nuclearfuels Posted July 2, 2020 Posted July 2, 2020 Muloki seems to have Polynesian roots, at least for the vowels. THe consontants Mulek are likely from Jerusalem at the time of Lehi, etc. I've read that Polynesians were sailing as far as Lehi, Nephi, et al. sailed in 600 BC - might be a connection? Maybe not? Etymology MULOKI could be a gentilic or nisbe form of MULEK/MULOK/MULOCH,[1] meaning "Mulekite” (JAT).[2] A bulla from Jerusalem from the time of Lehi contains the PN mlky, possibly the Hebrew consonantal spelling of MULOKI[3]. The consonantal text of the Hebrew Bible also attests to this PN, mlwky (Nehemiah 12:14, with Qere mlykw). Ariel Crowley appears to have been the first scholar to suggest that MULOKI is related to MULEK and that both derive from the HEBREW root mlk, “to rule, king.”[4] Another biblical PN from the same root, Malluch (that appears in 1 Chron. 6:44, Ezra 10:29, 32, Nehemiah 10:4, 27, and 12:2), is similar to MULOKI. In addition to the final i being a possible gentilic ending, the i could be a hypocoristic ending.[5] See for example this same root with the hypocoristic ending ā, mlkʾ, and the plene PN mlkyhw.[6] In this interpretation, MULOKI would mean “The King is Y[ahweh].” Other, non Near Eastern suggestions have been made.[7] Cf. Book of Mormon MULEK, AMULEK, MELEK, AMALEKI, AMALICKIAH, AMLICI. Variants Deseret Alphabet: 𐐣𐐊𐐢𐐄𐐗𐐌 (mʌloʊkaɪ) Notes Jump up↑ In Mosiah 25:2, the PN is spelled Mulek beginning with the 1879 editions. The 1830 edition has Mulok, while the printer’s manuscript has Muloch. See Royal Skousen, ATV 3:1565-70. Jump up↑ John Tvedtnes, “Hebraisms in the Book of Mormon,” 1994 FARMS Book of Mormon Lecture (Provo: FARMS, 1994), 14; Tvedtnes, “Hebrew Names in the Book of Mormon,” in G. Khan, et al., eds., Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics, 4 vols. (Brill, 2013), II:787-788, online at http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/browse/encyclopedia-of-hebrew-language-and-linguistics. Jump up↑ John A. Tvedtnes, John Gee, and Matthew Roper. “Book of Mormon Names Attested in Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions,”JBMS 9/1 (2000):50 Jump up↑ Ariel Crowley, “The Escape of Mulek,” Improvement Era 58 (May 1955): 326, n. 4. Jump up↑ For a list and discussion of hypocoristic endings see Noth, IPN, 38, where he states, “sehr viel gebraucht ist die Endung ī. Jump up↑ Ahituv, 483. Jump up↑ Brian D. Stubbs, in an email communication with Paul Hoskisson, Stephen Ricks, and Robert F. Smith 15 March 2014, observes that the Uto-Aztecan Hopi noun mongi, mongwi, “chief,” may correspond to the PN Muloki or to Mulek since the Proto-Uto-Aztecan /*u/ > Hopi /o/ and /*l/ > /n/ or /N/ (general nasal) in Northern-Uto-Aztecan, especially in a consonant cluster with k (*-lk- > *-Nk- > -ŋ- being common in Uto-Aztecan), then *mulki > Hopi moŋwi‘leader, head, chief` with residual rounding carried past the /-ŋ-/ makes something like Semitic muleki / mulki > Hopi moŋwi very plausible. Cognate with the Hopi term is Southern Paiute moi- ‘to lead, act as chief,’ whose nasalized vowels make it from *moŋi. << Muloki >> Muloki—missionary companion of Aaron3 imprisoned in land of Middoni, Alma 20:2. preaches in Ani-Anti, Alma 21:11. travels to Middoni with Aaron3, Alma 21:12. MULOKI. When (B. C. 91) the four sons of king Mosiah started on their perilous mission to convert the savage Lamanites to the true faith, they were accompanied by several other elders of the Christian Church, whom they had selected on account of their faith and devotion. Neither the names nor numbers of these co-laborers are given, but two or three are incidentally mentioned in the recital of the history of the mission. Of these Muloki appears the most prominent, and it is only in connection with this mission that his name is mentioned in the Book of Mormon. When the missionaries, after committing themselves to God, separated on the borders of the Lamanites, Ammon went to the land of Ishmael, Aaron to Jerusalem; where Muloki first went we are not informed. When Aaron was driven out of the land of Jerusalem by reason of the wickedness of its people, he passed over to a neighboring village, styled Ani-Anti, where he found Muloki and others laboring with much zeal, but with little success. Finding their efforts unavailing, Aaron, Muloki, Ammah and their companions departed from Ani-Anti and went over into the land of Middoni, where Antiomno was king. Here they labored zealously, though but few hearkened unto their words. Before long the wicked raised the standard of persecution and the three brethren above named were cast into prison, while others fled to the regions round about. The prisoners were treated with extreme cruelty, they were bound with strong cords, which cut into their flesh, they were deprived of proper food, drink and clothing, and otherwise they suffered many afflictions. After many days' confinement, they were set at liberty by Antiomno, through the intercession of Lamoni and Ammon: their unfortunate condition having been revealed to the latter by the Lord, with instructions to go and set his brethren at liberty. When Ammon met these faithful brethren, he was greatly grieved, because of their wretched, naked, wounded and starved condition. After a season of mutual joy, thanksgiving and congratulation, the elders again separated to renew their labors in the ministry, but to what particular land Muloki went, or among whom he sojourned we have no information. 2
Robert F. Smith Posted July 2, 2020 Posted July 2, 2020 You didn't really cite any Polynesian connection, so I took a look: Hawaiian Moloka'i, Morokai looks interesting: It's the name of an island in the Hawaiian chain, and appears to be the name of a god, who is the son of the goddess Hina, Molokaʻi Nui A Hina “Molokai, son of the goddess Hina” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molokai . It is also used in the phrase Molokaʻi Pule Oʻo “powerful prayer,” which might just have relevance since there is Polynesian moroki, “strong, tough," as used in hau moroki, “strong, tough line, thread,” from hau “thread, line, string, ribbon”; hau is the name of the fiber of the hauhau tree formerly used to make twine, cloth, etc. http://www.helulf.se/Rongorongo/Polynesian/polynesian.html . Polynesian is in the Austronesian family of languages. 2
Rajah Manchou Posted July 3, 2020 Posted July 3, 2020 (edited) 10 hours ago, Robert F. Smith said: You didn't really cite any Polynesian connection, Polynesian is in the Austronesian family of languages. Yes, in the context of the OP it would be Austronesian but the Malayo-Polynesian subgroup. Early Arabic traders referred to several islands throughout the East Indies as the Muluks or Moluks, but the term predates their arrival."The name Maluku is thought to have been derived from the term used by Arab traders for the region, Jazirat al-Muluk ("the island of the kings"), from the word malik (pl. moluk).However, since the name itself has been mentioned in a fourteenth-century Majapahit eulogy, Nagarakretagama, that predates the arrival of Islam in Maluku at the late fifteenth century..." When you look at Arabic texts that were popular in the early modern period, you'll find a good deal of Book of Mormon names. I'm convinced the author/translator of the Book of Mormon was referencing Arabic geographies not only for the toponyms found in the Book of Mormon but also the internal geography. Not only do we have the lands of Moluk, but we also find Komara and Rahma, all three sitting in a geography that matches the internal map of the Book of Mormon:Early modern authors and explorers read these geographies and texts. Columbus, for example, studied these texts deeply and felt inspired to sail through the isles of the sea to convert the lost Israelites and Christians there. Imagine that, Columbus receiving divine inspiration to take the Christian Bible to the people of Komara, Ramah and Moluk, all important toponyms found in the Book of Mormon. If we follow @champatsch's conclusion that the core text of the Book of Mormon was translated in the 16th-17th centuries, we can expect the author/translator was aware of this material. Edited July 3, 2020 by Rajah Manchou 2
nuclearfuels Posted July 3, 2020 Author Posted July 3, 2020 1 hour ago, Rajah Manchou said: 11 hours ago, Robert F. Smith said: You didn't really cite any Polynesian connection, Polynesian is in the Austronesian family of languages. Yes, in the context of the OP it would be Austronesian but the Malayo-Polynesian subgroup. Early Arabic traders referred to several islands throughout the East Indies as the Muluks or Moluks, but the term predates their arrival."The name Maluku is thought to have been derived from the term used by Arab traders for the region, Jazirat al-Muluk ("the island of the kings"), from the word malik (pl. moluk).However, since the name itself has been mentioned in a fourteenth-century Majapahit eulogy, Nagarakretagama, that predates the arrival of Islam in Maluku at the late fifteenth century..." When you look at Arabic texts that were popular in the early modern period, you'll find a good deal of Book of Mormon names. I'm convinced the author/translator of the Book of Mormon was referencing Arabic geographies not only for the toponyms found in the Book of Mormon but also the internal geography. Not only do we have the lands of Moluk, but we also find Komara and Rahma, all three sitting in a geography that matches the internal map of the Book of Mormon:Early modern authors and explorers read these geographies and texts. Columbus, for example, studied these texts deeply and felt inspired to sail through the isles of the sea to convert the lost Israelites and Christians there. Imagine that, Columbus receiving divine inspiration to take the Christian Bible to the people of Komara, Ramah and Moluk, all important toponyms found in the Book of Mormon. If we follow @champatsch's conclusion that the core text of the Book of Mormon was translated in the 16th-17th centuries, we can expect the author/translator was aware of this material. Thank you, Robert and Rajah! I appreciate you both taking the time 1
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