1 Nephi

[mapman]

I just noticed something when I was reading scriptures last night that is confusing me. 1 Nephi's subtitle is "His Reign and Ministry". This doesn't make much sense to me since he doesn't become king until 2 Ne 5:18. During all of 1 Nephi he's under the leadership of Lehi. The only explanation I could think of (and it is a little far fetched) is that the subtitle was meant to be for the whole record of Nephi (ie 1 & 2 Nephi) and that's why 2 Nephi doesn't have a subtitle. Perhaps this understanding was lost through translation. What do you guys think?

[bluebell]

Two things-

As i understand it, When JS was translating the 'plates of nephi' they weren't divided into 1st and 2nd but that separation came later to make it easier to read. Hence, the title at the beginning of 1st Nephi would seem to apply to the whole of what Nephi wrote and not just the first book.

Also, I'm not positive that Nephi put that subtitle on his plates or if it was added later (like the chapter summaries, for example). I think he did, but that should probably be positively determined as part of understanding what it means.

[Brant Gardner]

Two things-

As i understand it, When JS was translating the 'plates of nephi' they weren't divided into 1st and 2nd but that separation came later to make it easier to read. Hence, the title at the beginning of 1st Nephi would seem to apply to the whole of what Nephi wrote and not just the first book.

Also, I'm not positive that Nephi put that subtitle on his plates or if it was added later (like the chapter summaries, for example). I think he did, but that should probably be positively determined as part of understanding what it means.

Skousen's work verifies that there was a physical/perceptual division between 1 and 2 Nephi on the plates. There is also a thematic division (in my opinion).

As for the reason for the subheading (which was part of the plates, assuming that everything translated came from the plates in the manuscripts). The more I work with 1 Nephi the more I agree with Ben McGuire that it is a justification of his kingship (with some other justifications thrown in - such as why his people are who they are). Therefore, it is about his reign in that it is the foundation or justification for why there is a reign.

[nicolasconnault]

Skousen's work verifies that there was a physical/perceptual division between 1 and 2 Nephi on the plates. There is also a thematic division (in my opinion).

As for the reason for the subheading (which was part of the plates, assuming that everything translated came from the plates in the manuscripts). The more I work with 1 Nephi the more I agree with Ben McGuire that it is a justification of his kingship (with some other justifications thrown in - such as why his people are who they are). Therefore, it is about his reign in that it is the foundation or justification for why there is a reign.

Also, unless I'm mistaken, Nephi was king when he engraved the small plates of Nephi. He wasn't engraving them "as he went along".

[Glenn101]

Skousen's work verifies that there was a physical/perceptual division between 1 and 2 Nephi on the plates. There is also a thematic division (in my opinion).

As for the reason for the subheading (which was part of the plates, assuming that everything translated came from the plates in the manuscripts). The more I work with 1 Nephi the more I agree with Ben McGuire that it is a justification of his kingship (with some other justifications thrown in - such as why his people are who they are). Therefore, it is about his reign in that it is the foundation or justification for why there is a reign.

! and 2 Nephi are written in the first person, beginning with the very first verse, "I Nephi......" The "His Reign and Ministry" is not in the first person, which would indicate to me that someone else, maybe Mormon, inserted those words.

Glenn

[nicolasconnault]

! and 2 Nephi are written in the first person, beginning with the very first verse, "I Nephi......" The "His Reign and Ministry" is not in the first person, which would indicate to me that someone else, maybe Mormon, inserted those words.

Glenn

That's quite likely, but not necessarily true. Nephi could very well have prefaced the plates in the 3rd person, considering they also contained the teachings of his brother Jacob. Maybe even Jacob wrote the preface.

[Connolly]

! and 2 Nephi are written in the first person, beginning with the very first verse, "I Nephi......" The "His Reign and Ministry" is not in the first person, which would indicate to me that someone else, maybe Mormon, inserted those words.

Glenn

Except that the last line of the chapter heading is "This is according to the account of Nephi; or in other words, I, Nephi, wrote this record."

Its not a literary abnormality for someone to refer to themselves in the third person. I happens all the time. It could also be a result of the translation process. Other languages handle first person and third person pronouns differently, in some cases it is the same pronoun, thus a translator would choose whether to use first person or third person pronouns in the translation.

[nicolasconnault]

Except that the last line of the chapter heading is "This is according to the account of Nephi; or in other words, I, Nephi, wrote this record."

Its not a literary abnormality for someone to refer to themselves in the third person. I happens all the time. It could also be a result of the translation process. Other languages handle first person and third person pronouns differently, in some cases it is the same pronoun, thus a translator would choose whether to use first person or third person pronouns in the translation.

He agrees with you.

[Benjamin McGuire]

Mapman,

You can read it here:

http://www.ispartnewsite.farmsresearch.com/publications/jbms/?vol=18&num=1&id=475

Ben M.

[mapman]

Mapman,

You can read it here:

http://www.ispartnewsite.farmsresearch.com/publications/jbms/?vol=18&num=1&id=475

Ben M.

Thanks, that answers my question. I had actually skipped over that article when I got the journal because I thought it looked uninteresting. Oops.

[Benjamin McGuire]

Well? Did you like it? I appreciate all the feedback I can get.