Filename: Commentary.1Nephi.Chapter 16a.Aug2016 by Alan C. Miner Chapter 16 1 Nephi 16:2 The Guilty Taketh the Truth to Be Hard; For It Cutteth Them to the Very Center: From a modern perspective, we interpret the phrase “cutteth them to the very center” much in the same manner that we interpret the phrase “get to the heart of the matter.” That is, that something affects people “to their very core.” However, this language that Nephi uses can also be interpreted from a covenant perspective. In the ancient covenant ceremony, an animal such as a calf would be sacrificed (symbolizing a “blood covenant”) and its body cut down the very center, after which those making the covenant would walk through the middle of the two halves of the sacrificed animal. This symbolized the seriousness and the penalty of breaking the covenant. So when Nephi writes that his brothers complained that the truth was “hard,” and that it “cut them to the very center” the language used by Nephi is what I call “covenant language” because it alludes to the covenant s that have been made between the Lord and his covenant children here on earth. [Alan Miner Personal Notes] 1 Nephi 16:6 Now All These Things Were Said and Done As My Father Dwelt in a Tent in the Valley Which He Called Lemuel: After an unspecified amount of time, Nephi records: "Now all these things were said and done as my father dwelt in a tent in the valley which he called Lemuel" (1 Nephi 16:6). We at least know, however, that Lehi's family dwelt in the wilderness of Arabia long enough for: (1) Nephi & his brothers to return to Jerusalem to seek out Laban, make a round trip to their land of inheritance to obtain gold & silver, obtain the plates of brass, hide for some time in a cave, and then make the return trip to the valley of Lemuel. (2) Lehi & Nephi to extensively read and ponder the plates of brass such that they knew and understood their content in depth. (3) Nephi & his brothers to return to Jerusalem after Ishmael & his family. ( The time it took for Ishmael and his family to set their affairs in order is not recorded. The return trip to the valley of Lemuel was delayed by quarreling.) 1 (4) Lehi & Nephi to be prepared by the Lord through visions and the understanding of those visions. [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes] 1 Nephi 16:6 All These Things Were Said and Done As My Father Dwelt in a Tent: George Potter and Richard Wellington write that they were confused for a long time as to why Nephi would inform the reader multiple times that Lehi "dwelt in a tent" (see 1 Nephi 2:15, 9:1; 10:16; 16:6). They note that they had stopped to take a photo of a Bedouin tent on the edge of the desert. A woman came out with her husband to pose. They couldn't help but notice inside the tent the family's entire possessions could be wrapped into a couple of bed rolls; a few pots and pans, plates, cups and a few blankets. Here this noble man stood, his thawb (Arab clothing) threadbare in places. Lehi left his house, gold, jewelry and land, and lived in a tent like a poor man, yet he never complained about leaving his possessions behind. Moreover, Lehi and his wife Sariah, along with Nephi and Sam were blessed abundantly by the Lord in these humble circumstances. What a contrast we see in Laman and Lemuel, who never let Lehi forget that they wanted to return to their wealth and circumstances at Jerusalem. [George Potter & Richard Wellington, Discovering Nephi's Trail, Chapter 2, p. 10, Unpublished] [See the commentary on 1 Nephi 2:15] 1 Nephi 16:6 Now All These things Were Said and Done As My Father Dwelt in a Tent: According to Terrence Szink, to better understand any writing, we need to consider several issues: when it was written, who wrote it, what the author's purpose was, and what ideas or attitudes may have influenced the author. The first six verses of 1 Nephi 16 can best be understood when seen as the conclusion of the previous section, 1 Nephi 8 through 15. These chapters contain visions, prophecies, and finally an explanation by Nephi to his hardhearted brothers. Laman and Lemuel complained that Nephi had spoken "hard things" to them. He responded by reasoning that the teachings were hard only to those who were condemned by them. Verse 6 seems to conclude this section: "Now all these things were said and done as my father dwelt in a tent in the valley which he called Lemuel." [Terrence L. Szink, "To a Land of Promise," in Studies in Scripture: Book of Mormon, Part 1, pp. 60-61] Note* In my view Terrence Szink is right about the six verses, but he didn’t go far enough. The following is my structuring of the first EIGHT verses of chapter 16: 2 The Justice of the Lord's Covenant Way Offends the Wicked Humble Obedience Gives One Hope 1 And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had made an end of speaking to my brethren, behold they said unto me: Thou hast declared unto us hard things, more than we are able to bear. 2 And it came to pass that I said unto them that I knew that I had spoken hard things against the wicked, according to the truth; and the righteous have I justified, and testified that they should be lifted up at the last day; wherefore, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center. 3 And now my brethren, if ye were righteous and were willing to hearken to the truth, and give heed unto it, that ye might walk uprightly before God, then ye would not murmur because of the truth, and say: Thou speakest hard things against us. 4 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did exhort my brethren, with all diligence, to keep the commandments of the Lord. 5 And it came to pass that they did humble themselves before the Lord; insomuch that I had joy and great hopes of them, that they would walk in the paths of righteousness. 6 Now, all these things were said and done as my father dwelt in a tent in the valley which he called Lemuel. Nephi Enters into the Covenant of Marriage Both Nephi & Lehi Have Kept Their Covenants with the Lord 7 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, took one of the daughters of Ishmael to wife; 3 and also, my brethren took of the daughters of Ishmael to wife; and also Zoram took the eldest daughter of Ishmael to wife. 8 And thus my father had fulfilled all the commandments of the Lord which had been given unto him. And also, I, Nephi, had been blessed of the Lord exceedingly. These verses are summarizing the process of covenant commandments and covenant obedience that has just been described in the previous chapters. [Alan Miner Personal Notes] 1 Nephi 16:6 All These Things Were Said and Done As My Father Dwelt in a Tent: Nephi did not record how long they camped in the valley of Lemuel before he knew that they would never return to Jerusalem. Of this period Nephi wrote only that "all these things were said and done as my father dwelt in a tent in the valley of Lemuel" (1 Nephi 16:6). Nephi will say later in his record that they "did sojourn for the space of many years, yea, even eight years in the wilderness. And we did come to the land which we called Bountiful" (1 Nephi 17:4- 5). Thus, according to Potter and Wellington, eight years would elapse from the time they left Jerusalem until they arrived at their last camp in Arabia. Strabo wrote that a caravan journey from "Minaea to Aelena" (Yemen to Aqabah) took seventy days.i Nigel Groom, an expert on the Frankincense trade, estimates that a commercial camel caravan could travel from Gaza to the Frankincense growing area at Dhofar in southern Arabia in 69-88 days. He estimates the entire distance as 2,110 miles.ii The difference between 88 days and 8 years suggests that Lehi might have lived in the fertile valley of Lemuel for some time. Lehi's family appears to have been comfortable in the valley of Lemuel and probably felt no urgency to move on. Nephi would describe their time in the valley as a period of his life when he was "blessed by the Lord exceedingly" (1 Nephi 16:8). [George Potter and Richard Wellington, Discovering The Lehi-Nephi Trail, Unpublished Manuscript, 2000, p. 69] [See the commentary on 1 Nephi 17:4] 1 Nephi 16:6 All These Things Were Said and Done As My Father Dwelt in a Tent: Concerning Lehi's stay in the valley of Lemuel, Lynn and Hope Hilton write that here they may have stayed for as long as four very busy years, which would have included twice sending the sons back to Jerusalem on errands, travel time being a month each trip plus time needed to prepare for and recuperate from the journeys plus the days spent haggling with Laban and collecting the family's gold and silver. There followed long days of studying and 4 digesting the teachings of the brass plates.