Noham, That's Not History (nor Geography, Cartography, et cetera)
by Jeff Lindsay
As
mentioned in my
previous post about the significance of Nahom,
in a recent presentation at an ex-Mormon conference, a man who says
he is “addicted to truth” made the claim that his
searching had revealed that among 3-letter consonant groupings for
place names, NHM was one of the most common.
So
common that you could find it almost anywhere you looked, making the
occurrence of Nahom/Nehem/NHM in the Book of Mormon to be “lacking
in significance.” As a reminder, here is the transcript of his
comments on this topic:
We
have NHM in Germany, Austria, Iran, Zimbabwe, Angola, Israel, Canada,
and basically everywhere you look you can find those 3 letters. I’m
sure there’s a dozen companies named NHM that all around the
world as well. Basically, if it was QXP, that would be more
significant because those are more rare across the languages of the
world. But NHM happened to be some of the most common letters. So the
significance of NHM is lacking.
This
was said while displaying a slide entitled “Significance of
NHM” with the following list of direct hits:
Noham, Germany
Noham, Austria
Nohom, Iran
Nhime, Angola
Nahum, Israel
Anhim, Canada
Nhaem, Vietnam
Enham, United Kingdom
Nahme, Bulgaria
Nahoma, Namibia
Nhamuai, Mozambique
Nhime, Guinea-Bissau
Nahma, Michigan
Nahimha, Tanzania
Naham, Israel
Apart
from completing missing, or completely obfuscating, the real point
about Nahom being confirmed as an ancient burial place in exactly the
location required for Book of Mormon plausibility, Johnson’s
misdirection about whether Nahom/NHM is a novel name in its own right
raises further interesting questions upon closer examination.
We
have already pointed out (citing Warren Aston) that Nahom/NHM is an
exceedingly rare name in the Arabian Peninsula, which is
relevant to the debate. What is not relevant to the debate is whether
related NHM place names also occur on other lands.
But
Johnson’s intriguing tactics on this point may be relevant to
understanding his approach to data when he makes other supposedly
objective, data-based claims on Book of Mormon authorship.
Something
about that list of NHM names bothered me as soon as I saw it. I’ve
traveled to a few parts of the world and have looked at many maps and
many names, and just didn’t recollect ever noticing any of
these places before. Would these have been obvious clues rendering
NHM-based place names fairly obvious for a 19th-century
plagiarizer and conman (per Chris Johnson’s views of Joseph)?
Granted,
the whole premise of his argument is blatantly misguided — the
key issue is that Nahom, common name or not, is rare in Arabia
and is placed at exactly the right spot, reachable from Jerusalem by
heading south-southeast, and within a few miles of the only place
along the ancient incense trails where one can turn due east, as
Nephi’s group does, and survive to reach the coast.
Add
to that the massive significance that Nahom, the place where Ishmael
was buried, turns out to be an ancient burial place in the Arabian
Peninsula and a bonus for having the NHM name attested to have been
in that place in the 7th century B.C. (Lehi’s day)
by ancient altars from the tribe of Nihm that were recently
discovered.
Add
to that the amazing fact that going nearly due east from Nahom
doesn’t just get one to the coast, but to a remarkable
candidate or two for the place Bountiful as described in the First
Nephi 16 and 17.
These
are stunning finds of massive significance, regardless of how often
NHM names are used in other parts of the world. Whether Africa,
Germany, and North America are sprinkled with NHM names or not
doesn't detract from the value of the Arabian Peninsula evidences for
Book of Mormon plausibility.
But
for the moment, let’s accept the premise that the significance
of finding Nahom is somehow related to how common NHM names are
anywhere in the world as, perhaps, inspiration for Joseph’s
plagiarism, and then explore the significance, if any, of his list.
It
turns out that there are some possible serious gaps in his argument
about NHM being so common. I may be missing something, so let me know
if I have erred in my searching, which is entirely possible. Here’s
what my searching reveals about these places:
Noham
(Germany and Austria): There is nothing for Noham in Wikipedia.
Google finds nothing for Noham, Austria. There are hints of something
for Noham, Germany. But not much can be found until searching
is done for Nöham.
Nöham
ist ein Pfarrdorf
in der Gemeinde Dietersburg
und war bis zur Zusammenlegung mit Dietersburg am 1. April 1971 eine
eigenständige Gemeinde. Nöham liegt an der Staatsstraße
2112 zwischen Pfarrkirchen
und Arnstorf
und hat etwa 500 Einwohner.
This
states that Nöham is a parish village with about 500
inhabitants. If it’s almost invisible to the modern world
today, I don’t think it could have served as some kind of
inspiration to Joseph Smith.
Nohom,
Iran:
Finding something on this place is much easier than it was for Noham.
Something relevant shows up right away in Google:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nohom,
where we read this:
Nohom
(Persian: نهم)
is a village in Sarfaryab Rural
District, Sarfaryab District, Charam County, Kohgiluyeh and
Boyer-Ahmad Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was
186, in 39 families.
Not
even big enough to be a parish village, I fear, little Nohom has a
population in 2006 of just 186 people. Any chance it was there
in 1830? Known to Joseph?
Nhema,
Zimbabwe:
A Google search for Nhema, Zimbabwe reveals Nhema is a last name, but
I see no easy-to-find evidence of a noteworthy place name. When I
search for “Nhema city Zimbabwe” I find a link a
questionable claiming it is a place name:
http://itouchmap.com/?c=zi&UF=10648647&UN=11361339&DG=PPL
This
link has a map that points to an empty spot with no name east of
Harare. Sorry, I’m not yet convinced that this is a notable
place name in Zimbabwe. And even if it were, how could Joseph have
known?
Nahum,
Israel: The most interesting entry on Johnson’s list, in my
opinion. This is promising because one could argue that Joseph might
have recognized Nahom was a valid place name based on the occurrence
of Nahum as a place in Israel. But as I mentioned in my initial post
on the significance of Nahom, this argument also has a touch of
weakness. Again, blame it on Wikipedia:
Wikipedia’s
article on Sde Nahum, Israel
explains that it is a modern kibbutz founded in 1937. Population
around 550. Not likely an influence for the Book of Mormon. What
about Nehama, Israel? Wikipedia doesn’t seem aware of it, so it
must not exist, I suppose. But there is an Israeli “Comfort
Girls” band called Habanot
Nechama.
Is that the link? Or what about Nahma,
Michigan?
Another 500-person township. Founded 1881. Probably not an
inspiration for Nahom.
Anhim,
Canada: This is particularly puzzling. Where did Johnson come up
with this one? Wikipedia hasn’t heard of it. Google Maps
doesn’t seem to have it, and asks if maybe I meant Anaheim.
Maybe I did. More on that later.
Turning
to Google search for Anhim, Canada, the only indication I can see of
a possible place of that name — apart from my own previous
blog post at Mormanity mentioning Johnson’s list — is a
Google books result for River Palace
that appears to mention Anhim, Canada.
But
when I go to that book, the apparent mention of Anhim, Canada is in
fact, a rotated caption that says “Library and Archives,
Canada.” Apparently the 90-degree rotation of small text was
misread by Google. So strange. So again, we have another place on
Johnson’s list that doesn’t appear to exist.
Nehama,
Israel:
Another potentially interesting item. I’m not sure it exists as
a place name, though. Google’s top return for this term is the
previously mentioned “Comfort Girls” band of Israel,
Habanot
Nechama.
Not quite a hit for NHM. And not quite a place, but maybe a
destination for modern music fans.
I
fear they came along too late to attract any farm boy groupies from
upstate New York. A nice try, but alas, this one brings no comfort to
Johnson’s argument.
Nhaem,
Vietnam: Another place that puzzles me. Apart from the obvious
question about whether transliterated Vietnamese place names were
available for Joseph Smith to pluck as needed for his feverish and
grueling work of plagiarizing a few words here, a few there, over and
over to gradually string verses together, one also has to ask just
where this place is and whether it is “significant”?
There’s
no Wikipedia page for any place named Nhaem (though a Wikipedia page
for the obscure commune
of Lvae in Cambodia
shows that the commune includes 12 villages, one of which is named
Doun Nhaem).
But
wait, there may be a place of this name with Vietnamese connections:
Google’s top hit in my search is a
Yelp entry for the Nha Em Restaurant and Bar in Vietnam
— wait, my mistake, it’s a Vietnamese restaurant in San
Jose, California.
Ok,
something physical exists for this one — an actual two-word
place name — but this bar was probably not around in Joseph
Smith’s day. The Cambodia listing, missed by Johnson, doesn’t
exactly impress either and may not have been there in Joseph’s
day. This one looks like a pretty wide miss at the moment.
Enham,
United Kingdom: Now we’re talking. Folks, I’m happy
to report that there is an actual place with a population and a
history for this location. There’s not much information about
it, but enough to show that Enham, England, known as Knight’s
Enham until recently, actually exists, though the name today is not
Enham but Enham Alamein.
It
was there in Joseph’s day. It is fair to list this one to show
how common NHM is among the inhabitants of the earth, 804 of whom
live in this sprouting metropolis.
The
English
1841 Census shows 102 results
for a search of people living in anything containing “Enham”
in the place name. Rather small, in my opinion. Somehow I’m not
sure that this would be the kind of thing that would rise to the
attention of New York farmers.
Perhaps
we can add a colorful new link to the Solomon Spaulding theory to
bring information about the obscure village Knight’s Enham to
Joseph. But pending further creative work, it’s hard to see how
this demonstrates NHM names are wildly common. Shouldn’t we be
able to find some significant places likely to be known to Joseph
given that we have such a common grouping of letters to work with?
Nahme,
Bulgaria: Google doesn’t seem to find anything for this
place.
Nahoma,
Namibia: Ditto. Google recommends I search for Nujoma, Namibia
instead. I’m not falling for that one.
Nhamuai,
Mozambique:
Google results don’t look promising, except that ITouchMap.com
says there is a place of that name.
But the map result that comes up looks like a blank spot in the hills
without roads or obvious population. Strange.
Nhama,
Angola:
Wikipedia hasn’t heard of it. There are some weather sites
listing it, and one
place puts it on the map,
but it looks like a rather uninhabited spot of jungle.
Nhime,
Guinea-Bissau:
Some weather sites show up in Google, but the closest thing to an
indication of a real place name that I see is a
page at GoMapper.com
saying “Nhime is a place with a very small population in the
state/region of Oio, Guinea-Bissau which is located in the
continent/region of Africa.” Yawn.
Nahma,
Michigan:
Finally! A real place. One significant enough that Wikipedia
actually recognizes its existence.
Whew, just in time. What does Wikipedia have to say about this
important place, close enough to Joseph Smith that perhaps word of
its prominent and common name could have come to him for inspiration
in writing the Book of Mormon? Let’s see:
Nahma
Township is a civil township of Delta County in the U.S. state of
Michigan. The population was 499 at the 2000 census. Nahma was
established in 1881 by the Bay De Noquet Lumber Company as the base
for its upper Michigan lumbering operations.
Hmm.
Tiny, obscure (no offense, dear Nahmians), and non-existent prior to
1881. Do I sense a pattern here?
Nahimha,
Tanzania:
Wikipedia hasn’t heard of it. But something must be there
because some Islamic sites list prayer times. I finally found
this at Chinci.com:
Nahimha
is a tidal creek(s) in the country of Tanzania with an average
elevation of 3 feet above sea level. The location is sparsely
populated with 36 people per mile2 . The nearest town larger than
50,000 inhabitants takes about 2:12 hour by local transportation.
An
estimated 4.14% of the children below 5 years old are underweight.
A
tidal creek, eh? I can see Joseph going for that, if only he had some
way of knowing. This may be a real place, but it is tiny, obscure,
and probably of no value to Johnson’s argument — which
was a bit unfair in the first place since the consonants here are
NHMH, not NHM. When it comes to arguments drawing upon Nahimha, it’s
not just the children that are underweight.
Naham,
Israel:Wikipedia
reveals
this was founded in 1950 and today has a population a little over
450. No chance of influencing the Book of Mormon.
It’s
not just that a few of these names can be questioned due to minor
oversights in scholarship and fact-checking. Every one can be
regarded as "lacking significance" and most appear to be
bogus.
The
proffered list of NHM names is utterly worthless as evidence that NHM
names are “among the most common” or that Joseph Smith
could easily come up with the NHM root for a place name based on
Johnson's cornucopia of NHM hits. It looks like a rare and somewhat
obscure root, even beyond the borders of Arabia, and even when one is
willing to stretch it out with triple value endings and vowel
prefixes.
A
possibly glaring oversight in Johnson’s list is the omission of
Anaheim, California, which would represent the most notable city for
his PPT slide and the only one with a population bigger than an
obscure farm village. Perhaps Johnson realized that many listeners
might see through the Mickey Mouse nature of that argument, knowing
that Anaheim wasn’t founded until after Joseph Smith’s
day.
One
peek at Wikipedia’s
entry for Anaheim
would expose the weakness in that argument: “The city of
Anaheim was founded in 1857 by 50 German-Americans....” Schade!
Too late to make Nahom trivial. But wait, surely the German-sounding
name must be some ancient place name from Germany, right? Wikipedia
brings further trouble here:
Anaheim's
name is a blend of "Ana", after the nearby Santa Ana River,
and "heim", a common German language place name compound
originally meaning "home".
Ach
du liebe! This must be why Johnson had to say auf widersehen
to that argument. But Anaheim as an illustration of the
insignificance of NHM is arguably no less viable than any of the
other examples Johnson offers.
Kudos
to Mark Butler for identifying another interesting hit that was
missed by Johnson: Niihima,
Japan, which, according to Wikipedia, has more than 100,000 people.
Finally, a notable spot! Unfortunately, Wikipedia also gives this
troublesome fact: "Niihama was founded on November 3, 1937."
Too late for Joseph Smith, but not too late for anti-Mormon fun. The
NHM list would really have been much better and even more
entertaining if Niihima had been included, along with Anaheim.
Does
Johnson’s list of NHM names expose the insignificance of an
interesting piece of Book of Mormon evidence, and help us better
understand how easily Joseph Smith could have come up with an
NHM-based placed name in the Arabian Peninsula? As
Hugh Nibley might have said,
“Noham, that’s not history.”
It’s
also not geography or cartography.
Frankly,
I find the arguments against Nahom to be lacking in significance. In
fact, the puzzling lack of legitimate NHM candidates for plagiarism
theories for the Book of Mormon almost look like some kind of cosmic
conspiracy to make Book of Mormon plagiarism conspiracy theories look
silly. Almost. Hey, just saying!
Say,
do any of you know of other NHM place names that should have been on
the list?
Jeff Lindsay has been defending the Church on the Internet since 1994, when he launched his
LDSFAQ website under JeffLindsay.com. He has also long been blogging about LDS matters on
the blog Mormanity (mormanity.blogspot.com). Jeff is a longtime resident of Appleton,
Wisconsin, who recently moved to Shanghai, China, with his wife, Kendra.
He works for an Asian corporation as head of intellectual property. Jeff and Kendra are the parents of 4 boys, 3 married and the the youngest on a mission.
He is a former innovation and IP consultant, a former professor, and former Corporate Patent
Strategist and Senior Research Fellow for a multinational corporation.
Jeff Lindsay, Cheryl Perkins and Mukund Karanjikar are authors of the book Conquering
Innovation Fatigue (John Wiley & Sons, 2009).
Jeff has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Brigham Young University and is a registered US
patent agent. He has more than 100 granted US patents and is author of numerous publications.
Jeff's hobbies include photography, amateur magic, writing, and Mandarin Chinese.