Jeffrey R. Chadwick discusses the discovery of Ostracon 2071 (5th century BC) and the attestion of the personal name lḥy (Lehi).

Date
2010
Type
Academic / Technical Report
Source
Jeffrey R. Chadwick
LDS
Hearsay
Secondary
Reference

Jeffrey R. Chadwick, "Lehi in the Samaria Papyri and on an Ostracon from the Shore of the Red Sea," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 19, no. 1 (2010): 14-21

Scribe/Publisher
Journal of Book of Mormon Studies
People
Jeffrey R. Chadwick
Audience
Reading Public
PDF
Transcription

Until the discovery of Ostracon 2071, dating from the fifth century BC, in the 1930s on the shores of the Red Sea, the name Lehi (lḥy in the discovered text) had been unattested in any extant document outside of the Book of Mormon. However, Nelson Gluek, along with many other scholars, including Hugh Nibley, vocalized lḥy as “Laḥai,” which pronunciation would have south Semitic roots. Chadwick argues, instead, that a Hebrew context for the ostracon would be more plausible and that therefore the more likely pronunciation would be “lĕḥy.” He also argues for a Hebrew origin of the compound name ʾblḥy, found in the fourth-century BC Samaria Papyri. Both of these names, given their strong Hebrew context, seem to confirm that Lehi was a name in use in ancient Israel and its surrounding areas.

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