And the final chapter is a summary of what he has been talking about. We hope these discussion questions help you gather your own light and insights from this admittedly rather dark section of Nephite and Lamanite history. At that moment they could all be saved and glorified. This is an interesting similarity to how things are today. The pillar of fire represented the sun appearing in the emptiness of darkness. The well-known Egyptian autobiography of Ahmose begins: “Naval commander Ahmose, son of Abana, justified, says: I speak to you, all people. Psalm 72 starts with a header: “A psalm for Solomon.” Psalm 73 starts with a header: “A psalm for Asaph.” Sometimes the KJV translators placed these headers before the first verse, and other times they made them the first verse itself–as is the case with Proverbs 31:1: “The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him.”. Thus began Israel’s dispersion9. We know he went forth some distance away, because after the vision he “returned to his own house at Jerusalem.” Nephi did not specify why he went forth, but casually mentions it as if it was something he did all the time. But the descending fire is a glorious experience to the righteous, and Lehi was excited that not only would his family be saved, they would produce a posterity of millions and be the instrument sof salvation in the western hemisphere. Getting out of Jerusalem, escaping the city bubble, helped Lehi gain perspective on what forces really matter and how helpless Israel truly was. Rock, fire, and water need to all three be there, because God is a consuming fire. 1 Nephi 11-14 A Charted Summary. Jerusalem had always managed to avoid destruction by some stroke of luck, and why would that change now? Well, Nephi says of this account of his “own life” that his purpose is to record “the ministry of my people”, that this record is “for the more part of the ministry” (see chapter 9). Thy throne is high in the heavens, and thy power, and goodness, and mercy are over all the inhabitants of the earth; and, because thou art merciful, thou wilt not suffer those who come unto thee that they shall perish! If someone today were tipped off about an imminent nuclear attack from Russia, would they go around preaching to people in the streets, or would they build a bomb shelter for their family or flee to Canada? The Gulf has a depth of 6,000 feet, the drop is precipitous--only a few feet away from the coral reef and shallow water, submerged cliff faces drop off hundreds of feet. For concerns and questions please contact. The Book of Esther is another case of both headings and colophon, like the Book of Mormon. Verse 11-15 This means he approached go in the interest of the people rather than in the place of the people. Origin Of The Name Nephi – Possibilities: Praise For Parents – Ancient Egyptian and Semetic life records often began by identifying the author and declaring his lineage good. But how could Nephi receive training in metal if there was no metal? (See Moses 1:10, Daniel 8:27, Daniel 10:8, 1 Nephi 17:47) Ammon and his converts passed out because the Spirit was so strong. Verse 18-20, Ancient Style Of Heading – Chapters and books of the bible often start with a heading introduction. Shouldn’t it be less detailed? – There were two reformed Egyptian scripts at this time: Hieratic and Demotic, and it is debated which may be the basis for the Book of Mormon’s reformed Egyptian. That phrase got a subject and verb “slain thy prophets” and clarified it was done with a “sword.” The translators wanted the seeking of his life to likewise get clarification of how it was done: it was taken away. Living water proceeds from the rock. What kind of guidance does the system of headings provide? When Babylon conquered Egypt at Carchemish in 605 BC, their invasion of Palestine soon followed. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”. It also contains much more. 1 Nephi 20 (Isaiah 48) The Lord reveals his purposes to Israel. The noun is simply missing. But he clearly was an ordained prophet doing what he was supposed to do. This would help explain the division between Nephi and his brothers, and Nephi’s eagerness to be close to his father. The paragraph marking you are seeing is not Joseph’s. Does The Book Of Mormon Contradict The Bible? Road Of Escape – The first place we read about a pillar of fire in the scriptures is the pillar of fire that attended the Israelites as they fled from Egypt with Moses. It gives credibility as an official statement, and indeed in this verse 3 we see Nephi speak like a witness called to the stand in a court of law: “I know that the record which I make is true; and I make it with mine own hand; and I make it according to my knowledge.” Though, it does not exclude the possibility that what you are reading is something transcribed by someone later, as was apparently the case with the Book of Abraham. Missionaries and members of the church may not be able to judge a person as we have not had the vision of the book of life, but the prophet today is called to exactly this role, and as long as we follow the direction and knowledge of the prophet we likewise will be correct in our ministries. “All the earlier prophesies–those of Hosea, Joel, Amose, Obadiah, Micah, Nahum, and Zephaniah–have some title introducing them. I was one worthy–one beloved of his father, praised by his mother.”. (See Exodus 13:21) Lehi may been waling on this very exodus road “as he went forth” and received his vision–perhaps on trading or government business. Yes, this is it so far. Zephaniah prophesied of the Jerusalem’s doom also at this time. Reality is harsh for those not planted on solid ground. Chapter 11 introduces the words of Isaiah. Bible headings were not added by modern translators, but originated with the original authors of the books or early scribes. They would have to pray with all their heart as Lehi prayed in order to escape captivity. In D&C 10, it sounds like Nephi’s copy of Lehi’s record ended up on a different set of plates entirely: “an account of those things that you have written, which have gone out of your hands, is engraven upon the plates of Nephi.” Here in 1 Nephi 1, he says “I make an abridgment of the record of my father upon plates.” Again, this is a different set of plates. The resulting vision is remarkable because it sheds additional light on the tree of life vision of Lehi. He apparently just did it on his own, which shows enormous bravery. The challenge of building a ship and sailing across the world seems impossible. The heading before the first verse of 1 Nephi follows this ancient style. This phrase marks a transition between Nephi's abridgment of his fathers record and the beginning of his own history. Gold plates were expensive, difficult to travel with, and hard to inscribe upon. 1:26, Ezek. Then Zedekiah was overthrown and Jerusalem completely taken in 586 BC. Nephi does not indicate that Lehi told the same stories of their travels as Nephi does in his account, but it sounds as if it was all pretty much prophecy. The Mayan zodiac circle uses similar symbolism, with the sun god surrounded by 19 glyphs, representing the 19 months of the Mayan year. We learn about the redemption and salvation through Jesus Christ, Lehi also speaks about how there is no good without evil… It contains an account of the visit of Jesus Christ to the inhabitants of ancient America. Lehi and the other prophets who have recorded their experiences reading the book of God are in so doing enabled to judge the twelve tribes of Israel, because the book informs them of God’s decrees. This must have been the moment Lehi saw the writing on the wall. At some point Lehi had priesthood keys give to him through the laying on of hands and it makes sense that this happened before leaving Jerusalem and was the reason he went forth to preach and prophesy. Headings could be at the beginning of the book or at the end–in which case they are called colophons. It’s not just about how bright the light remains, but the timing of the One and twelve. In the apocrapha, LXX Esther ends with a colophon attributing the “translation to one Lysimachus son of Ptolemy, in Jerusalem.” But Esther starts with a heading as well, as we see in our own Old Testament, to give context and setting for the book: “Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces:)”. We see this frequently in the Book of Mormon, where overcoming resurrection through death is called “subduing” or dominating death. It is little things like this in Joseph Smith’s translation that convinces me it was achieved through the power of God. The advocate pleads in behalf of the prisoner.” He also considered the citizens of Jerusalem here “his” people rather than “the” people. Seeking life is the same as taking life away. Nice project. But here as Nephi wrote this by his own hand, he gave it as a heading. The most compelling reason verses 1-3 would belong with the heading is that they are written in present tense grammar like the heading. Jeremiah preached the same thing the entire time. Nephi reports that they gathered “all manner of seeds of every kind, both of grain of every kind, and also of the seeds of fruit of every kind.” (1 Nephi 8:1). My father was a soldier…” In that opening header, he begins by mentioning his father and calling his father justified and calls himself rewarded in life. God never actually commanded or suggested to him to preach repentence, from what we find out in these verses. How did it get from 12 to 24? Verse 18 explains that this first part of Nephi’s record is “an abridgment of the record of my father.” He explains that this book is not “a full account of the things which my father hath written, for he hath written many things which he saw in visions.” He thus introduces Lehi’s “visions”– and then “after I have abridged the record of my father then will I make an account of mine own life.”. But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.”. 1 Ne 10:1 And now I, Nephi, proceed to give an account upon these plates of my proceedings. Revelation 12:1 brings it back to cosmology by calling them 12 stars on the wreath of God’s head. The Lord warns Lehi to depart out of the land of Jerusalem, because he prophesieth unto the people concerning their iniquity and they seek to destroy his life. People do not want to acknowledge the likelihood of doom when the consequences are unimaginable. This certainly fits the profile of a trader always out and about. It means he didn’t dictate the text to someone to write it down and there can be no mistakes. Lost 116 Pages – Indeed, 116 pages worth is a lot of visions, prophecy, and dreams to have. And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that they might take it away. Likewise today, those who do not fall in line in the culture wars are considered seditious, and their calls for people to repent are met with outrage and hostility, for being so “judgemental”. Lehi’s full explanation likewise must have included Christ’s ascension on the cross and the rest of the symbolism we see in Revelation and Facsimile 2 of Christ’s atonement. 1 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, returned from a speaking with the Lord, to the tent of my father. Your email address will not be published. In 2 Nephi, Nephi gives at great length is final patriarchal blessings to his children, and Nephi probably included this in his own account because Lehi was too old and feable to write it himself in his record. 126 years after Assyria conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel and many fled to Jerusalem where Isaiah was successfully preaching repentance to a penitent audience. When you are out traveling alone in the wilderness, you see how helpless man is to the elements of nature and forces of the world. Scholars speculate that Nephi was in formal training to be a professional scribe. In 1 Nephi 21:3,8 and the rest of chapter 21 (Isaiah 49), the servant called "Israel" is Christ. Be willing to question political alliances and cultural foundations, and seek after the power that truly matters in this universe. It was therefore appropriate for Lehi at this time to feel panic the way things were going, as a pro-Egypt member of the upper class. The God of Israel will come six hundred years from the time Lehi left Jerusalem. Privacy policy: This site uses Google Analytics to track and analyze visitor usage of this website, which may involve cookies. Here in chapter 1, Nephi only gave a couple sentences of what must have been a long and detailed vision from Lehi, as that was something he wrote in the copy of Lehi’s record. This sounds more like the book of 1 Nephi. Symmetrical Structure? “Having seen many afflictions in the course of my days”, “Having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God”, Nehi/Nehri – An Egyptian name. Sinai filled with smoke and fire, but this time the entire mountain will turn to lava. Designed using Unos Premium. What is hidden from view in a cloud by day becomes apparent when the darkest hour of night comes. “The Egyptians, always conscious of death, never ceased in their endeavors to conquer it.” (Siegfried Morenz) Lehi passed out overcome by sleep as if he died, and then he was reborn as a different creature, much like Alma the Younger’s experience being overcome by quaking and trembling before the angel of the Lord. Even today, this is not something a typical person would be able to do. For example, here is the heading to Monk Paham’s will dating to the 8th century AD: “I, Paham, have written this will with my own hand, while dwelling on the mountain of Jeme as a monk.” Note how the first three words are exactly like Nephi’s introduction, “I, Nephi, having…” The list of other examples of wills from this time period go on: Scholars have found that “similar formulas are used in Greek inscriptions on stone that are of an official or legal in nature: last wills and testaments, manumissions of slaves, consecreations of children to divinities, etc.” (Steve Reece) This last function is interesting, as Nephi is clear about his “intent” in 1 Nephi 6: to pass the plates down to his descendants so that they write “the things of God.” “Wherefore, I shall give commandment unto my seed, that they shall not occupy these plates with things which are not of worth unto the children of men.” 1 Nephi certainly functions as a consecration of his descendants to divinity. Faith will make us might–not to defeat the invading armies but to deliver ourselves from the sins of the people. Summary of 2 Nephi Lehi opens Second Nephi with his prophecies concerning the future of his posterity. For example, some scholars see 9:1 as an allusion to the book’s overall structure (Hurowitz 2001:218), when it is said that wisdom’s house has ‘seven pillars.’. After Hezekiah, Manassah became king of Jerusalem and reigned in wickedness, which led to Jeremiah’s preaching repentance. In any case, this combination of scribal and metallurgical knowledge set the perfect stage for gold plates to be created. Lehi explains that Jerusalem will be destroyed, and he bestows a general curse and blessing upon Jerusalem. Every thing else is just an imitation. Or like twelve numbers surrounding the hands of a clock. Haggai 1:1: “In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the Lord by [the hand of] Haggai the prophet…” Again, “by” here is be yad. Why do these things lead him to write a book of scripture? Those were the compositor’s. It would also be the road Jesus would take as a baby into Egypt and then as a young man returning to Israel. [This study guide corresponds to the Come, Follow Me lesson "Lift Up Your Head and Be of Good Cheer" D&C 10 tells us that the lost 116 pages included a reference to another set of plates with Nephi’s account: “you remember it was said in those writings that a more particular account was given of these things upon the plates of Nephi.” So, this explanation of separate sets of plates edited and arranged by Mormon was already there, and was not something Joseph Smith made up as post-justification. Matthew in the New Testament starts with the “generations of Jesus” to prove he descended directly from Abraham. The one thing the mist seems to leave open to view is the building (the false teaching). Malachi 1:1: “The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by [the hand of] Malachi.” The word “by” here is be yad. The mix of Hebrew and foreign script always indicates close contact with those foreign nations through trading: “In particular during times when Jews were more integrated into the wider society, this is reflected in the general writing style,” which “can also be reflected in the Hebrew script itself.” Andalusian Jews, for example, “incorporated ideas from Arabic legal writing, philosophy and poetry into their works.” (Josef Meri) Their Hebrew script itself altered to look more Arabic. Isaiah 1:1 called the book a “vision” in its heading. But examples of Egyptian headings display a similar enormous length, as I will show later in this article. Why wold Nephi spend time and precious resources telling the same events that he already talked about in his copy of Lehi’s record? All who accept Christ in the proper way and follow him become a part of the house of Israel (compare 1 Nephi 14:1-2; 3 Nephi 16:13). I will let you know the favors that were granted me. Either way, Joseph Smith copied a set of plates that included Nephi’s abridgement of Lehi’s account and then moved on to Nephi’s account down to Mosiah, and then Words Of Mormon at the very end of the plates as a final colophon. Nephi, as a metallurgist, understood the importance of metal weapons and sought to make sure that his people would always be armed with superior firepower–something which becomes a theme throughout the Book of Mormon. The heading speaks in present tense: “The Lord warns Lehi to depart out of the land…”, on and on, and then we get to verse one: “I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents…” Saying “having been” instead of “have been” is a present passive perfect participle, and it makes the sentence reference to the past but still in present tense. That would mean Nephi was well-traveled and knew the route to and from Egypt. Nephi’s record is a physical confirmation that Nephi kept his covenants and was therefore goodly. … Would you like updates when content is posted? Likewise, any missionary could tell you about brilliant, intelligent people who choose to ignore a basic truth of the gospel because they don’t have the courage to face up to it, it is uncomfortable, or they don’t want to change their lifestyle. – The last part in this statement about symmetrical arrangement of heading titles is interesting because it speaks to the chiasmic structure of 1 Nephi 1:1, which I will talk about later. *This is a suggested outline that coincides with the Come, Follow Me manual. So how was it decided that there would be a break from the heading to the first verse where it ended up? He then mentions where his is from and gives a brief description of his father. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 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