Lehi follows the example of his forefather Jacob in blessing his children before his death (Genesis 49); but he also follows Moses’ lead. Several years before Lehi left Jerusalem, the book of Deuteronomy (Moses’ farewell address), long lost to the Israelites, was discovered in the temple and later read to the people (2 Kings 22-23; 2 Chron 34-35). Lehi seems to pattern his own farewell address after Moses’. Scholars have noted at least a dozen parallels, including rehearsal of blessing, emphasizing how keeping commandments yields prosperity, the idea of a favored people and a chosen land, and the appointment of a successor.
Historical evidence gives indication that Lehi was especially familiar with the book of Deuteronomy. Two decades before Lehi led his family into the wilderness, a manuscript now generally believed to have included all or part of the book of Deuteronomy had been discovered in the Temple in Jerusalem. In the eighteenth year of his reign (approx 621 BC), K. Josiah made this discovery and then went up to the Temple with all the people of Jerusalem (2 Kg 22-23; 2 Chr 34-35) where he read the book…This version of Deut was without doubt the manuscript find of the century in ancient Israel. The discovery occurred while Lehi, an exceptionally literate and learned man in the prime of his life, lived in or near Jerusalem. It may be that Lehi’s own covenantal self-understanding was shaped by that event. It is even possible that the discovery of this text provided the motivation for creation of the brass plates as an enlarged and corrected version of the Josephite scriptural record. The apparent fact that the brass plates included Deut (see 1 Ne 5:11) suggests that the plates of brass were manufactured after 621 BC. Deut consists mainly of the final three addresses of Moses given to the people of Israel before they left him behind and crossed over the Jordan River into their promised land…Lehi’s own final address reflects an intimate knowledge of the text of Deut. Lehi alludes to it at every turn of his own discourse without letting the references distort or detract in any way from his own message. He makes Deut a powerful, though unmentioned, foundation for his own message to all his readers, especially for those who might know that version of Moses’ last words.
Noel B. Reynolds , BYU Studies, V44 No2 2005 p.10-11
*I include notes like the above because they affirm the complexity and richness of the Book of Mormon, including the near impossibility that it simply sprung from the mind of a 22-yr old farm boy.
3 daughters, the first indication that daughters were among the recipients in this series of patriarchal blessings. Heightened roles for women are typically associated not with the Nephites but with the Lamanites (see Jacob 3:7).
3-9 children of Laman…Lemuel…inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off…the cursing…be answered upon the heads of your parents…the Lord will not suffer that ye shall perish, see Prov 22:6. Lehi knows they will dwindle in unbelief, so he seeks a mitigating blessing because their parents and forefathers will be in part responsible for the consequences that befall them (see fn c, also D&C 68:25-29; Eph 6:4). Later Nephite prophets pray for the same blessing, that the Lamanites be spared. Ellie and I have often prayed that the Lord will make up for the mistakes we’ve made as parents, and jokingly, but seriously, told them that we would pay for their therapy whenever they decided they needed it ;). The reality is that as we recognize and repent for the mistakes we’ve made with our children, we can also have a powerful influence in helping them recover from the consequences of our underdeveloped parenting. Lehi models this. He spends much of his time and effort, it seems, in his later years, trying to make up for mistakes he made as a younger parent with Laman and Lemuel. And here he prays that L&L’s children will be blessed despite their parents’ failures.
It is worth considering how difficult it would be to be the children of Laman and Lemuel. The brothers have repeatedly shown their propensity toward violence and their willingness to harm people weaker than themselves. While there is no record of their behavior toward their wives and children, we can at least be sure that those children saw their fathers do horrific things toward Lehi, Nephi, Sam, Jacob, and Joseph. They have been witnesses to and perhaps victims of abuse. It is powerful that they get this moment of extra love from their grandfather.
Salleh & Hemming, The BofM For the Least of These
10 sons of Ishmael, I wonder what he said to them. Perhaps something similar to his words to L&L’s children, as from this point on, “Ishmaelites” would side with the “Lamanites” (see v13, also Jacob 1:13).
11 Sam…thou shalt be even like unto thy brother, I wish I knew more about Sam. Notably, Sam is blessed directly, while Lehi did not bless Laman or Lemuel, only their children. Sam was an early believer in Nephi’s revelations (1 Ne 2.17) and a close ally (1 Ne 7.6; 8.3, 14), yet apart from a single verse in the next chapter (2 Ne 5.6), there are no further reports of anything else he did. And in contrast to references to the posterity of his younger brothers as “Jacobites” and “Josephites” (Jacob 1.13; 4 Ne 1.36–37; Morm 1.8), there are never any “Samites.” His descendants seem to have completely merged with the Nephites (as might have happened, incidentally, if he only had daughters).
12 according to the feelings of his heart and the Spirit of the Lord which was in him, note that Lehi’s blessing was according to the spirit and the feelings of his heart. This may be a pattern for priesthood blessings. Father inspires us as we listen to his spirit, but he also gives us according to the righteous desires of our hearts.
waxed old, time passed between the blessings and Lehi’s death, which constituted not only the passing of a patriarch but the death of the family as Nephi had known it. The restraints that kept the contentious family together were gone and the consequences followed quickly. We hear nothing about Sariah once the text moves to the New World, which may mean she died before Nephi separated from the Lamanites.
13-14 Laman and Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael were angry with me because of the admonitions of the Lord, it sounds like both Lehi and Nephi were freely castigating L&L for their behaviors. Nephi obviously assumed the leadership of the group immediately, for he had been both appointed by the Lord (1 Ne 3:29) and prepared ever since they left Jerusalem.
15-35 Nephi’s Psalm
Nephi’s emotions were likely brought to the surface by Lehi’s death, which meant the mantle of leadership fell on him alone; but his struggles were not new. One thing he appears to be struggling with his how, after keeping all of God’s commandments, he seems only to have received more trial and tribulation and not the blessings promised. Job had a similar struggle.
The label “Psalm of Nephi” was first used by Sidney B. Sperry in his 1968 Book of Mormon Compendium.
This is a true psalm in both form and idea. Its rhythm is comparable to the noble cadence of David’s poems. It not only praises God, but lays bare to us the very depths of Nephi’s soul. A study of this psalm reveals how the scriptures delighted Nephi. The influence upon him of the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, and the Psalms is very apparent…It is the only Psalm in the Book of Mormon.
Sydney Sperry, Our Book of Mormon
Later scholars have noted that Nephi’s poem follows the classic form of a psalm of individual lament: invocation (v. 16), complaint (vv. 17–19), confession of trust (vv. 20–30), petition (vv. 31–33), and vow of praise (vv. 34–35). The poem alludes to episodes from previous chapters at vv. 20, 22, 24, 25. It’s a poetic outpouring of feeling resembling the emotional intensity of some of the Old Testament’s best psalms. Catherine Thomas, professor of ancient scripture at BYU, noted:
A psalm is a poem, a song of praise; not a sermon or doctrinal treatise, but an expression of personal religious experience. Nephi’s psalm (2 Ne. 4:16–35) employs some of the features characteristic of his Hebrew literary heritage, such as the themes of sorrow in sin, communion with and delight in God, the search for perfection, humility under chastening, and triumph over evil. He framed his feelings in typical Hebrew parallelism, where ideas are repeated with variation or contrasted: “Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul.” (2 Ne 4:28)
Catherine Thomas, Studies in Scripture 7:108
Nephi appears to owe both the structure and some content of his psalm to the prayer of Zenos on the brass plates (found in Alma 33), so it is fitting that Nephi utters this psalm so soon after declaring his love for the scriptures, particularly for those on the brass plates. This is fascinating:
While Alma quotes Zenos’s prayer as proof that Zenos knew about the Son of God and to convince the people of Antionum they could worship outside their synagogues, Nephi appears to have applied the sentiments and language of the prayer to his own trying circumstances, finding in Zenos’ words a source of encouragement and faith in the face of hostility and affliction. Nephi ends his psalm with a prayer of approximately the same length and in a style similar to Zenos’s prayer text. In their respective texts, Zenos uses the invocation “O God” or “O Lord” five times; Nephi six. Nephi begins his psalm by recognizing the Lord’s great goodness in showing him “his great and marvelous works” (2 Ne. 4:17) in answer to Nephi’s prayer (see 1 Ne. 11); Zenos also begins by acknowledging God’s mercy in hearing his prayers (Alma 33:4). Zenos lists the many places in which the Lord heard his prayers, quoting first an occasion when he was in the wilderness; Nephi lists many occasions when he received blessings from God in response to his cry and “mighty prayer,” quoting first how God supported him and led him through his “afflictions in the wilderness” (2 Ne. 4:20). Zenos ends by emphasizing that because the Lord did hear him in his afflictions, he will continue to cry to him “in all mine afflictions” (Alma 33:11); furthermore, Zenos asserts generally that God is “merciful unto [his] children when they cry unto [him]” (Alma 33:8); Nephi knows that “God will give liberally to him that asketh” (2 Ne. 4:35). Zenos believes the Lord listened to his prayer “because of mine afflictions and my sincerity” (Alma 33:11); Nephi expects to be blessed “because that my heart is broken and my spirit is contrite” (2 Ne. 4:32). The most obvious similarity between the two texts is the emphasis on the help each writer sought in dealing with “[his] enemies.” Nephi carries the problem to a higher level by also praying for help against the “enemy of [his] soul,” who tempts him and destroys his peace, the “evil one” who seeks a place in his heart (2 Ne. 4:27–28), referring to this “enemy” three times. While neither writer names these enemies directly, we get a clear picture that Nephi’s enemies included his own brothers who “did seek to take away [his] life” (2 Ne. 5:1–2), and Nephi reports that the Lord “confounded [his] enemies” (2 Ne. 4:22). While we have no background information about Zenos, it is possible that he had a somewhat different experience than Nephi. The Lord answered Zenos’s prayer by turning his enemies to him (Alma 33:4). Zenos states that he had been “cast out” and “despised” by his enemies, and that upon hearing his cries the Lord was angry with them and did “visit them in [his] anger with speedy destruction” (Alma 33:10). Given the extreme difficulties Nephi had suffered with his own brothers, it is easy to see how this verse from Zenos might have attracted his close attention. Finally, both Nephi and Zenos make direct reference to the Atonement of Christ and the joy they can find through it. Zenos explains God’s mercy in terms of the Son and recognizes that it is “because of [God’s] Son” that “[God has] turned [his] judgments away from [him]” (Alma 33:11). Nephi asks himself why he should be depressed or feel such sorrow when “the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men hath visited men in so much mercy” (2 Ne. 4:26; cf. 1 Ne. 11:16–25). Both end their prayers by announcing the joy they receive from the Lord’s mercy to them in their afflictions. Zenos says, “In thee is my joy” (Alma 33:11), while Nephi enjoins his heart to rejoice and cry to the Lord, saying, “My soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation” (2 Ne. 4:30).
Noel B. Reynolds, The Allegory of the Olive Tree, 34-36
15 I write the things of my soul, rather than the things of God, which to this point have been his focus. He’s going to get personal!
15-16 my soul delighteth, my heart pondereth, (Ps 119:24) the phrase “my soul delighteth” is used 11x in the Book of Mormon, ALL by Nephi. No one else uses it. His passion for the things of the Lord, for scripture, and for writing history and prophecy, makes him who he is. Perhaps it was born out of the formative experience of his youth when he was miraculously led to retrieve the brass plates from Laban. In any event, his comment portends his intention to laboriously but lovingly copy the extensive quotations from Isaiah that will follow.
In what do we delight? What do we think about when we have nothing else pressing on our minds?
for the learning and the profit of my children, Nephi is always future and family focused. 2 Ne 25:26, “We talk of Christ…that our children may know…” L&L, at least as they are portrayed in the account we have, are the very opposite—not considering well the consequences their actions will have on their posterity. Many of us today are similarly challenged. We’ve grown up in a ‘nuclear-family’ world, but the emphasis on the nuclear family is relatively new (post WWII), while prior to that, and especially anciently, cultures had a strong sense of extended families—progenitors and posterity alike.
17 O wretched man that I am! Given Nephi’s many visions and dramatic blessings, why does he make this outcry? In the OT, self-abasement is an expression of reverence (Ps 22:6), as we compare ourselves to God. Nephi seems to be underscoring the contrast between his blessings and his personal unworthiness. To be sure, it may have been because of his great visions and blessings that he felt more keenly the distance between God and himself. The challenge we all have is to hold space for both that vast distance and our intrinsic, infinite worth.
The nearer man approaches perfection, the clearer are his views, and the greater his enjoyments, till he has overcome the evils of his life and lost every desire for sin; and like the ancients, arrives at that point of faith where he is wrapped in the power and glory of his Maker and is caught up to dwell with Him.
Joseph Smith, TPJS 51
my heart sorroweth…my soul grieveth, (Rom 7:24; 3:23; James 5:17; Acts 14:15; Alma 13:12). But just moments before his soul ‘delighted’:
- his soul delighteth (v16), but now his soul grieveth (or lingers in the valley of sorrow, v26)
- his heart pondereth (v16), but now his heart sorroweth (or groaneth v19, or weeps v26)
Why the change?
18-19 the sins which do so easily beset me, in spite of our innate, godly desires for goodness, we all sin and come short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23), and here lies the tension of honest living post-Fall (2 Ne 2). Growth is born out of this tension and there is no way around it. Maturity is being able to navigate the tension, yielding neither to the pull of our sinful natures nor to the equally tempting but impossible demands of perfection. Rather, as Nephi, we must “know in whom we have trusted,” relying on the Lord and His mercy, love, and grace in granting us time and space to develop. Importantly, we should not explain away Nephi’s sins as simply his inability to forgive his brothers, say. Nephi’s sins would have been as consequential and detrimental as our own. In the end, what seems to really be afflicting Nephi is not any particular sin, but just being sinful, being overwhelmed by the fact that he commits sin. His battle is not with sin but with discouragement and despair. Here’s the point—we can be falling into temptation and trusting God simultaneously. Nephi puts both together deliberately, showing that trusting God as a human is a complex path.
19 nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted, we should insert a dramatic pause here because there is a shift from this point. The prior verses were Nephi’s wallowing depression, and verses after this point are his hopeful strivings. Contrast Sherem (Jacob 7:19), who, rather than trusting God in his sins, “fears” God because of his sins. Nephi enumerates the blessings he had received from God and reaffirmed his trust in him, despite being sinful. Nephi did not fear God but looked to him for strength.
20-25 My god hath been my support, Nephi lists all the ways God has been a part of his life despite his frailties and sins. This would be a great exercise for each of us. How has God been with us in our most sinful moments? Think of the poem Footprints In The Sand. We tend to think God abandons us when we sin, but that is, frankly, ridiculous; neither is it substantiated by scripture. Instead, God seeks us (Luke 19:10), runs to us (Luke 15:20), and embraces us (2 Nephi 1:15).
Also, Nephi lists a resume of God’s past acts in order to show what he will do in the future. We might also benefit from keeping a record of how God has moved in our lives so that we can say, ‘This is how God has brought me through in the past, and that is why I will trust God in the future.’ When things look incredibly hard in the moment, it might be good to hold our personal record of how God has carried us through our wilderness and preserved us through our own waters of the great deep.
26-35 O Lord, says Nephi, at least three times in these verses. He is really struggling. I loved this insight:
The circumstances of Nephi’s words indicate that he had little time to grieve before he had to gather his family and leave under threat of violence. He does not have the luxury of attending to his grief and emotional health. While we may want to give Nephi time to be still and have space for his emotions, his reality is that he has to return to refugee life. That is the story of any people who have to keep moving to stay alive, including the story of the Mormon pioneers. People on the run will have to bury people along the way and get back on the road the next day. This is what Nephi and his family must do. Nephi bears a strong resemblance to a psalter in these verses. We should read this section in the voice of anyone who is fleeing danger, abuse, or violence. This is the prayer of those seeking safe passage. As you read these verses, imagine them in the voice of a Syrian father trying to get his children to a refugee camp. Imagine them in the voice of a woman leaving her domestic abuser in the middle of the night. Imagine them in the voice of a parent separated from her children after crossing an international border. This is a prayer of people seeking the safety of God in the low valley. Look for the number of phrases here that relate to leaving—path, deliver, walk, way, etc. Nephi’s words describe a dangerous journey and what it looks like to be forced to be on the move in search of physical safety. Putting these words into the mouths of the most vulnerable of our day underscores the fear and uncertainty that Nephi felt. It also reveals our responsibility toward those people today. May we be the hands that help God protect those searching for safety in the low valley.
Salleh & Hemming, The BofM For the Least of These
26 why should my heart weep and my soul linger…my flesh waste away, and my strength slacken, self-indulgence is addicting. Ironically, it makes us feel good, but it is not good for us. True godly sorrow is not self-directed, it’s other-centric. Who do I hurt by my actions and how can I change so that I bless others rather than harm them? Nephi challenges his self-indulgence, arguing that if God is merciful enough to condescend to him in spite of his sins, why should Nephi not be merciful to himself? Remember that this was the first lesson Nephi learned from the angel—that God condescends to mankind because he loves us (1 Ne 11:16-23).
because of mine afflictions, is Nephi struggling with unfulfilled promises? He has been (relatively) righteous, so why does he experience great affliction (notably, his brothers trying to kill him)?
visited men, Royal Skousen notes that ‘men’ here is undoubtedly a scribal error and should have been ‘me.’ The text should read: “if the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men hath visited me in so much mercy…” which of course makes much more sense.
26-27 why should I yield to sin…why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place, see Rom 6:10-23; Ps 42:5. I don’t think Nephi is simply telling himself not to sin. I think he is challenging the idea that sin must depress and overwhelm him; i.e. that sin somehow makes him unworthy. This is what the adversary would have us believe. Giving the evil one place in our souls doesn’t mean we sin (sin is a given), rather, it means we yield to the lie that we are unworthy because of sin. THAT is what the adversary would have us believe. It’s Job’s friends telling him he must be unworthy of God’s blessings because of his serious afflictions. It’s extremely difficult to assert one’s worthiness despite weakness and sin. It takes immense faith in God and his love for us, including faith in our own divinity and intrinsic value, to maintain our dignity and worth separate and distinct from how we behave.
the evil one, non-biblical, but used 7x in the BoM.
28-30 do not anger because of mine enemies, Nephi is using David’s language here (Ps 23:5, etc). Who are Nephi’s enemies? His brothers who seek to kill him? His anger? His resentment that despite his following God, he has been given severe trials? Or as above, is his enemy the voice saying he is unworthy because of sin? No matter which, the point is that while weakness and sin are expected, including any anger for his brothers, such anger yet afflicts his soul and he has a hard time feeling peace. Upon inspired reflection, however, he realizes that he is yielding to the adversary’s temptation to despair, and these verses are Nephi’s exhortation to himself to surmount his temptation and rejoice in praising God.
28 Awake, rejoice! taking his father’s earlier words to heart (2 Ne 1:23, “Awake, my sons!”)
no longer droop in sin, not so much ‘don’t sin’ but more ‘don’t be depressed about your sins or sinfulness.’
the enemy of my soul, discouragement!
29 do not slacken, when one thinks too much about one’s weakness, one gets incredibly discouraged, and slackens..
30 Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, importantly, the answer to Nephi’s dilemma is to forget about himself and instead focus on the Lord.
My God, and the rock of my salvation, the image was used at Deut 32.15 and 2 Sam 22.47 in the final words of both Moses and David (two prophets from whom Nephi draws inspiration); also at Ps 18.2; 89.26; 95.1; 2 Ne 9.45; Jacob 7.25. In an exilic context, when Nephi and his family have left behind the traditional Israelite institutions of salvation (Levitical priesthood, temple, Jerusalem, holy land, and Davidic monarchy), Nephi proclaims that God himself is his salvific foundation.
31 Wilt though make me that I may shake at the appearance of sin, I have always loved this phrase, and for years it was a staple of my own prayers—not just that I wouldn’t yield to sin, but that I would tremble at its presence (see Moro 7:45; Jac 2:5; Prov 20:8; Alma 37:29, 32; 26:34; 2 Ne 9:49; Mosiah 28:3; Alma 13:12; Rom 12:9).
32 May the gates of hell be shut…shut the gates, so I can’t even squeeze through. Very poetic. The power of Nephi’s prayer here lies deep in Nephi’s heart—it’s his desire for righteousness more than his actual righteousness. Alma will later teach that we are judged and compensated ultimately based on the desires of our hearts (Alma 41:1-7).
because that my heart is broken and my spirit is contrite, a phrase associated with David and indicative of Nephi’s desire for God to draw near (Ps 34.17–18; cf. Ps 51.17; 2 Ne 2.7). How important and salvific is humility! It may, after all, be all that matters.
the path of the low valley…strict in the plain road, euphemistic for ‘sticking right to the path’ (HN). In the ancient world, a person escaping from his enemies wanted to take the easiest and surest to escape—one that was low (not up and down hills) and straight.
33-34 I have trusted in thee, Nephi’s effort to align with, stay close to, access, and develop a relationship with the Lord is exemplary. He prays for help to stay on the path but doesn’t count on it (trust that he alone can do it). Instead, he trusts in the Lord.
33 encircle me about in the robe of thy righteousness, cf. Isa 61.10; 2 Ne 1:15; 9.14. The image of being surrounded by temptation and sin in (v18) has been transformed into being wrapped about by God’s righteousness.
make a way for mine escape, see Ps 5:8. Nephi’s need to escape his enemies foreshadows the events of the next chapter—the Lord does lead him to escape from his brethren.
34 I have trusted, ‘trust’ used 5x in this verse! Our choice is to put trust either in the arm of flesh or God’s holy arm of true power and might.
35 I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh…my God will give me, if I ask not amiss, something we all struggle with. I suppose if the principle is true, the challenge lies in what it means to ask not amiss. Frankly, that’s not clear to me.
rock of my righteousness, ie. Christ is the source of Nephi’s righteousness (“I am the vine, ye are the branches,” John 15:5). Christ is the foundation of any righteousness we may claim. Take him away and ‘our’ righteousness crumbles (Alma 29:4; James 1:5; 4:3; Hel 10:5; Dt 32:4; Ps 4:1).
The first line of Nephi’s Psalm matches perfectly the iambic pentameter of Jean Sibelius’s “Finlandia,” more commonly known among Latter-day Saints as the hymn “Be Still, My Soul.” Because of this coincidence, John S. Tanner decided to write lyrics based on Nephi’s Psalm, called “I Love the Lord,” after which he solicited the help of Ronald J. Staheli in composing a musical arrangement based on “Finlandia.” See full article by John S. Tanner: Two Hymns Based on Nephi’s Psalm: Texts and Commentary.
The Lord heard Nephi’s prayer, for shortly after (next chapter), He directs Nephi and his party elsewhere where they become prosperous and lived “after the manner of happiness” (5:13, 27).
This is the end of a chapter in the 1830 edition
Holy Envy 