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Do the legal concepts in the Book of Mormon better match Joseph Smith's day, or the ancient world?
Nephi's experience in which he is commanded to slay Laban (1 Nephi 4꞉1-19) closely parallels two other cases in which Jewish scripture permitted one person to be slain for the good of a group of people, and seems to approve of the decision.[1]
In 2 Samuel 20, we read of Sheba, an Israelite who rebelled against David, and led all the tribes away from him (except for Judah). He is eventually beheaded so that Joab, David's general, won't destroy the entire city in which he is hiding.
In 2 Kings 24 and 2 Chronicles 36꞉5-8, we hear of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah who burned Jeremiah's prophecies.[2] Jehoiakim started out as a puppet king of Egypt, and ruled from about 609–598 BC, when the Babylonians finally got frustrated with him.
The following table compares Nephi's experience to these Biblical examples:[3]
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