“Shiblon and Corianton and These Are the Names of Those Who Went with Him Among the Zoramites”

Alan C. Miner

In Alma 31:7 we find that one of the sons of Alma was named "Shiblon" (Alma 31:7). It has been suggested by Benjamin Urrutia, a graduate student in anthropology at the State University of New York, Albany, that two Jaredite names in particular, those of Shiblon and Coriantumr, have a bearing on Old World symbolism: "The element shibl means "lion cub" in Arabic. It thus parallels corian, an obvious cognate to Hebrew gurion "lion cub." Corianton should mean something like "the Lion Cub is Guardian." [Benjamin Urrutia, "Shiblon, Coriantumr, and the Jade Jaguars," Newsletter and Proceedings of the S.E.H.A., No. 150, Aug. (1982)]

Thus it is interesting, in view of the parallelism between the roots "shibl" and "corian," that Alma should have two sons named "Shiblon" and "Corianton" (Alma 31:7).

According to Diane Wirth, "Lion cub" would appear to be unusual for a man's name except in Mesoamerica. The lion is constantly encountered in the artistic works of the Mesoamerica, especially the Olmec, in the form of a Jaguar -- the nearest New World equivalent to the lion. [Diane E. Wirth, A Challenge to the Critics, p. 107]

Step by Step Through the Book of Mormon: A Cultural Commentary

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