Category: Arabian Peninsula
Nahom/NHM: Only a Tribe, Not a Place?
Discoveries from the Arabian Peninsula supporting the existence of a place called Nahom (see 1 Nephi 16:34) have been criticized for only showing that the NHM tribal name existed in ancient Yemen, not a place with that name. The claim is made that tribal names in Yemen were not used as place names, so it makes no sense to think that anyone could have encountered “the place which was called Nahom.” Contrary to such claims, there are multiple examples from antiquity of Yemeni tribal names being associated with places and a recognition from some scholars of Yemen that tribal names can be equated with places. The archaeological evidence of the NHM/Nihm tribal name on ancient altars from Marib makes it entirely plausible that a place called NHM did actually exist in Nephi’s day in a place consistent with the Book of Mormon record.
About That Burial Marker in Yemen for a Man Named Ishmael: Impossible That He Was a Hebrew?
Neal Rappleye recently reported that a grave marker in Yemen bearing the name Ishmael could fit the time and place for the burial of Ishmael inn the Book of Mormon. David Bokovoy argues that this is impossible because the marker bears the image of a face, and real Jews forbade images of faces. I discuss why that is an oversimplification of ancient Jewish practices. If cherubim in the Tabernacle can have faces, I suppose a grave marker can, too, as long as no idolatry was intended.
“O Captain, My Captain”: Walt Whitman’s Surprising Role in the Ultimate Refutation of All Book of Mormon Evidence
Fond Memories from Before the Blast Back before a massive nuclear logic bomb wiped out Latter-day Saint apologetics a few days ago, the story behind the map below once counted…
An Update on Maps of the Arabian Peninsula Showing Nahom-related Names
In 2008, James Gee published the results of his extensive search for the rare European maps of Arabia that included names that seem related to Nahom, the place where Ishmael…
Recent Discoveries and Advances Published by Interpreter, Part 1
If you aren’t following the journal Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship, you may have missed some discoveries and advances in understanding our scriptures that could be…
A Google Earth View of a Candidate for Bountiful, Khor Kharfot on Wadi Sayq
Here is a beautiful view from Google Earth of a leading candidate for the Book of Mormon site Bountiful, Khor Kharfot, the fertile inlet at the end of a long…
Warren Aston’s Search for Shazer: Another Breakthrough for the Arabian Peninsula Evidence for the Book of Mormon
Important new evidence for the plausibility of Lehi’s Trail in the Book of Mormon has just been published based on 2019 fieldwork in the Arabian Peninsula by Warren Aston. See…
Another Update on the River of Laman
Warren Aston, whose personal explorations in the Arabian Peninsula have done so much to expand our knowledge of Lehi’s Trail and the candidates for some of the places mentioned by…
Three Days to the Valley of Lemuel — But From Where?
One of the things I enjoy about blogging is having readers with diverse perspectives who aren’t afraid to point out flaws in my views. This forces me to either hide…
A Feast of Knowledge Awaits: New Field Work in the Arabian Peninsula Tells Us More About the Stunning Candidate Location for the River Laman and Valley of Lemuel
Prologue: Thoughts on Feasting When one eats a delicious meal prepared by a competent cook, there is a spectrum of approaches one can take. At one extreme is caveman-on-the-run style:…
