Nahom
Encyclopedia
Nahom is a place referenced in the Book of Mormon
as one of the stops on the Old World
segment of Lehi's journey. This location is referred to as the place where Ishmael
is laid to rest. It was also at this location that the path of Lehi's journey changed from a southern to an eastern direction before continuing toward the coast and the land Bountiful
. (See Archaeology and the Book of Mormon
.)
Some LDS archaeologists
believe that they have located the site of Nahom as a settlement and tribal area known anciently and still today as NHM. Critics doubt the link between Nahom and NHM, as well as having other criticisms.
receives the Liahona and his group departs from the Valley of Lemuel
. After traveling for four days in "nearly a south-southeast direction" they make camp in a place they name "Shazer." They continue to travel in the "same direction" for "many days" with the Liahona as a guide . Verses 34 and 35 read:
In the next four verses, the dissenters plot to kill Lehi
and Nephi
, but the threat is not carried out. The next verse reports that Lehi's group has resumed their journey and changed the direction of their travel "eastward" .
According to the Book of Mormon, prior to their arrival at Nahom, the travelers had been moving in a "south-southeast" direction . It was at this location "Nahom" that the Book of Mormon states that the travelers made a significant change in direction "eastward" before continuing their journey toward the coast. The location of NHM and the eastward change in direction have been used by LDS scholars to assist in determining a plausible location for the coastal location referred to by Nephi as Bountiful
.
that Nahom might correlate with the location of the village of Al Qunfudhah in Saudi Arabia . In 1978 Ross T. Christensen
noted the existence of a location in Yemen called "Nehhm" on an early map produced by Carsten Niebuhr as the result of a scientific expedition sent out by King Frederick V of Denmark . After doing extensive research over several years at the site in Yemen, the location of Nahom was associated with the existing location and tribal name NHM (usually vocalized as NIHM or NEHEM or NAHM) by Warren and Michaela Aston in 1994 . LDS scholars now consider the location and tribal area of NHM in the Jawf Valley in Yemen
(15° 51' 0" North, 44° 37' 0" East, GPS coordinates 15.88, 44.615) to be the only plausible location for the place referred to as Nahom in the Book of Mormon.
LDS scholars consider NHM to be one of the locations in the Arabian peninsula that they believe confirms Book of Mormon historicity in the Old World . Terryl Givens
states that the discovery of the altars "may thus be said to constitute the first actual archaeological evidence for the historicity of the Book of Mormon." This conclusion is based upon archaeological evidence and inscriptions recently found on altars at a specific location in Yemen
which appear to correlate with the "place called Nahom" described in the book of 1 Nephi ,. Nahom is one of only a very few locations mentioned in the Book of Mormon
that the text implies had been named prior to contact with the Lehite travelers, in contrast to Lehi's normal application of the Middle Eastern practice of naming locations after family members .
Although the actual location of NHM is plausible when compared to Lehi's purported route, his change of direction on the Arabian peninsula, the timeframe (~600 BC) matching the archaeological dates, and the ancient burial ground found there, one non-LDS author has suggested a valid reason why Nahom and NHM may not represent the same location: the pronunciation of NHM is unknown .
Each of the altars is constructed of solid limestone. All three contain a dedication inscription, which is carved around all four sides of the altars in the South Arabian script of that period, and each bears the name of their donor: Bi'athar . The first altar was dated to between the seventh and sixth centuries B.C by French researcher Christian Robin . Since Naw'um of the tribe of Nihm was the grandfather of Bi'athar, it is estimated that the Nihm tribal name must be at least two generations older than the altars themselves .
produced a map which contained the place name "Nehhm" at a location approximately twenty-five miles northeast of the Yemen capital Sana'a . In 1792 Robert Heron published a two-volume translation of Niebuhr’s first work titled Niebuhr’s Travels through Arabia and Other Countries in the East . Niebuhr explained in his book: "I have had no small difficulty in writing down these names; both from the diversity of dialects in the country, and from the indistinct pronunciation of those from whom I was obliged to ask them." Niebuhr circles the boundaries of this area of Nehhm on the map; it covers an area of approximately 2394 square miles (6,200.4 km²). There is no evidence, however, that Joseph Smith had access to these materials before the publication of the Book of Mormon. Likewise, there is also no evidence that he or one of his acquaintances did not have access to these sources. .
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
as one of the stops on the Old World
Old World
The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....
segment of Lehi's journey. This location is referred to as the place where Ishmael
Ishmael (Book of Mormon)
In the Book of Mormon, Ishmael1 is the righteous friend of the prophet Lehi in Jerusalem. When Lehi takes his family into the wilderness, Lehi brings Ishmael and his family too. The daughters of Ishmael marry the sons of Lehi, but the sons of Ishmael join Laman and Lemuel in their rebellion against...
is laid to rest. It was also at this location that the path of Lehi's journey changed from a southern to an eastern direction before continuing toward the coast and the land Bountiful
Bountiful (Book of Mormon)
Bountiful is the name of two places described in the Book of Mormon, a religious narrative dictated in 1829 by Joseph Smith, Jr. The first location is set in the Old World near Jerusalem, and the second location is set somewhere in the Americas...
. (See Archaeology and the Book of Mormon
Archaeology and the Book of Mormon
Since the publication of the Book of Mormon in 1830, both Mormon and non-Mormon archaeologists have studied its claims in reference to known archaeological evidence...
.)
Some LDS archaeologists
Archaeology and the Book of Mormon
Since the publication of the Book of Mormon in 1830, both Mormon and non-Mormon archaeologists have studied its claims in reference to known archaeological evidence...
believe that they have located the site of Nahom as a settlement and tribal area known anciently and still today as NHM. Critics doubt the link between Nahom and NHM, as well as having other criticisms.
Nahom in the Book of Mormon
In , LehiLehi
Lehi refers to:In Mormonism:* Lehi , a prophet in the Book of Mormon of the 7th-6th centuries BC* Lehi, son of Helaman, another prophet in the Book of Mormon of the late 1st century BC...
receives the Liahona and his group departs from the Valley of Lemuel
Laman and Lemuel
In the Book of Mormon, Laman and Lemuel are the two eldest sons of Lehi and the older brothers of Sam, Nephi, Jacob, and Joseph. According to the text, they lived around 600 BC. They were notable for their rebellion against Lehi and Nephi, becoming the primary antagonists of the First and Second...
. After traveling for four days in "nearly a south-southeast direction" they make camp in a place they name "Shazer." They continue to travel in the "same direction" for "many days" with the Liahona as a guide . Verses 34 and 35 read:
- And it came to pass that Ishmael died, and was buried in the place which was called Nahom.
- And it came to pass that the daughters of Ishmael did mourn exceedingly, because of the loss of their father, and because of their afflictions in the wilderness; and they did murmur against my father, because he had brought them out of the land of Jerusalem, saying: Our father is dead; yea, and we have wandered much in the wilderness, and we have suffered much affliction, hunger, thirst, and fatigue; and after all these sufferings we must perish in the wilderness with hunger.
In the next four verses, the dissenters plot to kill Lehi
Lehi
Lehi refers to:In Mormonism:* Lehi , a prophet in the Book of Mormon of the 7th-6th centuries BC* Lehi, son of Helaman, another prophet in the Book of Mormon of the late 1st century BC...
and Nephi
Nephi
According to the Book of Mormon, Nephi was the son of Lehi, a prophet, founder of the Nephite people, and author of the first two books of the Book of Mormon, First and Second Nephi.- Early life :Nephi was the fourth of six sons of Lehi and Sariah...
, but the threat is not carried out. The next verse reports that Lehi's group has resumed their journey and changed the direction of their travel "eastward" .
Nahom in archaeology
LDS scholars have proposed a specific location for Nahom based on archaeological evidences, which overrides previous speculation. Others give a linguistical reason for which the proposed location does not match the Nahom descriptions given in the Book of Mormon.Ancient frankincense trails
Some scholars believe that Lehi's group followed the ancient frankincense trails in the northern part of Yemen at times during the initial leg of their journey . The location of NHM is near the main junction of these ancient trails at a point where the trails veer to the east.According to the Book of Mormon, prior to their arrival at Nahom, the travelers had been moving in a "south-southeast" direction . It was at this location "Nahom" that the Book of Mormon states that the travelers made a significant change in direction "eastward" before continuing their journey toward the coast. The location of NHM and the eastward change in direction have been used by LDS scholars to assist in determining a plausible location for the coastal location referred to by Nephi as Bountiful
Bountiful (Book of Mormon)
Bountiful is the name of two places described in the Book of Mormon, a religious narrative dictated in 1829 by Joseph Smith, Jr. The first location is set in the Old World near Jerusalem, and the second location is set somewhere in the Americas...
.
Proposed location of Nahom
In 1976, it was originally speculated by Lynn M. HiltonLynn M. Hilton
Lynn M. Hilton was a member of the Utah State Legislature, an education professor, a businessman, Middle East explorer and an author of many LDS and Mormon books....
that Nahom might correlate with the location of the village of Al Qunfudhah in Saudi Arabia . In 1978 Ross T. Christensen
Ross T. Christensen
-Biography:Christensen was born in Preston, Idaho to Henry Oswald Christensen and Nettie Lavina Taylor Christensen. His father was a teacher at what is today Brigham Young University-Idaho. From 1939-1942 Christensen served as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in...
noted the existence of a location in Yemen called "Nehhm" on an early map produced by Carsten Niebuhr as the result of a scientific expedition sent out by King Frederick V of Denmark . After doing extensive research over several years at the site in Yemen, the location of Nahom was associated with the existing location and tribal name NHM (usually vocalized as NIHM or NEHEM or NAHM) by Warren and Michaela Aston in 1994 . LDS scholars now consider the location and tribal area of NHM in the Jawf Valley in Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
(15° 51' 0" North, 44° 37' 0" East, GPS coordinates 15.88, 44.615) to be the only plausible location for the place referred to as Nahom in the Book of Mormon.
LDS scholars consider NHM to be one of the locations in the Arabian peninsula that they believe confirms Book of Mormon historicity in the Old World . Terryl Givens
Terryl Givens
Terryl Lynn Givens is professor of literature and religion at the University of Richmond where he holds the James A. Bostwick Chair in English...
states that the discovery of the altars "may thus be said to constitute the first actual archaeological evidence for the historicity of the Book of Mormon." This conclusion is based upon archaeological evidence and inscriptions recently found on altars at a specific location in Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
which appear to correlate with the "place called Nahom" described in the book of 1 Nephi ,. Nahom is one of only a very few locations mentioned in the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
that the text implies had been named prior to contact with the Lehite travelers, in contrast to Lehi's normal application of the Middle Eastern practice of naming locations after family members .
Although the actual location of NHM is plausible when compared to Lehi's purported route, his change of direction on the Arabian peninsula, the timeframe (~600 BC) matching the archaeological dates, and the ancient burial ground found there, one non-LDS author has suggested a valid reason why Nahom and NHM may not represent the same location: the pronunciation of NHM is unknown .
Altars
The Bar'an temple in Marib (70 miles (112.7 km) east of San'a in Yemen) was excavated by a German archaeological team led by Burkhard Vogt. Before excavation began, all that was visible at the Bar'an site were six columns projecting above the sand. The temple structure and many of the altars were found to be well preserved by the sand and desert climate . One of the artifacts discovered at this location was an inscribed altar which has been dated to the seventh or sixth centuries BC. According to the inscription, the altar was donated to the temple by "Bi‘athtar, son of Sawad, son of Naw‘an, the Nihmite" . The first altar discovered was removed from the Bar'an site and placed in a traveling exhibit which began touring Europe in October 1997. Since that time, two additional altars bearing the same inscription mentioning NHM have been identified at the same temple site .Each of the altars is constructed of solid limestone. All three contain a dedication inscription, which is carved around all four sides of the altars in the South Arabian script of that period, and each bears the name of their donor: Bi'athar . The first altar was dated to between the seventh and sixth centuries B.C by French researcher Christian Robin . Since Naw'um of the tribe of Nihm was the grandfather of Bi'athar, it is estimated that the Nihm tribal name must be at least two generations older than the altars themselves .
Meaning of the name NHM
Vowels in Hebrew are spoken but not written. Therefore, roots in Semitic languages such as Hebrew or Arabic utilize only the consonants and not the vowels . Some of the variant names based upon the Semitic root NHM found in both Arabic and Hebrew texts are Nahum, Naham, Nihm, Nehem and Nahm . The root NHM has different meanings. The South Arabian root NHM is related to stone cutting. The Hebrew root NHM is found repeatedly in the Bible and relates to sorrow, hunger, consoling, and mourning . Scholars consider this root appropriate when used to refer to a place of burial and the expression of mourning . This theory is corroborated by a huge area of ancient burial tombs at 'Alam, Ruwayk, and Jidran about 25 miles (40.2 km) north of Marib that were examined by a French team at approximately the same time that the Bar'an excavation was completed. This burial complex is the largest such burial area known anywhere in Arabia .Early references to NHM
The name NHM denotes both a tribal region and a location in the southern part of Arabia . In 1763 a German surveyor and mapmaker named Carsten NiebuhrCarsten Niebuhr
Carsten Niebuhr or Karsten Niebuhr , a German mathematician, cartographer, and explorer in the service of Denmark, is renowned for his travels on the Arabian peninsula.-Biography:...
produced a map which contained the place name "Nehhm" at a location approximately twenty-five miles northeast of the Yemen capital Sana'a . In 1792 Robert Heron published a two-volume translation of Niebuhr’s first work titled Niebuhr’s Travels through Arabia and Other Countries in the East . Niebuhr explained in his book: "I have had no small difficulty in writing down these names; both from the diversity of dialects in the country, and from the indistinct pronunciation of those from whom I was obliged to ask them." Niebuhr circles the boundaries of this area of Nehhm on the map; it covers an area of approximately 2394 square miles (6,200.4 km²). There is no evidence, however, that Joseph Smith had access to these materials before the publication of the Book of Mormon. Likewise, there is also no evidence that he or one of his acquaintances did not have access to these sources. .
Link between Nahom and NHM
In the Book of Mormon, Nahom is one of the few locations mentioned in the Book of Mormon that was not named by Lehi, thus suggesting that this was a pre-existing place name. The Book of Mormon states that Ishmael, the patriarch of the family that left with Lehi's, was buried "in the place which was called Nahom." It was also at Nahom that the travelers made a significant change in the direction of their travel from "south-southeast" to "nearly eastward."Criticisms of connection
Known criticisms include the following :- The fact that the Book of Mormon does not explicitly mention contact with outsiders during Lehi's journey.
- It is suggested that there is no evidence dating NHM before A.D. 600.
- It is suggested that the pronunciation of NHM is unknown and may not relate to Nahom at all.
- It has been suggested that Joseph Smith simply created the name Nahom as a variant of the Biblical names Naham (1 Chron. 4:19), Nehum (Ne. 7:7) and Nahum (Na. 1:1).