Elkenah et al.

[All-Seeing Eye]

The January 1994 Ensign contains an article titled "News From Antiquity," which claims:

"Ancient texts indicate that the idolatrous gods of Elkenah, Libnah, Mahmackrah, and Korash, described in the book of Abraham...truly were worshipped in the ancient world, despite the fact that the Bible makes no mention of them."

Could someone please tell me which ancient texts mention these specific gods by name, and quote the portions of those texts that mention them?

[Glenn101]

The January 1994 Ensign contains an article titled "News From Antiquity," which claims:

"Ancient texts indicate that the idolatrous gods of Elkenah, Libnah, Mahmackrah, and Korash, described in the book of Abraham...truly were worshipped in the ancient world, despite the fact that the Bible makes no mention of them."

Could someone please tell me which ancient texts mention these specific gods by name, and quote the portions of those texts that mention them?

Check the references provided in the article.

Glenn

[All-Seeing Eye]

Check the references provided in the article.

Glenn

I did, but didn't find anything specific.

[volgadon]

You need to look up the articles provided in n. 5.

[All-Seeing Eye]

You need to look up the articles provided in n. 5.

As I said, I did, but I did not see an answer to my question there.

[maklelan]

As I said, I did, but I did not see an answer to my question there.

What did Lundquist's article and Tvedtnes' book have to say, exactly? I don't have access to them where I am, but certainly they cite a source of some kind.

[All-Seeing Eye]

What did Lundquist's article and Tvedtnes' book have to say, exactly? I don't have access to them where I am, but certainly they cite a source of some kind.

I'll leave it to you to go acquire a copy for yourself.

[volgadon]

Perhaps I truly am of little faith, but I somehow doubt you looked up said articles.

[oats]

Jan 1994 Ensign article: News from Antiquity - Daniel C. Peterson

The Statement:

"Ancient texts indicate that the idolatrous gods of Elkenah, Libnah, Mahmackrah, and Korash, described in the book of Abraham (Abr. 1:6, 13, 17; facsimile 1, figs. 5

[William Schryver]

Jan 1994 Ensign article: News from Antiquity - Daniel C. Peterson

The Statement:

The Footnote:

The Google result:

No digital copy of Lundquist book but some references to it can be found in other articles.

On Elkenah as Canaanite El - Kevin L. Barney

I don't believe this is anything secret, but I think Kevin is still working this angle, because he had me provide him, just the other day, with some specific analysis of the word "Elkenah" as it appears in the KEP.

[All-Seeing Eye]

Perhaps I truly am of little faith, but I somehow doubt you looked up said articles.

And you have no idea how little I care that you doubt it.

Anyway, thanks for sharing that valuable insight.

Now that we've devoted more than an adequate amount of time and space to Volgadon's doubting of me, can anyone else please answer my question? Or do I need to read five more users tell me that they didn't think that I checked the sources first?

[Ron Beron]

No digital copy of Lundquist book but some references to it can be found in other articles.

On Elkenah as Canaanite El - Kevin L. Barney

You can find it in John M. Lundquist, "Was Abraham at Ebla? A Cultural Background of the Book of Abraham," in Robert L. Millet and Kent P. Jackson, eds., Studies in Scripture (Salt Lake City: Randall Book, 1985), 225-37.

A major feature of the Book of Abraham is the polytheism, the worship of many gods, in the society in which Abraham lived. This is pointed out quite clearly in the Book of Abraham, in which some of the various gods that were worshipped in that time are mentioned by name in Abr. 1 and 2. Each of the gods/idols mentioned in Abr. 1:17 appears in the compilation of some 3800 Mesopotamian deities published in 1950 by Anton Deimel. The god "Elkenah" appears as dIl-gi-na, where "gi" can also be read "ki," and where the supralinear "d" stands for the Sumerian determinative "dinger," meaning "god" (#407, 5 in Deimel's list). "The god of Libnah" appears as dLa-ban (#96, 25). "The god of Mahmackrah" appears as dMa-mi-hi-rat (#639, 48). And "the god of Korash" appears as dKur-ra-su-ur-ur, certainly a variant on "Korash" (#668, . The Book of Abraham translation of the deities' names actually comes through as a very literal rendition of the names as they would appear in Akkadian: "the god of. . .," rendering the Akkadian "d(name of deity)." 20

20. Anton Deimel, Pantheon Babylonicum, Sumerisches Lexicon, vol. 4, pt. 1 (Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute 1950), pp. 48, 10, 69, 75. For additional very valuable study of these names, see Hugh W. Nibley, "Facsimile No. 1, by the Figures," The Improvement Era, August, September, October, 1969, pp. 75-87, 85-95, 85-88, respectively.

And to Seeing Eye...I did check the sources and they were there. It took me five minutes.

[maklelan]

I'll leave it to you to go acquire a copy for yourself.

I don't have the money to be buying superfluous books right now, the time to buy one and wait for it to ship overseas, nor access to them through any libraries where I am located.

Your response tells me that you probably didn't look them up, which has been my suspicion from the beginning. Your rudeness tells me you're not looking for an honest answer.

[lostindc]

Whats with the hostility from the original poster

[volgadon]

And you have no idea how little I care that you doubt it.

Anyway, thanks for sharing that valuable insight.

Now that we've devoted more than an adequate amount of time and space to Volgadon's doubting of me, can anyone else please answer my question? Or do I need to read five more users tell me that they didn't think that I checked the sources first?

So how long have you had those books?

[handys003]

Elkanah is listed as a prophet in the Talmud. Libnah is a Caanite town in old Israel that Joshua fought against. The other two there is no reference that I could find other than the Book of Abraham.

[volgadon]

Elkanah is also in the OT, the father of Samuel.

[USU78]

Nehunya ben ha-Kanah (Hebrew: ?????? ?? ????) was a Tanna of the 1st and 2nd centuries. It appears from B. B. 10b that Ne?unya was a contemporary, but not a pupil, of Johanan ben Zakkai. He was the teacher of Ishmael bar Elisha.

Know of this ^ guy, Volga? Interesting name, that gives us interesting possibilities.

[David Bokovoy]

In terms of Semitic etymology, I don't believe that there exists a connection between the OT name Elkanah and the BofA name Elkenah. The Biblical name is a combination of the Semitic word El and the tri-literal root qnh "to create" meaning, "God has created." The first letter "a" in the biblical Elkanah is a long vowel, which grammatically cannot be explained in terms of a vowel reduction to the "e" witnessed in the BofA name.

I had an opportunity to read a revised version of Kevin's article without realizing it was his. I hope it appears in print. It was in my estimate a very good analysis.

[USU78]

Did some snooping.

There's a modern Hebrew boy's name, Kenah, means "owning/possessing." Kenan is a variation.

I cannot find an etymology or a Hebrew spelling, so I don't know if it should start with [Q] or [K].

[David Bokovoy]

Did some snooping.

There's a modern Hebrew boy's name, Kenah, means "owning/possessing." Kenan is a variation.

I cannot find an etymology or a Hebrew spelling, so I don't know if it should start with [Q] or [K].

I don't know. Historically, a long "a" in an open, unaccented syllable is just not going to go to an "e" vowel. A modern Hebrew name would be influenced by a variety of outside sources, including possibly the English name Kevin, etc. If the name was truly the biblical "God creates," I don't know why it wouldn't appear as Elkanah. I actually think, Barney's/Nibley's proposal Il Kinahhi

[volgadon]

Know of this ^ guy, Volga? Interesting name, that gives us interesting possibilities.

He was r. Ishmael's master. He is credited with having taken him to one of the rooms of the temple complex and teaching him how to call forth an angel who would reveal the knowledge of how to retain things in memory.

[volgadon]

In terms of Semitic etymology, I don't believe that there exists a connection between the OT name Elkanah and the BofA name Elkenah. The Biblical name is a combination of the Semitic word El and the tri-literal root qnh "to create" meaning, "God has created." The first letter "a" in the biblical Elkanah is a long vowel, which grammatically cannot be explained in terms of a vowel reduction to the "e" witnessed in the BofA name.

I had an opportunity to read a revised version of Kevin's article without realizing it was his. I hope it appears in print. It was in my estimate a very good analysis.

I should have thought more about it before responding to Handy, but regardless of whether or not there is a connection, I just wanted to point out that Elkanah as a name predates the Talmuds.

You do have a point about the vowels, so unless I can find a precedent, I'll concede the point. I'd rather keep my methodology sound than win an easy, but fleeting victory.

Does anyone know if it was always written with an 'e' rather than an 'a'?

[David Bokovoy]

I should have thought more about it before responding to Handy, but regardless of whether or not there is a connection, I just wanted to point out that Elkanah as a name predates the Talmuds.

You do have a point about the vowels, so unless I can find a precedent, I'll concede the point. I'd rather keep my methodology sound than win an easy, but fleeting victory.

Does anyone know if it was always written with an 'e' rather than an 'a'?

Actually, you would know more about these issues than any of us. I'm really not familiar with how modern Hebrew names are transliterated. Could the modern Hebrew name Kenah "to acquire" represent an Aramaic influence where vowel reduction leads to the verbal form ketab (with a shewa) as opposed to Hebrew katab? I honestly have no idea and would have to research the issue to figure it out.

[Chris Smith]

I don't believe this is anything secret, but I think Kevin is still working this angle, because he had me provide him, just the other day, with some specific analysis of the word "Elkenah" as it appears in the KEP.

I'm glad that he's now taking the manuscripts into account. It has been interesting to see the apologists' triumphalism over finding Korash and Libnah in ancient sources, when in fact "Libnah" is a misreading of the manuscripts' "Zibnah", and "Korash" is not in the earliest text at all.