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Pillar
of Fire Author's Note: Pillar of Fire is a fictional work based on events recorded in the opening chapter of the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. The story, settings, and, in some instances, the plot lines were developed from historical research of the period. Though it is impossible to review all the sources that contributed to the preparation of this novel, the following notes summarize the historical basis of elements in the story. Prologue The story of Joseph interpreting Pharaoh's dream is taken directly from the Old Testament, Genesis chapter 41. Much of the dialogue comes from the scriptural account, as well as the description of the dream and the giving of a ring and amulet by Pharaoh to Joseph. However, there is no record in the Old Testament of a sword and brass plates being given to Joseph's sons as symbols of their Hebrew birthright. Birthright treasures, or treasures of inheritance, were commonly passed from father to son in the royal families of both the Old Testament and Book of Mormon and usually included an inheritance of land as well as the authority to preside. Based on scripture and the diaries of early LDS church members who were with the prophet Joseph Smith when he discussed the sword of Laban and the brass plates, it is likely that Joseph who was sold into Egypt prepared these treasures for his sons before his death and that they served to designate Ephraim and Manasseh as his heirs, who were worthy of a royal birthright (Brett L. Holbrook, "The Sword of Laban as a Symbol of Divine Authority and Kingship"). According to Jewish tradition, Methuselah slew demons with a wonderful sword. It was the same weapon that Abraham is said to have inherited and passed on to Isaac who, in turn, gave it to Esau, only to have his brother Jacob take it from him for a mess of pottage. If Joseph did impart a sword to his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, then early LDS sources suggest it may have been inscribed with the words mentioned in this prologue (Daniel N. Rolph, "Prophets, Kings, and Swords: The Sword of Laban and its Possible Pre-Laban Origins"). Moses freed the Hebrew slaves and brought them out of Egypt. The tribes of Judah and Benjamin settled the lands near the capital city of Jerusalem. The remaining ten tribes settled the lands northward. Near the end of King Solomon's reign, the prophet Ahijah declared that one of the king's generals, a man named Jeroboam, would rule over Israel. Jeroboam was head of the house of Joseph, which included the tribes of both Ephraim and Manasseh, two of Israel's most powerful political groups. When Solomon heard the prophecy that one of his own military officers would be given the kingdom instead of his son, he sought to take the man's life. General Jeroboam fled to Egypt and remained in exile until the death of Solomon, when he returned and led the northern ten tribes to secede from the kingdom over the issue of high taxation (Old Testament Student Manual: 1 Kings-Malachi). The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh were part of the newly formed Northern Kingdom and it is likely that Joseph's sword and plates of brass were kept by the king in the capital city of Samaria (Rolph, "Prophets, Kings, and Swords: The Sword of Laban and its Possible Pre-Laban Origins"). Excavations around Samaria concur with the writings found on a stone tablet left by the son of the conquering king, Sargon II. He claimed to have constructed ramparts of earth, brought up battering rams, and dug tunnels to penetrate the city's fortifications. He also took as prisoners over two hundred thousand people from the ten tribes, along with their livestock (Old Testament Student Manual: 1 Kings-Malachi). During the war, some twenty thousand refugees fled to Jerusalem, doubling the population of the southern kingdom's capital city (Great People of the Bible and How They Lived). It is possible that both the sword of Joseph and the brass plates found their way to Jerusalem at this time. It is not certain if Hoshea, the last king to rule over the Northern Kingdom, escaped during the kingdom's fall, but he and his family may have been part of this vast migration of Jews and could have transported the national treasures to Jerusalem (Rolph, "Prophets, Kings, and Swords: The Sword of Laban and its Possible Pre-Laban Origins"). If Hoshea and his sons did escape to Jerusalem, we do not know if they were given an estate in the upper city or deeded property. Based on the relative status and wealth of Hoshea's descendants as recorded in the Book of Mormon one hundred and twenty years later, it is possible that he and his sons were well received by the King of Judah. Many scholars suggest that the sword and brass plates Laban kept guarded in his treasury were national treasures, and the Babylonians would have attempted to confiscate them as a sign of conquest over Judah just as the Egyptians carried the arc of the covenant back to Tanis after their invasion of the kingdom (Rolph, "The Sword of Laban as a Symbol of Divine Authority and Kingship"). The succession of kings in the Northern Kingdom was accomplished more by murder and assassination of fathers by sons than by other less-violent means (Old Testament Student Manual: 1 Kings-Malachi). The fictional account of Laban obtaining the treasures from his father and brothers is not out of line with what we know about the military captain's nature. The Book of Mormon indicates that Laban was prone to acts of violence in protecting his wealth and powerful standing among the Jews. Chapter One The majority of this historical novel takes place over a period of six months, opening in August of the year preceding Lehi's family's departure from Jerusalem. The footnotes in the Book of Mormon indicate the year for the beginning of this novel should be about 601 B.C. More precise dating has determined the most likely year to be 598 B.C., with Lehi and his family escaping from the land of Jerusalem a year later. A casual reading of the Book of Mormon may cause confusion since the date in the scripture's footnote is an approximation: "about 600 B.C." For that reason, the opening of this novel in 601 B.C. is dated to coincide with the approximate date listed on page one of the Book of Mormon rather than the precise year, 598 B.C., when these events took place. The smallest linear measurement among the Hebrews at the turn of the sixth century before Christ was a barleycorn. The next largest was the width of a finger, equal to two barleycorns laid end to end. Four fingers equaled a palm length. Three palms laid end to end were called a span, and two spans equaled a cubit, or about eighteen inches. The Egyptian cubit measured two inches more than the Hebrew cubit, about twenty inches, because the pharaoh who adopted the use of the cubit for measure had a larger palm than the standard used among the Jews. A short cubit was often used in Hebrew measurements. It was five palms, rather than six (Old Testament Student Manual: 1 Kings- Malachi). About eight months prior to the fictional move of Jonathan's family to Jerusalem, the nation of Babylon declared war on Israel. It was a short three-month war, ending with the fall and surrender of Jerusalem. The Babylonians took the seventeen-year-old king named Jehoiachin and his family captive and brought them back to Babylon as a symbol of their conquest, but the conquerors were not interested in ruling the kingdom. They appointed the boy-king's uncle, Zedekiah, as a vassal king with the stipulation that he pay a tribute tax each year of about one quarter of the gross national product (Great People of the Bible and How They Lived). They also took captive all of Jerusalem's blacksmiths, uprooting whole families and leaving their property without a legal birthright heir. Blacksmiths were the foundation of a strong army, and no intelligent general went to war without a host of them to mend swords and breastplates. Before the Babylonian army left the city in April, 601 B.C., they ran roughshod through Jerusalem's blacksmithing district to keep the Israelites from rebuilding their military might. Jonathan the blacksmith and his son Aaron are fictional characters, but their trade and expertise as blacksmiths are historically based. The first labor unions were among ancient Phoenician blacksmiths who united themselves into guilds to protect their secrets. Of all the smiths in the ancient world, none were more acclaimed for their secrets than the Phoenicians living along the northeast coast of the Mediterranean Sea, in what is now Lebanon. Phoenician blacksmiths refined the art of steelmaking, a secret they kept closely guarded and one that garnered them a great deal of wealth. Centuries before the opening of this novel, King Solomon hired blacksmiths from Sidon, a famous port city along the Mediterranean coast, to assist him in building the temple in Jerusalem (William J. Hamblin, "Sacred Writings on Bronze Plates in the Ancient Mediterranean"). Zadock is a fictitious character with a historical basis in what scholars call metonymic names or what could be called a nickname (Gordon C. Thomasson, "What's in a Name?"). Anciently, Jews used personal names as titles much the same way we call people by the name of famous personalities i.e.: a good student is an Einstein, a good batter a Babe Ruth, a good playwright a Shakespeare. The Jews were expert at the use of metonymic names. The name Elias, for example, is a personal name as well as a title given to men who act as forerunners (John the Baptist was an Elias because he was a forerunner to Christ). Zadock was a famous Chief Elder or chief priest presiding over the Council of Elders at Jerusalem. His name was used to refer to men who followed in his place, a sort of title given to those equated with the greatness of the original Zadock. His name became synonymous with Chief Elder, and a good Jew in Old Testament times would understand the name to mean a respected head of the Council of Elders of the Jews at Jerusalem. After the Babylonian invasion, our Zadock may have been more powerful than the monarchy. King Zedekiah was appointed by the Babylonians, which diminished his political power in the eyes of many prominent Jews. Into this political vacuum stepped Zadock who held sway with the princes and nobles of the city and who influenced Israel's government from his position that today would be akin to the mayor of the city council, but with far more sweeping powers. Captain Yaush was a historical character who governed the city-fort at Lakhish. His authority extended across the mountainous regions south of Jerusalem and his palace-fort sat high above the southern leg of the trade route. Any caravaneer trading between Israel and Egypt passed by way of Fort Lakhish. It is not certain what part Yaush played in the pursuit of the prophet Uriah. It appears he may have been unwilling and is depicted as such in this chapter. He did, however, play a significant role (Nibley, "Dark Days in Jerusalem"). Uriah was a historical character who lived south of Jerusalem in a small town near Fort Lakhish. The Old Testament and the Lakhish letters tell us that he was a prophet of considerable reputation. In this chapter he quotes Proverbs 10:2. Events from his life are recorded throughout this novel. Chapter Two From the ancient ruins of Fort Lakhish come the only known written records of Jerusalem during the time period of 600 B.C., apart from the Book of Mormon and Jeremiah's writings in the Old Testament. The Lakhish letters are a collection of messages and orders sent between the military commander in Jerusalem (possibly Captain Laban) and Captain Yaush at Fort Lakhish. Both Laban and Yaush were historical figures: Laban mentioned frequently in the Book of Mormon, and Yaush in the Lakhish letters. The communications between the two men indicate that some soldiers in Laban's army and possibly Commander Yaush himself may have vacillated between loyalty toward Laban and support of Uriah the prophet. The King of Judah, Zedekiah, is silent in all this, deferring much of the decision making to his generals. The collection of Lakhish letters, written on potsherds, were excavated from the ruins of Fort Lakhish in the area believed to be a secret and highly secured guard station, which explains why they may have survived after the fort was destroyed in the second Babylonian invasion. Hugh Nibley suggests the letters were part of a military investigation and court marshal of military personnel involved with the circumstances surrounding the prophet Uriah's insurrection (Nibley, "Dark Days in Jerusalem"). The courier Hosha Yahu is a historical character and was considered a high military official. He was in charge of the kingdom's mail delivery system in southern Judah and was suspect in the military investigation surrounding the leak of sensitive information from the Lakhish letters to the prophet Uriah. The Lakhish letters indicate that the mail headed to the fort passed through Hosha Yahu's hands (Nibley, "Lakhish letters," 380-406). Shechem was
a historical character who lived in the hills surrounding Jerusalem, but
in a different time period than Lehi. Anciently, robbers wore extremely
long hair out of the desire to be regarded as possessing similar physical
strength to Samson. Jewish tradition indicates that many robbers wore
long hair. Robbers were recruited from every walk of life: the poor, the
rich, the adventurous, the outcast. They appointed their own priests,
fostered their own religious creeds, and made oaths to conceal their misdeeds.
Some members of robber bands were citizens of Jerusalem, holding high
office in government. A robber's aim was not simply monetary; they sought
power as well. Their goal was to control the kingdom by gaining control
of the throne, not by revolt, but by placing men in high position on governing
councils. To this conspiring end, robbers did not shrink from committing
murders. It was not uncommon for robbers to sneak into Jerusalem during
large feast celebrations and murder government officials who refused either
to join their order or to cooperate in promoting members of their band
placed in government positions. Though Shechem was not contemporary with
Lehi, robber bands like his were, and they practiced traditions similar
to the Gadianton robbers described in the Book of Although
Ruth is a fictional character, the struggles she witnessed between the
prophets and the leaders of government in Jerusalem around 600 B.C. are
historically based (Nibley, "Dark Days in Jerusalem"). Each
side sought public support for their religious and political ideas in
a fight that crossed social, religious and political lines. The prophets
preached that the only way to avoid another war was accommodation and
peace with Babylon, but the Elders wanted nothing to do with that. Most
of the princes of the city, the members of the council of Elders, etc.
were businessmen and the only way to get From the time of his appointment as king, Zedekiah vacillated between the prophetic call for peace on one side and the Elders of the Jews' desire to normalize relations with Egypt on the other. It was because Zedekiah finally succumbed to the Elders of the Jews and stopped paying tribute to Babylon (about nine years after Lehi left Jerusalem) that the Babylonian army returned to Judah and leveled the city to the ground. The Book of Mormon tells us (2 Nephi 1: 3-4) that when Lehi reached the New World he was given a vision of the destruction of Jerusalem, which began Israel's seventy-year captivity recorded in the last books of the Old Testament (Great People of the Bible and How They Lived; also Nibley, "The Jerusalem Scene"). Chapter Three Most inner courtyards of the homes in Jerusalem were used to grow some sort of food, usually grapes or olives. Because food was always a concern for city dwellers, no open space went uncultivated. The family of Jonathan the blacksmith is fictional. Daniel's desire to join the army and prove himself through his wrestling skills is very much in line with what we know about military training during this time. After the war with Babylon, the Jewish military began rebuilding their forces, and joining the army was a quick way to earn money. The Jews adopted a Greek military model for training their soldiers that included tests of strength, the final test being a wrestling match. It was not uncommon for the captains of the army to also be the finest wrestlers. It should be noted that by this time the fame of Hercules, a military wrestler in Athens, had spread through the Mediterranean region, into Egypt and beyond (Guidance Associates Video Reproduction, "The Ancient Games"). Chapter Four The Old Testament
indicates that the art forms depicting a serpent were used at various
times by the Hebrews to designate the Messiah who would redeem Israel.
The symbol was employed by various factions within Judaism. Moses smithed
a serpent out of brass and held it up before the camp of Israel, telling
them to "look upon it and be saved." The brasswork was kept
in the temple with the Ark of the Covenant and thought lost until it was
discovered by King Josiah in the temple along with some missing temple
scrolls around 610 B.C. It is believed that Moses's brass serpent was
taken with other spoils of The prophet
Uriah is a historical character who made his home in Qiryat Ye'arim, the
same town where his extended family, father, mother, and siblings resided.
The exact timing of Uriah's escape is not certain since scholars disagree
on the Old Testament record of who was actually king at the time, Zedekiah
or his older brother, Jehoiakim. Most scholars agree that one of the prophet
Jeremiah's scribes, possibly Baruch, incorrectly recorded in the Old Testament
that Uriah's escape took place under the rule Two records give us a picture of the events portrayed in this chapter. The Old Testament indicates that Uriah avoided imprisonment by escaping. The Lakhish letters tell us that the commander of the military in Jerusalem (possibly Laban) wrote to Commander Yaush at Fort Lakhish, telling him that he was concerned about the effect Uriah's preaching had on the morale of his soldiers. Uriah's preaching "weakened the hand" or was a concern for the morale of his army. Yaush was finally ordered to apprehend Uriah since the prophet lived in the town near the fort. The first attempt failed and a second attempt was made to capture him (Nibley, "Dark Days in Jerusalem").
The old city of Jerusalem was built almost entirely on hills, and any resident who got around the city did so by climbing rather steep inclines. The climb began at the south end in the city of David (lower city) and moved north up the hills of Solomon's City (upper city) onto the slopes of the temple mount. Today Jerusalem is famous for three hills. The first is the site where Abraham bound Isaac as sacrifice, and where he was subsequently delivered by an angel. The second is the temple mount; the third, Golgotha, where Jesus Christ was crucified. In 600 B.C. only the first two hills held special significance. They were inside the city gates proper. Golgotha was located outside the walls of the old city. Chapter Six Scholars of textiles indicate that the kilts worn by men of the Scottish highlands, as well as the plaid patterns used in their clothing to establish clan membership, may have been adopted from the ancient Israelites. The common dress for boys and young men in ancient Judah and Egypt was a kilt. Some were made of cloth and others of leather. Each of the twelve tribes of Israel had its own distinct cloth pattern that they wove into blankets and clothing. It is possible that the traditional cloth patterns and kilts of the Scottish clans are modern vestiges of Ancient Israelite dress (Florence E. Petzel, "Textiles of Ancient Mesopotamia, Persia and Egypt"). The Egyptian foot loom was invented about 620 B.C. and was gaining popularity in Mediterranean countries about the time Lehi left Jerusalem. The introduction of the foot loom saved enormous amounts of time as well as allowing weavers to use more intricate patterns that had previously required far too much labor to be practical. An Egyptian foot loom is displayed as part of the Rameses exhibit of the Egyptian National Archives and Museum Authority (Petzel, "Textiles of Ancient Mesopotamia, Persia and Egypt"). The London Museum of Natural History displays a replica of the only known Egyptian water clock in existence today. The original is in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (Great People of the Bible and How They Lived). It is a large clay bucket with markings on the inside. It is unclear exactly how the Egyptians calibrated their readings, but there are numerous references to its use in the ancient world. When the Book of Mormon was first published by Joseph Smith, scholars claimed that Israel had few ties to Egypt, and it was ridiculous to believe Lehi and his family would have known the language of the Egyptians, or that members of Lehi's family (Nephi and Sam) would have had Egyptian names. During the last forty years, however, archaeologists and linguists have uncovered numerous evidences that Israel and Egypt were closely connected through trade agreements as well as cultural exchange. The use of the water clock in this chapter is an attempt to show the close relations these two cultures shared around the turn of the sixth century B.C. Archaeologists have uncovered a clay figurine in digs around Jerusalem dating to the time of Lehi that shows children playing leapfrog. Children in ancient times may have played many of the intuitive games of contemporary children (Great People of the Bible and How They Lived). The wealthy scented their clothes and bathed in expensive perfumes imported from the frankincense and myrrh groves of southern Arabia. However, most women settled for crushing the scent out of wild flowers to prepare a perfume for their robes and bath water. Though flowers did not retain their scent for as long as the expensive perfumes, they were an inexpensive alternative (Great People of the Bible and How They Lived). Prince Mulek is a historical character. The Old Testament does not mention any of the sons of Zedekiah by name; however, the Book of Mormon makes numerous references to one son named Mulek. The Lakhish letters refer to the prince with the letters NKD. Students of Semitic languages will recognize these letters as a term of affection and endearment meaning "little king" (Nibley, "The Jerusalem Scene"). Queen Miriam is a fictional character in the sense that we do not know the name of Zedekiah's wife or what role she may have played. Hugh Nibley suggests that she was most likely responsible for saving her son Mulek from execution by the Babylonians eight years after Lehi left Jerusalem (Nibley, "Dark Days in Jerusalem"). That Zedekiah was married we are sure, but the written records are silent with regard to details about the Queen of Judah. She likely played a central role in rearing Mulek and her other sons. Chapter Seven King David
and the prophet Ezekiel both attempted to standardize weights during their
lifetime. Complete uniformity, however, was never achieved. Unscrupulous
people took advantage of the lack of standardization by using incorrect
measures of weight, often keeping in reserve two sets of measures. To
guard against unfairness, individuals commonly carried their own weights
with them in a bag. The need for this practice brought strong rebukes
from the prophets because it was a symptom of the spiritual erosion rampant
among the Israelites. This chapter begins with a description of weights
and measures because their misuse was the principal sign of selfishness
among Jews and signaled the loss of charity among the people. Perishable
and nonperishable items were bartered among the Jews including foodstuffs,
livestock, household goods, tools, clothing, copper, silver, and gold.
It wasn't, however, until about one hundred years prior to the opening
of this novel that a system of silver and gold coins became part of the
bartering system. A system of coins and a system of barter coexisted as
means of The prophet
Jeremiah is a historical character about whom we know a great deal from
his writings in the Old Testament. He was born and raised in the small
village of Anathoth about five miles northeast of Jerusalem. Considered
an uneducated hayseed by the princes of the city, Jeremiah was never fully
accepted in Jerusalem. He was declared a traitor for preaching peace with
Babylon, but he had enough of a following among Jerusalem's residents
that the Elders feared any direct punishment. Sometime before From the
Lakhish letters we learn that the Hebrew slang piqqeah, translated into
English as visionary, dreamer, or one whose eyes have been opened by God,
may have been used as a derogatory reference to the prophets in Jerusalem
at 600 B.C. Though it is not certain how vulgar the term was, high-ranking
military and government officials used the word in derision and it could
be equated with obscenities common in the modern world. The Book of Mormon
(1 Nephi 2:11) tells us that Laman and Lemuel blamed the forfeiture of
their property, riches, and comfortable lifestyle on the fact that their
father was a visionary man. It may have been that they used the derogatory
slang piqqeah to verbalize Chapter Eight Ancient communities
in Israel had a council of Elders that governed on political and religious
matters. The Book of Mormon refers to the council in Jerusalem as the
The Elders of the Jews (1 Nephi 4:22-27). The Hebrew term is Sarim Council.
It is possible that the Old Testament phrase "princes of the city"
used by Jeremiah is also a reference to this same Council. The Council
was a brotherhood of Jerusalem's elite, composed of wealthy men of considerable
standing in the community. They enacted laws and passed judgment on both
secular and religious matters. There is little information about the The custom of finalizing the sale of land by offering the sole of one's sandal, face down, was a common practice in Israel, and is still practiced by some orthodox Jews today. If the seller agrees to the terms, he is obliged to return the sandal, face up (Great People of the Bible and How They Lived). This chapter
describes the professions of Jerusalem's wealthy citizens. Silk trade
from the Orient went through the port at Aqaba, a city about one hundred
fifty miles south of Jerusalem on the inlet off the Red Sea known as the
Gulf of Aqaba. Lehi referred to this gulf as the fountain of the Red Sea
(1 Nephi 1:8-9). King Solomon built the docks at Aqaba six hundred years
prior to the beginning of this novel and began the first ocean trade between
the nations of the Orient. After Lehi escaped Jerusalem, his company may
have camped for up to three years in the hills on the outskirts of Aqaba
before heading Chapter Nine Hugh Nibley indicates that in Lehi's day many people escaped into the desert to find religious freedom and renew covenants they believed had been lost among the Jews. (Nibley, "More Voices From the Dust," 239-244). Many groups took their wives and children into the desert to prepare for the coming Messiah and to escape persecution at the hands of the official religion. The Old Testament refers to one such group in the Book of Jeremiah as Rekhabites (Jeremiah 35). The Old Testament and the Book of Mormon describe the world of the Rekhabites and sectaries of the desert (Jeremiah 35). Nibley explains that from earliest times, communities of faithful Jews withdrew to bide their time in the wilderness. The prophet Jeremiah and other prophets of his time were not typically associated with any religious faction within Judaism, but they did champion the cause of Rekhabites and others who shunned the popular religious and political fads of their day and called for a return to strict observance of the Law of Moses in anticipation of the coming of the Messiah. The Rekhabites were, in essence, a "Church of Anticipation" (Nibley, "Dark Days in Jerusalem," 380-406). A religious
group similar to the Rekhabites called themselves Covenantors. They believed
the Jewish religion had gone astray from the true teachings of Judaism
and they wanted to worship according to what they called covenants. Among
other things, they believed in continuing revelation, this life as a probation,
pre-mortal existence and resurrection, and dispensations of the gospel
with periods of falling away and restoration. They had a book of covenants
called the Manual of Discipline. They believed strongly in prophets, priesthood,
eternal marriage, and eternal progeny. A group of these religious Josiah the
potter is a fictional character based on the life of a historical figure
who was responsible for founding the community at Qumran. He claimed divine
guidance for his people, taught them what he knew about the Messiah, required
strict observance of the Law of Moses and introduced among them the idea
of baptism, a sacrament or holy supper, and many other doctrines previously
thought to have emerged after the advent of Christ. Some ancient Near
Eastern scholars explain that phenomenon by suggesting that Jesus Christ
and his cousin, John the Baptist, must have been associated with or The Bible and other ancient Hebrew writings mention the use of baskets and rope as a means of escape (2 Corinthians 11:33). During wartime siege, residents of Jerusalem escaped over the walls in baskets to find food (Great People of the Bible and How They Lived). Chapter Ten Among ancient blacksmiths, there were two secrets that allowed for the smelting of high-quality steel. The first was the purifying of fuel. Pieces of hard coal, or what modern steelmakers call ingots, burn at higher temperature than black coal. Ingots allowed ancient smiths to heat their smelting ovens to a temperature hot enough to refine iron ore into steel. The ingots were prepared by burning the impurities out of coal until only hard ingots remained. The hard coal did not catch fire quickly, but once lit, it burned at extremely high temperatures. Sam and Nephi are historical characters. The first two books of the Book of Mormon were authored almost entirely by Nephi. Book of Mormon scholars generally agree that he wrote the history of his family's departure from Jerusalem from memory when he was about forty years old and living in the Americas. At the time Nephi left Jerusalem, he was likely about fifteen years old and Sam a few years older, possibly seventeen. The name Sam was the most common name given to Egyptian boys at the turn of the sixth century B.C. It was also the name of a popular pharaoh. Nephi, or Nafai as the Egyptians write it, was a prince in Egypt and, though not as common a name as Sam, it was also a popular name for a boy (Nibley, "Lehi in the Desert").
It was common
architectural practice in the royal and government buildings of Lehi's
day to leave out windows in the bottom floors as a deterrent to robbers.
The most famous building in Israel incorporating this design was the Citadel
in Jerusalem. The Jews borrowed the design from the palace in southern
Arabia's capital city of San'a in what today is the capital of Yemen.
At night, when the lights in the palace were lit, the building appeared
to float above the ground, due to the lack of light on the windowless
floors. To Bedouin desert dwellers and commoners, the large floating palace
at San'a Two of the more prominent prophets in Jerusalem during this time period were Jeremiah and Uriah. Scholars of religion are not certain if the prophets at 600 B.C. had any contact with each other. The general consensus is that they received their calling from God, each one delivering his message without collaboration with the other. They were, however, aware of one another's work and though it is impossible to rule out contact among them, it is unlikely they collaborated in any organized group (John W. Welch, "Lehi: The Calling of a Prophet").
The Jawbone Inn is a fictitious setting based on what we know about inns in Jerusalem at 600 B.C. Drinking establishments were usually family-owned cooperatives, each with their own clientele which, in Jerusalem, was determined by location. Upper city inns catered primarily to the noble class while lower city inns were frequented by commoners. It could have been that some inns catered to specific groups like soldiers or artisans, though there was no law or practice dictating who could or could not patronize a particular inn; it was understood where one should go to drink. There could have been as few as twenty inns in Jerusalem during Lehi's day or as many as a hundred such establishments (Great People of the Bible and How They Lived). Laman and
Lemuel are historical characters. We are not certain of their age, though
most scholars conclude they would have been in their early twenties at
the time Lehi left Jerusalem. There is no historical basis for Laman and
Captain Laban having similar appearances, though evidence from the Book
of Mormon suggests that they were related and could therefore have shared
some physical characteristics (1 Nephi 5:14-16). Clues to their relationship
stem from Lehi's comments recorded in the Book of Mormon when he read
the brass plates. They had been Laban's property and his genealogy was
recorded therein. This same genealogy informed Lehi that he was a descendant
of Joseph (1 Nephi Chapter Thirteen The trade route passed by Jerusalem on the plateaus about four miles west of the city. The capital sat on the crest of three hills and was surrounded by narrow valleys. Caravanners did not risk driving their soft-cloven hoofed camels over the narrow, rocky trails leading to the city gates. Instead, mules were the animal of choice to pack wares into the city. For that reason, the archways in the capital were designed lower than usual and the streets more narrow, since there was no need to make room for camels or elephants (Hilton, In Search of Lehi's Trail). It is not certain if the royal herd was branded, even less with the head of a lion, but brands were used anciently to verify ownership much as they are today. Since the reign of King David, the symbol of the royal house of Judah was the head of a lion. It appeared as an insignia on walls, pottery, and clothing (Great People of the Bible and How They Lived). Joseph Smith
tells us that Lehi had daughters older than Laman who married the eldest
sons of Ishmael long before they left Jerusalem. It is possible that Lehi
and Sariah were grandparents before their exodus. Ishmael was a cousin
or close relative to Lehi and, in ancient times, it was common for second
cousins to intermarry. Lehi and Ishmael may have arranged the marriages
of their sons and daughters long before they left Jerusalem and when the
sons of Lehi returned to bring them into the desert, it was a perfectly
logical step to keep alive those marriage arrangements (Sidney B. Sperry,
"Did Lehi Have Chapter Fourteen The fate of the sword of Laban at the time of the first Babylonian incursion into Judah-eight months prior to the opening of this novel-is unclear. There is evidence supporting two possibilities. First, the sword was protected in Laban's treasury from the Babylonian soldiers. The second possibility suggested by Book of Mormon scholars, and the one preferred for developing the characters in this novel, is that the Babylonians confiscated the sword as part of the spoils of war. We do know that ancient armies seized religious and political relics after their conquests, and it could be that the sword was one of those spoils the Old Testament tells us were carried off to Babylon. As suggested in this chapter, scholars indicate that if the sword was taken by the Babylonian army, another sword would have been smithed as a replacement. Based on these conclusions, the sword of Laban could have been an original or a replica of one of the national treasures (Rolph, "Prophets, Kings, and Swords: The Sword of Laban and its Possible Pre-Laban Origins"). Chapter Fifteen The art of juggling was firmly established as a form of entertainment in Persia around 600 B.C. and traveling showmen carried the art into Mediterranean countries. It was not uncommon for these entertainers to pass through Jerusalem or for locals to learn the art. Unlike today, where juggling is often associated with clowns, in the ancient world it was done by highly skilled performers employing derring-do routines. Ancient clay art depicts jugglers performing for royalty (Great People of the Bible and How They Lived). For centuries Bethlehem has been known for large farmers' markets where produce from the vineyards of southern Judah can be found in plenty and at a much lower cost than in Jerusalem. Bethlehem was always considered the home of the common man's market while Jerusalem was the wealthy man's market. The soil around Bethlehem and surrounding vineyards is a deep red color and very distinctive to the darker soils around Jerusalem (Great People of the Bible and How They Lived). The shofar horn, or rams horn, was used to announce Moses' return off Mount Sinai with the revelations from God that included the Ten Commandments. Since that day, the sounding of the shofar horn has been equated with the reception of revelation from God. The blowing of trumpets cited by John in the New Testament indicate the delivery of revelation by an angelic messenger in the last days. It is this symbolism that is also portrayed in statues of the angel Moroni blowing a trumpet from the rooftops of many Latter-day Saint temples (Lenet Hadley Read, "Joseph Smith's Receipt of the Plates and the Israelite Feast of Trumpets"). Zoram is a historical character found in the Book of Mormon. It is highly unlikely that he was related to or had significant contact with Jeremiah the prophet, but their relationship in this novel makes the story line more efficient. We do know that Zoram was employed in Laban's treasury and that Nephi recognized him as the keeper of the keys (1 Nephi 4:20). The Old Testament records that God warned Jeremiah that the Jews of his day had become so wicked he should not raise children among them. Some Bible scholars suggest that Jeremiah never married or fathered children, while others insist that this passage of scripture is a simple allusion to the wickedness of the day, without any correlation to Jeremiah's marital status. In this novel, the prophet Jeremiah is portrayed as a married man with Zoram as his only adopted child. Joseph Klauser
of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem points out the advent of a prophet
called Messiah Ben Joseph recorded in Hebrew scripture. He is to be raised
up in the last days of the earth. He will be clothed in prophecy and will
be a restorer of covenants that were lost. His name is understood to mean
one descended from the House of Joseph. His work is to be done in preparation
for the coming of Messiah Ben David, or the Anointed One descended from
the House of David. Latter-day Saints interpret this Jewish prophecy as
evidence of Joseph Smith's role in restoring the gospel of Jesus Christ
in the In this fictional
account of Zoram and Jeremiah, the importance of preserving information
regarding eternal covenants is portrayed. The title page of the Book of
Mormon tells us that one of the book's main objectives, in addition to
testifying of Christ, is "to show unto the remnant of the House of
Israel what great things the Lord has done for their fathers; and that
they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever."
Lehi prophesied that the brass plates would "go forth unto all nations, The principal
purpose of this chapter is to emphasize the title page of the Book of
Mormon written by the prophet Moroni. In it he reiterates the eternal
gospel theme of turning the hearts of the fathers to the children and
the hearts of the children to their fathers so that the earth is not cursed.
It is the same message the prophet Malachi recorded in the Old Testament,
and Joseph Smith recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants and it is a consistent
message whenever God has established His gospel among His Chapter Sixteen Men of considerable
wealth built treasuries into their estates to guard their most valuable Ancient records written on papyrus were subject to decomposition in less than a hundred years. Parchment scrolls were records written on animal hides, and proved much more resilient than papyrus records. Potsherds, or pieces of broken pottery were used as tablets to scratch in writings that were disposable-much like what we call "scratch paper" today. More permanent records were imprinted in soft clay that hardened and could be stored-indefinitely if the clay were fired in a kiln. The fired clay tablets could break, but they did not decay like papyrus, parchment, or unfired clay tablets. Metal plates were a recording medium that could withstand the test of time. They were a tedious but purposeful means of preserving in writing the sacred rituals of ancient communities, their laws, religious doctrine of a prophetic nature, and their histories. They were bound together with rings much like pages in a book and were referred to as a codex. Ancient kings, monarchs, and religious leaders used them to record the most sacred or important documents and histories (Hamblin, "Sacred Writings on Bronze Plates in the Ancient Mediterranean"). The Book of Mormon records that after Nephi and his brothers returned to their camp south of Jerusalem with the brass plates of Laban, Lehi gave thanks and then read them in their entirety (1 Nephi 5:10). Lehi informs us that they contained the first five books of Moses, similar to the first books of the Old Testament that give the account of the creation of the world and the biography of Adam and Eve, the parents of the human family. Scholars of religion suggest that the first books of Moses written on the brass plates would have been in a less altered state than the books of the Old Testament, since they would not have endured centuries of abridging and rewriting. The brass plates also included a history of the Jews from the beginning down to the reign of King Zedekiah (1 Nephi 5:11-12). Lehi was surprised to find the prophecies of Jeremiah already inscribed into the plates since he was still alive and living near Jerusalem at the time (1 Nephi 5:13). This chapter was inspired by the idea that someone would have had to include Jeremiah's writings in the record before it was taken from Laban's treasury. It is plausible that Zoram played some role in recording the prophetic words of Jeremiah on the brass plates. Some of the prophecies recorded in the brass plates found their way into the Book of Mormon. Jacob, Nephi's brother, records the allegory of the olive tree written by the prophet Zenos who most likely lived in the Northern Kingdom (Jacob 5). For that reason it is believed that the brass plates were kept for a time by the kings and prophets of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, possibly Laban's forebears.
The sixth
century B.C. was a time of great men. Plato, Socrates, Zoroaster and many
others were contemporaries with Lehi. Hugh Nibley suggests that it was
a time when the Lord placed great thinkers on the earth in preparation
for great events in the same way the world was prepared for the restoration
of the gospel during the renaissance. Hercules is a well-known historical
figure mentioned in this chapter. He lived a hundred years prior to Lehi,
about 720 B.C., but his fame as a wrestler was still alive among people
living around the Mediterranean. The most famous wrestling hold attributed
to Hercules
Anciently, carbon-rich black ash was used by blacksmiths to make steel. Iron ore was full of carbon, but in far too great a quantity to form strong bonds in the metal. The smelting process burned away virtually all the carbon, but by adding just the right amount back into the molten ore, the correct molecular bonds formed during the cooling process. The ancient blacksmith did not understand the science of his art, but by trial and error he discovered the secrets that allowed him to smith the metal called steel. Clay molds were used to melt the iron ore. The mold was not the precise shape of the desired object, but the blacksmith forged, ground, and polished the piece to achieve the final product. The scene in which Ruth describes her feelings that her family is being pulled apart is indicative of the social forces operating in Jerusalem at the turn of the sixth century B.C. Hugh Nibley suggests that families were divided along political and religious lines, some family members siding with the party of the prophets and others siding with the party of the Elders (Nibley, "The Jerusalem Scene"). Ishmael is a historical character who Joseph Smith tells us was a cousin to Lehi. Before the opening chapter of the Book of Mormon, Ishmael's two eldest sons may have already been married to Lehi's two eldest daughters. It is possible that they worked in the same profession and lived in or around the same area. From Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, we learn that the two families were intimately connected before the scriptural account begins (Sperry, "Did Lehi Have Daughters Who Married the Sons of Ishmael?"). A reprint is available through the F.A.R.M.S. Sperry Archive.
Ancient potters first fired their pottery in pits. With the advent of large indoor kilns, potters could fire at higher temperatures and began developing glazes and ceramic-like pottery that was more durable and more expensive. Pottery was stacked in the kiln and fired over five to seven days. Because of the large amount of wood required, it was rare for a potter to fire his kiln more than once a month. For that reason, he built large kilns that would accommodate a good deal of pottery. Chapter Twenty The children
of Israel were afflicted by flying, fiery serpents in the Sinai Desert
(Numbers 21:6). Biologists indicate that today there are snakes in regions
of that desert with deadly venom, bright colorful skin, and tremendous
leaping ability, and small wings or flaps extending from the side of their
body with which they can hurl themselves from rock outcrops and tree branches
(Hunt Jr., "Moses' Brazen Serpent as it Relates to Serpent Worship
in Mesoamerica"). The Lord instructed Moses to smith a brass image
of a serpent and hold it up on a pole, promising his people that if they
would look toward it after being bitten they would live (Numbers 21:8).
Among ancient Jews the serpent came to symbolize faith in the Messiah
or Anointed One to whom all Israel should look in order to find salvation.
Even Satan himself, the greatest beguiler of all, has attempted to pass
himself off as the one symbolized by the brass serpent. The brass relic
smithed by Moses remained with Israel's other sacred symbols; its final
known resting place was in Solomon's temple alongside the Ark of the Covenant.
It was once thought lost, until The Jews
had holy names for God that were never spoken out loud in order to keep
them from becoming common or profane, as well as more commonly uttered
names that were not profane to speak aloud. The word or title ha-Mashiakh
is the Hebrew basis for the word Messiah the Anointed One. Jesus is the
Greek translation for the Hebrew name Yeshua, its English translation
being Joshua. That name and title spoken together, Yeshua ha-Mashiakh,
when translated into English is Joshua the Anointed One and
There is no detailed record of the exact size of Laban's sword or what jewels, if any, were inlaid into its hilt. Nephi records that the blade was made of the most precious steel and the hilt of gold. The phrase "fine workmanship" in 1 Nephi 4:9 could be a reference to the hilt or to some other characteristic of the blade, i.e. the manner of smelting, the forging, or the workmanship of the hilt (Hamblin, "Sacred Writings on Bronze Plates in the Ancient Mediterranean"). It was common practice to loan servants to assist with the gathering of crops or other tasks related to a man's livelihood and it would not be entirely out of order for Laban to loan out the help of his servant Zoram as part of an agreement between households (Great People of the Bible and How They Lived). A gold talent was the largest coin in the Hebrew monetary system. The coins were worth a great deal and were rarely used in common exchange. They were usually used to keep in reserve excess wealth, much like a bank or an investment in today's economy (Old Testament Student Manual: 1 Kings-Malachi).
Prince Jesse is a fictional character; however there was a prince of Phoenicia who may have been an ally of the Queen of Judah. Nibley indicates that about ten years after this first volume ends, Mulek and his mother may have been saved from death at the hands of the Babylonians by members of the royal family of Phoenicia (Nibley, "Dark Days in Jerusalem"). It was common for young boys to carry secret messages into closely guarded areas, past soldiers, and in and out of city walls. They were not perceived as a threat and could pass unnoticed by soldiers. The Lakhish letters indicated that the captain of the guard at Jerusalem and the general at Fort Lakhish both suspected a boy by the name of Mulek of carrying messages for the prophets (Nibley, "Dark Days in Jerusalem").
During the
reign of King Hezekiah (about 721 B.C.), more than half of the population
of Jerusalem lived outside the walls. Hezekiah began a massive construction
project to extend the walls of the city to the west and bring that portion
of the city under protection. As part of the construction efforts, a two-thousand-foot
tunnel was dug from the Gihon Spring outside the east gate to the Pool
of Siloam inside the walls in the lower city. Tunnelers, using pickax
and shovel, began digging from both ends to meet somewhere in the middle.
They were led by fissures in the stone and, near the end of the project,
It is not certain how many Elders were on the Council. The number may have varied from a few men to as many as forty, depending on the population of Jerusalem at any given time and the dictates of the leadership. It is certain that the Council was originally intended to represent the people of the city. There was a hierarchy, but exactly how it was determined is unclear. It could have been according to seniority or by some other criteria, such as wealth (John Bright, A History of Israel). Elders were usually forty years old. Some references from the Old Testament as well as ancient Near Eastern scholars suggest that the word Elder, which originates from the Hebrew word for beard, were older, or at least to the age of wearing a beard. It was from that association that the wearing of a beard in ancient Israel became associated with wisdom and the authority to rule (Tvedtnes, "The Elders at Jerusalem in the Days of Lehi"). Flute playing and dancing were common forms of entertainment in royal courts and important gatherings. They added a refined and dignified prelude to events such as that depicted in this chapter (Great People of the Bible and How They Lived).
The Pool of Siloam served as the main watering place in Jerusalem between 710 B.C. and into the middle ages. It is still a clear-flowing source of water fed by the Gihon Spring (Great People of the Bible and How They Lived).
The term "at Jerusalem" in ancient times was intended to mean the city proper and all the outlying areas that fell under the city's jurisdiction. Even the city of Bethlehem, five miles south of Jerusalem, was considered to be part of the city-state of Jerusalem since it fell under the watch of the captain of the guard at Jerusalem. It would be proper for Nephi, then, to say that Christ was to be born at Jerusalem when in fact he was born in Bethlehem. For this reason it is possible that Lehi and his family could have lived "at Jerusalem" all their days, but actually lived outside the walls of the city in the surrounding countryside. Beit Zayit was selected as the location for Lehi's home in this novel since it is close enough to Jerusalem to fall within the capital city's jurisdiction. Some scholars have suggested that Lehi maintained a second home or property within the city walls, but most conclude that the estate where he lived with his family was located somewhere outside Jerusalem. The Book of Mormon tells us that when his sons gathered together their gold and silver to trade with Laban for his plates of brass, they had to go down to the land of their inheritance (1 Nephi 3:22), meaning outside the city walls, to get their wealth. Beit Zayit is situated beyond the hills west of Jerusalem. It has numerous hillsides for olive culture, a good water supply, and access to the three major trading destinations of the southern peninsula: Egypt, Aqaba, and Arabia by way of both the southern desert and the Dead Sea (Hilton, In Search of Lehi's Trail; also U.S. Army Map Service, "Jerusalem Southwest Asia," 1:250,000, AMS K502, Sheet NH 36-4, 1958). The Book of Mormon does not directly mention Lehi's profession, but it does give important clues. He was a wealthy man, most notably evidenced by the gold and silver in his personal treasury. He owned land on which he grew food. We know he lived outside the city of Jerusalem from quotations in the Book of Mormon telling us that he "went down" to his house from Jerusalem, an ancient Hebrew reference to going outside the walls of the city or out into the countryside. Lehi was experienced in desert travel and he owned a tent. Owning a tent in ancient times was a substantial investment, since it required a good number of animal hides sewn together over a period of years. For Lehi to escape Jerusalem with little notice and take with him a tent, meant that he most likely had traveled often enough to justify owning one. The Book of Mormon tells us in the first chapter that "Lehi went forth," a possible reference to travel along the known trade routes of the ancient world (Nibley, "Lehi in the Desert"; also Hilton, In Search of Lehi's Trail). In this novel, Lehi is characterized as a caravaneer and olive grower. Some Book of Mormon scholars have suggested that Lehi's major source of income was blacksmithing or some form of metal working, due to Nephi's fascination for and description of Laban's sword and his ownership of a steel bow among other things (Tvedtnes, "Was Lehi a Caravaneer?"). Others have concluded that the evidence points to caravanning and the olive oil trade. For the purposes of this novel, Lehi is portrayed in that profession. This conclusion is based, in part, on what we know about the major sources of wealth in sixth-century Jerusalem. Most wealthy men of the day owned and operated merchant businesses, trading and caravanning olive oil, wine, wheat, and gold with the nations of the Mediterranean, principally Egypt. The names of Lehi's sons support the theory that Lehi owned a caravan operation. It is possible Sam and Nephi were born after he had established himself as a caravaneer to the nation of Egypt (Nibley, "Lehi in the Desert"; also Nibley, "The Jerusalem Scene"; also Nibley, "Dark Days in Jerusalem"). Sariah is one of the prominent women in the Book of Mormon. Her faithful support of her husband Lehi is evident throughout the opening chapters of First Nephi. Though she may have been accustomed to a wealthy lifestyle, she seemed equally able to adjust to the rigors of life on the trail. This idea is compatible with the assumption that she was not always a wealthy woman, but garnered her wealth during the course of her married life with her husband. The only complaint registered to her husband in the Book of Mormon was with regard to the safety of her children, not with other difficulties they encountered. The Romans were the first agriculturalists to standardize and write a manual for the growing and production of olives. Olive culture, however, flourished in Israel long before the Roman rise to power and their subsequent fascination for olive production. Ancient Jews were familiar with the olive tree and the tasks associated with its care. The Old Testament and Book of Mormon are replete with references to olives and olive oil production (John Gee and Daniel C. Peterson, "Graft and Corruption: On Olives and Olive Culture in the Pre-Modern Mediterranean"). Truman Madsen writes of the symbolism of the olive press as a type for Christ's atonement since it required great amounts of pressure to extract oil from olives, and the mule or ox that was used to push the pressing stone around the vat was prodded by a stinging whip in a way that prefigured Christ's mistreatment. Madsen also suggests that the feast of new oil, which required anointing in olive oil, and which symbolized the redeeming of the olive crop, also reminded Jews of the atonement, which provides redemption for mankind. Christ walked halfway up the Mount of Olives to a garden where olives were pressed and there He suffered for the sins of the world. Geth (gat in Hebrew) means "press" and semane (shemen in Hebrew) means "oil." The Garden of Gethsemane refers to the garden of the olive press (Truman G. Madsen, "The Olive Press: A Symbol of Christ"). Anciently, one leg of the trade route north of Jerusalem followed along the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea until it turned inland around the coastal mountain called Mount Carmel. King Solomon built Fort Megiddo at the top of the pass and stabled more than a thousand horses there. Some of the stables can still be seen in excavations at the site. When the Northern Kingdom was formed, the royal herd may have been divided among the tribes of Israel, some of the animals going to the royal family of Judah, while others were taken by the governing families of the remaining tribes (Great People of the Bible and How They Lived). The Egyptian name Sam was the most popular given name among boys in Egypt. It was the name of a popular Egyptian God as well as a great general warrior (Nibley, Since Cumorah). In the Book of Mormon, Nephi records that his record consisted of the language of his father, which he further explains to be the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians (1 Nephi 1:2). Scholars are beginning to understand the influence Egypt had on Israel around the turn of the sixth century B.C. In addition to the exchange of goods like textiles, olive oil, gold, and wine, the Egyptians exported their language to Israel. Necho, the pharaoh of Egypt during this time, indicated that Egypt was the greatest nation on the earth because of its language, which like English today, had become the language of business. Egyptian teachers made their living tutoring the children of wealthy businessmen in Israel. In this chapter, Memphis is a fictional character, but it is possible that Lehi hired an Egyptian teacher to educate his sons in the language of the Egyptians, which at that time was an abbreviated form of hieroglyphic known as demotic or reformed Egyptian (Nibley, Since Cumorah).
The dialogue for Zadock's speech to the Sarim Council (Elders of the Jews) was adapted from information taken from the Lakhish letters. They indicate that Uriah's preaching of peace with Babylon was "weakening the hands of the soldiers" and in order to resolve the problem, Uriah and Jeremiah should be considered spies (Nibley, "The Jerusalem Scene"). During the
reign of King Zedekiah, the Elders of the Jews had sweeping powers and
made decisions of national import without regard to the rule of the king.
Most kings preferred to stay out of common law matters and rarely interfered
with the rule of the princes of the city or Elders. The first scene in
this chapter shows the Elders voting on a matter without first consulting
the throne. It was a time of political upheaval that saw Zedekiah's power
diminished by the Elders and other political groups (Nibley, "The Elnathan is a historical character mentioned in both the Old Testament and the Lakhish letters. He was assigned the mission to seek out the prophet Uriah and return him to Jerusalem for speaking out against the government as did other prophets. Both the Old Testament and Lakhish letters provide a short but succinct account of his mission from start to finish (Jeremiah 26: 21-24). The Old Testament tells us that Captain Elnathan and others were sent to Egypt to bring back Uriah the prophet after he fled the country prior to the reign of Zedekiah. Bible scholars, however, point out that based on other historical information, Baruch, Jeremiah's scribe, incorrectly recorded the event and that Elnathan was most likely sent during the reign of Zedekiah. More details regarding this event can be found in the historical notes for chapter four. What we do know is that Uriah was very likely one of the prophets referred to in the first chapter of the Book of Mormon (Nibley, "Dark Days in Jerusalem"). Very few Jews owned horses and it would have been uncommon for a boy such as Daniel to have had any experience with the expensive animals or to be familiar with how to ride one (Great People of the Bible and How They Lived).
Lehi is a historical character who is a prophet in the Book of Mormon. In this chapter, however, Lehi has not yet received a call from God. This scene between him and Aaron, however, shows that he was a visionary man, close to the spirit of God. Nibley indicates that Lehi was a dreamer and a poet as were many of the sheikhs and caravaneers of his day and that they received much of their inspiration and personal revelation through dreams (Nibley, "The Jerusalem Scene"; also Nibley, Since Cumorah; also Welch, "Lehi: The Calling of a Prophet"). Scholars agree he was in his middle to late forties at the time he left Jerusalem. The scriptures leave us scant information regarding his physical appearance, but we have enormous amounts of information regarding other characteristics (Hilton, In Search of Lehi's Trail). The prophets Nahum, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Uriah, and Jeremiah are the only prophets mentioned by name in the Old Testament who were contemporary to Lehi. The Book of Mormon tells us that there were other prophets as well, but their names are not mentioned (1 Nephi 1:4). At times of coronation it was common for the Lord to raise up many prophets. It is not surprising that prior to the time of Zedekiah's coronation the Lord would send so many men, including Lehi, to preach His will to the people of Jerusalem (Nibley, Since Cumorah; also Welch, "Lehi: The Calling of a Prophet"). The peace offering can be compared to a family gathering with religious overtones. It contained the elements of a party-feast to celebrate the completion of a family milestone, marriage, birth, or some other important event. Chapter Twenty Nine The rules governing who could and could not enter the courtyards of Solomon's temple changed over time. It was usually dependent upon the political hierarchy. A woman may have been permitted in the courtyard at specific times and only under supervision from an authority figure. The famous menorah of Solomon's temple was intended to burn continuously until the Messiah came. The Jews called it the eternal flame and took great care to keep it lit. There is no record that the flame was ever extinguished up until the temple was destroyed about ten years after this novel ends.
We cannot be certain how close the relationship between Laban and the royal bloodline of Joseph who was sold into Egypt may have been without the genealogy recorded in the brass plates, but we do know that such a relationship did exist. By virtue of his ownership of the relics Laban was most likely a very close blood relative (Rolph, "Prophets, Kings, and Swords: The Sword of Laban and its Possible Pre-Laban Origins"). The Book of Mormon tells us that Laban and his family kept the brass plates (1 Nephi 5:16) and the sword. Joseph Smith told the early saints that the sword was a symbol of kingship in ancient Israel and was anointed by prophets as such (Rolph, "Prophets, Kings, and Swords: The Sword of Laban and its Possible Pre-Laban Origins"). Swords were intended to symbolize the mantle of royal authority. It is likely that the sword of Joseph was used in the coronation ceremonies of Northern Israel's kings, much like monarchs of the middle ages used crowns. Because Laban possessed this heirloom, it is possible that he was part of the direct father-to-birthright-son bloodline of Joseph and had a strong claim to some sort of kingship.
Exactly where Uriah was captured is not certain. Some scholars suggest he was hiding in the western mountains of Judah for some time and for that reason Uriah is shown to have visited Lehi at Beit Zayit before leaving for Egypt (Nibley, "Dark Days in Jerusalem"). The Old Testament records that Captain Elnathan, along with others, was sent down to Egypt to capture him. Though no mention is made of Elephantine, it is possible that he would have found refuge among other Jews living in southern Egypt. When Jerusalem was destroyed ten years later, Jeremiah and a group of Jews escaped to Elephantine to find refuge from the Babylonian army. Scholars
believed for many years that the Hebrews built only one temple and that
to suggest they had others was sacrilege. More recent excavations at the
island city of Elephantine indicate that members of the Jewish colony
built a second temple for their worship and religious rites. It was not
as large or as ornate as Solomon's temple in Jerusalem, but it served
the purpose of the military men and their families stationed there. It
is interesting to note that one of the first criticisms launched against
Joseph Smith
There were six standard liquid measures used among the Hebrews, the smallest being an auphauk equal to six cubic inches. Next, a log equal to a half pint, then a hin measuring about a gallon, a seah at two gallons, a bath at just under six gallons and the largest liquid measure was a homer equal to fifty-eight gallons, the typical size of a cistern used by caravaneers. A camel could caravan two homer over the desert. Lehi's caravan of fifty camels would have hauled nearly six thousand gallons of olive oil (Old Testament Student Manual: 1 Kings-Malachi). Caravaneers wove their tents from the skins of animals. As each child was born, a room was added to the tent to accommodate the growing family (Hilton, In Search of Lehi's Trail). Sour camel's milk was used to cure the bad taste from otherwise drinkable water. It didn't remove germs, but it did take the edge off the worst-tasting water and make drinking on the desert more palatable (Hilton, In Search of Lehi's Trail). Wells on the trade route of the ancient middle east were usually dug as far as a camel could travel in one day, usually no more than twenty to twenty-five miles. The trade route was determined by where the wells could be dug and no caravaneer set out without a firm understanding of where each well was located. To cross the desert without such knowledge was to risk death (Hilton, In Search of Lehi's Trail). It was common practice for desert travelers to hang bells around the perimeter of their camp to protect from Bedouin robbers. Dr. Hugh Nibley indicates that the practice is still in use today as a deterrent to theft and robbery (Nibley, Since Cumorah). The Book
of Mormon tells us that, "My father, Lehi, as he went forth prayed
unto the Lord, yea, with all his heart, in behalf of his people"
(1 Nephi 1:5). In ancient times the phrase, as he "went forth"
or to "go forth" was understood to mean that a man had gathered
supplies and means, usually camels, mules, or horses to travel a good
distance from his home. To "go forth" to the market or to draw
water from a well is not as likely a usage as is to "go forth"
on the trade route or to "go forth" on a journey to a distant
city. There is evidence to support the conclusion that something spurred
Lehi on this particular The Book of Mormon records that there came a pillar of fire that dwelt on a rock before Lehi. Ancient Hebrew prophets often referred to the light associated with the appearance of heavenly personages as fire. To ancient prophets, fire was the best description of the brightness associated with such apparitions. Nephi does not record who or what his father saw in this first vision, only that what he saw caused him to tremble because of it. Religious scholars indicate that this may have been a vision similar to the one Joseph Smith had in the Sacred Grove when God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ appeared to him (Welch, "Lehi: The Calling of a Prophet"; also McConkie, "Pre-mortal Existence, Foreordinations and Heavenly Councils," 173-198). Verse six of the first chapter of the Book of Mormon may be a reference to Lehi's first vision, with more revelation coming at a later time as indicated in verses seven through fourteen. This follows the same pattern as Joseph Smith who received more revelations after his first vision experience and recorded them in the Doctrine and Covenants.
A common feature among ancient civilizations, which still exists today, is the idea of kingship. Scholars conclude that kingship is a dominant concept combining governance and religious belief in societies as diverse and isolated as Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, China, Italy, northern Europe, and pre-Columbian Mexico. All ancient societies "trace the line of kings to the first king, a supreme cosmic deity who founded the kingship rites. . . . The accounts of the creation speak of a creator, a first man, and a first king-all referring to the same cosmic figure" (Cyril J. Gadd, Ideas of Divine Rule in the Ancient Near East, 21). The ritual
most associated with kingship is that of the coronation and its various
rites. The similarities between Jewish coronations and those of other
cultures suggest they sprang from a common source (Frederick H. Borsch,
The Son of Man in Myth and History, 87-88). Among other rituals, Judah's
kings were washed and anointed, and they participated in a procession
usually for their subjects to pay homage or for the king to tour his realm.
They wore a special garment and crown, and among their regalia they typically
carried a sword as a symbol of their power (Stephen D. Ricks, and John
J. Most ancient societies crowned their kings sometime after the winter solstice, once it was determined that the shortening of days had ended and the sun was to remain longer in the heavens. Today, we call this the New Year, and many cultures in the Northern Hemisphere celebrate religious and pagan holidays during this time of the year. The return of the sun was a central theme in coronation rites. One common tradition was the procession that began in the eastern portion of the kingdom, or at the east side of the temple, holy place, or city and followed the route of the sun, west, to the place of enthronement. For that reason the procession detailed in this novel begins at the east gate and moves west-by-northwest through Jerusalem toward the temple grounds (Ricks and Sroka, "King, Coronation, and Temple: Enthronement Ceremonies in History"). When Israel did away with the rule of prophets, they replaced them with the rule of kings as was the custom among their gentile neighbors. The adoption of kingship in Israel may have also been accompanied by the performance of the coronation immediately after the occurrence of the winter solstice. In this novel, the coronation of Zedekiah is timed to coincide with the lengthening of days in early January, around the time of our modern New Years celebration. This New Year coronation rite should not be confused with the Jewish New Year, or Rosh Hashannah, which is a religious holiday celebrated in late September or October. Anciently, Rosh Hashannah was known among Jews as a dual celebration, the Feast of the Trumpets and the Day of Remembrance. When Moses came down from mount Sinai having received covenants from God by revelation, the Israelites blew their shofar horns, and to a good Jew in ancient days, the sounding of those trumpets was synonymous with the receipt of revelation from heaven. When Moses initiated the Law among Israel, he introduced three autumnal celebrations to help the people remember the covenants they had made with God-the first being the Day of Remembrance which began a ten-day period over which Jews were given to deep personal reflection in the spirit of repentance and which culminated in the second celebration, the Day of Atonement. The Day of Remembrance came to be celebrated on the same day as the Feast of Trumpets, and for centuries in ancient Israel it was a day for personal reflection, repentance, and for remembering the covenants God had established among His people through the prophet Moses. On that day the prayers offered by the priests called for Jews to remember their covenants with God, and for God to remember His covenants with Israel. Though modern Jews refer to the day as a Jewish New Year, it does not appear to have ties to the coronation rites practiced after the winter solstice. Both the Jewish and Gentile New Year holidays have assimilated traditions from each other over the years, each containing some elements of repentance in the form of goal setting, personal reflection, as well as homage or honor paid to a religious leader or king. The Feast of the Trumpets, however, and its roots in the receipt of revelation from heaven and the making and keeping of revealed covenants have not endured as a powerful component of the Jewish New Year celebration (Lenet Hadley Read, "Joseph Smith's Receipt of the Plates and the Israelite Feast of Trumpets"). The coronation feasts depicted in this chapter are based on the lists of food detailed in the Old Testament for similar coronations. It was not uncommon for the king to feed more than twelve thousand people on the day of his coronation (Great People of the Bible and How They Lived). Chapter Thirty Eight Uriah may have been one of the prophets who caused Lehi enough concern that as he went forth he prayed in behalf of the people of Jerusalem (1 Nephi 1:6, 20).
The Book of Mormon tells us that after Lehi saw a pillar of fire, he returned home, threw himself on his bed and had a marvelous vision of heaven (see 1 Nephi 1:8-15). Scriptures record numerous other occasions where men and women have had similar experiences in which they have essentially fallen into a deep sleep for a period of time. In most cases, the duration was about three days, during which time they beheld visions. The Book of Mormon does not tell us how long Lehi was asleep or even if he was asleep on his bed; however, since other prophets have had sleep visions lasting three days, in this work Lehi is depicted as having such a vision. Alma the younger (Mosiah 27:19-22), Paul (Acts 9:3-9), and King Lamoni (Alma 18: 40-43), provide us with some of the most detailed accounts of such visions. There were three forms or patterns of prophetic calls issued in Lehi's day. First, a vision of the throne of God; second the vision of the Heavenly Council; and third a pattern in which the prophet meets God, is commissioned, offers objections, is reassured, and is given a sign (Moses 6; also Welch, "Lehi: The Calling of a Prophet"; also McConkie, "Pre-mortal Existence, Foreordinations and Heavenly Councils"). Prophets in Lehi's day were called with any one or a variation of patterns. According to the account of Lehi's call as a prophet, it appears that he may have experienced all three patterns or forms. We do not know exactly what Lehi saw in the pillar of fire, though a pillar of fire was anciently associated with what Joseph Smith called a pillar of light. Lehi may have seen God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, as did the prophet Joseph Smith. What we do know, is that whatever he saw caused him to quake and tremble and he may have objected at that time only to be reassured in the vision that followed after he returned home. During his vision experience, he saw God sitting upon his throne surrounded by numberless concourses of angels as well as other manifestations that gave him confidence in his ability to serve as a prophet of God (Welch, "Lehi: The Calling of a Prophet"; also McConkie, "Pre-mortal Existence, Foreordinations and Heavenly Councils"). |
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