rabbanah” as “great king:” I was looking through glossaries for the Mayan word for “king.” The most basic term was “ahau.” The superlative was “ch’ul ahau,” for a king who was not only of higher status, but a sort of god-king, one who had seen visions. I wonder if they were speaking Hebrew with an underlying Mesoamerican mindset? It would fit in context for “rabbanah” to be a transliteration of “ch’ul ahau.”
Also, an ahau was an independent ruler, a “cahal” was a governor serving at the pleasure of a higher authority. The BOM calls Lamoni a “king,” but when his father grants him complete independence, this marks him as having been a cahal, or governor, rather than an ahau, or independent king. Indeed, his visions of the heavens would have made him a ch’ul ahau, his prestige must have been enormous.
(But then, maybe I have it completely wrong.)
Thank you for the article. I love the preservation in the Book of Mormon of the Hebrew tradition of literary richness and depth of philosophical correctness.
Who will write another great article about the name mentioned in a similar way in a similar story?
If he did it once…
Aminadab (Hel 5:34)
Thank you, Corwyn. You may be more right than you know. 🙂
In Epigraphic South Arabic, as in Hebrew, there are several words for “Man.” ISH refers to a man of status.
Thanks John. Great point! That semantic nuance is particularly relevant to Ammon’s status throughout the account, I think.
How’d Joseph know this? It is a question I seem to be asking more and more.
Should one be tempted to go with the “he was a religious genius” catch-all (cop out), it is worth noting that the Prophet Joseph Smith did not learn Hebrew until 1835. And he was excited about it (per his journals)! The answer: “the Book of Mormon is an ancient text and translation literature” will never be an acceptable answer to some critics, no matter what the evidence (sadly).
Thank you for a wonderful article. Actually the naysayers never really answer the question of how Joseph, if he did it on his own, could’ve done it this way, although some do say something like Joseph must’ve been a genius. It is as you said a cop out. No matter the genius, if you don’t know Hebrew, you aren’t going to do Hebrew. I doubt Albert Einstein knew Chinese, and no matter the staggering intellect that man was, Chinese was never going to magically come out of him. Saying Joseph was a genius is just agnostic code for I don’t know and have no explanation to offer.
Well said, Brett. Thank you!
Matthew
Thanks for a great article!
Thank you, Loren! I greatly appreciate that. 🙂
I continue to be impressed with the linguistic insights you provide in the Book of Mormon, Matt. Thank you for another very fine essay.
Thank you, Darren! I appreciate the encouraging feedback very much. 🙂
Did you think there is a connection to Masonry’s ritual character, Hiram Abish, and to Masonry’s heavy emphasis on bringing man along to achieve his god-given potential of full “maleness”?
As one who needs to rely on the internet for all things Masonic, the only references I can find about this Masonic ritual character are those for the name Hiram Abiff, rather than Hiram Abish.
DOH ! Thanks Alan.
Having studied a smattering of Hebrew in the past, I had guessed that “Abish” meant something like “the Father is a man,” but missed the marvelous wordplay present in the text. Too me, it is just one more in a long line of confirming evidences of the Book of Mormon’s truthfulness. Kudo’s.
Thank you, Steven! I appreciate that, and well said! The greatest evidence for the authenticity of the Book of Mormon will, of course, always be the confirming witness of the Holy Ghost. However, the text of the Book of Mormon, as it bears testimony of Jesus as the Christ, also bears witness of itself and everything that the Prophet Joseph Smith claimed regarding its origin and coming forth. We are still just beginning to appreciate its richness and beauty.
Another remarkable contribution. I marvel at how many sophisticated Hebraic word plays can be found in the Book of Mormon. I had previously wondered why Abish has her name given when so many are not named.
Thank you very much, Jeff! And thank you for all that you do to help me (and others) draw attention to observations such as those found here. We are grateful for all of your efforts. 🙂
Excluding those who constantly write full blown essays, Jeff Lindsey has the single biggest collection of great scholarly-based apologetic material from any single person I know of. I really do enjoy his websites.
I agree, Darren. Jeff has done and continues to do the Latter-day Saint community a tremendous service with his work.