Book of Mormon Evidence: Wordplay on Helam

The name Helam is mentioned twice in 2 Samuel 10:16–17, where it is identified as the location of a battle between the forces of King David and a coalition of Syrians. Helam was also the name of the first convert who was baptized at the Waters of Mormon, in addition to Alma himself (Mosiah 18:12–14). Later, when Alma and his people fled from the armies of King Noah, they founded a new settlement which they called Helam (Mosiah 23:19). Helam is therefore both a personal name and a place name in the Book of Mormon.

The Possible Meanings and Associations of Helam 

The biblical name Helam is of uncertain derivation. According to several Latter-day Saint scholars with linguistic training, “In Hebrew the root √ḥlm can mean to be healthy; to become strong, to be strong,’ although in Hebrew this sense refers primarily to animals. The Hebrew root √ḥlm (from the proto-Semitic form *√ḥlm) can also mean ‘to dream; dream.’¹ 

While these proposals may best account for the name’s etymological associations, the actual context of its usage in the Hebrew Bible seems to evoke a midrashic meaning. As explained by Moshe Garsiel, “some names in the Bible have undergone slight changes of form to make them correspond with the desired derivation” of the narrator.² He believes this is the case when it comes to the name of Helam, as recorded in 2 Samuel 10:16–17:

The name appears twice, the second version probably reflecting the original spelling ḥlʾm (חלאם – Heleam). It is changed in the antecedent verse to “Helam” (ḥylm – חילם) to indicate its derivation from ḥyl (חיל), “an army”; ḥylm (חילם) means “their troops.” This [midrashic name derivation] establishes a link between the place and its history, since it is there that both David and Hadarezer gather their troops to fight each other.³ 

This understanding of 2 Samuel 10:16–17 is indirectly supported by the Latin Vulgate which translates the first instance of the name as “their army” rather than as a toponym.⁴ According to Matthew Bowen, the Vulgate’s treatment of this name “suggests that translator (Jerome or otherwise) saw the first instance as a wordplay on the second.”⁵ In addition, Bowen has pointed out that this root has an even broader range of meanings that must be considered:  

The first phoneme in the name Helam suggests a possible derivation from the noun ḥayil, which takes the form ḥêl in its construct (genitive) and suffixed (possessive) forms. The noun ḥayil/ḥêl has a broad range of meaning that includes “faculty, power” and “wealth, property,” but also “army.” The second phoneme would then be the possessive plural suffix –ām, “their.” As a personal name, Helam or ḥêlām would then denote “their wealth” or “their abundance”— the suffix pronoun “their,” in this instance, referring to the parents or family of the one so named.⁶ 

Remarkably, as used in the Book of Mormon, the name of Helam seems to correspond on several levels with each of these etymological and midrashic associations.

Wordplay Involving Strength and Power

As just noted, the term ḥlm can mean “to become strong” or “to be strong.” Although rare in the Bible, we see this type of usage in Job 39:4: “Their young ones become strong [ḥālam]; they grow up in the open; they go forth and do not return to them” (NRSVUE). Likewise, the term ḥayil/ḥêl can be translated by terms such as “might,” “power,” and “strength.” This usage is rather pervasive in biblical texts. Here are several examples:⁷ 

• “God is my strength and power [ḥāyil]: and he maketh my way perfect” (2 Samuel 22:33)
• “they were valiant men of might [ḥāyil] in their generations” (1 Chronicles 7:2)
• “It is God that girdeth me with strength [ḥāyil], and maketh my way perfect” (Psalm 18:32)
• “Slay them not, lest my people forget: scatter them by thy power [ḇəḥêləḵā]” (Psalm 59:11)
• “The Lord God is my strength [ḥêlî], and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet” (Habakkuk 3:19)

On several occasions, the name Helam is associated with these and related concepts in the Book of Mormon. When Helam was baptized at the Waters of Mormon, Alma declared, “Helam, I baptize thee, having authority from the Almighty God …. And it came to pass that whosoever was baptized by the power and authority of God was added to his church” (Mosiah 18:13–17). In this setting, Helam’s name could signal the unique power and authority by which he was baptized.⁸ When summarizing how discovering the history of Limhi’s people affected Ammon and his brethren, the narrator similarly explained that “they also did mourn … for the departure of Alma and the people that went with him, who had formed a church of God through the strength and power of God, and faith on the words which had been spoken by Abinadi” (Mosiah 21:30).

The theme of strength and power is also abundantly present in the story of the deliverance of Alma’s people. Ironically foreshadowing this theme, the people of King Noah “did boast in their strength” after one of their victories against the Lamanites (Mosiah 11:19). Abinadi then prophesied that if they did not repent they would be brought into bondage (Mosiah 11:21) and would have “burdens lashed upon their backs” (Mosiah 12:5). Rejecting the prophet’s warnings, the people boasted again: “behold, we are strong, we shall not come into bondage” (Mosiah 12:15).

Ultimately, however, their mortal strength failed them. As can be seen in the following chart, the narrator of the record seems intent on showing that Abinadi’s prophecy of impending bondage came to pass, not only for the people Limhi (Mosiah 21:3–4) but also for the people of Alma (Mosiah 24:14–15).⁹ 

Of particular interest is the statement that “the Lord did strengthen” the people of Alma (Mosiah 24:15). This is because, at that time, they were in the land of Helam. A similar description is given when this group first fled to Helam: “And the Lord did strengthen them, that the people of king Noah could not overtake them to destroy them. And they fled eight days’ journey into the wilderness. And they came to a land [i.e., Helam], yea, even a very beautiful and pleasant land, a land of pure water” (Mosiah 23:2–4).¹⁰ The theological message seems to be that when the people boast in their own strength, they lose it. But when they repent and exercise faith in God, they get it back. It may be significant that only Alma’s people—apparently the more righteous of the two groups—were described as being “strengthened” by God and that both descriptions involve the land of Helam.¹¹ 

The narrator later draws attention to God’s divine power of deliverance in Mosiah 23:3–5, after which he immediately connects it closely with the name Helam:¹² 

For behold, I will show unto you that they were brought into bondage, and none could deliver them but the Lord their God, yea, even the God of Abraham and Isaac and of Jacob. And it came to pass that he did deliver them, and he did show forth his mighty power unto them, and great were their rejoicings. For behold, it came to pass that while they were in the land of Helam, yea, in the city of Helam, while tilling the land round about, behold an army of the Lamanites was in the borders of the land.

A generation later, in the story of the conversion of Alma the Younger, an angel again closely associated the recognition of God’s power with the land of Helam. In this context, the angel implicitly argued that the miraculous power by which he was communicating with Alma was the very same power that God used to deliver the people in the land of Helam: 

… for this purpose have I come to convince thee of the power and authority of God, that the prayers of his servants might be answered according to their faith. And now behold, can ye dispute the power of God? For behold, doth not my voice shake the earth? And can ye not also behold me before you? And I am sent from God. Now I say unto thee: Go, and remember the captivity of thy fathers in the land of Helam, and in the land of Nephi; and remember how great things he has done for them; for they were in bondage, and he has delivered them. (Mosiah 27:14–16)

At least when it comes to the root ḥlm, some may take issue with these proposed connections, as the context of biblical usage deals with animals rather than humans (see Job 39:4). The first thing to consider is that this concern wouldn’t apply if the association was instead relating to ḥayil/ḥêl, as these terms regularly involve the strength of human beings. However, a connection with animals actually is present in this narrative. This is because Abinadi’s prophecy specifically compares the Nephites to a beast that would have a burden lashed to its back and be “driven before like a dumb ass” (Mosiah 12:5). Although “ass” isn’t specifically mentioned in Mosiah 24:15 where the term “strengthen” is used, it is clear that this verse alludes back to Abinadi’s earlier animal-related prophecy, just like Mosiah 21:3–4. Interestingly, the omission of “ass” in Mosiah 24:15—in contrast to Mosiah 21:3—may be due to the comparative righteousness of Alma’s people. Having been converted and baptized at the Waters of Mormon, a new form of animal association arises: They now belonged to the covenant “fold of God” (Mosiah 18:8) and as members of Christ’s Church were considered to be the Lord’s “sheep” (Mosiah 26:20–21).

We thus see how God’s miraculous power and ability to strengthen and deliver his people is a consistent theme throughout these narratives. The way it shows up on several occasions in connection to the name Helam provides a good reason to suspect intentional wordplay, most likely involving the connotations of ḥayil/ḥêl but possibly in connection to ḥlm as well.

Wordplay Involving Dreaming and Health

The ḥlm root also holds the meaning of “to dream; dream.”¹³ The Bible often invokes this term in the context of revelatory nighttime visions, but it can refer to more ordinary dreams and holds a connotation of sleeping in general.¹⁴ One concentrated use of this term can be seen in Isaiah 29:7–10, which associates ḥlm with spiritual blindness:

And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her munition, and that distress her, shall be as a dream [ḥălôm] of a night vision. It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth [ḥālam], and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth [ḥālam], and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion. … Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.

Interestingly, this chapter holds multiple parallels with Mosiah 18, in which the name of Helam is first introduced. For one thing, Isaiah declared that “the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered” (Isaiah 29:10). This resonates with the theme of hiddenness in the story of Abinadi, which implements elements of the prophetic disguise motif found in other biblical texts (Mosiah 12:1).¹⁵ More immediately relevant, though, is the account of Alma the Elder, whose secret ministry among the people was being intentionally “concealed” from the king (Mosiah 17:4) and whose very name connotes that which is hidden (Mosiah 18:5).¹⁶ 

It is also notable that King Noah, the ruler who was unable to discern or find these true prophets, was known for his production of wine (Mosiah 11:15). This relates to Isaiah’s use of wine and drunkenness as a metaphor for those who were blind to the prophets: “they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink” (Isaiah 29:10).¹⁷ 

Perhaps most significant is Isaiah’s statement that “the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep” (Isaiah 29:10), as similar language arises multiple times in Helam’s baptism narrative:

Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you? And now when the people had heard these words, they clapped their hands for joy, and exclaimed: This is the desire of our hearts. And now it came to pass that Alma took Helam [ḥlm: “to dream”], he being one of the first, and went and stood forth in the water, and cried, saying: O Lord, pour out thy Spirit upon thy servant, that he may do this work with holiness of heart. And when he had said these words, the Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he said: Helam [ḥlm: “to dream”], I baptize thee, having authority from the Almighty God, as a testimony that ye have entered into a covenant to serve him until you are dead as to the mortal body; and may the Spirit of the Lord be poured out upon you; and may he grant unto you eternal life, through the redemption of Christ, whom he has prepared from the foundation of the world. (Mosiah 18:10–13)

It seems that by repeatedly using the imagery of the “Spirit” being “poured out” in connection to the name Helam (ḥlm: “to dream”), the narrator is inviting the reader to consider the unique dream-related imagery of Isaiah 29:7–10 (which also has “Spirit” + “pour out” + “dream”).¹⁸ This association is inviting because these appear to be the only two locations in the entire scriptural canon which feature this combination of elements. However, the negative imagery found in Isaiah 29 appears to be subverted in Mosiah 18. Unlike the wine-bibber Noah and his followers who were in a deep spiritual sleep and whose “eyes … were blinded” to the true prophets (Mosiah 11:29), Helam (ḥlm) and the other concealed converts at the Waters of Mormon spiritually awakened by the Spirit of the Lord from that debilitating dream (ḥlm) through baptism.

Lest one doubt the plausibility of this interpretation, something very much like it is later made by Alma the Younger, not just in the abstract but in this very same context of conversion at the Waters of Mormon:

I, Alma, having been consecrated by my father, Alma, to be a high priest over the church of God, he having power and authority from God to do these things, behold, I say unto you that he began to establish a church in the land which was in the borders of Nephi; yea, the land which was called the land of Mormon; yea, and he did baptize his brethren in the waters of Mormon. And behold, I say unto you, they were delivered out of the hands of the people of king Noah, by the mercy and power of God. … Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God. (Alma 5:3–7)

Alma’s use of the phrase “deep sleep” is especially telling, as that is precisely the phrase used in the KJV of Isaiah 29:10: “the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep.” With this final piece of clinching data in place, the wordplay proposal moves from plausible to quite persuasive. It also isn’t unreasonable that Alma’s people would have associated the ordinance of baptism with the imagery in Isaiah 29. By its very nature, baptism involves a type of hiddenness, as the initiate—and, by extension, his or her sins and sinful nature—is covered or buried in water.¹⁹ Then, as the initiate comes up out of the water, he or she is spiritually reborn through Christ’s atonement, prefiguring a later awakening and rebirth through the power of his resurrection.²⁰ Baptism can therefore be seen as a spiritual key needed to wake up from the illusory dream described in Isaiah’s prophecy.  

It should also be pointed out that, along with the concept of strength, ḥlm has an attending connotation of good health, vitality, or life.²¹ This association can be seen in Isaiah 38:16: “O Lord, by these things people live, and in all these is the life of my spirit. Oh, restore me to health [ḥālam] and make me live!” (NRSVUE). This is nicely echoed by the pouring out of the Spirit (repeated three times) at Helam’s baptism in Mosiah 18:10–13. Especially significant, however, is the description found in Mosiah 18:13, which not only mentions the spirit but also emphasizes the life-giving quality of baptism: “Helam [ḥlm], I baptize thee … as a testimony that ye have entered into a covenant to serve him until you are dead as to the mortal body; and may the Spirit of the Lord be poured out upon you; and may he grant unto you eternal life.”

At the same time, Isaiah 38:16 has multiple parallels with Alma’s later summary of the spiritual awakening that took place at the Waters of Mormon:²² 

When viewed in this context, the dreaming and revivifying components of ḥlm become brilliantly intertwined at Helam’s baptismal ordinance at the Waters of Mormon. Through the power of God’s Spirit which was poured out upon them, Helam and all who were baptized at this location were awakened (i.e., spiritually healed and made alive) from the type of deep dream or sleep that had afflicted Noah and the rest of Zeniff’s people with spiritual blindness.

Remarkably, a variation on this theme arises in the story of Alma and his people escaping from the land they called Helam (Mosiah 23:19), which was presumably named after the same Helam who was baptized at the Waters of Mormon.²³ In order to help Alma’s people depart undetected at this location, “the Lord caused a deep sleep to come upon the Lamanites, yea, and all their task-masters were in a profound sleep. And Alma and his people departed into the wilderness” (Mosiah 24:19–20).²⁴ This sleep was clearly divinely induced, much like the sleep in Isaiah 29:10, and ends up being the key element that facilitates the deliverance of Alma’s people at Helam. The theme of hiddenness is also at play in this narrative, just as it was at the Waters of Mormon. The fact that not just one—but two—stories evoke this rare imagery in connection to the name of Helam is rather striking.

The theme of drunken sleep is also at play in the escape of Limhi’s people. As part of their plan of departure, Gideon declared, “And I will go according to thy command and pay the last tribute of wine to the Lamanites, and they will be drunken; and we will pass through the secret pass on the left of their camp when they are drunken and asleep” (Mosiah 22:6–7). While this narrative isn’t connected to the name of Helam, it helps reinforce that the imagery of Isaiah 29 seems to be present in all of these stories. Not only could the Lamanites not find Limhi’s people, but they themselves became “lost in the wilderness” (Mosiah 22:16).

Wordplay on Substance, Abundance, Prosperity, and Riches

The term ḥayil/ḥêl is frequently translated as “wealth” and sometimes rendered in the KJV as “riches,” or “substance.” It can also mean “‘their abundance’ or something similar,” writes Bowen.²⁵ Here are several examples of how it is used in the KJV:

• “And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth [ḥayil]. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth [ḥayil], that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day” (Deuteronomy 8:17–18)
• “He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance [ḥêlōw] continue, neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof upon the earth” (Job 15:29)
• “They that trust in their wealth [ḥêlām], and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches” (Psalm 49:6)
• “Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches [ḥāyil]” (Psalm 73:12)
• “… I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord, and their substance [ḥêlām] unto the Lord of the whole earth” (Micah 4:13)

Several plausible instances of wordplay arise in connection with these concepts. It was previously established that the Lord pouring out his spirit upon Helam in Mosiah 18 was significant. It should be noticed that the word “abundantly” is also used in this context: 

Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness … that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you? And now when the people had heard these words, they clapped their hands for joy, and exclaimed: This is the desire of our hearts. And now it came to pass that Alma took Helam, he being one of the first, … and he said: Helam, I baptize thee, having authority … and may the Spirit of the Lord be poured out upon you. (Mosiah 18:10–13)

This situates Helam as the first beneficiary of the abundant spiritual gift or blessing that the Lord had prepared for his people. Further on in this same chapter, “abundantly” used twice more in connection with the term “substance”:

And again Alma commanded that the people of the church should impart of their substance, every one according to that which he had; if he have more abundantly he should impart more abundantly; and of him that had but little, but little should be required; and to him that had not should be given. And thus they should impart of their substance of their own free will and good desires towards God. (Mosiah 18:27–28)

In this context, Helam’s name may have symbolized the obligation that newly baptized converts had in relation to their personal wealth. Just as God had freely and abundantly poured out the gift of his spirit upon them, they were to freely distribute their abundant temporal blessings to one another. This same principle is taught explicitly elsewhere in Restoration scripture.²⁶ 

Alma’s new community would eventually need to practice this principle in the land of Helam, where the text focuses on their growing prosperity: “And it came to pass that they began to prosper exceedingly in the land; and they called the land Helam. And it came to pass that they did multiply and prosper exceedingly in the land of Helam; and they built a city, which they called the city of Helam” (Mosiah 23:19–20). Bowen has noted that this passage conspicuously provides a “double emphasis” on prosperity in connection to the name of Helam.²⁷ It should also be recognized that, as a toponym, Helam is not only repeatedly used in this passage but is first introduced here. This point is significant, as wordplay on biblical names often occurs where a name is first utilized within a text.

Helam was earlier described as “a very beautiful and pleasant land, a land of pure water,” and it was reported that Alma’s people “began to till the ground, and began to build buildings; yea, they were industrious, and did labor exceedingly” (Mosiah 23:4–5). As assessed by Bowen, “Alma’s community reappropriating the personal name ḥêlām— “[God is] their wealth,” [God is] “their abundance”—as the name for their new land could hardly be more appropriate given their circumstances as they came into the land to possess it.”²⁸ 

This prosperity, however, didn’t last forever. Eventually an army of Lamanites, led by one of King Noah’s wicked priests, “took possession of the land of Helam” (Mosiah 23:29). The text specifically mentions that “the Lamanites began to increase in riches” at this location (Mosiah 24:7).²⁹ This outcome fulfilled a prophecy of impending bondage prophesied of years earlier by Abinadi. In response to Abinadi’s claims, King Noah’s supporters declared, “And behold, we are strong, we shall not come into bondage, or be taken captive by our enemies; yea, and thou hast prospered in the land, and thou shalt also prosper” (Mosiah 12:15). Thus, the removal of Nephite wealth at Helam can be seen as part of a theme that was established many chapters earlier. According to Bowen, “Mormon’s inclusion of this account is to show that even covenant obedience that results in prosperity and wealth does not exempt people from divine chastening and trials, and that obedience, prosperity, and wealth do not nullify divine prophecy, especially when the prophet has ‘sealed the truth of his words by his death’ (Mosiah 17:20).”³⁰ 

Wordplay on Armies and Forces

Finally, it should be remembered that ḥayil/ḥêl often denotes “armies,” “hosts,” or “forces” in the KJV. We can see this association in the following biblical passages:

• “But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army [ḥêlōw], and overtook them encamping by the sea” (Exodus 14:9)
• “For the king said to Joab the captain of the host [ḥayil], which was with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel … and number ye the people” (2 Samuel 24:2)
• “Now the king had sent captains of the army [ḥayil] and horsemen with me” (Nehemiah 2:9)
• “Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces [ḥăyālîm] that were in the fields, came to Gedaliah to Mizpah” (Jeremiah 40:13)

The first hint of this significance comes in the aftermath of the conversions at the Water of Mormon.  Upon discovering the whereabouts of Alma and his people, King Noah “sent his army to destroy them. And it came to pass that Alma and the people of the Lord were apprised of the coming of the king’s army; therefore they took their tents and their families and departed into the wilderness” (Mosiah 18:33–34). Fortunately, “the army of the king returned, having searched in vain for the people of the Lord. And now behold, the forces of the king were small, having been reduced” (Mosiah 19:1–2). The army thus becomes the focal point for the theme of divine hiddenness, as they “searched in vain” to find Alma and his people. 

In a flashback episode, it is later revealed that Alma was “warned of the Lord that the armies of king Noah would come upon them, and having made it known to his people, therefore they gathered together their flocks, and took of their grain, and departed into the wilderness before the armies of king Noah” (Mosiah 23:1).³¹ Although the text doesn’t state that a dream was involved, such a mode of communication seems quite plausible, as other migrations and escapes are precipitated by divine dreams throughout scripture.³² Whatever the case may be, the journey of Alma’s people to the land of Helam was prompted by the efforts of Noah’s “armies” or “forces.”³³

The association between an army and the name Helam, however, is much more clearly and immediately evoked in Mosiah 23:25:

For behold, it came to pass that while they were in the land of Helam, yea, in the city of Helam, while tilling the land round about, behold an army of the Lamanites was in the borders of the land. Now it came to pass that the brethren of Alma fled from their fields, and gathered themselves together in the city of Helam; and they were much frightened because of the appearance of the Lamanites.

Concerning this passage, Bowen explains, “The term army—Hebrew ḥêl echoes the sound and meaning latent in the name Helam—no longer as ‘their wealth,’ now in terms of ‘army.’ We recall the meaning ‘their army’ that Garsiel believes is midrashically assumed in 2 Samuel 10:16, and which is also rendered with this meaning in the Latin Vulgate (exercitum eorum/their army) instead of translating as a place name.”³⁴ 

The association arises once again in Mosiah 23:29–30: “and the Lamanites took possession of the land of Helam. Now the armies of the Lamanites, which had followed after the people of king Limhi, had been lost in the wilderness for many days.” Notice that, in this case, the key terms are only separated by two intervening words. Bowen explains, 

The text here juxtaposes Helam with “armies,” switching from the singular to the plural (compare ḥăyālîm/ḥăyalê), which more clearly illuminates the pun. … Moreover, this wordplay amplifies the irony of Alma₁’s and his people’s circumstances. They had been living faithful to the covenant and had accordingly “prospered exceedingly in the land of Helam,” the land of their wealth or abundance, but now had the Lamanite army (cf. ḥayil/ḥêl) or armies (compare ḥăyālîm/ḥăyalê) taking control of their community and settling with them.”³⁵ 

Conclusion

The name Helam appears to hold multiple layers of onomastic significance among Book of Mormon texts. Assuming this name was rendered as ḥlm, it would hold the meaning of “to be strong” and “to dream,” as well as “health.” At the same time, there is ancient precedent for this term being paronomastically associated with ḥayil/ḥêl, which holds the meanings of “strength,” “abundance,” and “armies.”

Impressively, each of these associations arises in association with the name Helam in Nephite texts. The fact that some of these proposals involve fairly high-frequency terms—such as “strength,” “power,” “prosper,” and “armies”—increases the chances for false positives. On the other hand, it must be recognized that most of these associations surface on multiple occasions throughout the text, sometimes in very close proximity to the name Helam. This considerably strengthens the case for intentionality. Especially significant are instances in which multiple key words all turn up in a short amount of text. One example of this can be seen in Mosiah 23:19–20, where “Helam” is used three times and the phrase “prosper exceedingly” is used twice in just two verses. Likewise, in Mosiah 23:24–26 the name “Helam” is used three times in close association with the terms “army” and “power.”

Other wordplay proposals involve relationships with fairly low-frequency terms, such as the associations with “dreams” and “health.” These connections are particularly powerful, not simply because these terms are rare but because the connections aren’t explicit in either case. They require the reader to recognize multi-layered allusions to passages such as Isaiah 29 and 38, as well as Alma’s later interpretation of what happened at the waters of Mormon in Alma 5:3–9. Once the data is compiled and explained, however, the case becomes quite compelling. It is very difficult to imagine how Joseph Smith could have known or guessed these onomastic associations and then implemented them in such a subtle and sophisticated manner.

All in all, the name of Helam offers remarkable evidence in support of the Book of Mormon’s claimed linguistic origins. Whoever authored the text seems to have been unusually aware of the semantic range of ḥlm and the associated terms ḥayil/ḥêl. The quantity, quality, and variety of these proposed relationships are hard to dismiss, especially when viewed in light of the dozens of other plausible puns identified throughout the Nephite record.³⁶