How could Joseph Smith make up dozens of names in the Book of Mormon that would later be shown to be authentic ancient Semitic names?
Details are on my page on Book of Mormon Evidences. Critics, for example, long mocked the name “Alma” as being a Latin female name from “alma mater” (and many women in Mexico, for example, carry the name Alma). How stupid could Joseph have been to pick that for the name of an ancient Semitic man? But over a century later, a find in Israel would confirm that Alma was a man’s name in the area of Jerusalem around the time of Lehi and Nephi. Was this just more blind luck? Many other names in the Book of Mormon, including names that critics have attacked, prove to be authentic Middle Eastern names. As an exercise, try making up some completely new random names for ancient Egyptians, and then see how many of them fit compiled lists of ancient Egyptian names. It’s not easy to get even one direct hit by luck.
Related Questions
- Why does the Book of Mormon contain numerous names that were originally mocked by critics but are now known to be authentic ancient Semitic names?
- How could Joseph Smith make up dozens of names in the Book of Mormon that would later be shown to be authentic ancient Semitic names?
- Didn Joseph Smith just borrow Book of Mormon names from the Bible?
