And My Father Dwelt in a Tent

[volgadon]

???? ??? ?????

1 Nephi 2:15 must rank as the tersest statement in the Book of Mormon, and also as one of the more enigmatic ones.

Some, like Nibley, have looked at it from a bedouin perspective, or rather, the romance of the desert. Others, like Welch, have seen it as relating to the Rechabites. Yet others (and incorrectly, IMHO) have pointed towards Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles.

Lehi and family were not Beduin, tabernacles are expressly something other than tents, and the real import of the verse, I feel, is in an entirely different book of the Bible.

Much of 1 Nephi reads to me like a vindication by Nephi of his father's character and prophetic calling. The Jews mock him and seek to take his life, Saraih complains against him, and his eldest sons murmur. They think him deluded and insane.

Nephi, OTOH, displays a high degree of filial loyalty and constantly uuses the term 'my father'. Nephi uses many literary devices (though I'm not insinuating that these events did not occur) to vindicate his father.

Lehi's first apocalypse asserts his calling as a prophet against the mocking of the Jews. The instruction in the dream to take his family and depart into the wilderness justifies said departure, the safe and successful return of the sons vindicates Lehi in Sariah's eyes, and chapters 10-15 are Nephi's witness that his father's vision in chapter 8 is true.

1 Nephi 2:15 is another such device.

The KJV for Genesis 25:27 reads "and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents." In Hebrew, however, the phrase 'a plain man' reads as ish tam.

A perfect man, an innocent man, a man of integrity. Job is an ish tam, Noah, tamim.

The rest of the Jacob narrative is spent in defending the character of Jacob, despite his appearing to others as anything but an ish tam.

I think observant listeners would have connected Nephi's statement that his 'father dwelt in a tent' with Jacob the Patriarch. I wonder if Lehi didn't consider himself in much the same way, he did name his firstborn in the wilderness Jacob and his second-born Joseph.

[katherine the great]

???? ??? ?????

The KJV for Genesis 25:27 reads "and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents." In Hebrew, however, the phrase 'a plain man' reads as ish tam.

A perfect man, an innocent man, a man of integrity. Job is an ish tam, Noah, tamim.

The rest of the Jacob narrative is spent in defending the character of Jacob, despite his appearing to others as anything but an ish tam.

I think observant listeners would have connected Nephi's statement that his 'father dwelt in a tent' with Jacob the Patriarch. I wonder if Lehi didn't consider himself in much the same way, he did name his firstborn in the wilderness Jacob and his second-born Joseph.

I thought Lehi "dwelt in a tent" because it would be very hard to build a house while you are fleeing Jerusalem and following the Lord's voice to an unknown location. Surely he didn't dwell in a tent when he lived in the city!

[mapman]

I don't know much about Hebrew, but I do know that Lehi is very much like Jacob. I read somewhere that when he fled Jerusalem and made a sacrifice it showed that he had split from the Israelite people because he wasn't a descendant of Aaron. Both Jacob and Lehi had descendants who settled in a promised land where they became fathers of tribes and of two nations (Israel and Judah/Nephites and Lamanites).

[Joseph Antley]

I thought Lehi "dwelt in a tent" because it would be very hard to build a house while you are fleeing Jerusalem and following the Lord's voice to an unknown location. Surely he didn't dwell in a tent when he lived in the city!

It seems like a silly thing to point out, especially if you're etching into metal. If they were in the desert, what else would Lehi have lived in?

And why is it only Lehi living in a tent? Why doesn't Nephi say that his family lived it a tent?

[volgadon]

I don't know much about Hebrew, but I do know that Lehi is very much like Jacob.

I think there are more parallels with Abraham, but I agree.

I read somewhere that when he fled Jerusalem and made a sacrifice it showed that he had split from the Israelite people because he wasn't a descendant of Aaron.

Neither was Elijah. Neither was Samuel. Neither were the Hasmoneans.

Both Jacob and Lehi had descendants who settled in a promised land where they became fathers of tribes and of two nations (Israel and Judah/Nephites and Lamanites).

[katherine the great]

It seems like a silly thing to point out, especially if you're etching into metal. If they were in the desert, what else would Lehi have lived in?

And why is it only Lehi living in a tent? Why doesn't Nephi say that his family lived it a tent?

Nephi seems more like a manly, "sleep under the stars" kinda guy. The women though, probably needed a few basic comforts (like shelter...)

[Facsimile 3]

And why is it only Lehi living in a tent? Why doesn't Nephi say that his family lived it a tent?

Maybe it had something to do with Lehi's tent being a Tabernacle and receptacle for him to receive visions.

[cinepro]

A few weeks ago, Son of Cinepro was tasked with giving a youth talk in Sacrament meeting. The topic was "My Favorite Verse in the Book of Mormon".

Sadly, Son of Cinepro was born deficient of the talk-writing gene (and with a barely discernible talk-giving gene). So, I was tasked with writing his talk (for the third time in 10 months, I might add). So, for those of you wondering what a Cinepro-written youth talk on "My Favorite Verse in the Book of Mormon" would be like, read on:

When I was asked to speak on my favorite verse in the Book of Mormon, I wasn

[volgadon]

I nominate it for inclusion in the next edition of Best-Loved Talks of the LDS People.

[Facsimile 3]

I see a lot of similarities in this instance as well:

Genesis 24

Abraham commanded his servant to bring for his son a very specific woman (Rebekah) to be Issac's wife. It turns out she was ready to leave home right away and gets married to Isaac. Verse 67 reads: And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah

[USU78]

volga, what is the connection between Noah as tamim and Noah as Tzaddiq? Is there practically a difference between the effect of the two terms?

Noah . . . Father Abraham . . . Jacob/Israel . . . Teacher Moses . . . Father Lehi, all, no doubt, were of a kind since all dwelt in tents, and all founded new nations in new lands. No doubt Nephi intended the connection. Filial duty of the true son (as Joseph was to Jacob), would no doubt require this. I agree that 1 Nephi is, at least in part, an apologia for Lehi, just as Genesis is an apologia for the Patriarchs, especially Abraham and Jacob (Shechem notwithstanding).

Are there parallel examples of which you're aware in the ANE or the secondary, apocryphal, pseudepigraphic, or other literature of the righteous son undertaking this duty, either expressly or as unidentified but definitely present apologist?

[Muc'ul Ajwalil]

volga, what is the connection between Noah as tamim and Noah as Tzaddiq? Is there practically a difference between the effect of the two terms?

Noah . . . Father Abraham . . . Jacob/Israel . . . Teacher Moses . . . Father Lehi, all, no doubt, were of a kind since all dwelt in tents, and all founded new nations in new lands. No doubt Nephi intended the connection. Filial duty of the true son (as Joseph was to Jacob), would no doubt require this. I agree that 1 Nephi is, at least in part, an apologia for Lehi, just as Genesis is an apologia for the Patriarchs, especially Abraham and Jacob (Shechem notwithstanding).

Are there parallel examples of which you're aware in the ANE or the secondary, apocryphal, pseudepigraphic, or other literature of the righteous son undertaking this duty, either expressly or as unidentified but definitely present apologist?

Interesting analysis, Aggie.

If what has been said is true as well about Lehi's family having traveled among the more fertile lands (which are not really fertile but more oases line up along their path), they probably would have run into a few people along the way and even villages and small towns. Showing that Lehi lived in a tent, instead of say a hotel or house that was borrowed from a nearby village, shows his plainness. That is my two cents.

[Brant Gardner]

???? ??? ?????

1 Nephi 2:15 must rank as the tersest statement in the Book of Mormon, and also as one of the more enigmatic ones.

Here is what I noticed while doing the commentary:

"The verse is not a chapter division, but rather a literary ending point, marking the end of the flight episode and culminating their abandoning their city, inheritance, and wealth.

[Anijen]

I don't have much to add to this thread but wanted to chime in anyway. It is topics like this one that makes me a constant visitor to this site. I love learning and this OP is excellent. Please carry on and I will go back to lurking and learning. Thanks Volgadon

[nicolasconnault]

Is it possible that when Nepki says "My father dwelt in a tent", he is actually describing his entire family?

[Spurven Ten Sing]

I think observant listeners would have connected Nephi's statement that his 'father dwelt in a tent' with Jacob the Patriarch. I wonder if Lehi didn't consider himself in much the same way, he did name his firstborn in the wilderness Jacob and his second-born Joseph.

Two issues with connecting this passage with that within the Bible come to mind. I am all in favor of Hebraisms, but let's be careful we are not seeing our own shadows. First, the verses and chapters within the BoM were not arranged in any way we would recognize today. Perhaps the major books were organized as books, but IIRC the verses and even the very sentences were salvaged from the burning wreckage of the initial transcript. 'And my father dwelt in a tent' could very easily be an artifact of the organizational process. Secondly, there is the issue that JS surely would have know his Bible ( I recognize this suggestion precludes the truth claims of the Prophet, but we must see the world through the eyes of a critic if we are to hold fast) and could have knowingly or unconsciously included the phrase to which you are referring.

I believe there is much potential in ferreting out potential Hebraisms, but I do not feel that this selection is a good candidate. Are there any other markers within the context of this passage that perhaps we could examine?

[Spurven Ten Sing]

I don't know much about Hebrew, but I do know that Lehi is very much like Jacob. I read somewhere that when he fled Jerusalem and made a sacrifice it showed that he had split from the Israelite people because he wasn't a descendant of Aaron. Both Jacob and Lehi had descendants who settled in a promised land where they became fathers of tribes and of two nations (Israel and Judah/Nephites and Lamanites).

This would seem to support the second assertion I made above.

[David Bokovoy]

???? ??? ?????

1 Nephi 2:15 must rank as the tersest statement in the Book of Mormon, and also as one of the more enigmatic ones.

Some, like Nibley, have looked at it from a bedouin perspective, or rather, the romance of the desert. Others, like Welch, have seen it as relating to the Rechabites. Yet others (and incorrectly, IMHO) have pointed towards Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles.

Lehi and family were not Beduin, tabernacles are expressly something other than tents, and the real import of the verse, I feel, is in an entirely different book of the Bible.

Much of 1 Nephi reads to me like a vindication by Nephi of his father's character and prophetic calling. The Jews mock him and seek to take his life, Saraih complains against him, and his eldest sons murmur. They think him deluded and insane.

Nephi, OTOH, displays a high degree of filial loyalty and constantly uuses the term 'my father'. Nephi uses many literary devices (though I'm not insinuating that these events did not occur) to vindicate his father.

Lehi's first apocalypse asserts his calling as a prophet against the mocking of the Jews. The instruction in the dream to take his family and depart into the wilderness justifies said departure, the safe and successful return of the sons vindicates Lehi in Sariah's eyes, and chapters 10-15 are Nephi's witness that his father's vision in chapter 8 is true.

1 Nephi 2:15 is another such device.

The KJV for Genesis 25:27 reads "and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents." In Hebrew, however, the phrase 'a plain man' reads as ish tam.

A perfect man, an innocent man, a man of integrity. Job is an ish tam, Noah, tamim.

The rest of the Jacob narrative is spent in defending the character of Jacob, despite his appearing to others as anything but an ish tam.

I think observant listeners would have connected Nephi's statement that his 'father dwelt in a tent' with Jacob the Patriarch. I wonder if Lehi didn't consider himself in much the same way, he did name his firstborn in the wilderness Jacob and his second-born Joseph.

This is a very nice analysis. I think there is a lot to explore here, in terms of tents and patriarchal figures. There's no doubt that Nephi places considerable focus upon the tent throughout his record and I really like this connection with Jacob. I also agree with your argument against Nibley's perspective that Lehi was a bedouin. He's clearly not a well-seasoned traveler. If we take 1 Nephi 2 and render the chapter into Biblical Hebrew, I think we uncover an interesting literary device:

"And it came to pass that he departed into the wilderness. And he left his house, and the land of his inheritance, and his gold, and his silver, and his precious things, and took nothing with him, save it were his family, and provisions, and tents, and departed into the wilderness" (v. 4)

In this list of items, the third person masculine singular pronominal suffix would appear directly attached to house, land, gold, silver, precious things, and family, denoting a strong possessive element which is absent grammatically from the two things Lehi did not personally possess, i.e. "tents," and "provisions." So, I really love the proposal that Nephi's statement, "my father dwelt in a tent" draws a literary allusion to Jacob's righteousness and feel the observation is only strengthened in terms of understanding the difficulty and sacrifice involved for one living in a tent who was not accustomed to the life-style.

[yoadrian]

I think Nibley got it right though it doesn't mean there isn't some greater spiritual symbolism involved. . Lehi and Ishmael are desert names. Their poetry and the way they travel is that of the Semitic desert peoples. According to Nibley the tribe if Manasseh had the greatest connections to the desert out of all the tribes, and the orginal Hebrews were people from the desert.

[David Bokovoy]

Here is what I noticed while doing the commentary:

"The verse is not a chapter division, but rather a literary ending point, marking the end of the flight episode and culminating their abandoning their city, inheritance, and wealth.

[J Green]

His sons needed the Camping merit badge.

[David Bokovoy]

Hello Yoadrian,

Appreciate your opinion, but I can't help but see things a bit differently.

I think Nibley got it right though it doesn't mean there isn't some greater spiritual symbolism involved. . Lehi and Ishmael are desert names.

I don't see it.

Their poetry and the way they travel is that of the Semitic desert peoples.

Well, they don't appear to do a very good job of it, i.e. traveling like Semitic desert people. Even some of the classic bedouin practices that Nibley observed such as avoiding fires so as not to attract enemies had to be taught to Lehi by the Lord (1 Nephi 17:12-13). There would be no need for such council if it was a practice Lehi and his family were entirely familiar with. Moreover, when Nephi states that his family grew strong through the experience and eventually began to live the desert life "without murmurings," it's hard to imagine that Nephi wished to suggest that his family was already accustomed to such "journeying" prior to their departure into the wilderness. Not to mention the historical fact that Nephi possessed the highly unusual skills of metallurgy and writing. In 600 BCE, very few if any nomads could write at all, let alone possess the skill to produce an entire complex scribal record like 1 and 2 Nephi.

According to Nibley the tribe if Manasseh had the greatest connections to the desert out of all the tribes, and the orginal Hebrews were people from the desert.

When were the Hebrews a desert people? Six or seven hundred years before Lehi was born? How close is your lifestyle to that of your ancestors from 700 years ago?

I just don't think Nibley's reading works with the text itself or with what we now know to be true historically concerning 600 BCE. Perhaps most importantly, I believe this misreading loses some of the great spiritual lessons the account conveys regarding obedience and sacrifice.

Best,

--DB

[Brant Gardner]

I tried ordering 2 Nephi, but it was unavailable at the time.

That seems to happen a lot. I am told that all volumes would be available "in the middle of February." FAIR Bookstore seems to have the inside track on getting them.

[Brant Gardner]

This is a very nice analysis. I think there is a lot to explore here, in terms of tents and patriarchal figures. There's no doubt that Nephi places considerable focus upon the tent throughout his record and I really like this connection with Jacob.

I agree. The more I think about/learn about Nephi, the more I am convinced that he was very subtle and artistic in his references. I believe that there is a lot of intention in 1 Nephi (which dissolves in 2 Nephi, interestingly). 1 Nephi is a gem, though. I suspect that someday I would rewrite (again--it must be at least 4 times already) the commentary on 1 Nephi to highlight these connections that are being discovered as we learn to see the world more as he did.

[volgadon]

Two issues with connecting this passage with that within the Bible come to mind. I am all in favor of Hebraisms, but let's be careful we are not seeing our own shadows. First, the verses and chapters within the BoM were not arranged in any way we would recognize today. Perhaps the major books were organized as books, but IIRC the verses and even the very sentences were salvaged from the burning wreckage of the initial transcript. 'And my father dwelt in a tent' could very easily be an artifact of the organizational process.

New one on me. The first editions were not marked according to verses, but there is no indication that Joseph took a bunch of disparate passages and reshaped them

Secondly, there is the issue that JS surely would have know his Bible ( I recognize this suggestion precludes the truth claims of the Prophet, but we must see the world through the eyes of a critic if we are to hold fast) and could have knowingly or unconsciously included the phrase to which you are referring.

Of course he could have. I never claimed that this proves the BoM. It is, however, an odd passage to reference when the KJV meaning isn't very clear.

An evangelical critic, Rob bowman, had posted on this board a very nice definition of the kinds of evidences for the BoM. I'll have to find it. Something along the lines of evidences to show its authenticity and evidences that work when we take authenticity for granted.

And even if (though not even for one second do I believe this) we assume that Joseph made it all up, it is still an impressive literary achievement.