Let's think back to the idea of re-contextualization. We should expect to find a mash-up of pre-existing events, people, and ideas as we read. We will see themes being pulled from the Bible, removing their original context, and then being inserted into this new narrative. This is evident as the entire first chapter sets the stage for the rest of the Book of Mormon. Before Joseph Smith can establish a Native American scripture, he first needs to give an explanation as to how a tribe of Israel ended up in the Americas in the first place. Think of it as his method of worldbuilding.
Joseph Smith gives the narrative voice of the story to Nephi, who represents himself as a sort of parallel to Christopher Columbus. This voice will eventually become more clear. However, as Nephi begins to describe the visions of his father, we might not immediately see the American influence.
He begins by placing us in Jerusalem where we are presented with a condensed representation of events in the Old and New Testaments through the experiences of Lehi. Smith jumps around a lot in this first page, which I think is important to see. The story of Lehi itself is very linear but its inspiration seems to have been pulled from all over the Bible in rapid succession, with a primary focus on Jeremiah.
The Book of Mormon, pg 5
~~~~~The Book of Mormon~~~~~~
"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." (pg 5)
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We are immediately presented with a direct reference to the Book of Jeremiah, where Jeremiah himself is one of the prophets who prophesied of Jerusalem's destruction.
~~~~~Old Testament ~~~~~~
3 Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah:
4 Thus saith the Lord God of Israel; Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city.
5 And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath.
6 And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence. (Jeremiah 21:3-6)
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Then we see in the very next paragraph, that Smith makes another reference to Jeremiah as Lehi expresses deep concern over the fate of Jerusalem.
The Book of Mormon, pg 6
~~~~~The Book of Mormon~~~~~~
"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. " (pg 6)
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Which is exactly what Jeremiah admonished those who has been carried away captive into Babylon to do.
~~~~~Old Testament ~~~~~~
12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:12-13)
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I believe we see our first major biblical re-contextualization as we are presented this shift in Lehi. Where he goes from being aware of the teachings of the Prophet Jeremiah, to actually taking the role of a prophet himself.
~~~~~The Book of Mormon~~~~~~
"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, he did quake and tremble exceedingly." (pg 6)
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This vision carries the same imagery as Moses and the burning bush.
~~~~~Old Testament~~~~~~
2 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed (Exodus 3:2)
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More importantly it aligns with Joseph Smith's own vision of God the Father as described to a house guest in 1835.
~~~~~Joseph Smith~~~~~~
"I called on the Lord in mighty prayer, a pillar of fire appeared above my head, it presently rested down upon my head, and filled me with joy unspeakable, a personage appeard in the midst, of this pillar of flame which was spread all around, and yet nothing consumed" (Joseph Smith. 1835)
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But then we get yet another shift where we reference Ezekiel's vision of God combined with John's vision in the Book of Revelation.
~~~~~The Book of Mormon~~~~~~
"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; and being thus overcome 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, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God." (pg 6)
~~~~~Old Testament~~~~~~
24 And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of an host: when they stood, they let down their wings.
25 And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads, when they stood, and had let down their wings.
26 And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. (Ezekiel 1:24-26)
~~~~~New Testament ~~~~~~
3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. (Revelations 15:3)
~~~~~The Book of Mormon~~~~~~
"And it came to pass that he saw one descending out of the midst of Heaven, and he beheld that his lustre was above that of the sun at noon-day; and he also saw twelve others following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the firmament; 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 Book, and bade him that he should read." (pg 6)
~~~~~Old Testament ~~~~~~
10 And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe (Ezekiel 2:10)
~~~~~The Book of Mormon~~~~~~
"And it came to pass as he read, he was filled with the spirit of the Lord, and he read saying, Wo, wo unto Jerusalem! for I have seen thine abominations;(pg 6)
~~~~~Old Testament ~~~~~~
27 I have seen thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean? when shall it once be? (Jeremiah 13:27)
~~~~~The Book of Mormon~~~~~~
" 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. "(pg 6)
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Up until this point, Lehi was only concerned about the destruction of Jerusalem, but once he read this book, he became aware, not only of the city's destruction, but of its captivity as well. It's almost as though the story of Lehi paused at Jeremiah 21:6 and then picked up again in verse 7.
~~~~~Old Testament ~~~~~~
7. And afterward, saith the Lord, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life: and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy. (Jeremiah 21:7)
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It's interesting that after Lehi read about Jerusalem's destruction, he actually began to praise God, despite it being God who allowed the city to be destroyed.
~~~~~The Book of Mormon~~~~~~
"And it came to pass that when my father had read and saw many great and marvellous things, he did exclaim many things unto the Lord; such as, Great and marvellous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty! (pg 6)
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Which clearly references the same verse in Revelations as before
~~~~~New Testament ~~~~~~
3 ...Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. (Revelations 15:3)
~~~~~The Book of Mormon~~~~~~
Thy throne is high in the Heavens, and the power and goodness, and mercy is 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! (pg 6)
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Keeping the narrative in context with the destruction of Jerusalem, its possible that Joseph Smith also alludes to Jeremiah's words to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian.
~~~~~Old Testament ~~~~~~
18 For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the Lord. (Jeremiah 39:18)
~~~~~The Book of Mormon~~~~~~
"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 shewn unto him". (pg 6)
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At this point, most of what we have read so far has been a composite of stories from Moses, Ezekial, Jeremiah, and John. With an additional hint toward Joseph Smiths own (supposed) life experience. We have only covered a little more than a single page. Yet we can look at what we just read and can clearly see that it is inspired heavily by the Bible, as many main ideas are simply summarized through the Lehi character.
Nephi acknowledges that he is only sharing a summary of Lehi's life in this book.
~~~~~The Book of Mormon~~~~~~
"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; but I will make an account of my proceedings in my days..." (pg 6)
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To me, this come across as a method used by Joseph Smith to reign the story in a bit. After all, he had just spent an entire page where many of the elements of multiple prophets were combined into one, and a lot of ideas were thrown out.
This is also likely because Joseph Smith had initially written 160 pages of the Book of Lehi, which were stolen by the wife of Martin Harris, his first scribe. This condensed history of Lehi was his attempt to cover everything he had previously written without actually having to rewrite it all. Which may also explain why the story of Lehi feels a bit rushed.
From here, Smith actually seems to dial it back a notch and portrays Lehi in a bit of a less complicated, and more streamlined way. Not before reiterating that this account is just a summary, and that the subject will eventually be changed to Nephi himself.
~~~~~The Book of Mormon~~~~~~
" -- Behold I make an abridgement of the record of my father, upon plates which I have made with mine own hands; wherefore, after that I have abridged the record of my father, then will I make an account of mine own life." (pg 7)
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As we continue into the next post, we will see Lehi continue to act as a representation of Jeremiah. From there he will transition into the role of a Moses character as he works to lead his family to the promised land. The ties to America will slowly be unveiled as Smith begins to demonstrate potential inspiration from sources outside of the Bible.
Check Your Understanding:
Test what you picked up from this post.
1. What narrative problem is Joseph Smith solving in 1 Nephi?
2. Which biblical figures appear to influence Lehi’s opening visions?
3. What does the post argue Lehi’s visions demonstrate?
4. Why might the story of Lehi feel condensed or rushed?
5. What literary method does the post argue Smith uses throughout Nephi’s narrative?
6. According to the post, how will Lehi’s character evolve?
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