KnoWhy #104 - How was Mosiah a Type of Christ? (Mosiah 26:12)

Two kings in the Book of Mormon bore the name Mosiah. The first was the father of Benjamin and king over Zarahemla, while the second was his grandson and is the Mosiah of the book of Mosiah. At first glance, this name could be derived from the Hebrew word messiah (“anointed one”). Kings, after all, were anointed, and so something like this name or title may have been used in the line of Nephite kings. Yet a more likely suggestion is that the name Mosiah derives from the Hebrew word môšiaʿ (mo-she-ah), or “a champion of justice in a situation of controversy, battle or oppression.” As explained by John Welch, the book of Mosiah is a book of saviors and deliverers.