Sam (Book of Mormon)

In the "Book of Mormon", Sam was the third son of Lehi, and elder brother to the prophet Nephi. Early in the Book of Mormon narrative, Nephi confided in Sam. [lds|1 Nephi|1_ne|2|17] Lehi saw Sam in his vision of the tree of life, noting that he ate the precious fruit, symbolizing the righteousness of Sam, and that he would be saved. [lds|1 Nephi|1_ne|8] Upon the death of Lehi, Sam followed his brother Nephi in the establishment of the Nephites. [lds|2 Nephi|2_ne|5|6]

Family

Etymology

Among LDS linguistsWho|date=March 2008, the leading (unofficial) theory of the origin of the name "Sam" is that it is most likely a Hebrew dialectual form of "Shem"Fact|date=March 2008. The attributed dialect in this case would either be from the dialect of Lehi's tribe Manasseh, or from the prevalent Ephrathite culture of his familyFact|date=March 2008, if indeed the dialects of these two tribes were different at all. Some Who|date=March 2008 consider the name "Sam" to be of Arabic originFact|date=March 2008 (BoM Arabic سام Sām)Or|date=March 2008.

References