Ziff, Magic Goggles, and Golden Plates Etymology of Zyf and a Metallurgical Analysis of the Book of Mormon Plates Jerry D. Grover, Jr. PE, PG ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ZIFF,%MAGIC%GOGGLES,% AND%GOLDEN%PLATES% ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! % ZIFF,%MAGIC%GOGGLES,%% AND%GOLDEN%PLATES% ! The%Etymology%of%Zyf%and%a%Metallurgical%Analysis%of%the% Book%of%Mormon%Plates% % % by% Jerry%D.%Grover,%Jr.%PE,%PG% % % ! ! ! ! ! Jerry!D.!Grover,!Jr.,!is!a!licensed!Professional!Structural!and!Civil!Engineer!and!a!licensed!Professional!Geologist.!He! has!an!undergraduate!degree!in!Geological!Engineering!from!BYU!and!a!Master’s!Degree!in!Civil!Engineering!from! the!University!of!Utah.!He!speaks!Italian!and!Chinese!and!has!worked!with!his!wife!as!a!freelance!translator!over! the!past!25!years.!He!has!provided!geotechnical!and!civil!engineering!design!for!many!private!and!public!works! projects.!He!took!a!12Lyear!hiatus!from!the!sciences!and!served!as!a!Utah!County!Commissioner!from!1995!to!2007.! He!is!currently!employed!as!the!site!engineer!for!the!remediation!and!redevelopment!of!the!1750Lacre!Geneva! Steel!site!in!Vineyard,!Utah.! ! ! Acknowledgments:!!I!am!thankful!for!the!excellent!professional!editing!provided!by!Sandra!Thorne.!!I!enjoyed!the! encouragement!provided!by!Dr.!John!L.!Sorenson.!!The!Semitic!language!research!assistance!of!David!Calabro!was! also!greatly!helpful.!!And!finally!to!my!wife!and!kids,!for!their!patient!attentiveness!during!my!excited!dinner!table! diatribes!about!the!exciting!processes!of!depletion!gilding.! ! ! ! Grover!Publishing,!PO!Box!2113,!Provo,!Utah!84606! ©!Jerry!D.!Grover!Jr.,!2015! All!rights!reserved.!No!part!of!this!book!may!be!reproduced!in!any!form!or!by!any!means!without!written! permission.!! ! ISBNL10:!0986318957! ISBNL13:!978L0L9863189L5L5! On%the%front%cover:%% Experimental!patina!generation!of!depletion!gilded!gold!plates!using!9Lcarat!silverLgoldLcopper!alloy!(Del!Solar!et!al.! 1982)! On%the%back%cover:%! Tairona!bird!pendant!with!cast!and!gilt!tumbaga,!from!Minca,!Santa!Marta!Magdalena,!Museo!del!Oro,!Bogata,! Columbia!(Del!Solar!et!al.!1982)! Sitting!tumbaga!statuette!of!a!Quimbaya!cacique!(chief)!from!Colombia,!private!collection,!Madrid,!Spain! GoldLcopperLsilver!alloy!ternary!color!diagram!!(Del!Solar!et!al.!1982)! ! ! ! iv! ! ! ! Contents! ! List!of!figures!.....................................................................................................................................!vi! 1.!Ziff—Text!and!Translation!.............................................................................................................!1! 2.!Narrowing!the!Possibilities!...........................................................................................................!5! 3.!Approach!to!Investigation!of!Ziff!Possibilities!...............................................................................!7! 4.!Ziff!as!an!Existing!English!Word!.....................................................................................................!11! 5.!Ziff!as!a!Transliteration!of!an!Existing!NonLEnglish!Word!.............................................................!13! 6.!Modern!Dictionary!Definitions!for!!"#!(sifr/sufr)!and!$%"!(zyf)!..............................................!19! 7.!Further!Analysis!of!Sifr/Sufr*(!"#)!.............................................................................................!25! 8.!Ziff!as!an!Original!Book!of!Mormon!Civilization!Word!..................................................................!31! 9.!Ziff!in!the!Americas!.......................................................................................................................!45! 10.!Of!Snakes!and!Serpents!..............................................................................................................!59! 11.!Ziff!and!the!Golden!Plates!...........................................................................................................!67! 12.!Metallurgy!of!the!Interpreters!and!Other!Potential!Metallic!Items! Present!with!the!Book!of!Mormon!Plates!..................................................................................!97! 13.!Conclusions!.................................................................................................................................!103! References!........................................................................................................................................!104! Index!.................................................................................................................................................!116! ! ! ! ! v! ! ! ! Figures! ! 1.!Pliny!the!Elder!................................................................................................................................!7! 2.!GoldLsilverLcopper!color!ternary!diagram!.....................................................................................!27! 3.!Color!difference!of!copperLzinc!alloys!...........................................................................................!29! 4.!Semitic!language!family!.................................................................................................................!33! 5.!Interrelationship!between!Old!Testament!manuscripts!................................................................!34! 6.!Bible!editions!timeline!...................................................................................................................!34! 7.!Depiction!of!demon!Jinn!Shaitan!...................................................................................................!43! 8.!Tairona!tumbaga!pendant!.............................................................................................................!46! 9.!Oxalis!pubescens!plant!..................................................................................................................!48! 10.!Steps!in!the!depletion!gilding!process!.........................................................................................!50! 11.!Photomicrograph!showing!depletionLgilded!layers!.....................................................................!51! 12.!Leyden!Papyrus!............................................................................................................................!52! 13.!Tibetan!rhyton!with!depletion!gilding!.........................................................................................!53! 14.!GoldLcopperLsilver!diagram!.........................................................................................................!54! 15.!Sculpture!11!at!KaminalJuyu!........................................................................................................!62! 16.!Bronze!serpent!with!gilded!gold!head!.........................................................................................!64! 17.!Sphinx!of!Siamun!with!inlay!gold!and!black!patina!......................................................................!77! 18.!Sobek!Aegis!with!gold!and!inlay!black!patina!..............................................................................!78! 19.!Sphinx!of!Thutmos!III!with!inlay!gold!and!black!patina!................................................................!78! 20.!Gold!plate!of!King!Darius!.............................................................................................................!79! 21.!Bronze!dagger!blades!...................................................................................................................!80! 22.!Experimental!patina!generation!..................................................................................................!81! 23.!Bicolored!flat!tumbaga!disk!.........................................................................................................!82! 24.!Gold!monkey!figurine!..................................................................................................................!83! 25.!Schematic!diagrams!of!gilding!layers!...........................................................................................!84! 26.!Drawing!of!“D”!shaped!rings!........................................................................................................!85! ! vi! ! ! 27.!Artist’s!rendering!of!the!plates!with!rings!...................................................................................!85! 28.!Schematic!drawing!of!galvanic!corrosion!....................................................................................!93! 29.!Ternary!diagram!of!alloys!............................................................................................................!94! ! ! ! ! vii! ! ! Introduction! % One!day!while!viewing!various!Internet!videos!involving!the!Book!of!Mormon,!I!happened!across!a!video!of!a!Joint! presentation!by!Dr.!John!Clark,!Matthew!Roper,!and!Wade!Ardern!from!the!2005!FAIR!Conference!on!Archaeology! and!the!Book!of!Mormon.!!As!part!of!the!presentation,!Matthew!Roper!displayed!slides!indicating!various!Book!of! Mormon!items!as!“unknowable”!because!they!were!“logically!beyond!proof!or!disproof”!as!it!is!not!known!“what! they!are!in!the!real!world.”!Chief!among!those!listed!by!Mr.!Roper!was!the!“famous!but!mysterious!metal!ziff,”!with! Mr.!Roper!citing!from!the!nineteenthLcentury!antiLMormon,!Origen!Bacheler.!!Bacheler!made!the!following! challenge!in!his!publication,!Mormonism*Exposed*Internally*and*Externally:! And!what!kind!of!metal!is!ziff!!Come,!Joseph,!on!with!thy!goggles,!and!translate!thy!translation,!and!tell!us! what!ziff*means.!(Bacheler!1838,!14)!