Sunday, September 4, 2022

The Etymology of "Gadianton"

  

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)