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Sunday, January 13, 2019

Which other sons of Lehi was this chapter addressed to? 2 Nephi 2:30

Which other sons of Lehi was this chapter addressed to? 2 Nephi 2:30

Nephi writes the words of his dying father to his brothers. Addressed are the following:

Jacob, firstborn son in the wilderness
2 Nephi 2:1-13

All the sons (and perhaps sons in law?)
2 Nephi 2:14-30

Joseph, last-born (not last-born son, but last-born of all)
2 Nephi 3:1-25 (note that Lehi explicitly mentions his own father in verse 22)

The sons and daughters of Laman
2 Nephi 4:3-7 (note that neither Laman nor Lemuel had the decency to listen to the words of their dying father)

The sons and daughters of Lemuel
2 Nephi 4:8-9

The whole household of Ishmael
2 Nephi 4:10

Sam
2 Nephi 4:11

Note that Nephi's blessing is curiously omitted. He definitely would have received one, too. Maybe it was too personal to share? Maybe it, too, is in the sealed portion? (that is, by the way, my throw-my-hands-in-the-air-because-there-is-no-way-to-find-this-knowledge-right-now-that-I-know-of answer)

I've read theories about that in some obscure F.A.R.Ms publication when was in high school; I don't remember exactly where; you have no idea how many bookshelves of Latter-day Saint theology books existed in my house while I was growing up - my dad is a little bit obsessed. From what I remember of the theory, it mentioned that Nephi's choice to kill Laban would have been a really bitter pill for his father Lehi to swallow because of their Jewish culture. The Mosaic Law in Deuteronomy specifically forbids people from shedding innocent, defenseless blood (see Deuteronomy 19:10 and Deuteronomy 19:11-13, for example, but I guess this is not the only reference to avoiding shedding innocent blood). Basically, Nephi went against his father's deeply held moral values when he impersonated the church brethren, used Laban's sword to kill Laban, disguised himself as Laban, took the sword, had Zoram give him the plates, and fled with Zoram out of Jerusalem forever.

By the way, this suggests to me that Lehi's daughters (he had at least two) married sons of Ishmael. Lehi would have addressed his daughter's husbands, and presumably Nephi would have written about them. But he didn't, unless they fall under "the whole household of Ishmael."

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