Egyptian influences in the Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon states that it was written in a script what Nephi refers to as reformed Egyptian. Basically a Hebrew speaking people with a lot of Egyptian cultural influences that used an Egyptian script that they modified to write on the metal plates. Egyptian influence can be seen throughout the text. For example the Book of Mormon opens with Nephi using an Egyptian colophon.


1 I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I wastaught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; 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.
2 Yea, I make a record in the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians.
3 And I know that the record which I make is true; and I make it with mine own hand; and I make it according to my knowledge.



LDS scholar Hugh Nibley:
Nephi's introduction is typical of Egyptian writings.

The first three verses of 1 Nephi, sharply set off from the rest of the text, are a typical colophon, a literary device that is highly characteristic of Egyptian compositions. Typical is the famous Bremer-Rhind Papyrus, which opens with a colophon containing

1. the date,
2. the titles of Nasim, the author,
3. the names of his parents and a word in praise of their virtues, with special mention of his father's prophetic calling,
4. a curse against anyone who might 'take the book away,' probably 'due to fear lest a sacred book should get into impure hands.'

Compare this with Nephi's colophon:

1. his name,
2. the merits of his parents, with special attention to the learning of his father,
3. a solemn avowal (corresponding to Nasim's curse) that the record is true, and the assertion, 'I make it with mine own hand' (1 Nephi 1:3)--an indispensable condition of every true colophon, since the purpose of a colophon is to establish the identity of the actual writer-down (not merely the ultimate author) of the text.

Egyptian literary writings regularly close with the formula iw-f-pw 'thus it is,' 'and so it is.' Nephi ends the main sections of his book with the phrase, 'And thus it is, Amen' (1 Nephi 9:6; 14:30; 22:31)." (Lehi in the Desert/The World of the Jaredites, p. 15.)



Matthew L. Bowen:
"A proposed etymology of the Book of Mormon name Nephi is that it derives from the ancient Egyptian word nfr which is an adjective that means "good," "fine," or "goodly" and as noun denotes "kindness" or "goodness". By Lehi's time, this word was probably pronounced "nefe" (NEH-fee)...Nephi's use of words that translate into English as "goodly" and "goodness" makes this passage even more beautiful and meaningful if we also understand the name Nephi to denote "goodly" or "goodness." The wordplay perhaps suggests why the name Nephi so befits its bearer: he is nf, or "goodly", because he was born of "goodly parents" and is one endowed with a "knowledge of the goodness and mysteries of God."


You see this type of word play throughout the Book of Mormon. For example when Lehi's and Ishmael's families were fleeing Jerusalem and traveling through the Arabian desert, Ishmael dies and was buried at a place called Nahom. The root of this word in Hebrew is "to mourn".



And it came to pass

"Mark Twain joked that if the phrase, 'And it came to pass,' were removed from the Book of Mormon, it would be just a pamphlet. However, the phrase is very typical of ancient texts."
Hugh Nibley
"Nothing delighted the critics more than the monotonous repetition of 'it came to pass' at the beginning of thousands of sentences in the Book of Mormon. Here again is something that Western tradition found completely unfamiliar. Instead of punctuation, the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon divides up its phrases by introducing each by an 'and,' 'behold,' 'now,' or 'It came to pass . . . .' Simply outrageous--as English literature, but it is standard Egyptian practice. Egyptian historical texts, Grapow points out, 'begin in monotonous fashion' always with the same stock words; at some periods every speech is introduced with the unnecessary 'I opened my mouth.' Dramatic texts are held together by the constant repetition of Khpr-n, 'It happened that' or 'It came to pass.' In Egyptian these expressions were not merely adornments, as Grapow points out, they are a grammatical necessity and may not be omitted. Paul Humbert has traced the origin of prophetic biblical expressions to archaic oracular formulas. At any rate they are much commoner in Egyptian than in the Bible, just as they are much commoner in the Book of Mormon. However bad they are in English, they are nothing to be laughed at as Egyptian." (Since Cumorah, p. 29)


Names in the Book of Mormon
"In 1948 it was pointed out that there was a tendency for the Egyptian and Hebrew names in the Book of Mormon to turn up in the Elephantine region of Upper Egypt. But then it was noticed that Prof. Albright observed that at the time Lehi left Jerusalem the remaining people " hid in the wilds during the siege . . ." and when all was lost fled to Egypt. And where did they settle? At Elephantine, far up the Nile:
Names in Book of Mormon

American Testament: The Book of Mormon: Authentic Egyptian Names in the Book of Mormon

The Waters of Mormon-A fountain of Pure Water

The word Mormon translates in Egyptian to "mor" which means "love" and "mon" which means "established forever". There is a beautiful wordplay when we first see this word in the text. Alma, a priest of wicked king Noah, had to flee for his life after believing the words of a true prophet, and fled to “a place which was calledMormon, having received its name from the king, being in the borders of the land having been infested, by times or at seasons, by wild beasts.” This place of Mormon contained “a fountain of pure water” near which the prophetAlma—a fugitive fromKing Noah’s court—“did hide himself in the daytime from the searches of the king” and preached the Gospel ofJesus Christto “as many as believed him” (Mosiah 18:4-6).
“[A]fter many days,” a “goodly number” of people had “gathered together at the place of Mormon, to hear the words of Alma.” Alma was no doubt moved by his audience’s willingness to “[believe] on his word”; thus, he encouraged each of them to have faith, repent, and be baptized unto Christ. “And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, … what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord…?” (Mosiah 18:7-10)
As Alma’s audience agreed, the prophet descended into the waters of Mormon and began his work by first baptizing a man named Helam. During the baptism of Helam, “both Alma and Helam were buried in the water,” as Alma renewed his own covenant with the Lord while also serving as example for his followers. He then proceeded to baptize “every one that went forth to the place of Mormon; and they were in number about two hundred and four souls; yea, and they were baptized in the waters of Mormon, and were filled with the grace of God. And they were called … the church of Christ, from that time forward. And it came to pass that whosoever was baptized by the power and authority of God was added to his church” (Mosiah 18:12-17).-(Wikipedia- Waters of Mormon.)


The literary wordplay ties the repeated word Mormon, which means "love established forever" with baptism. A "fountain of pure water" and being baptized in the "waters of Mormon" symbolic of being baptized in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

A good pic to represent the waters of Mormon, the fountain of pure water.