Attestation of Kish

The Name Element “Kish” in the Book of Mormon

There are four “Kish” names in the Book of Mormon. Three of them are Jaredite kings. They include Akish, a usurper (Ether 9:6), after whom a wilderness region was named (Ether 14:3, 14), Riplakish, an oppressive king, renowned his wealth (Ether 10:4–12), and Kish, the father of the good king Lib, in whose reign, “they built a great city by the narrow neck of land” (Ether 10:18–20). Then, among the Nephites, we have the Gadianton conspirator Kishkumen (Helaman 1:9), who was associated with those seeking for political power and after whom a later city was named (3 Nephi 9:10).

Three of these names are found in the book of Ether and the fourth is the name of a Gadianton robber, whose society was likely modeled upon some aspects of Jaredite history.¹ With this in mind, it seems safe to assume that the name element “Kish” found among Book of Mormon peoples was predominantly of Jaredite origin.

Jaredite Origins in Mesopotamia

The book of Ether records that the Jaredites were led by God from the Old World to a land of promise in the New World. At present, the location from which they departed on their journey is not precisely known. But several textual details—including references to the “great tower” and the confounding of languages (Ether 1:33),² a valley named after “Nimrod” (Ether 2:1), and other items pointed out by Hugh Nibley³—suggest that the Jaredites came from ancient Mesopotamia, where traditions of these events were known (Genesis 10:7–12; 11:1–9).⁴

The Name Element “Kish” in Ancient Mesopotamia

In light of the above analysis, it is noteworthy that a city known as Kish was revered in ancient Mesopotamia. Yugal Levin explains:

The mid-third millennium BCE was a time of great change in Mesopotamia. After several centuries of rivalry between various Sumerian city-states such as Ur, Uruk, Lagash and Umma, the rulers of the city of Kish managed to establish a sort of priority over much of Mesopotamia. The primacy of one Sumerian city over the others was an innovation. In successive generations the title ‘King of Kish’ would come to mean a divinely authorized ruler over all of Sumer and would be claimed at different times by the rulers of various cities. Use of the title ‘King of Kish’ implied such qualities as being victorious at war, a righteous judge and a builder of cities.⁵ 

“According to Sumerian legend,” notes William Hamblin, “the period scholars now call Early Dynastic I was dominated by the hegemony of the kings of Kish. Throughout the Sumerian period the title ‘king of Kish’ (lugal Kish) meant hegemon of Sumer, and every warlord claiming universal domination of Mesopotamia adopted ‘king of Kish’ as one of his titles.”⁶ This was “an honorary title, or a mark of a ruler’s own personal greatness.”⁷

Mesopotamian legend held that “it was to the city of Kish that kingship itself was lowered from heaven after the flood. Like the biblical Nimrod, the ancient kings of Kish were the very embodiment of human kingship in the postdiluvian era. Over a thousand years later, the Neo-Assyrian kings would use Sargon’s royal title sar-kissati, taking it to mean, quite literally, ‘King of the Universe.’”⁸ In addition to being the name of an important Sumerian city and royal title, the name element “Kish” can be seen in personal names from Mesopotamia, such as Kishibgal,⁹ and Iphur-Kish,¹⁰ further establishing its cultural presence in that region of the world.
Conclusion

The only reference to Kish in the Bible is to the father of King Saul (1 Samuel 9:1). This, of course, is much later and has no apparent connection to “Kish” names from ancient Mesopotamia.¹¹ The Jaredites, however, are said to have brought records from their ancient homeland which told of those “who by their secret plans did obtain kingdoms and great glory” (Ether 8:9). With this trajectory of influence established, it is plausible that Mesopotamian legends of ancient Kish were had among the Jaredites. The fact that the four “Kish” names in the Book of Mormon are associated with kings, conquerors, city-builders, and those who sought power—all of which are features of “Kish” from ancient Mesopotamia—is striking.

Daniel L. Belnap, “‘They Are of Ancient Date’: Jaredite Traditions and the Politics of Gadianton’s Dissent,” in Illuminating the Jaredite Records, The Book of Mormon Academy, ed. Daniel L. Belnap (Provo and Salt Lake City, UT: BYU Religious Studies Center and Deseret Book, 2020), 1–42.

John L. Sorenson, Mormon’s Codex: An Ancient American Book (Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book and the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, 2013), 27-29.

Hugh Nibley, Lehi in the Deseret/The World of the Jaredites/There Were Jaredites, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Volume 5 (Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1988), 163-204.

Hugh Nibley, An Approach to the Book of Mormon, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Volume 6 (Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1988), 330.

Omni 1:22Mosiah 28:17Helaman 1:9Helaman 6:283 Nephi 9:10Ether 1:33Ether 2:1Ether 8:9Ether 8:10Ether 9:6Ether 10:17-18

Omni 1:22

Mosiah 28:17

Helaman 1:9

Helaman 6:28

3 Nephi 9:10

Ether 1:33

Ether 2:1

Ether 8:9

Ether 8:10

Ether 9:6

Ether 10:17-18