In 1844, the Prophet Joseph Smith went to his grave testifying of the Book of Mormon. By that point in his life, he had lived in the forests of Vermont and New York, the plains of Ohio and Missouri, and the swampy river bottoms of Nauvoo, Illinois. Yet the publication that defined his life began in a totally different world. The opening chapters of the Book of Mormon have a distinctly Arabian flavor, garnished with some Israelite and Egyptian dressings.
Growing up in the late-7th century BC, Nephi wrote in “the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians” (1 Nephi 1:2). Critics in the 1830s scoffed at the idea of Jews writing in Egyptian, and for decades this particular phrase was difficult even for believers to understand. Now, archaeological finds have uncovered over 200 texts in Israel dating to the 8th–7th centuries BC that use Egyptian script in a distinctive way. The peculiar phrasing of 1 Nephi 1:2 proves to be an apt description of what some scholars are calling “Palestinian hieratic.”
Though he grew up in Jerusalem, Nephi’s story is not about his life in the city. As he begins, he quickly tells of how his father was called as a prophet, carefully following the established pattern for Israelite prophetic-call narratives. As a prophet his father learned of the wickedness of the people, and then the family left the city and trekked down into the Arabian deserts to live and travel for 8 long years.
For an Israelite growing up in the holy city, leaving the elevated highlands of Jerusalem to go down into the wilderness must have been bittersweet. As Nephi would have known, the higher elevation represented closeness to the Lord, and the irony of descending to the sea, and finding a haven to offer sacrifices to the Lord, at an appropriate distance from the now wicked city, would not have been lost on him.
Gone were the comforts of city life. For nearly a decade, Nephi and his family would live like the Bedouin of the Arabian desert. Several hints from Nephi’s text suggest that Arabia left its mark on Nephi and his family. For instance, while settling into a valley near the Red Sea, Lehi used a poetic style similar to the Bedouin poets to exhort Laman and Lemuel to righteousness. Hugh Nibley specifically identified 7 features found in Arabic poetry that are also present in 1 Nephi 2:9–10:
- They are Brunnen[lieder]or Quellenlieder, as the Germans call them, meaning songs inspired by the sight of water gushing from a spring or running down a valley.
- They are addressed to one or (usually) two traveling companions.
- They praise the beauty and excellence of the scene, calling it to the attention of the hearer as an object lesson.
- The hearer is urged to be like the thing he beholds.
- The poems are recited extempore or on the spot and with great feeling.
- They are very short, each couplet being a complete poem in itself.
- One verse must be followed by its “brother,” making a perfectly matched pair.
Book of Mormon Central highlights the correlation to 1 Nephi 2:9–10:
Lehi: (1) sees that the river running through the valley empties into the sea, (2) addresses two of his sons traveling with him, (3) makes the majesty of the scene an object lesson for them, (4) urges them to be like the river and valley, (5) appears to give the poetic advice on the spot, (6) each verse is concise and can stand as complete on its own, and (7) pairs together two perfectly balanced couplets, directed at brothers, no less. Thus, Lehi’s poetry shares all seven features with Arabic poetry noted by Nibley.
While in that valley, Arabia haunted Lehi’s dreams. I can remember being very confused by the association of the river with a “gulf” as a kid reading the Book of Mormon. But in Arabia, this makes sense. This is one of many associations that lead S. Kent Brown to say, “as soon as we focus on certain aspects of Lehi’s dream, we find ourselves staring into the ancient world of Arabia.”
All rivers in Arabia are at the bottom of wadis, deep chasms in the Arabian mountains which can divide a traveler from where they want to go. After rainstorms these wadis fill with torrents of filthy water. This matches the imagery of Lehi’s dream perfectly. Lehi and Nephi probably witnessed this many times in their travels through Arabia. They were camping in such a wadi when Lehi had his dream—something that likely drove the symbolism home. Book of Mormon Central highlights how powerful an image this would have been for Lehi and Nephi:
In Arabia, deep chasms are filled with muddy water, separating travelers from their destination. This is the gulf of filthy water, the gulf of sin and unrighteousness, which separates the righteous from the wicked. This sweeping force struck Lehi and Nephi vividly as a powerful image of the natural justice of God.
Arabia is also home to where Nephi’s father-in-law, Ishmael, was buried. Remembering the location of Ishmael’s grave was important enough to Nephi that rather than record a personal toponym, as he does with every other place they stop, Nephi made sure to record the actual place name: Nahom. This important clue has allowed researchers to locate this place with a high degree of certainty.
This is because a similar name shows up on several maps of Arabia, and is also found in several inscriptions dating to the early 1st millennium BC, uncovered by archaeology in South Arabia. The maps assure us that “Nehem” was in the approximate location of Nephi’s Nahom, and the inscriptions confirm that the name dates back to Lehi’s day. Book of Mormon Central explains the significance of this evidence:
Could Nihm/Nehem be Nephi’s Nahom? The location of Nahom can be correlated with the family’s eastward turn and arrival in Bountiful (1 Nephi 17:1–5). Likewise, the only suitable location for Bountiful is on the southern Omani coast, in Dhofar, which is nearly due east from the Nihm territory in Yemen. Furthermore, coming down the caravan trails, traveling eastward is impossible in Arabia until reaching the Nihm area.
The inscriptions found at Mārib and elsewhere add assurance that the Nihm region was known by that name when Lehi’s family would have been there to bury Ishmael and mourn his death, and the overall correlation between Nihm and Nahom is striking. … Since the finding of these altars, it cannot honestly be maintained that there is no archaeological evidence for the Book of Mormon.
One of the strongest indications of Arabian influence may be the name Irreantum. When naming the sea they camped near, Nephi not only gives the name, but also translates it for us. This has led some scholars to suggest that the name was in a “foreign language” to Nephi, rather than his native Hebrew, or familiar Egyptian. One of the most compelling proposals is a South Arabian word that would have meant something along the lines of “fully abundant waters.”
Since this is a name Lehi’s family supplied themselves, it may hint at some familiarity with South Arabian languages. Given how long Nephi and his family spent in the area, it should come as no surprise that they learned the languages necessary to communicate with local populations.
Much, much more could be said about just how authentically Arabian Nephi’s account is, to say nothing of the Israelite and Egyptian influences that also seem to be present. Indeed, Nephi seems to inhabit a very different world than Joseph Smith did. From the sea they called Irreantum, Nephi’s family would set sail for the promised land, beating incredible odds to survive a dangerous voyage. But by then, it was already too late. Arabia had left its mark on Nephi, who lived his most formative years in its desert climes. That influence can readily be seen in the account he left behind.
Just a simple question from a non-member student of the Old Testament – who called Lehi as a prophet? Certainly there is no description of the details , even brief ones, of that specific call by God, how it occurred,no genealogy, no career description, eg ” vine dresser” that we have in many cases in the OT. Am I not mistaken but don’t many commentators comment on Lehi’s wealth which does not fit the ” mold” of the lifestyle of most prophets in the OT.
Just asking!
kind of like Moses . . .
Ultimately God calls people to be prophets. A number of OT prophets describe having a vision which to some extent seems to be part of their calling to be a prophet. Likewise, almost the first thing we read about Lehi is his vision (see 1 Nephi chapter 1 and 1 Nephi 5:4-5) I don’t think the Bible records details about how all of the OT prophets were called to be prophets either.
As you point out, the Book of Mormon indicates that Lehi was a wealthy man. However, at God’s command he left his wealth behind and became a wanderer in the desert. Therefore, Lehi does “fit the mold” or image of the typical OT prophet who leaves behind wealth. Moses is perhaps the best example of a major prophet who left behind wealth and ended up wandering in the desert to become a sheepherder. Lehi compares well with Moses in that regard. I don’t know of anything in the OT which precludes prophets from being wealthy.
Well 40 years as a shepherd qualifies Moses as one without wealth wouldn’t you say- don’t think he had a chariot or a bag of gold coins to send him on his way back to Egypt.
Also how would wealthy Lehi been effective as a prophet before he left all in Jerusalem- I just can’t see anyone paying attention to a man prophesying on the temple steps in an expensive robe. Just does not click for me :$$$ and the Word! Btw how did he obtain his wealth? Making money and prophesying just don’t go together. Look at the LDS prophets- they abandon any earthly standing to do the Lord’s work.
Just musin
“Well 40 years as a shepherd qualifies Moses as one without wealth wouldn’t you say”
Yes – later in his life. However, it’s important to look at the whole picture with both Moses and Lehi. Moses initially was one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in Egypt. As I already pointed out, he left all that to become a poor shepherd and a prophet of God. Likewise Lehi left his wealth and wandered in the desert to obey God and become a prophet. So, in that regard their stories are very similar.
The Book of Mormon does not specifically say how Lehi obtained his wealth. Scholars have written on this over the years and several theories have emerged but the Book of Mormon does not explicitly tell us. So what?
I understand the fact that many people have the idea that a holy man must be poor or downtrodden. However, that’s a stereotype which is not necessarily supported by the Bible. Where is the chapter and verse which states that you can’t be a prophet unless you are poor and dressed in rags? Moses was very wealthy initially. Daniel was wealthy (Daniel 5:29) Abraham was blessed with wealth – even “very rich:” (Gen. 12:16; Gen. 13:2,6; Gen. 24:35) He had 318 servants (Gen. 14:14). Isaac was wealthy (Gen. 26:12-14). Jacob was wealthy (Gen 36:6-7). Joseph who was sold into Egypt was a prophet who became and remained very wealthy second only to Pharaoh himself – kind of the opposite order as what happened to Moses. Job was wealthy, lost it all, and was then blessed of the Lord with even more wealth later. It seems that for a number of Bible prophets wealth and prophesying do go together.
The Book of Mormon has Lehi, as a wealthy man, prophesying to the people of Jerusalem and, like many prophets, not being very well received (See 1 Nephi Chapter 1). Lehi’s wealth may have allowed him the time needed to dedicate effort and time to being a prophet. Nevertheless, Lehi left his wealth behind to obey God.
…and nobody has mentioned Job yet…wealthy….poor…..wealthy again.
How was Lehi wealthy. In 596. The babylonians. Took the king and the weathiest captive to babylon. Apparentky abt 10000 people. Then they installed zedikiah as king. .did he get wealthy by taking advantage of the missing level of society that was taken captive. Did he just happen to be away from Jerusalem during the raid. .
Dave,
From a close reading of the text, it’s clear that Lehi was not a resident of Jerusalem:
The scriptures consistently describe going “up” when one approaches the Jerusalem (e.g., 1 Kings 12:28; Ezra 1:3; Matthew 20:17–18; Luke 2:42; John 2:13; Acts 13:31; Galatians 1:17–18; 1 Nephi 3:9–10, 29) and going “down” when one leaves Jerusalem (e.g., Mark 3:22; Luke 10:30; Acts 8:26; 25:7). This doesn’t refer to an elevation change, but rather going “up,” metaphorically, to the location of the Temple (or “down” when leaving it).
After Laman’s first failed attempt to get the brass plates from Laban, Nephi records that he and his brothers left the city and “went down to the land of our inheritance, and we did gather together our gold, and our silver, and our precious things” (1 Nephi 3:22, italics added). This indicates that Lehi’s home was not in Jerusalem, but in some other area within Judea.
Well, if my recall is correct, Abraham, one of the earlier prophets in the scriptures (Old Testament) was a wealthy man. He was a tent dweller and travelled, but he had under his care more than 100 employees if I remember, he had herds and was a merchant, I believe. He was well respected within his community. He attributed his wealth to God, and refused monetary or material rewards from other grateful wealthy leaders so that there was no mistake of the source of his prosperous life. Since Abraham is a true prophet of God and he lived it appears a humble life as a tent dweller always ready and willing to do his part. I believe he strongly supports the scripture in Jacob 2:18-19, “But before ye seek for riches seek ye for the kingdom of God. And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good – to cloth the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted.”
Since no one else has deigned to answer you yet, Frank, I am surprised at your question. If you had read the Book of Mormon then you would know the answer is in the first chapter of the book. In 1 Nephi 1:6-14 it describes his calling, which begins with “a pillar of fire” seen after praying unto the Lord, similar to what Moses saw. If that doesn’t answer your question, then you do not want an answer. As for his wealth, it is possible to give up all your wealth and follow God, as Christ told the rich young man to do, and Lehi did just that.
So Lehi may have lived at the Lehi cited in the OT- somewhere around chapter 16 and the story of Samson. From Samson’s story Lehi was some distance SW of Jerusalem near Philistine territory. So I thought Lehi prophesied in Jerusalem so he went “up” from Lehi to prophesy in Jerusalem not an easy distance to travel but he probably had relatives there. From whence did he make his gold and silver in Lehi his namesake-perhaps as civic leader or in the priestly caste? I have been to Lehi where LDS church is digging – not much there – currently an Israeli bombing range; in OT times synagogue pigeons bred there.
Comments ?
Hi Frank, I may be misreading you, but what you seem to be driving at with your initial question is a comparison between how Lehi and other OT prophets are called. Of course, Moses isn’t the only prophet (though certainly he’s pre-eminent), so we can examine several cases, including Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Ezekiel.
The link below summarizes the pattern and evaluates how well Lehi fits in. There are also several links to other articles for deeper analysis.
http://www.knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/tags/throne-theophany