Lehi (Book of Mormon prophet)
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According to the Book of Mormon, Lehi was a prophet who lived in Jerusalem during the reign of king Zedekiah (approximately 600 BC)[1]. Lehi was an Israelite of the Tribe of Manasseh, and father to Nephi, another prominent prophet in the Book of Mormon. In the first book of the Book of Mormon, First Nephi, Lehi and Nephi lead their family out of Jerusalem, and across the sea to the "promised land" (the Americas). Mormon scholar Hugh Nibley has suggested that he was a merchant and contemporary of the Seven Wise Men of Greece[2]. The modern day city of Lehi, Utah is named after Lehi.
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[edit] Lehi's life according to the Book of Mormon
According to the Book of Mormon narrative, the families of Lehi, his friend Ishmael and another man named Zoram left Jerusalem some time before its destruction by the Babylonians in approximately 587 BC. Lehi's group proceeded southward down the Arabian Peninsula until they reached a location called Nahom[3]. Ishmael is reported to have died by this time, and he was buried at this location[4].
From Nahom, the group proceeded in an eastward direction across the desert until they reached a fertile coastal region they named Bountiful, where Lehi's son Nephi was instructed by the Lord to build a ship for the purpose of sailing across the ocean to the "promised land"[5]. The party of men, women and children along with their animals boarded the ship and sailed until they reached the Americas[6].
The Book of Mormon relates that during his family's journey to the Americas and before his death, Lehi gave important teachings to his children and their posterity that were recorded by Nephi on metallic plates that were later used in compiling the Book of Mormon.
[edit] Family
Upon Lehi's death, his sons Nephi and Laman established two conflicting nations, the Nephites and the Lamanites, and as such is considered one of the principle ancestors of the Book of Mormon people. According to the Book of Mormon, his known immediate family is as shown in the diagram below. (Note that there were at least two unnamed daughters that are not included on the diagram).
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[edit] Hypothesized Modern Archaeological Ties
Mormon scholars and researchers speculate that the following archaeological sites and peoples have ties to Lehi, or constitute evidence of the historicity of Lehi (though these connections are not accepted by non-Mormon archaeologists):
- Khirbet Beit Lei ("Ruin of the House of Lei") which may have been the home of Lehi
- A tribe called the People of Lihy on the Arabian Peninsula
- The location NHM, which is argued to be the same location as Nahom, a place through which Lehi traveled
[edit] Notes
- ^ 1 Nephi 1:4
- ^ (Nibley 1952)
- ^ See the following chapters in the Book of Mormon for this narrative: 1 Nephi 2, 1 Nephi 3, 1 Nephi 4, 1 Nephi 5, 1 Nephi 7, 1 Nephi 16
- ^ 1 Nephi 16:34
- ^ 1 Nephi 17
- ^ 1 Nephi 18
[edit] References
- Nibley, Hugh Winder (1952), Lehi in the Desert and The World of the Jaredites, Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft Publishing Company, pp. 36, <http://www.boap.org/LDS/Hugh-Nibley/Lehi_in_the_Desert_part_1.html>. Retrieved on 9 May 2007.
[edit] External links
- Lehi by S. Kent Brown and Terrence L. Szink
- Online Version of the Book of Mormon, published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
- Book of Mormon Movie "The Journey" (Google video)
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