Three Egyptian Names

A general guideline for writing fiction is that authors should choose names that are accessible to their readers. “Readers must be able to pronounce them, differentiate them, remember them, and keep them straight.”¹ To aid readability, fiction writers are typically “careful to avoid having two significant characters whose names begin with the same sound.”² Of course, real life does not always avoid people with similar (or even identical) names being brought together, and historical naming patterns often differ from those found in fiction.³ Thus, it should come as no surprise that the Book of Mormon, as an ancient historical record, frequently breaks this cardinal rule of modern fictional naming practices.⁴

Three Similar Names

For example, at the beginning of the book of Helaman, readers encounter a confusing cluster of three similar sounding names: two men (a father and a son) named Pahoran, as well as the son’s two brothers Paanchi and Pacumeni (Helaman 1:2–3). Although this constellation of names would be an unlikely choice for a good fiction writer, Hugh Nibley noticed that it rings true for a record written in “reformed Egyptian” (Mormon 9:32–34). “A striking coincidence,” Nibley noted, “is the predominance among both Egyptian and Nephite judge names of the prefix Pa-. In late Egyptian this is extremely common.”⁵ Each of the names, and not just the initial pa- (Egyptian pꜢ- = “the”) prefix, bears striking resemblance to Egyptian names.

Pahoran (or Parhoron/Pahoron)6

The Armana letters, Egyptian/Canaanite administrative correspondences written during the 14th century BC, frequently mention an official named Paḫura (also spelled Piḫura, Piḫuru, and Puḫuru), the cuneiform rendering of the Egyptian name pꜢ-ḫr-ꜣn (Pa-ḫer-an, according to Nibley) or pꜢ-ḫꜣry.⁷ The name means “the Syrian” or “the Hurrian.”⁸ Thus, Paḫura appears to have been “an Egyptian governor (rabu) of Syria.”⁹

Paanchi

Nibley and other scholars have connected Paanchi to the Egyptian name pꜢ-ꜥnḫ (spelled Paiankh, Pianchi, and Paankh, according to Nibley, or commonly Piankh or Pianch today).¹⁰ It was the name of a high priest of the god Amun, who was also a general in the 21st Dynasty (ca. 1069–945 BC),¹¹ and perhaps also the name of an important Egyptian pharaoh from the 25th Dynasty (ca. 747–656 BC).¹² The name is generally taken to mean “the living one,” and can be a deity title, like “the living God” (cf. Moses 5:29).¹³ Since the word ankh (ꜥnḫ) primarily means “life” or “to live,” its hieroglyph became a very common symbol for everlasting life. In addition, ankh can also mean “oath” or “to swear.” Thus, linguist Matthew L. Bowen has alternatively proposed the meaning “He [the god] is my (life-)oath” for pꜢ-ꜥnḫ-ỉ.¹⁴

Pacumeni

Nibley and others have compared Pacumeni to the Egyptian Pakamen (pꜢ-kmn), meaning “the blind man.”¹⁵ Nibley also noted that it is similar to Pamenech (pꜢ-mnkh), rendered as Pachomios in Greek, which is a name used by some of the last governors of Egypt.¹⁶ Kumen or cumen is also a common element in other Book of Mormon names,¹⁷ including the city of Cumeni mentioned during the major war in the book of Alma (Alma 56:14; 57:7–34). Adding the Egyptian pꜢ- to this name to form Pacumeni could mean “the Cumenite,” perhaps suggesting ties to that city.¹⁸ In Hebrew, kmn means “to hide; to hide up,” and thus another possibility is “the one who is hidden away.”¹⁹

William F. Albright

The Egyptian nature of these names is so compelling that even the eminent 20th century non-Latter-day Saint scholar William F. Albright was impressed. In a letter, Albright expressed surprise “that there are two Egyptian names, Paanch[i] and Pahor(an) which appear together in the Book of Mormon in close connection with a reference to the original language as being ‘Reformed Egyptian.’”²⁰ Albright’s assessment has been somewhat perplexing to those who reject the Book of Mormon’s authenticity.²¹

Narrative Plausibility

In addition to their historical and linguistic plausibility, these three Egyptian names are especially fitting for the narrative setting of Helaman 1:1–10. The official nature of these names adds a suitable context to the story of the demise of the sons of Pahoran, who had been the Nephite chief judge. As Nibley observed, “Such family rivalry for the office of high priest is characteristic of the Egyptian system, in which the office seems to have been hereditary not by law but by usage.”²²

Nibley drew particular attention to an Egyptian named Paanchi (Piankh), whose father (named Kherihor or Ḥerihor [Egyptian: ḥry-ḥr], cf. Korihor) was involved “in a priestly plot [that] set himself up as a rival of Pharaoh himself, while his son Paanchi actually claimed the throne.”²³ Thus, the name Piankh shows up in Egyptian texts in close association with an attempt to usurp the throne, just as Paanchi in the Book of Mormon rejects the voice of the people and seeks to usurp the judgment-seat (Helaman 1:5–8).

More recently, Matthew L. Bowen, an expert in Semitic and Egyptian languages, has drawn additional attention to the fact that Paanchi’s rebellion initiated a series of events that culminated in his followers entering into secret covenants and oaths, “swearing by their everlasting Maker” (Helaman 1:11). Thus, this narrative involving Paanchi (pꜢ-ꜥnḫ-ỉ) seems to invoke the subtle meanings of ankh (not just life, live; but also oath, swear) in the context of swearing oaths on the life of a deity.²⁴

Conclusion

While the story of a rivalry for the judgment-seat between three brothers from a ruling-elite family with similar sounding names (Pahoran, Paanchi, and Pacumeni) may not be good fiction writing, Mormon apparently appreciated the value of these names on several levels, as he seems to have purposefully included them in his record. These names and the narrative in Helaman 1 are arguably more true-to-life and consistent with the ancient Egyptian origins of the Book of Mormon than any fiction writer in 1829 could have hoped.

Matthew L. Bowen, “‘Swearing by Their Everlasting Maker’: Some Notes on Paanchi and Giddianhi,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 28 (2018): 159–164.

Book of Mormon Onomasticon, s.v. PAHORAN, s.v. PAANCHI, s.v. PACUMENI.

Sharon Black and Brad Wilcox, “188 Unexplainable Names: Book of Mormon Names No Fiction Writer Would Choose,” Religious Educator 12, no. 2 (2011): 118–133.

Hugh Nibley, Lehi in the Desert/The World of the Jaredites/There Were Jaredites (Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1988), 22–24.

Hugh Nibley, Approaching the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1988), 282–284.

Helaman 1:1–10

Helaman 1:1–10