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In Latter-day Saint theology, the Arabic language is believed to be one of the contributory source languages of the Book of Mormon, along with Hebrew, Egyptian and also what was described as "Syriac" and "Chaldean", presumed to be contemporary Aramaic and/or Akkadian.
The Book of Mormon describes Lehi as a Manassite merchant living in the Kingdom of Judah, and was familiar with the language of Judah's neighbors, particularly the Egyptian language after which Nephi is believed to have been named. After Lehi and his party leave the ill-fated Jerusalem, they travel through the Arabian wilderness for many years until they reach the land of Bountiful, where they build a ship to cross the oceans. Either as a merchant or during this exodus, Lehi knows a form of the Arabic language as it exists at the time, and it is believed by Latter-day Saints to become influential in the linguistics of the Book of Mormon.
Abinadi is believed to be one such Arabic-influenced name. And Arabic Sam (also the name given to Lehi's third son) is the Arabic cognate of Hebrew Shem.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints publishes an edition of the Book of Mormon in Arabic. This edition is of particular interest to religious LDS linguistics studies, as the LDS Distribution Centre does not currently distribute a Hebrew language missionary edition while the Church prohibits proselytizing to Jewish people in Israel.
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