{"id":76742,"date":"2019-08-03T23:33:54","date_gmt":"2019-08-04T05:33:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=76742"},"modified":"2019-08-03T23:33:54","modified_gmt":"2019-08-04T05:33:54","slug":"some-work-on-the-name-alma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/08\/some-work-on-the-name-alma.html","title":{"rendered":"Some work on the name “Alma”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Teichert's<\/a>
\u201cAlma Baptizes in the Waters of Mormon\u201d by Minerva Teichert (1888-1976)
Wikimedia Commons public domain image<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIfs, Ands, or Buts: A Reminder on the Origins of the Book of Mormon\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy Must We Beware Wolves in Sheep\u2019s Clothing?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Latter-day Saints Around the World: Country Newsroom Websites, August 2, 2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGroundbreaking Announced for the Bel\u00e9m Brazil Temple\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I want to call attention to a trio of related articles previously published in Interpreter<\/em> that you might possibly find of interest:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Stephen D. Ricks,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship<\/em>\u00a04 (2013): 155-160<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSome Notes on Book of Mormon Names:\u00a0The Book of Mormon as an Ancient Document:\u00a0Proper Names as a Test Case\u201d<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Abstract:\u00a0This study considers the Book of Mormon personal names Josh, Nahom, and Alma as test cases for the Book of Mormon as an historically authentic ancient document.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Matthew L. Bowen,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship<\/em>\u00a019 (2016): 343-353<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAlma \u2014 Young Man, Hidden Prophet\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Abstract:\u00a0The biographical introduction of Alma the Elder into the Book of Mormon narrative (Mosiah 17:2) also introduces the name Alma into the text for the first time, this in close juxtaposition with a description of Alma as a \u201cyoung man.\u201d The best explanation for the name Alma is that it derives from the Semitic term \u01f5lm (Hebrew \u02bfelem), \u201cyoung man,\u201d \u201cyouth,\u201d \u201clad.\u201d This suggests the strong probability of an intentional wordplay on the name Alma in the Book of Mormon\u2019s underlying text: Alma became \u201c[God\u2019s] young man\u201d or \u201cservant.\u201d Additional lexical connections between Mosiah 17:2 and Mosiah 14:1 (quoting Isaiah 53:1) suggest that Abinadi identified Alma as the one \u201cto whom\u201d or \u201cupon whom\u201d (\u02bfal-m\u00ee) the Lord was \u201creveal[ing]\u201d his arm as Abinadi\u2019s prophetic successor. Alma began his prophetic succession when he \u201cbelieved\u201d Abinadi\u2019s report and pled with King Noah for Abinadi\u2019s life. Forced to flee, Alma began his prophetic ministry \u201chidden\u201d and \u201cconcealed\u201d while writing the words of Abinadi and teaching them \u201cprivately.\u201d The narrative\u2019s dramatic emphasis on this aspect of Alma\u2019s life suggests an additional thread of wordplay that exploits the homonymy between Alma and the Hebrew root *\u02bflm, forms of which mean \u201cto hide,\u201d \u201cconceal,\u201d \u201cbe hidden,\u201d \u201cbe concealed.\u201d The richness of the wordplay and allusion revolving around Alma\u2019s name in Mosiah 17\u201318 accentuates his importance as a prophetic figure and founder of the later Nephite church. Moreover, it suggests that Alma\u2019s name was appropriate given the details of his life and that he lived up to the positive connotations latent in his name.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Matthew L. Bowen,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship<\/em>\u00a027 (2017): 197-212<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c\u201cHe Did Go About Secretly\u201d: Additional Thoughts on the Literary Use of Alma\u2019s Name\u201d<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Abstract:\u00a0Mormon describes Alma the Younger\u2019s \u201cgo[ing] about\u00a0<\/em>secretly<\/strong>\u201d to destroy the church that his father, Alma the Elder, had established (Mosiah 27:8\u201310), this as a narratalogical inversion of that period when Alma the Elder \u201cwent about\u00a0<\/em>privately<\/strong>\u201d teaching the words of Abinadi and establishing a church \u201cthat it might not come to the knowledge of the king\u201d (Mosiah 18:1\u20136). In Mosiah\u00a027:10, Mormon subtly reworks Alma the Younger\u2019s autobiographical statement preserved in Alma 36:6, adding in the former passage a word rendered \u201csecretly\u201d to create a midrashic or interpretive pun on the name\u00a0<\/em>Alma,echoing the meaning of the Semitic root \u02bf<\/em>lm, \u201chide,\u201d \u201cconceal\u201d). Mosiah 27:8\u201310 contains additional language that evokes the introduction of the name Alma in the Book of Mormon (at first in terms of \u02bf<\/em>elem\u00a0[\u201cyoung man\u201d] but also in terms of the homonymous root \u02bf<\/em>lm) in Mosiah 17:2\u20134 but also re-invokes allusions in the latter passage to Mosiah 14:1 (Isaiah 53:1).<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u201cIfs, Ands, or Buts: A Reminder on the Origins of the Book of Mormon\u201d \u00a0 \u201cWhy Must We Beware Wolves in Sheep\u2019s Clothing?\u201d \u00a0 *** \u00a0 Latter-day Saints Around the World: Country Newsroom Websites, August 2, 2019 \u00a0 \u201cGroundbreaking Announced for the Bel\u00e9m Brazil Temple\u201d \u00a0 *** \u00a0 I want to call attention […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nSome work on the name "Alma"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    "Ifs, Ands, or Buts: A Reminder on the Origins of the Book of Mormon"   "Why Must We Beware Wolves in Sheep\u2019s Clothing?"  \" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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