Many Waters

After their eight years of journeying in the wilderness, Lehi and his family arrived at the ocean in a place that they named Bountiful. Nephi said this, “And we did come to the land which we called Bountiful, because of its much fruit and also wild honey; and all these things were prepared of the Lord that we might not perish. And we beheld the sea, which we called Irreantum, which, being interpreted, is many waters” (1 Nephi 17:5). The word Irreantum is one of six transliterated words in the Book of Mormon in which the translation is given. The two most well-known are deseret (“a honey bee”) and Liahona (“a compass) and have become common words in Latter-day Saint vocabulary (see Ether 2:3, Alma 37:38). The other three, Rabbanah (“powerful or great king”), Ripliancum (“large, to exceed all”) and Rameumptum (“the holy stand”) are less well-known (see Alma 18:13, Ether 15:8, and Alma 31:21). About the word Irreantum, and using the word Nephite to imply the Hebrew and Egyptian languages that Lehi and his family knew, Professor Paul Hoskisson said this: “The only rational reason for Nephi to include both the transliteration and translation is that he did not expect his audience to immediately grasp the meaning of Irreantum, because it was not a readily recognizable Nephite word. Irreantum may have been either a newly coined word in Nephite, thus not immediately transparent for persons who could read that language, or it could represent a borrowing from another language. In either case, Nephi would have felt obligated to provide a translation for an audience that knew only Nephite.” He suggested that the word Irreantum then, not Hebrew or Egyptian, might come from another ancient South Semitic root. Lehi and his family would have traveled among people using different languages during those eight years and may have picked up a little bit of their language. Professor Hoskisson breaks it up into three parts from his analysis for a possible match of word and meaning: rwy (“watering”) + an (“connected to”) + tum (“completeness” or “superabundance”), giving a final translation of “watering of completeness” or “watering of abundance” which is very similar to the name and definition we have in the text.

               To me the word stood out today as I thought about the daunting task that Nephi faced. Perhaps he gave us this special word, emphasizing it in the text, to emphasize the challenge that lay before him to cross those “many waters.” Just three verses later Nephi recorded the Lord’s assignment to him: “And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Thou shalt construct a ship, after the manner which I shall show thee, that I may carry thy people across these waters.” Interestingly, when his brothers initially opposed his plan, they also highlighted the size of the waters: “Our brother is a fool, for he thinketh that he can build a ship; yea, and he also thinketh that he can cross these great waters.” Understandably, Nephi found strength and faith in the story of Moses, telling Laman and Lemuel this: “Now ye know that Moses was commanded of the Lord to do that great work; and ye know that by his word the waters of the Red Sea were divided hither and thither, and they passed through on dry ground. But ye know that the Egyptians were drowned in the Red Sea, who were the armies of Pharaoh” (1 Nephi 17:8,17, 26-27). This is a story that clearly meant something to Nephi, for he had already used it to try to inspire his brothers when they were trying to get the plates: “Therefore let us go up; let us be strong like unto Moses; for he truly spake unto the waters of the Red Sea and they divided hither and thither, and our fathers came through, out of captivity, on dry ground, and the armies of Pharaoh did follow and were drowned in the waters of the Red Sea” (1 Nephi 4:2). Despite the greatness of the waters in front of him, Nephi knew that the Lord had helped Moses across his “many waters” and could do the same for him and his family.

               And so, I think that when we consider this word, Irreantum, we should be reminded that no matter what figurative “great waters” lie before us, through the strength of the Lord we can get across them. Sometimes our problems may seem like that ocean must have looked to Nephi at first: endless and insurmountable. But we must remember his declaration and strive to believe it is true in our own lives: “If God had commanded me to do all things I could do them. If he should command me that I should say unto this water, be thou earth, it should be earth; and if I should say it, it would be done. And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot instruct me, that I should build a ship?” (1 Nephi 17:50-51). We may never have to build a ship or find a way across great waters, but whatever challenges we must pass through in our lives we can remember that if the Lord helped Nephi across Irreantum, He will also help us across ours.