Book of Mormon Evidence: Gloss on Liahona

Evidence Summary

The Book of Mormon describes a mysterious “round ball of curious workmanship” made of “fine brass” with two spindles (1 Nephi 16:10). Lehi discovered this curious object outside his tent, and his family soon learned that it would lead them in the direction the Lord wanted them to go, “according to the faith and diligence and heed which [they] did give unto it” (1 Nephi 16:28). Nephi referred to this object only as a ball or compass.1 Later, however, Alma explained that “our fathers called it Liahona, which is, being interpreted, a compass; and the Lord prepared it” (Alma 37:38). This editorial gloss, with its supplied definition, provides a unique opportunity to linguistically test the Book of Mormon’s authenticity.

The Elements l + iah

The nature of this object and the meaning of the name Liahona have been the subjects of considerable study, and several different theories have been proposed.2 Scholars generally agree that the initial l- in the name is either a Hebrew or Egyptian preposition meaning “to” or “of” and that the -iah(o) is the shortened form of the divine name Jehovah (Yahweh) that commonly appears in Hebrew names such as Jeremiah, Isaiah, Elijah, Zedekiah, Jehoahaz, and Jehoiakim.3 Thus, liah(o) could literally mean “to/of Jehovah” but might also be translated as “to/of the Lord” or “to/of God.”

Slightly varying from these proposals, Calvin Tolman has suggested the elements l- and -iah could actually mean “prepared of the Lord,” assuming they hold what is called the subjective genitive form.4 If correct, this insight is quite significant, since it would mean that the phrase “the Lord prepared it” could be part of the literal interpretation given in Alma 37:38: “our fathers called it Liahona, which is, being interpreted, a compass; and the Lord prepared it.” The Lord’s active role in preparing this item is mentioned on other occasions as well:

• “And it came to pass that after they had bound me insomuch that I could not move, the compass, which had been prepared of the Lord, did cease to work” (1 Nephi 18:12)
• “And I, Nephi, had also brought … the ball, or compass, which was prepared for my father by the hand of the Lord” (2 Nephi 5:12)
• “he also gave him charge concerning the … ball or director, which led our fathers through the wilderness, which was prepared by the hand of the Lord that” (Mosiah 1:16)

The Element ona

The final element (-ona) has been viewed in a variety of ways.5 Recently, scholars have looked closely at how the Liahona has been described and defined in the Book of Mormon itself. Jonathan Curci noted that in ancient Hebrew writings, “the words surrounding the name often reveal the elements of which it is formed.”6 In this light, Curci explained, “The Book of Mormon writers used the three words compass, ball, and director to refer to the same object,” thus reasoning that scholars should “analyze the basic elements of the name Liahona by drawing on the interpretations that the Book of Mormon provides.”7

Curci then suggested that the final element is “the [Hebrew] adverb ʿona [which] means direction or motion to a certain place.”8 It is often translated as “whither” in the sense of which direction to travel, such as in the question “Whither wilt thou go?” (Genesis 16:8). He thus proposed that the name Liahona means either “the direction (or director) of the Lord” or “to the Lord is the whither.”9

Matthew Bowen has added to Curci’s proposal by suggesting that the final -na in Liahona could also be interpreted as an Egyptian expression that, when paired with an Egyptian preposition rendered as either an r or an l, means “to see” or “to look.” Thus, Bowen reasons that for writers such as Lehi and Nephi and their descendants who were bilingual in Hebrew and Egyptian, “it is possible to both hear and see an inquiry, ‘To Yahweh, whither?’ but perhaps more particularly an imperative, ‘To Yahweh, look!’—that is, ‘Look to the Lord!’ or ‘Look to God!’ The latter imperative phrase actually works as a response to the former question.”10

Remarkably, elements from both “to the Lord is the whither” and “Look to the Lord” are found in the surrounding contexts in which the Liahona is mentioned in both 1 Nephi and Alma 37. Shortly before the Liahona was discovered, Nephi chided his brothers because “they did not look unto the Lord as they ought” (1 Nephi 15:3). Then when it first appeared, Lehi “beheld upon the ground a round ball” that “pointed the way whither we should go into the wilderness” (1 Nephi 16:10).

Similarly, after Nephi’s bow of fine steel broke and he made a new bow and arrow from wood, he asked Lehi, “Whither shall I go to obtain food?” Lehi “did inquire of the Lord,” and in response “the voice of the Lord said unto him: Look upon the ball” (1 Nephi 16:23–26). When the compass stopped working on their sea voyage, his brothers “knew not whither they should steer the ship,” but Nephi “did look unto my God” (1 Nephi 18:13, 16). Once Nephi was set free, he “took the compass, and it did work whither [he] desired it” (1 Nephi 18:21).

As Alma bequeathed the Liahona into the care of his son Helaman, he explicitly used the sacred relic as a symbol for looking to and following Christ:

And now I say, is there not a type in this thing? For just as surely as this director did bring our fathers, by following its course, to the promised land, shall the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise. … [For] so was it with our fathers … that if they would look they might live; even so it is with us. The way is prepared, and if we will look we may live forever. And now, my son, … see that ye look to God and live. (Alma 37:45–47)11

Alma then turned to give his son Shiblon a father’s blessing and commanded him “to look to the Lord your God” (Alma 38:2). Thus, to the very end, “Alma invokes the lesson of the Liahona without obscuring the entire typology.”12

To the interpretations of Curci and Bowen, Loren Spendlove has recently added that the Hebrew particle na is often used like an exclamation point to add emphasis or exhortation to an expression. Spendlove thus suggests that l-iaho-na could be interpreted simply as “to Jehovah!” or “toward Jehovah!”—giving a sense of emphasis and urgency to the imperative to look to and follow the Lord.13

Another fascinating proposal has come from Calvin Tolman, who posits that the -ona element comes from a hypothetical proto-Semitic word (*Ɂōnâ) that isn’t extant in the corpus of ancient Hebrew texts and therefore must be reconstructed.14 This proposal was derived from a careful analysis of cognate terms in a number of Semitic languages, while also accounting for typical linguistic shifts over time. According to Tolman, “The fundamental meaning shared by these cognates is ‘vessel.’”15

One advantage of this proposal is that “vessel,” like “compass,” is a noun, allowing for a more direct grammatical correspondence. In ancient Semitic languages, cognates related to *Ɂōnâ had a fairly broad semantic range, denoting items made of various materials such as clay, wood, leather, stone, copper, iron, and gold.16 It also included sacred objects associated with temples. This is interesting since the Liahona may itself have been a temple relic akin to those found in the Ark of the Covenant.17

In addition, vessels often hold a special symbolic significance in the Book of Mormon.18 The barges constructed by the Jaredites are particularly interesting. On multiple occasions, these vessels—which themselves were filled with divine power in the form of light—are described as being “prepared,” much like the Liahona was:

• “and they did also prepare a vessel, in which they did carry with them the fish of the waters”(Ether 2:2)
• “I have prepared the vessels for my people”( Ether 2:22)
• “now the number of the vessels which had been prepared was eight(Ether 3:1)
• “O Lord, with thy finger, and prepare them that they may shine forth in darkness; and they shall shine forth unto us in the vessels which we have prepared”( Ether 3:4)
• “the Lord had prepared the stones which the brother of Jared had carried up into the mount, … and he did put forth the stones into the vessels which were prepared.” (Ether 6:2)

Similar vessel-preparation imagery turns up in Mormon’s discussion of angelic ministers in Moroni 7:31: “And the office of their ministry is to … to prepare the way among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him. And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that the residue of men may have faith in Christ.”

Together, this textual data suggests there may indeed be a conceptual relationship between “vessel” and “compass” within the Book of Mormon, as both items are repeatedly spoken of as being “prepared” by a human or divine agent. In modern English, the word compass nicely captures the idea of a specific and unique type of ancient vessel which was prepared by the Lord and contained pointers that directed wandering travelers.19

Conclusion

Transliterated terms accompanied by an explanatory gloss, like the one supplied for Liahona, offer a unique opportunity to test the Book of Mormon’s linguistic claims. This is because, in such situations, the text provides both the form and meaning of the term. When a word (or multiple word elements) from a relevant ancient language can be found which plausibly match both criteria simultaneously, it provides uniquely powerful evidence of the Book of Mormon’s ancient origins. In the case of Liahona, there is not just one but several proposals that fit reasonably well for different components of the term.

It should be understood that ancient Hebrew scribes were likely multi-lingual and attuned to cognate terms.20 Thus, it is possible that discussions of the Liahona in the Book of Mormon could draw upon various linguistic elements simultaneously, including both the form and sound of the word, as well as its literal meaning and attending connotations.21 Rather than being viewed as competing with one another, the various proposals outlined in this article can be viewed as potentially complementary. Together, they build an intriguing case for the Liahona’s ancient linguistic origins.