Comments on 1 Nephi 3 v1-8 When Nephi returns from speaking with the Lord, he goes into Lehi's tent (v. 1) and Lehi tells him he has had a dream. In the dream the Lord tells Lehi that the sons need to go back (v. 2) to get some religious records from Laban (v. 3), and so, it is a command from the Lord (v. 4). Lehi relates that Nephi's brothers have complained about his request, but Lehi insists again that it is the Lord who has commanded it and not himself (v. 5). So, Lehi tells Nephi to go and do as the Lord commands, because the others apparently won't (v. 6). Nephi accepts what his father tells him and knows that it can be accomplished if the Lord commands it (v. 7). Lehi is pleased with Nephi's response and perceives that Nephi is spiritually discerning (v. 8). v2 Q. Why were the sons sent back, not Lehi? A. See 2:1. v3 "Laban", Laban must have been a prominent, well-known character in Jerusalem. They know who he is without any additional explanation, and when the sons do return to Jerusalem Lemuel finds him without any problems. Laban's association with the elders of the Jews (cf. 4:22) and apparent command over military forces (cf. v. 31, 4:31) place him high in the religio- political hierarchy. As Lehi refers to him as "Laban" when speaking to Nephi, and not "a man by the name of Laban" or "the chief of the city named Laban", this suggests Nephi already knows who he is. "plates of brass", these plates must have been very valuable indeed. Hence their being placed in a treasury and Laman and Lemuel complaining about it being a "hard thing". Their placement in his treasury and not in a synagogue, and the subsequent attempt to purchase them from Laban suggests they are his personal property. The passage in 5:16 indicates the plates were in fact older than Laban himself, and he was simply next in line to possess them and pass them on. However, if the plates are Laban's personal property then it seems odd they would be kept up to date, even containing some of the contemporary Jeremiah's prophecies. If the elders of the Jews were combined against Jeremiah, and Laban was in league with the elders of the Jews, then it seems unlikely Laban would be favorably disposed towards Jeremiah. Now, we do know the king at that time was Zedekiah, and while he had little political will to stand up to the elders of the Jews, he did have considerable respect for Jeremiah and saved his life on occasion and subsequently protected him from them. So, perhaps Laban had some respect for Zedekiah's opinions, and the relationship between Laban and the elders of the Jews was more out of necessity and convenience than common religious views. Another possibility is that Zoram, who clearly had considerable access to the plates (cf. 4:20), little respect towards his master Laban (cf. 4:33), considerable interest in religious matters (cf. 4:22, 4:26-27), and had strong religious convictions himself (cf. 4:34-35), kept the records up to date himself by scribing the various letters penned and distributed by Baruch for Jeremiah (cf. Jer. 36:4). "brass", probably a holdover from the KJV. The KJV translates the Hebrew "nechoshet" to "brass" when a more accurate translation is "copper", brass being an alloy of copper and zinc. v9-14 Nephi, with his brothers in tow, head to Jerusalem to get the plates (v. 9). Upon arrival they talk about who should go in (v. 10) and ultimately cast lots on who will approach Laban, with the lot falling on Laman. Laman goes in to Laban's house and sits with him and they talk for a while (v. 11). Laman asks to borrow the plates under the guise of them having a common genealogy (v. 12), but Laban suspects he is lying and so accuses him of attempting to steal the plates and threatens to have him killed for it (v. 13). Laman bolts from the scene before any actual harm is done, returns to his brothers and they are all dismayed over the failure and Laban's now negative disposition towards them. So, the rest of them are ready to give up (v. 14). v10 "I and my brethren did consult one with another", whoever goes in needs an alibi to get the plates. They know from Lehi's vision (cf. v. 3) that Lehi's genealogy is on them. So, the ruse is to approach Laban and ask to borrow the plates because they are interested in the genealogy on them, perhaps acting naive to any additional content or value. They agree upon it, and cast lots on who goes in to try the story. While they are probably deliberately lying about borrowing the record, they may truly intend just that. They may intend to borrow the record so as to make their own copy and then return it. v15-27 When the others are ready to give up Nephi insists they keep trying, swearing an oath that they will not return unsuccessful (v. 15). Nephi comes up with another plan: purchase the plates from Laban using the abandoned family wealth (v. 16), which was left behind because it really has no value (v. 17-18). What is of real value are the plates because they can preserve the language and prophecies of their fathers and pass them on to their children (v. 19-20). Using this line of reasoning, Nephi persuades them to go along with the plan (v. 21). So, they go back to their original home and gather up all of the abandoned material wealth (v. 22) and take it to Laban (v. 23). They offer to buy the plates with all of the wealth they brought (v. 24), but Laban instead decides to use his position of power to steal all of their wealth and keep the plates as well (v. 25). He sends his servants to kill them and they are forced to leave behind all of the wealth in order to run (v. 26). They successfully evade the servants of Laban and hide outside of Jerusalem in a cave (v. 27). v28-31 Laman gets angry that they have lost all of their wealth and not gotten anything to show for it. He rails on Nephi and Lehi and ends up getting Lemuel riled up as well. They end up so irate they strike both Sam and Nephi with a rod (v. 28). When the physical violence starts, and angel intercedes and stops it by questioning their behavior. He then commands them to return to Jerusalem and the Lord will deliver Laban into their hands (v. 29). With the violence quelled and the command issued, the angel departs (v. 30). After the angel leaves, Laman and Lemuel questions how it is Laban can be delivered into their hands when he can slay fifty men such as them (v. 31). The angel immediate stops the violence, and Laman and Lemuel do not question the angel's words until after it departs. This suggests the angel appeared in glory, as opposed to an angel that appears no different from a human (cf. Judges 6:22). Nephi uses this appearance twice (cf. 4:3, 7:10) successfully as a means of persuading Laman and Lemuel. However, by 16:38 they have rationalized that Nephi somehow deceived their eyes in an effort to promote himself. v31 Laman and Lemuel are using "kal v'khomer", a classic Semitic argumentation form. It follows the pattern: If X is true of Y, then how much more true is X of Z? Naturally, this assumes Z is of greater weight than Y. This type of argument is common in the OT, cf. Deut. 31:27, 1 Sam. 23:3, Esther 9:12, Prov. 11:31, Jer. 12:5, Ezek. 15:5. It is also found in the NT as well, cf. Matt. 6:26, John 7:23, Rom. 5:8-9, Heb. 2:2-3. Additional BofM examples are 1 Ne. 7:8-12, Mosiah 4:22, Alma 32:18-19, 3Ne. 13:26, 3 Ne. 14:11. Laman and Lemuel are not arguing the Lord doesn't have the power to slay Laban, they are saying they themselves do not have power to slay Laban. In other words, they do not see the Lord intervening in the situation to help them get the job done. Hence, Nephi's reply in 4:1. Copyright © 2001 by S. Kurt Neumiller . All rights reserved. No part of this text may be reproduced in any form or by any means for commercial gain without the express written consent of the author. Digital or printed copies may be freely made and distributed for personal and public non-commercial use.