Monday, October 23, 2023

Brant Gardner on the Timing of the Marriages between the Sons of Lehi and Daughters of Ishmael

  

And now I would that ye might know, that after my father, Lehi, had made an end of prophesying concerning his seed, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto him again, saying that it was not meet for him, Lehi, that he should take his family into the wilderness alone; but that his sons should take daughters to wife, that they might raise up seed unto the Lord in the land of promise. (1 Nephi 7:1)

 

As for timing, certainly they needed to marry before it was too difficult or too far to return to find Israelite women. But why now and now at the time they first left? Or why was this mission not combined with the expedition for the plates? While the Book of Mormon offers no answer, I hypothesize that obtaining the brass plates solidified the reality of the exodus to them, firmly severing the possibility of a return. If they allowed Zoram to live and return with them, then he could have been a witness that Nephi had killed Laban. Even if there were no other witnesses, the conflict between the brothers and Laban would have been well known to at least his force of fifty and probably to other people in the city. Furthermore, there is no indication that Lehi’s enemies would have moderated their hostility. The family could not return.

 

Acquiring the brass plates confirmed through their experiences that Yahweh was leading them. Thus, these experiences not only strengthened their resolve but perhaps also provided arguments that would convince Ishmael and his family to accompany them. (Brant A. Gardner, Second Witness: Analytical and Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon, 6 vols. [Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2007], 1:140-41)