O Ye Fair Ones!

I, Jennifer, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days.

Yea, I make a record in the language of my father, [and] ....the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians




We have been told to liken the scriptures unto us.  I know I am not Nephi, but today I felt closer to him than I could ever imagine before.

I have studied after the learning of the Jews because it has fascinated me and I have been drawn to it most of my adult life.
  I love studying Hebrew and the meaning of the words.

This morning as I was reading from the Book of Mormon I re-discovered a bookmark which I had placed in the pages which contained my name - "Jennifer" and a definition of my name

This had been a handout for a young women lesson a few months ago about, probably about the importance of names, although I don't really remember.
But, today I read it and suddenly I saw a similarity to Nephi.  It was amazing to see it!

When I saw the meaning of my name, -white, fair,
I was given the realization to my mind that this was the same root meaning as Nephi!!
How cool is that?

I had read an article some time ago about Nephi being an Egyptian name and had marked this in my scriptures in First Nephi chapter one verse one.

Egyptian Nehfee (nfr)  = good, goodly, fine, fair - O ye fair ones! Mormon 6:17.

This morning I now see that the meaning of my name-  white and fair, and the ending of my name
"nnifer" or without vowels in true semitic style, is in fact "nfr"  

 White and fair,  I believe to be a description of goodness and "light" of countenance.  I liken this meaning to my favorite scripture.

......and I say it that ye may know the truth that ye may chase darkness from among you.

The Nephites were fair were white because they had more light when they were righteous.
The Lamanites were darkened when they left the light.
Each group found themselves in light and darkness depending on their righteousness, the amount of light they let into their lives.

לָבַן lâban  to be white  to make white, become white, purify to show whiteness, grow white  to become white, be purified 

This Hebrew word for white shows you can become white, grow white and it has to do with purity.

I have a list of people I can't wait to meet someday and now Nephi is definitely one of them :)

I also remembered that my parents had given me a necklace with  my name on it in Egyptian
from their travels to Egypt.   I just got it out, and now this necklace means more to me than the
"slight excitement" I showed when they gave it to me over ten years ago.

My husband will die if I now start learning Egyptian. Ha!

I now include a quote from a paper entitled, 
Internal Textual Evidence for the Egyptian Origin of Nephi's Name
By Matthew L. Bowen.
A proposed etymology of the Book of Mormon name Nephi is that it derives from the ancient Egyptian word nfr,1 which as an adjective means "good," "fine," or "goodly" and as a noun denotes "kindness" or "goodness."2 By Lehi's time, this word was probably pronounced "nefe" (NEH-fee).3 Two Book of Mormon passages contain strong evidence for such an etymology.
In the opening verse of the Book of Mormon, Nephi introduces himself as follows:
I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, . . . was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions . . . [and] having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days. (1 Nephi 1:1)
Nephi's use of words that translate into English as "goodly" and "goodness" makes this passage even more beautiful and meaningful if we also understand the name Nephi to denote "good," "goodly," or "goodness." The wordplay perhaps suggests why the name Nephi so befits its bearer: he is nfr, or "goodly," because he was born of "goodly parents" and is one endowed with a "knowledge of the goodness and mysteries of God."
That Lehi would give his son an Egyptian name is not unlikely, since Lehi's language "consist[ed] of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians" (1 Nephi 1:2). One reason Nephi was quick to point out his father's knowledge of Egyptian may have been to explain the origin of his non-Hebrew name.
More evidence surfaces in Helaman 5:6-7, where Helaman explains to his two sons, Nephi and Lehi, why he gave them their names:
Behold, I have given unto you the names of our first parents who came out of the land of Jerusalem . . . [so that] ye may remember their works; and when ye remember their works ye may know . . . that they were good. Therefore, my sons, I would that ye should do that which is good, that it may be said of you, and also written, even as it has been said and written of them.
Where was it written that their namesakes were "good"? In 1 Nephi 1:1, Lehi is called a "goodly" parent, and Nephi's name corresponds to the Egyptian word meaning "good." Helaman 5:6-7 implies that Helaman was aware of the meaning of the name Nephi and that he hoped this honored name would also befit his own sons by virtue of their good works.
The wordplay in 1 Nephi 1:1 and Helaman 5:6-7 is not unlike that of the name etymologies in the Hebrew Bible, particularly in Genesis. Genesis 3:20 states that "Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living" (emphasis added). Here the Hebrew name hawwah ("lifegiver") is juxtaposed with the substantive participle Hay ("living"), both of which derive from the triliteral root Hyh or Hwh ("to live"). Many such examples could be cited from the Bible.

As research on the text of the Book of Mormon continues, evidence mounts concerning its antiquity and textual complexity. The interplay of the name Nephi with words that are translated "goodly," "good," and "goodness" provides further evidence that the Book of Mormon is, in fact, translation literature. !

Notes:

1. See John Gee, "A Note on the Name Nephi," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 1/1 (1992): 189-91; and "Four Suggestions on the Origin of the Name Nephi," in Pressing Forward with the Book of Mormon, ed. John W. Welch and Melvin J. Thorne (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 1999), 1-5.
2. Raymond O. Faulkner, A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian (Oxford: Griffith Institute, 1999), 131-32.
3. The final r in nfr was dropped long before the time of Lehi, and evidence from the Coptic form and Aramaic transliteration of the word suggests that it ended in the vowel i. See the discussion in the articles by John Gee listed in note 1.

As a mother and now a grandmother, I yearn, I wish for my posterity to remember and to keep their covenants.  I understand Nephi's engraving upon plates to his "fair ones" that they would remember the LORD God and his covenants.   I deeply understand Mormons lament for his fallen people.

O ye fair ones, do not depart from the ways of the Lord!

O ye fair ones, remember that Jesus stands with open arms to receive you!

O ye fair sons and daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands and wives, ye fair ones.  I love you and Christ loves you.  Always Remember.

post update 2/18/21

I now believe the word used for white would be נבט (literally NEPHITE!) which means to illumine, to burst forth, to shine.  It is a sprout   It has similarities to  the Egyptian white lotus, a symbol of the sun, creation and rebirth.  The lotus grows in the murky mud of the nile but sprouts into a beautiful white water Lilly rising from the mud.  At night the flower closes and again sinks under the water waiting to rise again and open at dawn.    I believe the Egptian NFR glyph to be a combination of several things--heart, lungs, Kidneys.  And also an upside down flower.  The Nephite נבט Nabat or sprout!