Lehi (Book of Mormon prophet)
Encyclopedia
According to the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
, Lehi was a prophet who lived in Jerusalem during the reign of king Zedekiah
Zedekiah
Zedekiah or Tzidkiyahu was the last king of Judah before the destruction of the kingdom by Babylon. He was installed as king of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon, after a siege of Jerusalem to succeed his nephew, Jeconiah, who was overthrown as king after a reign of only three months and...
(approximately 600 BC). Lehi was an Israelite
Israelite
According to the Bible the Israelites were a Hebrew-speaking people of the Ancient Near East who inhabited the Land of Canaan during the monarchic period .The word "Israelite" derives from the Biblical Hebrew ישראל...
of the Tribe of Manasseh
Tribe of Manasseh
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Manasseh was one of the Tribes of Israel. Together with the Tribe of Ephraim, Manasseh also formed the House of Joseph....
, and father to Nephi
Nephi
According to the Book of Mormon, Nephi was the son of Lehi, a prophet, founder of the Nephite people, and author of the first two books of the Book of Mormon, First and Second Nephi.- Early life :Nephi was the fourth of six sons of Lehi and Sariah...
, another prominent prophet in the Book of Mormon. In the first book of the Book of Mormon, First Nephi, Lehi and Nephi lead their family out of Jerusalem, and across the sea to the "promised land" (the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
). Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
scholar Hugh Nibley
Hugh Nibley
Hugh Winder Nibley was an American author, Mormon apologist, and professor at Brigham Young University...
has suggested that he was a merchant and contemporary of the Seven Wise Men of Greece. The modern-day city of Lehi, Utah
Lehi, Utah
-Attractions:Lehi Roller MillsLehi Roller Mills was founded in 1906 by a co-op of farmers. George G. Robinson purchased the mill in 1910, and since then it has remained in the family. It is run today by grandson R. Sherman Robinson....
, is named after Lehi.
Life according to the Book of Mormon
According to the Book of Mormon narrative, the families of Lehi, his friend IshmaelIshmael (Book of Mormon)
In the Book of Mormon, Ishmael1 is the righteous friend of the prophet Lehi in Jerusalem. When Lehi takes his family into the wilderness, Lehi brings Ishmael and his family too. The daughters of Ishmael marry the sons of Lehi, but the sons of Ishmael join Laman and Lemuel in their rebellion against...
and another man named Zoram
Zoram
There are three individuals named Zoram in the Book of Mormon, indexed in the LDS edition as Zoram1, Zoram², and Zoram³.- Zoram¹ :Zoram1 was the servant of Laban, a wealthy inhabitant of Jerusalem. According to First Nephi, Zoram led Nephi, disguised as Laban, into Laban's treasury...
left Jerusalem some time before its destruction by the Babylonians in approximately 587 BC. Lehi's group proceeded southward down the Arabian Peninsula
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
until they reached a location called Nahom
Nahom
Nahom is a place referenced in the Book of Mormon as one of the stops on the Old World segment of Lehi's journey. This location is referred to as the place where Ishmael is laid to rest. It was also at this location that the path of Lehi's journey changed from a southern to an eastern direction...
. Ishmael is reported to have died by this time, and he was buried at this location.
From Nahom, the group proceeded in an eastward direction across the desert until they reached a fertile coastal region they named Bountiful
Bountiful (Book of Mormon)
Bountiful is the name of two places described in the Book of Mormon, a religious narrative dictated in 1829 by Joseph Smith, Jr. The first location is set in the Old World near Jerusalem, and the second location is set somewhere in the Americas...
, where Lehi's son Nephi
Nephi
According to the Book of Mormon, Nephi was the son of Lehi, a prophet, founder of the Nephite people, and author of the first two books of the Book of Mormon, First and Second Nephi.- Early life :Nephi was the fourth of six sons of Lehi and Sariah...
was instructed by the Lord to build a ship for the purpose of sailing across the ocean to the "promised land." The party of men, women and children along with their animals boarded the ship and sailed until they reached the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
.
The Book of Mormon relates that during his family's journey to the Americas and before his death, Lehi gave important teachings to his children and their posterity that were recorded by Nephi on metallic plates that were later used in compiling the Book of Mormon.
Family
Upon Lehi's death, his sons NephiNephi
According to the Book of Mormon, Nephi was the son of Lehi, a prophet, founder of the Nephite people, and author of the first two books of the Book of Mormon, First and Second Nephi.- Early life :Nephi was the fourth of six sons of Lehi and Sariah...
and Laman
Laman and Lemuel
In the Book of Mormon, Laman and Lemuel are the two eldest sons of Lehi and the older brothers of Sam, Nephi, Jacob, and Joseph. According to the text, they lived around 600 BC. They were notable for their rebellion against Lehi and Nephi, becoming the primary antagonists of the First and Second...
established two conflicting nations, the Nephite
Nephite
According to the Book of Mormon, a Nephite is a member of one of the four main groups of settlers of the ancient Americas. The other three groups are the Lamanites, Jaredites and Mulekites. In the Book of Mormon, the Nephites were a group of people descended from or associated with Nephi, the...
s and the Lamanite
Lamanite
According to the Book of Mormon, a Lamanite is a member of a dark-skinned nation of indigenous Americans that battled with the light-skinned Nephite nation...
s, and as such is considered one of the principal ancestors of the Book of Mormon people. According to the Book of Mormon, his known immediate family is as shown in the diagram below.
It is also believed that Lehi had daughters maybe even before Jacob and Joseph were born. Lehi's son, Nephi, mentions having sisters in his writings; their names and birth order is unknown.
Hypothesized modern archaeological ties
Some MormonMormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
scholars and researchers speculate that the following archaeological sites and peoples may have ties to Lehi, or constitute evidence of the historicity of Lehi (though these connections are not accepted by non-Mormon archaeologists):
- Khirbet Beit LeiKhirbet Beit LeiKhirbet Beit Lei, Khirbet Beit Lehi or Beth Loya is an archaeological tell in the Judean lowlands, of Israel. It is located about 5.5 km southeast of Beth Guvrin on a hill 400 m above sea level.-History:...
("Ruin of the House of Lei") which may have been the home of Lehi. - A tribe called the People of LihyLihyanLihyan is an ancient Arab kingdom. It was located in northwestern Arabia, and is known for its Old North Arabian inscriptions dating to ca...
on the Arabian PeninsulaArabian PeninsulaThe Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
. - The location NHM in YemenYemenThe Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
, which is argued to be the same location as NahomNahomNahom is a place referenced in the Book of Mormon as one of the stops on the Old World segment of Lehi's journey. This location is referred to as the place where Ishmael is laid to rest. It was also at this location that the path of Lehi's journey changed from a southern to an eastern direction...
, a place through which Lehi traveled.
Possible origin of the name
The name "Lehi" (לֶחִי) also means jawbone or cheek in Hebrew, and appears in JudgesBook of Judges
The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired prophets whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as decision-makers for the Israelites, as...
15: 15-19.
15 And he found a new jawbone of an ass [לְחִי-חֲמוֹר], and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.
16 And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men. 17 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramath-lehi. 18 And he was sore athirst, and called on the Lord, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?
19 But God clave a hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof En-hakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.
Lehigh County is the third most populous area of Pennsylvania and named for the Lehigh River
Lehigh River
The Lehigh River, a tributary of the Delaware River, is a river located in eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. Part of the Lehigh, along with a number of its tributaries, is designated a Pennsylvania Scenic River by the state's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources...
which is a tributary of the Delaware River
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
. The name is derived from the Delaware Indian term Lechauweki or Lechauwekink, meaning "where there are forks." The county, which was first settled around 1730, was formed in 1812 with the division of Northampton County into two counties. Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith was founder of what later became known as the Latter Day Saint movement or Mormons.Joseph Smith may also refer to:-Latter Day Saints:* Joseph Smith, Sr. , father of Joseph Smith...
lived approx. 250 miles away from the Lehigh River but if he studied a map of the area (as can be seen here in a 1797 map near the city of Bethlehem on eastern Pennsylvania border north of Philadelphia) he would have seen it near the Biblical-named cities of Bethlehem and Nazareth. If he traveled to New York City or Philadelphia his journey would most likely have taken him through Lehigh County and near the Lehigh river.
Joseph Smith's interest in the name "Lehigh" may have been awakened if he learned the Native American origin of the name. There is evidence to suggest Joseph had an interest in ancient native American peoples from a young age. His mother, Lucy Mack Smith
Lucy Mack Smith
Lucy Mack Smith was the mother of Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. She is most noted for writing an award-winning memoir: Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many Generations. She was an important leader of the movement during...
, in the book History of Joseph Smith by His Mother speaks of stories Joseph would tell her, and other family members, about Hebrew people he claimed inhabited Pre-Columbia America.
External links
- Lehi by S. Kent BrownS. Kent BrownScott Kent Brown is an American professor of ancient scripture and the director of ancient studies at Brigham Young University.-Biography:...
and Terrence L. Szink - Online Version of the Book of Mormon, published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
- Book of Mormon Movie "The Journey" (Google video)
- 1797 map of Pennsylvania in the David Drumsey collection