Difference between revisions of "1 Ne 7:16-8:1"

Revision as of 10:38, 8 October 2007

The Book of Mormon > First Nephi > Chapter 7

Questions

Verse 16

• Why would Laman and Lemuel tie Nephi up after he told them they were free to go back to Jerusalem? (Verses 15-16)
• Could it be that they remembered how Nephi had dealt with Laban (1 Ne 4), and were afraid their younger brother might treat them in a similar fashion?

Verse 17

• What difference did it make that the sons of Lehi were outnumbered by the family of Ishmael?

Verse 18

• Was it obvious to everyone there that the bands were miraculously loosed?

Verse 19

• Why did Laman and Lemuel have respect for women?

Verse 20

Verse 21

Verse 22

Lexical notes

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Exegesis

In verse 17 Nephi asks to be given strength to burst the bands that he is bound with but then in verse 18 we aren't told that Nephi burst them, but rather that they were loosed from off his hands and feet. It could be that someone else in the party loosed Nephi's bands but it seems more likely that if this was the case Nephi would have noted it. The fact that Nephi simply says they were loosed suggests that they were loosed without Nephi or anyone else loosening them. It may be that the Lord chose this way of releasing Nephi rather than the way Nephi asked in order to testify (again) to Nephi's brothers that he supported Nephi.

Note that Laman and Lemuel do not repent directly after being called to repentance and warned against returning to Jerusalem (verses 8-15), instead they become angry and bind Nephi with cords (verse 16). They also do not repent when Nephi, apparently miraculously, is released from the cords they bound him with. They do however repent when Ishmael's wife and two children plead with them.

Related links

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