Book of Mormon Evidence: Wordplay on Nephi

Attestation and Meaning of the Name Nephi

According to Egyptologist John Gee, “Nephi is an attested Syro-Palestinian Semitic form of an attested Egyptian man’s name dating from the Late Period in Egypt.”¹  This Egyptian background is noteworthy considering that Nephi introduced his record as having been written in the “language of the Egyptians” (Nephi 1:2).² Nephi’s name most likely derives from the Egyptian term nfr, meaning “good,” “goodly,” “fine” or “fair.”³ By Lehi’s day, the -r in nfr had come to be pronounced -i. Thus, at that time, the name Nephi would likely have been pronounced as nefe or nafe, as many Latin American and European Latter-day Saints pronounce it today.⁴ 

Nephi’s Good Inclusio

Matthew Bowen has shown that Nephi introduced his book with what appears to be a deliberate wordplay on the meaning of his own name: “I Nephi, having been born of goodly parents … yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days” (1 Nephi 1:1).⁵

Furthermore, when commanding Nephi to make a record upon the small plates, the Lord said, “thou shalt engrave many things upon them which are good in my sight, for the profit of thy people” (2 Nephi 5:30). Concerning the words of Isaiah, which Nephi quoted extensively, Nephi similarly explained that “for [my people’s] good have I written them” (2 Nephi 25:8). And in his closing remarks, Nephi affirmed that his words would persuade his readers “to do good” (2 Nephi 33:4) and “teach all men that they should do good” (v. 10), followed by a warning to those who “will not partake of the goodness of God” (v. 14). As explained by Bowen,

Nephi’s framing or bracketing of the body of his writings with clusters of the term “good”/“goodness” (1 Nephi 1:1; 2 Nephi 33:4, 10, 14) constitutes a literary device known as inclusio. Nephi’s use of this device establishes “good”—including doing “good” and “the goodness of God”—as arguably the key theme of his small plates record, which is particularly appropriate given that Nephi’s own name is best explained as a form of the Egyptian word nfr, forms of which denote “good,” “goodly” and “goodness.”⁶

Wordplay in the Book of Helaman

Another example of good-related wordplay can be seen in the words of Helaman to his sons Nephi and Lehi: 

Behold, I have given unto you the names of our first parents [Lehi and Nephi] who came out of the land of Jerusalem; And this I have done that when you remember your name ye may remember them, and when ye remember them ye may remember their works; and when ye remember their works ye may know how it is said, and also written, that they were good. Therefore, my sons, I would that ye should do that which is good, that it may be said of you, and also written, even as it has been said and written of them (Helaman 5:6–7).

This wordplay, with its particular emphasis on names being associated with goodness, works particularly well for Nephi, Helaman’s oldest son, as a play on nfr meaning “good.” The hope of Nephi’s father was fulfilled when Nephi was confronted by false accusations from wicked judges. Those who came to his defense cried out, “Let this man [Nephi] alone, for he is a good man” (Helaman 8:7).⁷ 

Wordplay Involving “Fair” and “Beautiful”

Evidence of wordplay can also be found in texts that link the name Nephi with the concepts of “fair” and “beautiful,” both of which are entailed in the Egyptian word nfr.⁸ Nephi described the future gentiles who would inherit the land as being “exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people [the Nephites] before they were slain” (1 Nephi 13:15).

During a time of conflict, the Nephites and righteous Lamanite converts united and were numbered together. “And their young men and their daughters became exceedingly fair, and they were numbered among the Nephites, and were called Nephites” (3 Nephi 2:16). During a period of righteousness following the visit of the resurrected Jesus, “the people of Nephi did wax strong, and did multiply exceedingly fast, and became an exceedingly fair and delightsome people” (4 Nephi 1:10). Perhaps the most emphatic example can be seen in Mormon’s lament following the destruction of his people, the Nephites, at Cumorah: 

And my soul was rent with anguish, because of the slain of my people, and I cried: O ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord! O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus who stood with open arms to receive you! Behold if ye had not done this, ye would not have fallen. But behold, ye are fallen, and I mourn your loss. O ye fair sons and daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands and wives, ye fair ones, how is it that ye could have fallen! (Mormon 6:16–19).

The Problematic Nephite View of Themselves

Bowen observed, “just as we see a consistent pattern throughout the Book of Mormon of the Nephites being associated with the descriptions ‘good,’ ‘fair,’ and ‘beautiful’—all within the range of meaning of Egyptian nfr—we see an almost equally consistent pattern of prophetic criticism levied against the Nephites for failing to live up to the standard implied in that name.”⁹ For instance, Nephi warned the wicked Nephites against “that pride which ye have suffered to enter your hearts, which has lifted you up beyond that which is good because of your exceedingly great riches” (Helaman 7:26).