According to the
Book of Mormon, Mosiah II (),
King Benjamin's son and
Mosiah I
According to the Book of Mormon, Mosiah I () was a Nephite prophet who led the Nephites from the land of Nephi to the land of Zarahemla and was later appointed king. He was the father of King Benjamin and the first of two individuals in the Book ...
's grandson, was king of the Nephite nation from about 124 BC to 91 BC. The
Book of Mosiah is named after Mosiah II. Mosiah was also a prophet and is described by
Ammon as a "seer" who could translate records.
Accounts
Mosiah instituted a new governing system after all of his
sons declined to succeed him as king, choosing rather to preach the gospel. This new government was based on judges elected and chosen by the people. After Mosiah's death in approximately 91 BC, this council of elected
judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
s constituted the government of the land until
Christ visited the Nephite nation (see ).
Possible origin of the name
Mosiah II was presumably named after his grandfather.
Hugh Nibley relates the name to a combination of the name
Moses
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
with that of
Yahweh (Jehovah).
The
Egyptian root ''msy'', "child of", has been considered as a possible etymology for the name Moses, arguably an abbreviation of a
theophoric name, as for example in Egyptian names like
Thutmoses (
Thoth created him) and
Ramesses
Ramesses may refer to:
Ancient Egypt Pharaohs of the nineteenth dynasty
* Ramesses I, founder of the 19th Dynasty
* Ramesses II, also called "Ramesses the Great"
** Prince Ramesses (prince), second son of Ramesses II
** Prince Ramesses-Merya ...
(
Ra created him),
[Christopher B. Hays]