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Without the Mormon Lens: 12 - Attempt to Buy the Brass Plates

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By Mason
    Let's just pick up right where we left off, as Nephi and his brothers attempt to buy the plates from Laban.

The Book of Mormon, pg 11

~~~~~ The Book of Mormon ~~~~~
     "And it came to pass that we went in unto Laban, and desired him that he would give unto us the records which were engraven upon the plates of brass, for which we would give unto him our gold, and our silver, and all our precious things."

     "And it came to pass that when Laban saw our property, and that it was exceeding great, he did lust after it, insomuch that he thrust us out, and sent his servants to slay us, that he might obtain our property. And it came to pass that we did flee before the servants of Laban, and we were obliged to leave behind our property, and it fell into the hands of Laban." (pg 11)
~~~~~~~~~~

     If we look for a similar story related to Joshua, we find the account of Achan, who stole the silver, and gold, and precious things from the people of Ai.

~~~~~The Old Testament~~~~~
     19 And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me. 

     20 And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: 

     21 When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.  (Joshua 7:20-21)
~~~~~~~~~~

     And what was the punishment for Achan's sin? He and his entire family were put to death.

~~~~~The Old Testament~~~~~
     24 And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor.

      25 And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the Lord shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones. (Joshua 7:24-25)
~~~~~~~~~~

         If we apply this to Laban, we can see that he is guilty of the same sin. While I don't want to get to far ahead in the story, Laban's life will eventually be taken by Nephi for this crime, just as Achan's life was taken by Joshua. It's a different method of execution and circumstance, but with how many other similarities we see between Nephi and Joshua, we can safely assume that it inspired the story of Laban. 

     Because of greed of Achan, the people of Ai sought to take way the lives of the Isrealites.

~~~~~The Old Testament~~~~~
     5 And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.  (Joshua 7:5)
    
~~~~~ The Book of Mormon ~~~~~
     "And it came to pass that we fled into the wilderness, and the servants of Laban did not overtake us, and we hid ourselves in the cavity of a rock. (pg 11)
~~~~~~~~~~

     I believe that the reference to them hiding in the cavity of a rock is due to the story of the five kings fleeing from Joshua. This no doubt would have been on Smith's mind as it will eventually relate to the death of Laban, in my next post.

~~~~~The Old Testament~~~~~
     16 But these five kings fled, and hid themselves in a cave at Makkedah. (Joshua 10:16)

~~~~~~~~~~

   These next few paragraphs will retell several events from Numbers. It is the account of Isrealites complaining to Moses and Joshua after seeing the strength of their enemies. 

    (If Nephi is Joshua, would that make Sam Caleb?)

 ~~~~~The Old Testament~~~~~
     6  And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes: 

     7 And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. 

     8 If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.

       9 Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not. 

     10 But all the congregation bade stone them with stones... (Numbers 14:6-10)

~~~~~ The Book of Mormon ~~~~~
     "And it came to pass that Laman was angry with me, and also with my father; and also Lemuel; for he hearkened unto the words of Laman. Wherefore Laman and Lemuel did speak many hard words unto us, their younger brothers, and they did smite us even with a rod."

     "And it came to pass as they smote us with a rod, behold an angel of the Lord came and stood before them, (pg 11)

~~~~~The Old Testament~~~~~
10...And the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel. (Numbers 14:6-10)

~~~~~ The Book of Mormon ~~~~~
     "and he spake unto them saying: Why do ye smite your younger brother with a rod? Know ye not that the Lord hath chosen him to be a ruler over you , and this because of your iniquities? (pg 11)

~~~~~The Old Testament~~~~~
     11  And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them? (Numbers 14:11)

~~~~~ The Book of Mormon ~~~~~
 "Behold thou shalt go up to Jerusalem again, and the Lord will deliver Laban into your hands. And after that the angel had spoken unto us, he departed." (pg 11)
~~~~~~~~~~
   
     Laman and Lemuel, then complain that they will not be able to take on Laban due to his strength.

~~~~~ The Book of Mormon ~~~~~
      "And after that angel had departed, Laman and Lemuel again began to murmur, saying, how is it possible that the Lord will deliver Laban into our hands? Behold he is a mighty man, and he can command fifty, yea, even he can slay fifty; then why not us?" (pg 11)
~~~~~~~~~
   
     Which should remind us of the same complaints that the children of Isreal had againsts Moses after the spies returned from the land of Cannan.

~~~~~The Old Testament~~~~~
     27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.  

     28 Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. 

     29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan. 

     30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. (Numbers 13: 29-30)



~~~~~ The Book of Mormon ~~~~~
     "And it came to pass that I spake unto my brethren, saying: Let us go up again unto Jerusalem, and let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord; for behold he is mightier than all the earth, then why not mightier than Laban and his fifty yea, or even than his tens of thousands."

~~~~~The Old Testament~~~~~
     31 But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. (Numbers 13: 30)

~~~~~ The Book of Mormon ~~~~~
     "Therefore let us go up; let us be strong like unto Moses: For he truly spake unto the waters of the Red Sea, and they divided hither and thither, and our fathers came through out of captivity on dry ground, and the armies of Pharaoh did follow and were drowned in the waters of the Red Sea." (pgs 11-12)

~~~~~The Old Testament~~~~~
    9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. 

     10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 

     11 Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it.

     12  And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying, 

     13 Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, The Lord your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land. (Joshua 1:9-13)

     16 And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go.  

     17 According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the Lord thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses. (Joshua 1:16-17)

The Book of Mormon, pg 12

~~~~~ The Book of Mormon ~~~~~
     "Now behold ye know that this is true; and ye also know that an angel hath spoken unto you, wherefore can ye doubt. Let us go up; the Lord is able to deliver us, even as our fathers, and to destroy Laban, even as the Egyptians." (pg 12)



Check Your Understanding:

Test what you picked up from this post.

1. What do Nephi and his brothers offer Laban in exchange for the brass plates?




2. Which Old Testament episode does the post connect most directly to Laban’s greed?




3. Why does the author highlight that Nephi and his brothers “hid themselves in the cavity of a rock”?




4. In the post’s reading, Laman and Lemuel’s behavior in this scene is most like:




5. What role does the visiting angel play in this part of the narrative?




6. According to the post, Nephi’s pep talk about going back to Jerusalem is modeled on:





-Next Post-
Nephi slays Laban
Compared to Joshua conquering the promised land

New here? Consider starting at the first post.


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