The
Lehite PN GADIANTON may be based on a combination of the Hebrew noun gad,
“lot, good fortune, riches,” and the Hebrew verbal root √ntn, meaning “to
give, provide,” in the qal infinitive absolute functioning as an imperative,
thus producing gad-ya-nātôn, “provide (my) good fortunate, O Lord
(Yah/Jehovah).” . . . . GADIANTON may also be based upon the Hebrew gaddî-āntôn,
“my fortune is oppression/affliction/rapine,” from gad, “lot, good
fortune, riches, name of good fortune” + ‘ênût, “oppression,
affliction” as the piel verb ‘innāh, “to oppress, afflict, rape,” with
the noun afformatives -t and -ôn, and with the internal n
preserved following the pattern of preservation of the -ant- in such
names as Corianton, Morianton, Moriantum, and Coriantumr. It should be born ein
mind that the Hebrew word for “band/bandits” is written gědûd (The
normal rendering of the Hebrew word gad with a first person common
singular pronominal suffix would be gaddî; cf. Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew
and Aramaic Lexicon s.v. gad, who are somewhat uncertain whether the
root is √gd or √gdd [Ibid., 117 n. 11]). In fact, the Hebrew phrase ‘îš
gědûdîm, “band of robbers,” is even used in Hosea 6:9 (cf. Hosea 7:1
“bandits” NRSV; Job 19:12 “troops” NRSV). (“Gadianton,” in Dictionary of Proper
Names and Foreign Words in the Book of Mormon, ed. Stephen D. Ricks, Paul
Y. Hoskisson, Robert F. Smith, and John Gee [Orem, Utah: Interpreter
Foundation; Salt Lake City: Eborn Books, 2022], 116-17)
