| 1:1 I,
Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I
was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and
having seen many afflictions in the course of my days,
nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in
all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the
goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a
record of my proceedings in my days. |
The name "Nephi"
may have been derived from the Apocrypha, with which
Joseph Smith appears to have been familiar. (See this
page for a list of possible sources for Book of
Mormon names). II Maccabees 1:36 And Neemias called
this thing Naphthar, which is as much as to say, a
cleansing: but many men call it Nephi.
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| 1:2 Yea, I
make a record in the language of my father, which
consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of
the Egyptians. |
Although claims of Egyptian
or Hebrew script in the New World are often advanced by
amateur archaeologists, there are no substantiated
examples of Old World scripts in pre-columbian America. Only
four main types of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican writing
systems are known: (Aztec, Mixtec, Zapotec, and Maya). Of
these, only Zapotec and Maya are truly textual systems.
(Aztec and Mixtec consisted of little more than dates and
place names).
Mayan script has been deciphered to the point where
most inscriptions can now be read. The consensus is that
both the Mayan script and language are indigenous to the
Americas, i.e. they have no discernable connection to any
Old World system. Zapotec remains undeciphered, but an
examination of the actual script shows structural
similarities to Maya, and, again, no discernable
connection to any Old World script.
|
| 1:3 And I
know that the record which I make is true; and I make it
with mine own hand; and I make it according to my
knowledge. |
|
| 1:4 For it
came to pass in the commencement of the first year of the
reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, (my father, Lehi,
having dwelt at Jerusalem in all his days); and in that
same year there came many prophets, prophesying unto the
people that they must repent, or the great city Jerusalem
must be destroyed. |
The name "Lehi" is
mentioned in Judges 15:9 as a place name. Another
possibility is "Levi". A further anomaly -
Zedekiah was actually installed as king by Nebuchadnezzar
after the first Babylonian deportation. (See II
Kings 24:8-17). It is very strange that Nephi fails to
mention that the city had already been beseiged once by
Nebuchadnezzar, and that he had carried away ten thousand
captives before this point. Further, the Bible claims
that the Babylonians carried off all the noblemen and
craftsmen (II Kings 24:14), leaving only the poorest
people of the land behind. How did Lehi and his family
escape this first deportation, not to mention Laban and
his family?
|
| 1:5
Wherefore it came to pass that my father, Lehi, as he
went forth prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all his
heart, in behalf of his people. |
|
| 1:6 And it
came to pass as he prayed unto the Lord, there came a
pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him; and he
saw and heard much; and because of the things which he
saw and heard he did quake and tremble exceedingly. |
|
| 1:7 And it
came to pass that he returned to his own house at
Jerusalem; and he cast himself upon his bed, being
overcome with the Spirit and the things which he had
seen. |
Lehi's vision is very
similar to John's vision at the start of the book of
Revelation. He uses the same language in a number of
cases, and follows the same general structure. (More
information). |
| 1:8 And
being thus 1overcome
with the Spirit, he was carried away in a vision, even
that he saw the heavens open, and he thought he saw God
sitting upon his throne, 2surrounded
with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of
singing and praising their God. |
[1] Revelation 4:2-4: And immediately I was in the
spirit; and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one
sat on the throne.
[2] Revelation 5:11: And I beheld, and I heard the
voice of many angels round about the throne...and the
number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and
thousands of thousands. |
| 1:9 And it
came to pass that he saw One descending out of the midst
of heaven, and he beheld that his 1luster
was above that of the sun at noon-day. |
[1] Revelation 1:16: ...and his countenance was
as the sun shineth in his strength. |
| 1:10 And he
also saw twelve others following him, and their
brightness did exceed that of the stars in the firmament.
|
|
| 1:11 And
they came down and went forth upon the face of the earth;
and the first came and stood before my father, and gave
unto him a 1book,
and bade him that he should read. |
[1] Revelation 10:2: And he had in his hand a
little book open... |
| 1:12 And it
came to pass that as he read, he was filled with the
Spirit of the Lord. |
|
| 1:13 And he
read, saying: 1Wo,
wo, unto Jerusalem, for I have seen thine abominations!
Yea, and many things did my father read concerning
Jerusalem--that it should be destroyed, and the
inhabitants thereof; many should perish by the sword, and
many should be carried away captive into Babylon. |
[1] Revelation 8:13: ...Woe, woe, woe, to the
inhabiters of the earth... |
| 1:14 And it
came to pass that when my father had read and seen many
great and marvelous things, he did exclaim many things
unto the Lord; such as: 1Great
and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty! Thy
throne is high in the heavens, and thy power, and
goodness, and mercy are over all the inhabitants of the
earth; and, because thou art merciful, thou wilt not
suffer those who come unto thee that they shall perish! |
[1] Revelation 15:3: ...Great and marvellous are
thy works, Lord God Almighty... |
| 1:15 And
after this manner was the language of my father in the
praising of his God; for his soul did rejoice, and his
whole heart was filled, because of the things which he
had seen, yea, which the Lord had shown unto him. |
|
| 1:16 And
now I, Nephi, do not make a full account of the things
which my father hath written, for he hath written many
things which he saw in visions and in dreams; and he also
hath written many things which he prophesied and spake
unto his children, of which I shall not make a full
account. |
|
| 1:17 But I
shall make an account of my proceedings in my days.
Behold, I make an abridgment of the record of my father,
upon plates which I have made with mine own hands;
wherefore, after I have abridged the record of my father
then will I make an account of mine own life. |
|
| 1:18
Therefore, I would that ye should know, that after the
Lord had shown so many marvelous things unto my father,
Lehi, yea, concerning the destruction of Jerusalem,
behold he went forth among the people, and began to
prophesy and to declare unto them concerning the things
which he had both seen and heard. |
|
| 1:19 And it
came to pass that the Jews did
mock him because of the things which he testified of
them; for he truly testified of their wickedness and
their abominations; and he testified that the things
which he saw and heard, and also the things which he read
in the book, manifested plainly of the coming of a 1Messiah, and also the
redemption of the world. |
Topic: Anachronistic
Concepts
[1] As with most religious concepts, the idea of the
Messiah evolved slowly over time. In 600 BC, when the
Lehites left Jerusalem, the concept of a semi-divine
being who would bring salvation to mankind did not exist
in Judaism, and is not present in the Old Testament,
despite the imaginative attempts of the New Testament
writers to make it so.The English word messiah
is actually derived from the Greek messias,
which is in turn an adaptation of the Aramaic meshiha.
The Aramaic is a translation of the Hebrew ha-mashi'ah,
meaning 'the anointed [King]'.
The concept of the Messiah in Judaism first began with
the idea that the throne of David would be established
forever (II Sam 7:13). Following the split of the Kingdom
after the death of Solomon, the focus shifted to the hope
that the line of David would be re-established over all
Israel. These hopes were dashed when the Northern Kingdom
fell to the Assyrians in the eighth century BC, and the
Southern Kingdom fell to the Babylonians in 600 BC.
This was the beginning of the concept of the Messiah,
a future King of Israel who would restore the land to
autonomous rule. The Messiah was thus an earthly King,
who would wield political power in Israel and restore the
line of David (Isaiah 9:6-7). The Old Testament refers to
at least two historical individuals who were considered
for the role of Messiah - Cyrus, king of the Persians
(Isaiah 45:1) and Zerubbabel (Haggai 2:23).
Following the Old Testament period, the concept of the
Messiah shifted to an eschatological context. The Messiah
took on the role of both King and Priest, as exemplified
by the Dead Sea sect. It was this concept that the early
Christians reworked into the idea of a divine ruler, sent
by God to save mankind from their sins.
The Messiah in the Book of Mormon, it hardly needs to
be said, is taken directly from the New Testament. This
is nowhere more obvious than in the fact that the word
Christ is used so many times for the Messiah. Technically,
Christ is a Greek synonym for Messiah (which makes its
appearance in the Book of Mormon problematic), and was
used extensively in the New Testament, where, in the
phrase 'Lord Jesus Christ', it evolved into a personal
name (II Timothy 2:19). The author of the Book of Mormon,
like so many Christians, seems to have been unaware of
the true etymology of the word, and uses it as a personal
name (II Nephi 10:3), as does
the New Testament on occasion. 
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| 1:20 And
when the Jews heard these
things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the
prophets of old, whom they had cast out, and stoned, and
slain; and they also sought his life, that they might
take it away. But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you
that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those
whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them
mighty even unto the power of deliverance. |
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