Mosiah
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Mosiah was the king of the Nephite nation from about 124 BC to 91 BC according to the Book of Mormon. He was named after his grandfather, who is only talked about as King Benjamin's father in available records.
Mosiah instituted a new governing system on his deathbed after all of his sons refused to succeed him. After Mosiah's death in approximately 91 BC, a council of elected judges governed the land until Christ appeared (see Mosiah 29 (http://scriptures.lds.org/mosiah/29)).
The meaning attributed to the name "Mosiah" is unknown, but religious LDS linguistic studies suggest two possibilities:
- The name could be מֹשִׁעַ Mōšíªʿ, which means "anointed one". This theory is most favored by LDS scholars.
- The name could be a combination of the name Moses (as either Mōšeh or possible dialectual Mōseh or similar form; see similar example in the Sam article), combined with the name Yahweh, perhaps meaning "Moses of Jehovah", indicating a devotion. Possible form could be משיה Mōšiyyāh or Mōsiyyāh or משיהו Mōšiyyāhû or Mōsiyyāhû. This theory is less favored by LDS scholars, and is even used by critics of Mormonism to claim that the name was easily fabricated.
The Book of Mormon Arabic form is موصايا Mūṣāyā.