“In Nephi’s words we feel the magnitude of the sacred relationship that Nephi shared with Jehovah, the Great I Am, whose name is vital in our understanding of Him. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said, “To the Lord’s covenant people, names—particularly proper names—have always been very important. Adam and Eve themselves bore names that suggested their roles here in mortality (see Moses 1:34; 4:26) and, when important covenants were made, men like Abram and Jacob took on new names that signaled a new life as well as a new identity. (See Gen. 17:5; 32:28). Because of this reverence for titles and the meanings they conveyed, the name Jehovah, sometimes transliterated as Yahweh, was virtually unspoken among that people. This was the unutterable name of Deity, that power by which oaths were sealed, battles won, miracles witnessed. Traditionally, he was identified only through a tetragrammaton, four Hebrew letters variously represented in our alphabet as IHVH, JHVH, JHWH, YHVH, YHWH.” Whom Say Ye That I Am? Jeffrey R. Holland Ensign Sept. 1974. Further Explanation in my blog here:
The word below written in Paleo-Hebrew and used from 1000 BC – 400 AD,
represents the name “Jehovah”, or the tetragrammaton. All throughout the Old Testament, the word ‘LORD’ (all small caps), replaced the sacred name “Yahweh” as described above. “I Am” in Hebrew is “Yahweh” and “Adonai” is the Hebrew word for LORD.
What Do Ancient Egypt & Memphis, Tennessee Have in Common?
From the time of its founding, Memphis, Tennessee has managed to maintain a special connection with the land from where it took its name. Below is a list of several commonalities between the Memphis of ancient Egypt and the modern American city of Memphis, Tennessee.
Importance
Memphis, Tennessee is the second largest port on the Mississippi.
Memphis was the capital of Egypt during the period of the Old Kingdom (from about 3100 BCE) until it was superseded in importance by Alexandria around 332 BCE. The Old Kingdom, also called the Pyramid Age, is considered the beginning of Egyptian civilization. Like Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, Egypt came to prominence through growth as a trade center.
Location
Memphis, Tennessee was founded in 1819 by Judge John Overton, General James Winchester and General (and future president) Andrew Jackson. The city is based on a strategic position at the head of the Delta of the Mississippi River, the longest river in North America. Memphis, Egypt was located on the Nile River Delta at the head of the longest river in the world.
Cultural Symbols
In 1917, Robert Galloway, chairman of the Memphis Park Commission, presented two quartzite blocks decorated with figures and inscriptions of the Egyptian Pharaoh Amasis (about 550 BCE) to the city of Memphis. The blocks were originally part of a palace in ancient Memphis. Built in 1991, the Memphis Pyramid Arena is a tribute to the city’s Egyptian namesake. It is the third largest pyramid in the world.
Egyptian Art and Archaeology
The University of Memphis Institute of Egyptian Art and Archaeology (IEAA), founded in 1984, is one of the world’s leading centers for research on ancient Egypt. In addition to maintaining a collection of over 1,100 ancient Egyptian artifacts, since 1995, the IEAA has sponsored the Amenmesse Tomb Project, an archeological expedition done in conjunction with the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities. In 2006, the expedition uncovered a new tomb in the fabled Valley of the Kings just a few meters away from the tomb of King Tutankhamen. Read more http://www.ehow.com/info_8146264_do-egypt-memphis-tennessee-common.html
Nephi is the name of three great prophets in the Book of Mormon. I think Nephi may be derived from Nof(נֹף)with the terminal -i being a gentillic. Noph is a Hebrew name for the Egyptian city Memphis; so Nephi would literally mean “Memphisite”. This is interesting given 1 Nephi and Lehi’s familiarity and use of Egyptian(1 Nephi 1:2).
But who are these Nephites of whom you speak? Why is the root the same as Nephilim?
It isn’t. The root of Nephilim (Strong’s 05303, which occurs in Genesis 6:4 and Numbers 13:33, translated “giants” in the KJV) is naphal (Strong’s 05307), which is the verb “to fall” and is itself a primitive root.
Looking through Smith’s Bible Dictionary, Hebrew words that begin with the consonants N and ph have widely different meanings.
The root of Nephites is the proper name Nephi, as in the first two verses in the Book of Mormon:
1 Nephi 1:1-2
“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. 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.“
Nephi was born and raised in the land of Jerusalem by his father Lehi, who was of the tribe of Manasseh. He married a daughter of Ishmael, who was of the tribe of Ephraim.
The Lord commanded Lehi to take his family and journey into the desert, because of the impending captivity of the Jews by King Nebuchadnezzar. Lehi and his party were eventually led to the Americas, which was a promised land to them. Lehi had both righteous and wicked sons, and after his death they divided into two camps which remained at odds with each other for centuries, the righteous Nephites, named after Nephi, and the Lamanites after Nephi’s older brother Laman.
The word Nephi may come from the Egyptian city of N-ph, transliterated into Hebrew as Noph, which appears in the Old Testament in several places, and translated into English as Memphis.
Mem’phis (haven, of the good), a city of ancient Egypt, situated on that western bank of the Nile, about nine miles south of Cairo and five from the great pyramids and the sphinx. It is mentioned by Isaiah 40:14, 19; and Ezekiel, Ezekiel 30:13, 16; under the name of Noph. Smith’s Bible Dictionary http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1061164/posts?q=1&;page=507
The word Nephi may come from the Egyptian city of N-ph, transliterated into Hebrew as Noph, which appears in the Old Testament in several places, and translated into English as Memphis.
Actually, Hebrew in Nephi’s day (600 BC) was written without vowels, so it would be nph in Egyptian letters transliterated into nph in Hebrew letters when the Egyptian city we now call Memphis was referred to in the Old Testament. Read more : http://www.ehow.com/info_8146264_do-egypt-memphis-tennessee-common.html
Noph is Memphis
From the LDS Bible Dictionary we read, “Noph Memphis; ancient capital of Egypt (Isa. 19:13; Jer. 2:16; 44:1; 46:14, 19; Ezek. 30:13, 16; see also Hosea 9:6).” Source
NOPH – MEMPHIS – NEPHI; IDENTICAL MEANINGS
Nephi is the name of three great prophets in the Book of Mormon. I think Nephi may be derived from Nof (נֹף)with the terminal -i being a gentillic. Noph is a Hebrew name for the Egyptian city Memphis; so Nephi would literally mean “Memphisite”. This is interesting given 1 Nephi and Lehi’s familiarity and use of Egyptian(1 Nephi 1:2).
“NEPHI: This is also an Egyptian name, usually given as Knephi, and transliterated into Hebrew as Nebi. It means ‘prophet’ or one who speaks with God. The great Osiris, one of the Egyptian gods, was called Nephi or Knephi and the city in his honor was n-ph (vowels always had to be supplied). It is the city we know today as Memphis, located across the Nile from Cairo, but it is referred to by its original name of Noph (a variant of Nephi) in the writings of Hosea, Isaiah, and Jeremiah.” Treasures from the Book of Mormon, Volume One By W. Cleon Skousen
FOUND NEAR NEWARK OHIO 1865
“Five years after the discovery of this remarkable memento of the ancient Israelites on the American continent, and thirty-five years after the Book of Mormon was in print, several other mounds in the same vicinity of Newark were opened, in several of which Hebrew characters were found. Among them was this beautiful expression, buried with one of their ancient dead, ‘May the Lord have mercy on me a Nephite.’ It was translated a little different—’Nephel.’ Now we well know that Nephi, who came out of Jerusalem six hundred years before Christ, was the leader of the first Jewish colony across to this land, and the people, ever afterwards, were called ‘Nephites,’ after their inspired prophet and leader. The Nephites were a righteous people and had many prophets among them; and when they were burying one of their brethren in these ancient mounds, they introduced the Hebrew characters signifying ‘May the Lord have mercy on me a Nephite.’ This is another direct evidence of the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon, which was brought forth and translated by inspiration some thirty-five years before this inscription was found.”Orson Pratt JD 13:16 Page131
“Five Hebrew letters are cut in the forehead. When Dr. Lillenthal saw it, he instantly decided the last three letters were nun, pe, lamed…” Dr. Bernard Illowy gives it as his judgement that the words are Yerachamehu Adonai Nephel, May the Lord have mercy on him, an untimely birth, or an abortion.” This Land: America 2,000 B. C. to 500 A. D. by Wayne May
Biet Lehi
Beit comes from the Arabic word meaning house or dwelling. Lehi means jawbone. Beit Lehi means the ‘house’ or ‘dwelling’ of the jawbone. “In 1961 Israeli soldiers unearthed a cave that had inscriptions and drawings including the oldest known Hebrew writing of the word ‘Jerusalem’ dated to approximately 600 B.C. by Dr. Frank Cross Moore, Jr. of Harvard University. The drawings depicted men who appeared to be fleeing and two ships. While investigating the cave, Dr. Joseph Ginat of The University of Haifa met a Bedouin who told him about the remains of an ancient oak tree about 1/4 of a mile away where, according to Bedouin legends and tradition, a prophet named Lehi blessed and judged the people of both Ishmael and Judah. The Bedouin told Dr. Ginat that Lehi had lived many years before Muhammad and that Arab people had built a wall of large rocks around the remains of the tree to protect it as a sacred spot, long known by Arab inhabitants as ‘Beit Lehi’, meaning ‘Home of Lehi.’
Mem’phis (haven, of the good ), a city of ancient Egypt, situated on that western bank of the Nile, about nine miles south of Cairo and five from the great pyramids and the sphinx. It is mentioned by ( Isaiah 40:14,19 ) and Ezekiel, (Ezekiel 30:13,16 ) under the name of Noph. Though some regard Thebes as the more ancient city, the monuments of Memphis are of higher antiquity than those of Thebus. The city is said to have had a circumference of about 10 miles. The temple of Apis was one of the most noted structures of Memphis. It stood opposite the southern portico of the temple of Ptah; and Psammetichus, who built that gateway, also erected in front of the sanctuary of Apis a magnificent colonnade, supported by colossal statues or Osiride pillars, such as may still be seen at the temple of Medeenet Habou at Thebes. Herod. ii, 153.
Beit Lehi, or Beit Loya, is an active archaeological site southwest of Jerusalem, about an hour and a quarter’s drive by car. It is situated within a geographical region known as the Judean Shephelah, or Lowland, sandwiched between the Judean Hills in the east and the coastal plain in the west. Throughout antiquity, a major road that led to and from the coastal port city of Gaza passed by the site.
(Above) “Its use as a Christian site is evidenced mainly by the huge, slightly misspelled Greek inscription seen on one wall. Underneath the inscription is a chi rho christogram (31.5 inches in diameter). It comprises the superimposed first two Greek letters of “Christ,” chi (X) and rho (P), enclosed in a medallion. This monogram was first used in Christian context by the Roman emperor Constantine I (who reigned between 306–337 A.D.). A picture of a ship is etched into the wall above the inscription. The ship features a person standing at its far left, raising his hand in the manner known from Christian iconography, and a mast on the right.” Source
Memphis (haven, of the good )
Through this colonnade the Apis was led with great pomp upon state occasions. At Memphis was the reputed burial-place of Isis; it has also a temple to that “myriad-named” divinity. Memphis had also its Serapeium, which probably stood in the western quarter of the city. The sacred cubit until other symbols used in measuring the rise of the Nile were deposited in the temple of Serapis. The Necropolis, adjacent to Memphis, was on a scale of grandeur corresponding with the city itself. The “city of the pyramids” is a title of Memphis in the hieroglyphics upon the monuments. Memphis long held its place as a capital; and for centuries a Memphite dynasty ruled over all Egypt. Lepsius, Bunsen and Brugsch agree in regarding the third, fourth, sixth, seventh and eighth dynasties of the old empire as Memphite, reaching through a period of about 1000 years.
The city’s overthrow was distinctly predicted by the Hebrew prophets. (Isaiah 19:13; Jeremiah 46:19 ) The latest of these predictions was uttered nearly 600 years before Christ, and a half a century before the invasion of Egypt by Cambyses (cir, B.C. 525). Herodotus informs us that Cambyses, engaged at the opposition he encountered at Memphis, committed many outrages upon the city. The city never recovered from the blow inflicted by Cambyses. The rise of Alexandria hastened its decline. The caliph conquerors founded Fostat (old Cairo) upon the opposite bank of the Nile, a few miles north of Memphis, and brought materials from the old city to build their new capital, A.D. 638. At length so complete was the ruin of Memphis that for a long time its very site was lost. Recent explorations have brought to light many of its antiquities. Smith’s Bible Dictionary http://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/sbd/view.cgi?number=T2921
Hugh Nibley
“It should be noted here that archaeology has fully demonstrated that the Israelites, then as now, had not the slightest aversion to giving their children non-Jewish names, even when those names smacked of a pagan background. 59 One might, in a speculative mood, even detect something of Lehi’s personal history in the names he gave to his sons. The first two have Arabic names—do they recall his early days in the caravan trade? The second two have Egyptian names, and indeed they were born in the days of his prosperity. The last two, born amid tribulations in the desert, were called, with fitting humility, Jacob and Joseph. Whether the names of the first four were meant, as those of the last two sons certainly were (2 Nephi 2:1; 3:1), to call to mind the circumstances under which they were born, the names are certainly a striking indication of their triple heritage. Lehi in the Desert by Hugh Nibley Chapter 2
LEHI’S MANY HERITAGES
“The caravans of Egypt and Israel pass each other, guided through the sands by those men of the desert (Arabs) who were the immemorial go-between of the two civilizations.
- ARAB: Arab designates a way of life, and was applied by the Jews to their own relatives who remained behind in the wilderness. , Manasseh lived furthest out of Jerusalem and had contact with Arabs the most.
- ISRAELI: Of Manasseh through Joseph and the 12 tribes of Israel.
- EGYPTIAN: Language of Lehi consists of learning of Jews and language of Egyptians: Heritage, culture. Ammon was Manasseh’s nearest neighbor and is an Egyptian name.
- HEBREW: Lehi means Jaw Bone in Hebrew. From Eber, Jewish because they live near and around Jerusalem. Learning of the Jews.
- CHRISTIAN: Through Christ, and lived the law of Moses”
Arabic Names: LAMAN, LEMUEL
Egyptian Names: NEPHI, SAM
Israeli Names: JACOB, JOSEPH”
Lehi in the Desert by Hugh Nibley Chapter 2
Herodotus on the First Circumnavigation of Africa
The Greek researcher and storyteller Herodotus of Halicarnassus (fifth century BCE) was the world’s first historian. In The Histories, he describes the expansion of the Achaemenid empire under its kings Cyrus the Great, Cambyses and Darius I the Great, culminating in king Xerxes’ expedition in 480 BCE against the Greeks, which met with disaster in the naval engagement at Salamis and the battles at Plataea and Mycale. Herodotus’ remarkable book also contains excellent ethnographic descriptions of the peoples that the Persians have conquered, fairy tales, gossip, legends, and a very humanitarian morale. (A summary with some historical comments can be found here.)
Context
Portrait of a pharaoh of the Saite dynastyThe Egyptian king Necho II, or – more properly – Wehimbre Nekao, was the ruler of the kingdom along the Nile from 610 to 595 BCE. When he started his reign, there were serious military problems on Egypt’s northeastern border. The Babylonians had taken the Assyrian capital Nineveh and were ready to punish Egypt for its support to the Assyrian cause. From a Babylonian text, the Nebuchadnezzar Chronicle, we know that Necho was campaigning in Syria from 609 until 605, when the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar decisively defeated the Egyptians at Karchemiš (in Syria).
The Babylonian proceeded to subjugate the towns along the Mediterranean coast. It is not entirely clear where and when the border between Egypt and Babylonia was drawn: 2 Kings 24.7 implies that Egypt retired to the Sinai desert and left the Palestine coast in Babylonian hands; Herodotus 2.159 suggests that Gaza remained an Egyptian stronghold.
However this may be, it is obvious that the pharaoh was in big troubles for some time, and he seems to have considered the possibility to attack southern Babylonia by sea. He ordered a canal to be constructed between the Nile and the Red Sea, but discovered that he was giving free access to his enemies too. Consequently, the canal remained uncompleted until the Persians had taken over Egypt in the last quarter of the sixth century.
The circumnavigation of Africa must somehow have been related to Necho’s defense projects. He asked for Phoenician assistance because the Phoenicians (who lived in modern Lebanon) were excellent sailors and had several colonies in the West, such as Carthage and the islet of Mogador opposite modern Essaouira. The Phoenicians must have been happy to help the Egyptians, because they shared the Babylonian enemy. Here is Herodotus’ account of the vovage, in a translation by Aubrey de Sélincourt.
Herodotus’ story
Libya is washed on all sides by the sea except where it joins Asia, as was first demonstrated, so far as our knowledge goes, by the Egyptian king Necho, who, after calling off the construction of the canal between the Nile and the Arabian Gulf, sent out a fleet manned by a Phoenician crew with orders to sail west about and return to Egypt and the Mediterranean by way of the Straits of Gibraltar. The Phoenicians sailed from the Arabian Gulf into the southern ocean, and every autumn put in at some convenient spot on the Libyan coast, sowed a patch of ground, and waited for next year’s harvest. Then, having got in their grain, they put to sea again, and after two full years rounded the Pillars of Heracles in the course of the third, and returned to Egypt. These men made a statement which I do not myself believe, though others may, to the effect that as they sailed on a westerly course round the southern end of Libya, they had the sun on their right – to northward of them. This is how Libya was first discovered by sea.
Reconstruction of the voyage
Map of the circumnavigation of AfricaThe following is a possible reconstruction of their voyage. They must have started their expedition in July, and they must have reached the Horn of Africa after an uneventful trip, relying on the northern wind. The Red Sea (which Herodotus calls “Arabian Gulf”) was well known to their Egyptian pilots, because the Egyptians traded incense with the Arabs of modern Yemen.
The Egyptian sources inform us also about the legendary country named Pwanit or Punt, which is probably identical to Eretria and eastern Ethiopia (more…). The first part of the expedition of the Phoenicians covered known territories.
After they had passed Africa’s most eastern shores, the northeast monsoon – which started in October – sped up their journey, and in March they must have reached the equator. The Agulhas Current must have brought them through the Mozambique Channel and along the coast of modern South Africa. Sailing on their westerly course, they must have observed that they had the sun on their right. (Something that Herodotus, who was unaware of the earth’s spherical shape, was unable to believe.) Something else must have fascinated these men, too: they must have seen whales.
When they reached Cape Agulhas, they left the current that had helped them to the south. At the same time, they encountered the contrary South East trade winds. And they must have been surprised to discover that here, on the southern hemisphere, the winter was already approaching. However, they must happily have noticed that they had started to go north. The plain behind Saint Helena Bay, 150 kilometers north of modern Cape town, offered a fine opportunity to land. They must have sowed their wheat in June, started to repair their ships, and harvested in November.
The Benguela Current and the now favorable South East trade winds brought the Phoenician sailors back to the hot equatorial regions, and they will have experienced its effects in a most unpleasant way, when they sailed along the Namibian coast, which is a waterless desert. It took several weeks to reach a more fertile coast. In March, a new and equally unpleasant surprise awaited them: they had been traveling on a northerly course, but now, the coast curved to the west again. They may have benefited from the westward Guinea Current, but not for long, because it changes its direction during the spring. For weeks, they were struggling against the wind and the current, only to reach -in July- the African west coast, where they encountered the contrary Canary Current and the North Eastern trade winds. But they must have been relieved to find themselves rowing in a northerly direction again.
Somehow they managed to beat against the wind and the current, and in November they must have landed somewhere on the coast of modern Mauritania, maybe at Bay of Arguin, where their Carthaginian compatriots were to build the trading post of Kerne in the not too distant future. The voyagers sowed their wheat, repaired their ships, and waited for the next harvest. Maybe they made contact with the Berber population; in that case, they may have learned that they could obtain gold from the Bambouk region if they returned to the mouth of the Senegal – something that the Carthaginian sailor Hanno probably did.
In May, they brought their ships to the sea, and started to beat their way up to along the Moroccan coast, where they discovered that they had returned to the world they knew: the town on Mogador island was occupied by Phoenicians. Having told the incredible story of their trip to the southern hemisphere, and no doubt with new equipment, they continued their voyage; soon they reached Phoenician towns like Lixus, modern Cadiz and Malaga, and Carthage. They must have reached Egypt at the end of the summer. Their expedition had lasted three full years.
This story, told by Herodotus, was generally questioned after the famous geographer Ptolemy had said that it was impossible to circumnavigate Africa. Another voyage was necessary to vindicate the Phoenician claims. This trip was made in 1488, when Bartolomeus Diaz reached the Cape of Good Hope.
Lehi’s Voyage Demonstrated: Phoenicia Expedition, 2009
“The Phoenicia Ship Expedition has now demonstrated unequivocally that Lehi’s voyage could have left the Arabian Peninsula and sailed around Africa to the Americas rather than attempting to cross the earth’s largest ocean at its widest point, as proposed by Mesoamerican theorists.” Continued at the blog here:
The Phoenicia 600 B.C ship replica
The History Channel recently released a documentary called Who Really Discovered America? which explores a number of possible incursions into the Americas by the ancients. In the film they discuss the Book of Mormon account of the voyage of Lehi and his family. Unfortunately, they consulted with Mesoamerican theorists in concluding that Lehi’s voyage would have taken them from the Saudi Arabian peninsula to the western shores of Mesoamerica. This resulted in oceanographic research which showed, using ‘drifters’ (floating buoys that transmit their positions to satellites orbiting earth) that the route would have taken at least 580 days! That is only four months short of two years. They then rightfully conclude that a ship could make such a long voyage, but the occupants could not store enough food and water for such a lengthy trip, and thus the Book of Mormon and Church upon which it is based, is summarily dismissed as being impossible. Watch the clip from the History Channel by clicking here.. Thus, because of using Mesoamerican theories, the Church and the Book of Mormon are discredited. By Rod Meldrum
What is the 2020 Phoenician Expedition?
The Phoenicia is a traditionally-built replica of a Phoenician merchant vessel, based on a 600 BC design.
According to Greek geographer and historian, Strabo, the Phoenicians traded and settled along the East Atlantic coast, prompting Philip Beale’s belief in the likelihood that the Phoenicians would have attempted to sail West in the hope of discovering more lands.
Beale commissioned the building of the Phoenicia ship 12 years ago. It was traditionally built in Syria and its design was based on the wreckage of the Jules Vernes 7, discovered in the Mediterranean in the early 1990’s. The Phoenicia is believed to be the only replica of its kind in the world.
This voyage (From Tunisia began the 28th of Sept 2019 and Landed in Ft Lauderdale FL on Feb 4, 2020), has proved it possible for the ancient Mulekites to have traveled from Tunisia (Ancient Capital of the Phoenicians), all the way to Florida where we feel the Mulekites traveled up the Mississippi (Sidon) River, and were forced to stop at the DE Moines River rapids near Nauvoo, IL. For an explanation see my blog article here called, Mulekites Land Near Nauvoo
Read about Boyd Tuttle and the Phoenician Expedition in LDS Living and on my blog here called, Columbus wasn’t the First to Discover America!
