Zarahemla(זֶרַע חֶמְלָה)

More than ten years ago, John Tvedtnes and Stephen Ricks made a case for viewing Zarahemla as zerahemla(זֶרַע חֶמְלָה),“seed of compassion”(1). Assuming that Mormon’s modified Egyptian script was used to write an underlying Hebraic text, there is reason to believe at least part of this etymology is correct.

Ancient Hebrew poets made frequent use of puns on the proper names of people and places(2). Many of these puns are based on the etymologies of the names being used. In Hosea 12:2-3, the author plays with “to supplant”(עָקַב) and Jacob(יַעֲקֹב). In Hosea 9:16, the same thing occurs with Ephraim(אֶפְרַיִם) and “fruit”(פְּרִי)(3). As for Zarahemla, the root word for hemla(חֶמְלָה),”merciful,compassion”, is hamal (חָמַל). This word is occasionally translated in the KJV Bible as “spared”(4).

Mosiah 9: 2
2)and we returred, those of us that were spared(חָמַל), to the land of Zarahemla(זֶרַע חֶמְלָה), to relate that tale to their wives and their children.
3 Ne. 8: 24
24)And in one place they were heard to cry, saying: O that we had repented before this great and terrible day, and then would our brethren have been spared(חָמַל), and they would not have been burned in that great city Zarahemla(זֶרַע חֶמְלָה).

The Nephite writers of the Book of Mormon imitated and were influenced by the poetry of the Old World. Assuming that the underlying text from which the Book of Mormon was translated was in some form of Hebrew, the etymological relationship between spared and -hemla is evidence for the etymology offered by Ricks and Tvedtnes.

Notes
1) The Hebrew Origin of Some Book of Mormon Place Names; Stephen D. Ricks, and John A. Tvedtnes; Journal of Book of Mormon Studies: Volume - 6, Issue - 2, Pages: 255-59. Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, 1997.
2) Classical Hebrew poetry: a guide to its techniques. By Wilfred G. E. Watson, pg 244.
3) KJV Hosea 12:2-3
The Lord hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob(יַעֲקֹב) according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him. He took his brother by the heel in the womb(בַּבֶּטֶן, עָקַב אֶת-אָחִיו),
KJV Hosea 9:16
Ephraim(אֶפְרַיִם) is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit(פְּרִי): yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb.
4) 1 Samuel 15:9 But Saul and the people spared Agag(וַיַּחְמֹל שָׁאוּל וְהָעָם עַל-אֲגָג)
2 Samuel 21:7 But the king spared Mephibosheth(וַיַּחְמֹל הַמֶּלֶךְ, עַל-מְפִיבֹשֶׁת)

Nephi

John Gee has demonstrated that Nephi is a form of Nfr; it is "an attested Syro-Palestinian Semitic form of an attested Egyptian man's name dating from the Late Period in Egypt". Nephi tells us that he wrote his record in "the language of the Egyptians"(1 Nephi 1:2). It should be noted that Nfr means "good, fine, goodly". Keeping these items in mind allows us to detect possible word play in Nephi's record.

1 Nephi 1:1
1) I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days.

Egyptian and The Book of Mormon

1 Ne. 1:2
2)Yea, I make a record in the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians.
Mosiah 1:4
4)For it were not possible that our father, Lehi, could have remembered all these things, to have taught them to his children, except it were for the help of these plates; for he having been taught in the language of the Egyptians therefore he could read these engravings, and teach them to his children, that thereby they could teach them to their children, and so fulfilling the commandments of God, even down to this present time.
Morm. 9:32
32)And now, behold, we have written this record according to our knowledge, in the characters which are called among us the reformed Egyptian, being handed down and altered by us, according to our manner of speech.

The Book of Mormon seems to make a distinction between the "language" and "characters" of Egypt. The Brass Plates and Nephi's record were written in the Egyptian language, whereas the gold plates were written in reformed Egyptian characters.

There is a difference between Egyptian language and Egyptian characters. Egyptian characters could be used to write other languages. Papyrus Amherst 62 uses Demotic Egyptian script to write an Aramaic version of Psalm 20. Aramaic is a sister language to Hebrew, just as Spanish is to Italian. Modified Egyptian script was the basis for the Meroitic written language. However, Coptic is Egyptian language written in Greek letters.

Hebraisms and Other Ancient Peculiarities in the Book of Mormon

Donald W. Parry, Professor of Hebrew Bible and Dead Sea Scrolls at Brigham Young University, is married to Camille Mills, from Las Vegas, Nevada; they have six children.

He has served as a member of the International Team of Translators of the Dead Sea Scrolls since 1994. He is also a member of several other professional organizations, including the Princeton Dead Sea Scrolls Society, Princeton, New Jersey, the International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament, Groningen, The Netherlands, Society for Biblical Literature, Atlanta, Georgia, and the National Association of Professors of Hebrew, Madison, Wisconsin. Parry served as a member of the Board of Directors of Brigham Young University's Institute for the Study and Preservation of Ancient Religious Texts from 1987-2005.

Read:"Hebraisms and Other Ancient Peculiarities in the Book of Mormon" HERE .

Hebraisms and The Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon: Old World Geography

The Land of Jerusalem

The term "land of Jerusalem" appears all over the Book of Mormon, but never in the Bible.

The term also appears in the Amarna letters.