Jacob’s treatment of Sherem is unique in the Book of Mormon because, rather than silencing him, Jacob gives Sherem the opportunity to repent and to influence the Nephites for good by testifying of Christ and the atonement. Rather than proving his spiritual authority by discounting Sherem, Jacob helps Sherem to recollect and reaffirm the truth he already knows. As a result, Sherem joins Jacob in becoming a fellow witness of Christ who helps change the spiritual trajectory of the Nephites.
At this point, the people of Nephi had been moving away from gospel principles, adopting the social values and structures of their foreign trading partners. It seems likely that events progressed in this order (from Brant Gardner’s Second Witness):
- The Nephites have raw materials and the ability to turn them into desirable trade goods.
- They begin trading with others outside their area.
- Trade brings wealth.
- Trade also brings contact with other cultural systems and, with them, new definitions of what wealth is and how it should be manifest.
- The Nephite traders/nouveaux riches begin to adopt regional customs such as the exchange of wives.
- Jacob condemns their actions as contrary to the will of God, but the wealthy prefer to continue.
- Jacob’s preaching becomes bothersome, and the new community elites remove him from office.
- Jacob’s presence and private preaching still cause problems, and Sherem comes in to discredit Jacob.
1 some years had passed away, probably from his last discourse. there came a man among the people of Nephi, suggests he wasn’t a Nephite. Sherem, the first “anti-Christ” in the BofM, thought Jacob never labels him as such. Later we’ll get Nehor and Korihor. Sherem’s origins are mysterious. Is he an outsider or an insider? He knows of Christ, so he may have come from the Lamanites. He may just be a non-Nephite but involved with them somehow, trade perhaps. If a trader, he aligns with the wealthy and elite that Jacob condemned in ch’s 2-3, so may be trying to further discredit Jacob to improve the elites’ status.
2 preached no Christ…that he might overthrow the doctrine of Christ, think about what things in the doctrine of Christ might be unappealing to the wealthy, the elite, the popular, or just the masses. many things which were flattering, 2 Ne 28:20-22; D&C 10. Pride is always appealing.
3 labored diligently, lead away the hearts, Jacob of course is always especially concerned about hearts. sought opportunity that he might come unto me, again Jacob may have had no official capacity since his last address, and the fact that Sherem doesn’t have easy access to him substantiates that hyposthesis.
4 learned…perfect knowledge of the language, does this mean he was a Nephite but learned the language of the natives well? The point is Sherem was gifted, and the greater tragedy here may be that Sherem’s gifts could have been used for good. power of speech, can be used either with the power of the devil as its source, or the power of God (c/w 3 Ne 28:29; Ether 12:30).
5 hope to shake me from the faith…[but] I could not be shaken, Jacob taught earlier that cultivating the spirit of revelation leads to unshaken faith, Jacob 4:6. I truly had seen angels…heard the voice of the Lord, it is our regular experiences with the divine that shores up our faith. Are we having them? Jacob is confident not because he can out-duel Sherem, but rather because his conviction is founded on personal experience while Sherem preaches from his learning.
6 Brother Jacob, smooth. This is the only instance in the BoM where someone is directly addressed by name after the word brother, and in this context, it seems overly familiar. I have sought much opportunity that I might speak unto you, that Jacob had been inaccessible could have been on account of a number of things: his lack of title or position, his reclusivity or introversion due to the traumatic experiences of his early years, or simply his distress over his people’s current ways of life. In any event, his love for God and others, as well as his commitment to community, finally won out over his apparent preference for isolation.
Presumably, Jacob finally makes himself available to Sherem not only to protect his people from false teachings or to reinforce his own ministry, but also to respond to Sherem’s need. Implicit in their exchange is Jacob’s underlying belief that Sherem is worth contending with—he is a soul worth saving. Jacob does not exalt himself above Sherem on the grounds of his priestly status or his commitment to Christ. He abases himself and finally comes face-to-face with Sherem in a way consonant with Paul’s vision for Christian community. “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others” (Philip. 2:3–4, NRSV). The final result is a dual witness of Christ, made possible as Jacob and Sherem willingly remain in dialogue so that the divine will can work through both of them to accomplish its own pleasure rather than either of the outcomes that Jacob or Sherem anticipated.
Dierdre Green, Jacob: A Brief Theological Introduction
preaching what ye call the gospel, or the doctrine of Christ, the two are synonymous. Although the word gospel appears occasionally in prophecies, this is the only time the Nephites are said to have it until 3 Ne 27; the term is entirely absent from Mosiah, Alma, and Helaman. What was it in the gospel that would have been unappealing to Sherem and the masses? Repentance, to start.
7 ye have led away…perverted the right way…the law of Moses, Sherem weaponizes scripture to deny Jacob’s personal, spiritual experiences. In short, he places law above the gospel. We need to be careful of anyone who teaches a doctrine that rests on embracing law over the message of Christ’s teachings. he cannot tell of things to come, Korihor doctrine, ‘no man knoweth of such things; for he cannot tell of things to come,’ the usual. Blah blah blah. Sherem levels three specific accusations against Jacob, all punishable by death per the law of Moses: (1) ‘led away much of this people,’ Dt 13:1-18; (2) blasphemy, Ex 20:7; Lev 24:10-16; and (3) ‘ye cannot tell of things to come’ ie false prophecy, Dt 18:22. See also Dt 18:20 in the sense that Jacob was speaking in the name of ‘another god.’ Similar concerns will be raised by the priests of Noah (Mos 12.28; 17.7–8), the lawyers at Ammonihah (Alma 11.26–35; 14.5), the Amlicites at the Lamanite city of Jerusalem (Alma 21.4–8), Korihor (Alma 30.13–16), and the Zoramites (Alma 31.15–18). The only other accusation of blasphemy in the BoM is in the Korihor story at Alma 30:30.
Sherem’s allegations were not merely vague rhetorical criticisms; they were well-formulated accusations, logically derived from specific provisions of the ancient law. Sherem’s words put Jacob’s life in jeopardy. If allowed to stand, these accusations would have justified Jacob’s execution. At the same time, Sherem also put his own life on the line. The ancient punishment for a false accuser was to suffer that which ‘he had thought to have done unto his brother’ (Dt 19:19). Not only does this show that Sherem was deeply committed to his views and dead serious about the charges he raised against his ‘brother Jacob’ (Jacob 7:6), it also explains the sense of legal justice that exists in the fact that, in the end, Sherem was smitten by God and himself soon died.
Jack Welch, FARMS Update 74, Jan 1991
8 poured in his Spirit into my soul…I did confound him, Jacob empties/humbles himself in order to be filled with the Spirit of God. He does not try and outwit Sherem; rather, he draws on his own personal experience of the divine. It’s difficult to argue with one’s personal experience.
9 I know that there is no Christ, hmm, so much for his comment about not being able to know what is to come!
10-11 believest thou the scriptures…then ye do not understand them, great parallel in Mosiah 12:25-29 when the priests of Noah also teach the Law of Moses, but have no idea what it’s really about. for they truly testify of Christ…none of the prophets have written…save they have spoken concerning this Christ, again the parallel to Abinadi and the priests of Noah. John 5:39; Mosiah 12:27, ‘none have testified except’ etc. Jacob 4:4; Hel 8:16; Mosiah 13:33; Lk 24:27; D&C 20:26; Acts 3:18. We obviously do not have the entire exchange between Sherem and Jacob, as at this point, Jacob would not have simply asserted that the scriptures testified of Christ, but he would have expounded them. Sherem would not have accepted as an adequate refutation Jacob’s simple statement.
12 heard and seen, more allusions to Jacob’s great revelations. Jacob had seen the Savior in his youth, 2 Ne 2:4, but he also knew by the Holy Ghost. if there should be no atonement made all mankind must be lost, this is the fundamental message of the Book of Jacob, and all of Jacob’s writings.
13 show me a sign, D&C 63:9-11, “faith cometh not by signs, but signs follow those that believe. Yea, signs come by faith, not by the will of men, nor as they please, but by the will of God.” On the negative implications of seeking signs, see Mt 12.38–39; 16.4; Mk 8.11–12; Lk 11.29, but contrast 2 Kings 20.8–9; Isa 7.10–14; Mt 24.3; Mk 13.4; Lk 21.7.
14 what am I, as opposed to whom am I, which shows Jacob’s humility. tempt God, asking for a sign from God is a dangerous and easy temptation because it is, fundamentally, about abandoning faith. It is about requiring proof of what you already know about your relationship with God. thou knowest to be true, Jacob knows that Sherem knows God. Jacob’s indictment of Sherem is not that Sherem does not understand God, but that Sherem is denying the divine truths he has already learned. What truths do we know about God that we are willing to abandon in the face of the offer of an easier story? God shall smite thee, Alma 11:24; 30:42.
15 he fell to the earth, D&C 63:11, “unto such he showeth no signs, only in wrath unto their condemnation.” People in the BoM who are overcome by the power of God or the Spirit regularly fall to the earth; see v. 21; Mos 4.1; Alma 18.42; 19.14; 27.17; 3 Ne 1.16–17.
Well, the guy had a severe stroke then. He was overwrought anyway; he had been losing the argument. I think he was all excited and ready to bust a blood vessel, so he collapsed completely and fell down. He had to be nourished for many days. He had a bad stroke and passed out completely. He was the high pressure type, Type A like me, that gets those things. We have to watch all the time, you see.
Hugh Nibley, Teachings of the BM
16 the morrow…I shall die, this is a fascinating story. Is it deathbed repentance, or something more (Alma 34:32-34)? What it certainly does is change the people in a remarkable way. Sherem seems sincere, and Jacob also takes Sherem seriously. I agree more with Hugh Nibley above about Sherem possibly having a stroke rather than just being smitten by God. God loved Sherem, and Sherem proved an instrument in the Lord’s hand to help convert many Nephites. Jacob later says Sherem was an answer to his prayer (v22).
17 spake plainly…confessed, many parallels to Korihor, but also many differences (see below). the Christ, the power of the Holy Ghost, and the ministering of angels, were these the three things at issue then? Sherem shares a common trait with Nehor and Korihor in that he is compelled by the power of God to be humble, rather than choosing to humble himself (see Alma 32:14). Instead of voluntarily shedding beliefs he knows to be false, God forces them out of him. While his words are true and accomplish good for others, their potential to fully convert Sherem into a new being is mitigated because they are compelled.
18 he had been deceived by the power of the devil, Sherem reveals a little of his past here—he has previously witnessed the power of the Holy Ghost and experienced the ministering of angels. Sherem was close to God and may actually have known Jacob well. he spake of hell…eternal punishment, I guess that was on his mind.
19 the unpardonable sin, likely not. The unpardonable sin is a common but non-biblical expression related to the NT idea that blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is unforgivable (Mt 12.31–32; Mk 3.28–29; Lk 12.10). Here it refers to lying to God about truths known through the Holy Ghost; at Alma 39.6, it is defined as knowingly denying the Holy Ghost. I have lied unto God, hard to know exactly what is going on. The point, however, is that Sherem takes personal responsibility for his actions. He doesn’t blame anyone. He seems much harder on himself than he should be. If angels did minister unto him (v17), then God was already in the process of forgiving Sherem.
20 gave up the ghost, hmm. Alma 30:60, in speaking of Korihor, “And thus we see the end of him who perverteth the ways of the Lord; and thus we see that the devil will not suppor this children at the last day, but doth speedily drag them down to hell.” Alma was much, much harsher about Korihor than Jacob is about Sherem.
21 multitude…were astonished exceedingy…the power of God came down upon them…they fell to the earth, Sherem’s deathbed confession reveals more of his importance to the community. His willingness to acknowledge the harm he has caused and his attempt to make it right through an apology has enormous influence on the people. On prostration:
You notice in the Book of Mormon they fall to earth quite often when they are overpowered; there’s this spontaneous falling to earth. There are formal and traditional responses to certain stress, and they differ very greatly. For example, in the German classroom if you like what a teacher says, everybody starts stamping on the wooden floor just like that until the whole building shakes. If you like it that’s perfectly all right-that’s accepted. If you don’t like what he says [that’s only fair], you hiss until you raise the ceiling. That’s all right; you can do that. They are much more outspoken and much less restrained than we are. With an Anglo-Saxon stiff upper lip, we never indulge in things like that. Above all we don’t collapse and fall down, but that’s a common Oriental gesture. That’s the way you salute. That’s the way you recognize things. Five times a day you put your little rug on the ground, and you fall down on your face. This is called proskynesis. It means “falling right down and kissing the ground.” The proskynesis is a very common way of demonstration in the ancient world. When the emperor came, there was a proskynesis. When the pope passed, everybody fell down flat. You’re supposed to be overpowered; this is the idea. With the Romans you were supposed to blind yourself like this. The dazzling light of the king is so great that you put your hand in front of your face to protect your eyes. That’s the proskynesis and the salute. Of course, by the miracle Sherem had tipped the scales here. The people had attended the disputation here, and it was going both ways. Then Sherem lost it. When Jacob won hands down, it made a big impression. They were ready to be impressed now. Then Sherem himself came and admitted [his wrongdoing] and confessed it. Then when he died, the multitude immediately went down in the proskynesis and recognized [what had happened] with this spontaneous gesture which is very common in the Orient.
Hugh Nibley, Teachings of the BM
22 I had requested it, what exactly? Likely some miracle to convince the people. Why this prayer, now?
23 peace and the love of God was restored, so overcome are the people. This is something that Jacob has been working toward for a long time. The fact that Sherem used his last words to reestablish peace, love, and faith questions the simplistic claim that Sherem was a wicked man. He may have had a wicked season and done terrible things, but in his last moments, God was there. Notably, by Jacob’s own account, it is not Jacob, but Sherem whose testimony accomplishes a reconversion of the people! they searched the scriptures, the antidote to being persuaded by false doctrine. Alma 14:1; Acts 17:10-11. One wonders if they had been doing this before, if ‘many heart’s’ (v3) would have followed him had they been reading the scriptures diligently ‘that they might know the word of God’ (Alma 17:2). See 2 Ne 9:4 where Jacob again speaks of ‘searching’ the scriptures. He obviously did that himself. In short, this is a major turning point in Nephite history. The people had been moving away from gospel principles, but Sherem’s testimony brings them back; and that faithfulness, at least in some, seems to continue all the way to Mosiah.
I think that people who study the scriptures get a dimension to their life that nobody else gets and that can’t be gained in any way except by studying the scriptures. There’s an increase in faith and a desire to do what’s right and a feeling of inspiration and understanding that comes to people who study the gospel—meaning particularly the Standard Works—and who ponder the principles, that can’t come in any other way.
Bruce R. McConkie, Church News, 24 Jan. 1976, 4.
24 many means were devised to reclaim and restore the Lamanites, the Nephite conversion brings them a desire to share with their brethren. And why not? If Sherem was a Lamanite, why woudn’t other Lamanites accept the gospel? Jacob’s cousins would have been among the Lamanties of course. So Ammon and the sons of Mosiah were not the first, though I would like more info about what was really done here. they delighted in wars and bloodshed, likely partaking of the culture into which they had assimilated. they had an eternal hatred against us, their brethren, tragic, though it is on the heads of their parents. they sought by the power of their arms to destroy us continually, continually is strong.
In these verses, we encounter Nephite evangelism for the first time. Not only was it unsuccessful, it appears actually to have precipitated additional violence. We know from Jacob’s words that the Nephites hate the Lamanites and believe that the Lamanites are filthy and cursed. Such beliefs are not conducive to sharing the gospel message. The Nephites have experienced a change of heart and have begun the repentance process within their own community. But they have not accepted the movement of the gospel that would do the work of uprooting their deep prejudice and discrimination. That internal work needs to happen before anyone sets out to do missionary work. When it does not, and evangelism happens in a backwards way, do not expect a lot of success. It is not at all surprising that the Nephites’ missionary efforts here failed. How you bring the gospel matters, and the Nephites have not addressed the hate they carry in their hearts. Compare this experience to later in the Book of Mormon, when the sons of Mosiah go to the Lamanites, ready to serve and love them.12 In that instance, there is a powerful inbreaking of the gospel and the conversion of many people. It is possible that, during Jacob’s time, the Lamanites simply were not ready to listen. But it is also possible that the Lamanites sense at this time not much good will, self-reflection, or desire for true community from the Nephite people. One hint that it may be the latter is that Jacob describes the result of this bout of violence as the Nephites being “conquerors of their enemies” (v. 25). Not only does this attempt at missionary work provoke violence, but the Nephites respond by conquering, rather than loving, their enemies.
Fatimeh & Salleh, The BofM For The Least of These
25 did fortify against them with their arms, defensive strategies, as will be their manner until the end of the BM when they finally go on the offensive. trusting in God…they became as yet conquerors, the theme of the war chapters in Alma. ‘as yet’ suggests Jacob knows they will not always conquer.
26 I have written to the best of my knowledge, that is, I’ve done the best I can. our lives passed away like as it were unto us a dream, we being a lonesome and a solmen people, wanderers, cast out, the phrases recall a prophecy regarding the fate of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, Hos 9:16–17. born in tribulation, in a wilderness…hated of our brethren…we did mourn out our days, wow! For irony, contrast Hel 7:7-8 when Nephi wishes he’d lived in Jacob’s days! Compare with Jacob’s blessing from his father Lehi in 2 Ne 2:1-2. Apparently Jacob had suffered much, in perhaps a different way than Nephi. Presumably, Nephi had a decent upbringing, fun and light-hearted (if there was such a thing in those days). Jacob, rather, was born in tribulation. However, one wonders if that was partly the reason he is blessed with such doctrinal insight, ie. through his suffering. Heb 11:13; 1 Pt 1:1; 2:11; D&C 45:13. The original manuscript actually says “wild wilderness”
People who do not feel a sense of safety and belonging as children struggle to feel those things as adults. Jacob was born in the wilderness, and he effectively remains in that wilderness all of his life. His words are those of a refugee, a man whose life was marked with wilderness, abuse, death, separation of family, and the misdeeds of his people… we can hear the deep grief that undergirds his life. He has never felt settled. Even as he seeks God, and as the Nephites find a place of safety, Jacob feels like he has mourned out his days. Jacob’s life has been deeply hard. We might expect that someone who has studied scripture so carefully and worked so hard to know God would somehow escape suffering. Jacob’s life tells us otherwise. He never seems to settle into a place called home.
Fatimeh & Salleh, The BofM For The Least of These
I think there is nothing in the Book of Mormon more moving than this. The prose sounds like a solemn dirge here in verse 26…It reminds me more of the border ballads of Scotland than anything else…There are these terrible stories they tell of the border wars because of perpetual feuds. So this situation exists. Look at Ireland today. My great grandparents moved over from Edinburgh to Ulster. My great grandfather was the first branch president in Ireland-the one I remember, who was twenty years old when Joseph Smith died. My grandmother left Ireland when she was seventeen, and she said she never wanted to go back. This was way back in those days. She said all she could remember in Belfast was blood running down the gutter. She said she could just see that blood in the gutters. So these feuds go on forever and ever. This is one of those perennial feuds that you have in the Book of Mormon. Of course, you get it in the Old World all the time. Look what they are having in Lebanon today. Is there ever going to be any settlement? This is the same feeling of blood, hatred, despair and mourning out our days that you find in the Book of Mormon. It’s Oriental and Near Eastern. This is Palestine today. It’s sad—the Jews and the Arabs are having terrible times.
Hugh Nibley, Teachings of the BM
27 my son Enos…promised obedience…to the things which my brother Nephi had commanded me, what exactly were these words of instructions that Nephi gave him and that he now gave Enos? We may have some idea of them from Alma 45. hoping that many of my brethren may read my words, Nephi says something similar in 2 Ne 33:12. adieu, “an expression of kind wishes at the parting of friends…a commendation to the care of God.” Interesting that Joseph uses this French word to translate the word Jacob wrote on the plates (many French words were used in the King James translation as well). It must have been different from the word Nephi used at the end of his writings, which Joseph translated as simply ‘Amen’ (2 Ne 33:15).
Jacob’s offering is summed up in the curious final word of the book: “adieu” (Jacob 7:27). This French word connotes a last farewell, indicating that one is making one’s final departure. Further, adieu can be employed to express regret over a loss or in recognition that something will no longer be experienced. Etymologically, adieu comes from two words meaning “to God,” and older versions of this phrase variously meant “go to God,” “be commended to God,” and “remain with God.” With this word choice, Jacob both conveys his final orientation to God and leaves his readers with a final invitation to similarly adopt or maintain this right relation. He further gets across the fragility of love that is ultimately expressed in its handing over. This “love that remains, that persists, that survives is neither triumphant nor . . . conquering. . . . It is love that survives a death.” Adieu captures a life that remains equivocal and the loving witness that abides. Jacob finishes his role in the Book of Mormon just as he starts it, with consecration. This ending is unique to Jacob among the Book of Mormon authors—it is the only instance of the word adieu in the English version of the scriptures—and it cannot be overlooked that his farewell bears Sherem’s influence. Earlier in the chapter, Sherem concludes his confession of Christ with this statement: “I greatly fear lest my case shall be awful; but I confess unto God” (Jacob 7:19). Sherem utters these words with his dying breath. Uncertain about his divinely determined destination or what his dying profession of faith will amount to, Sherem leaves both to God. Jacob also expresses uncertainty about the final fate of his testament: “to the reader I bid farewell, hoping that many of my brethren may read my words. Brethren, adieu” (verse 27, emphasis added). Although Jacob expresses hope whereas Sherem expresses hopelessness, both admit that their concluding confessions share a degree of indeterminacy: Sherem cannot know if his testimony will be enough to secure a desirable state in the afterlife, just as Jacob is unsure if his fellow Nephites and later readers will make his words, and the consecrated sufferings that inform them, efficacious by conforming their lives to the truth he unfolds for them. Amid this ambiguity, both lay their words and their lives before God.
Dierdre Green, Jacob: A Brief Theological Introduction
When compared to the total volume of Nephi’s writings, Jacob’s, as he himself suggests, are small; but when viewed from the perspective of quality, Jacob’s writings rank among the greatest in all scripture.
The singularity of Jacob’s willingness to give Sherem voice becomes more evident in comparison to the two other accounts of those who deny Christ among the Nephites, particularly Korihor. Although Korihor merits the moniker “anti-Christ” (Alma 30:6, 12), Jacob never labels Sherem in this restrictive way. Another contrast between the prophets’ encounters with Sherem and Korihor is that Alma2 strikes Korihor dumb so that he can no longer speak (verses 49–50). For this reason, when Korihor comes to himself and remembers the religious truths he had known prior to being diabolically deceived, Korihor can only write his testimony to the chief judge before whom he stands (verses 52–53); the text does not indicate that this testimony is made public in any way (verse 57). After praying for the curse to be removed from Korihor at Korihor’s own request, Alma2 pronounces that Korihor will remain dumb because he would deceive the people again were his speaking capacity to be restored (verses 54–56). Korihor is reduced to a cautionary tale; he is literally silenced as one oppositional to the community of believers until he is trampled to death, a fate that the text causally ties to his earlier choices (verses 58–60). Similarly, Nehor is taken by the Nephites to a hill where he is killed or, to be precise, where he suffers “an ignominious death” (Alma 1:15). Whereas Nehor is condemned to die (verse 14) and Korihor brings upon himself his own tragic fate, Sherem gives up the ghost (Jacob 7:20). Perhaps it is partly for this reason that by contrast to Sherem’s positive influence upon the Nephites, Nehor’s death proves insufficient to end priestcraft or the preaching of false doctrines. Alma2 ’s suggestion seems to be that priest-craft is a failing of a society of people who crave false doctrine rather than a problem traceable solely to the false teachers themselves (Alma 1:16). Similarly, after the death of Korihor, righteousness is not restored as a consequence; in fact, Alma2 reports that he is sickened because of the iniquity that he continues to encounter (Alma 31:1). Sherem’s confession uniquely effects the restoration of peace and righteousness among the Nephites;7 in addition, Jacob’s faith is reaffirmed and Sherem confesses Christ. I suggest that this is in part because Jacob sees Sherem clearly by viewing him through the atoning death of Christ. Jacob recognizes Sherem as neighbor and one for whom Christ has died; he further recognizes that he and his antagonist are both equally dependent upon God and the atonement. Jacob’s account holds forth the possibility that remaining in dialogue, even with a self-styled anti-Christ, can prove both revelatory and redemptive for everyone.
Moreover, one must see not only Jacob’s humility but also God’s will manifest in allowing a figure even more marginal than Jacob to bear final testimony of the truth of the Christian gospel. Jacob shows his love for Sherem in that he neither fears nor silences Sherem. He allows Sherem to become a teacher of Christian love by engaging with Sherem in a way that enables the divine to draw the testimony of Christ out of him. Significantly, Jacob’s humility and sense of interdependence manifests in allowing Sherem to supersede Jacob in his own role as the teacher of the Nephites. Although the language of the text clearly alludes to Jacob’s role as a savior figure, or a type of Christ, his self-emptying actions are consecrated to help Sherem redeem his own antagonistic actions by bearing testimony of Christ. Thus, the savior role is not restricted to Jacob alone but is consecrated and shared with the least likely figure in the text. In a moment of nearly unthinkable irony, the one who denies Christ as savior becomes a savior figure by witnessing Christ and catalyzing others’ conversion, but he could not have done this without Jacob remaining as witness for and with him. Sherem’s Christlike role is especially striking given that Sherem is not granted any special authority by the text, being identified only as a man who came among the Nephites (Jacob 7:1–2). We are never told that Sherem has any special training or status, yet Jacob, who has authority and status, relies on him to reconvert a people that he cannot convert on his own. Because Sherem’s confession is so unexpected, the Nephites can hear a familiar gospel message in a new way, affording fresh possibility for their conversion.
Further instructive is that God elects to use not only Jacob but also Sherem to convert the Nephite people. While Jacob is humble in seeking divine help, he also is humbled by the way in which it manifests. That Jacob is willing not only to school Sherem but to be schooled by him is clear in the fact that he quotes Sherem’s testimony verbatim in his book, rather than simply summarizing or omitting it altogether. Jacob does not edit the story to make himself the hero; instead, he organizes the text so as to make Sherem’s testimony of Christ the final expression of Christian faith in his book, rather than privileging his own. That Jacob has the humility to let Sherem influence the Nephites for good demonstrates that the interdependence born of humility is essential to Christian redemption.
Dierdre Green, Jacob: A Brief Theological Introduction
Holy Envy 