Zoram Was the Name

George Reynolds, Janne M. Sjodahl

Zoram, a servant of Laban, now a captive in the hands of Nephi, evidently became converted by the kind yet powerful address of his captor, who testified that the Lord had commanded him to do "this thing." He made a covenant with the sons of Lehi and accompanied them to the tent of their father. During the journey in the wilderness Zoram married the eldest daughter of Ishmael. (2 Ne. 16-7)

One of their descendants was Ammoron, brother of Amalickiah, who waged war with the Nephites, in the years 26-9 of the reign of the Judges. (Alma 52:3) It is not improbable that the Aymaras in the Andean mountains, from south latitude 15 to 20, and through about 6 degrees longitude (Dr. Brinton) derive their name from this descendant of Zoram. Dr. Brinton estimates the number of Aymaras in this region at about a half million souls.

There is, as far as we know, no certain clue to the meaning of the name Zoram. The Hebrews called the city of Tyre, "Zor," or "Zur," which means a "rock." It was also called, "Zor em Sidonim," meaning, "Tyre, the Capitol of the Sidonians." A natural abbreviation of this descriptive name would be, "Zor-am." If this derivation is correct, the servant of Laban may have been a Tyrian.

Since the days of David and Solomon, there was a lively traffic between Tyre and Jerusalem. Hiram, king of Tyre, sent messengers to David, with timber of cedars, and masons and carpenters, to build him a house (1 Chron. 7:1), and Solomon sent for one Hiram of Tyre, who was the son of a "man of Tyre" and a woman of the tribe of Naphtali. This Hiram was a skilful worker in all "works of brass," and he made the various costly metal ornaments and objects for which the temple of Solomon became famous.

Zoram may have been a descendant of one of these laborers, or some other Tyrian, and therefore known in the house of Laban as Zoram, the man of Tyre.

Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 1

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