Mulek (), according to the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude date ...

, was the only surviving son of

Zedekiah Zedekiah (), was the 20th and last king of Judah before the destruction of the kingdom by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. His birth name was Mattaniah/Mattanyahu ( he, מַתַּנְיָהוּ, ''Mattanyāhū'', "Gift of God"; el, Μαθθ ...

, the last

King of Judah The Kings of Judah were the monarchs who ruled over the ancient Kingdom of Judah. According to the biblical account, this kingdom was founded after the death of Saul, when the tribe of Judah elevated David to rule over it. After seven years, David ...

, after the Babylonian conquest of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. The Book of Mormon states that after escaping from Judah, Mulek traveled to the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

and established a civilization there. The word ''Mulekite'', after Mulek, is commonly used to refer to his group. It is one of four groups (the others being the

Nephites According to the Book of Mormon, the Nephites () are one of four groups (along with the Lamanites, Jaredites, and Mulekites) to have settled in the ancient Americas. The term is used throughout the Book of Mormon to describe the religious, po ...

, the

Lamanites The Lamanites () are one of the four ancient peoples (along with the Jaredites, the Mulekites, and the Nephites) described as having settled in the ancient Americas in the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement. The Lamani ...

, and the

Jaredites The Jaredites () are one of four peoples (along with the Nephites, Lamanites, and Mulekites) that the Latter-day Saints believe settled in ancient America. The Book of Mormon (mainly its Book of Ether) describes the Jaredites as the descendan ...

) described in the Book of Mormon as having settled in the ancient Americas, although Mulekites does not appear in the Book of Mormon itself. However, no archaeological evidence distinguishing these groups from other ancient American inhabitants has been documented in the scientific community.

Mulek and his nation

According to the Book of Mormon, when Jerusalem was destroyed by

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

, during the reign of Zedekiah, all of the sons of Zedekiah were killed except Mulek. Along with "as many as would hearken unto the voice of the Lord," Mulek escaped into the wilderness, traveled "across the great waters" to the

, and founded a new nation. The people of Mulek established their capital at

Zarahemla According to the beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Zarahemla () refers to a large city in the ancient Americas which is described in the Book of Mormon. Archaeologists and historians have not been able to archaeological ...

, north of where Lehi and his people landed. In the text of the Book of Mormon, the Mulekites are referred to as the "people of

Encounter with Jaredites

The last surviving Jaredite,

Coriantumr In the Book of Mormon, Coriantumr () is the name of three figures that appear throughout the book's narrative. Chronologically, they are one of the sons of Omer, a deposed Jaredite king who was later restored to his throne by his sons Esrom and ...

, encountered the Mulekites, "and he dwelt with them for the space of nine moons" before he died.

Encounter with Nephites

When the

Nephite According to the Book of Mormon, the Nephites () are one of four groups (along with the Lamanites, Jaredites, and Mulekites) to have settled in the ancient Americas. The term is used throughout the Book of Mormon to describe the religious, po ...

s were commanded to leave their historic homeland of

Lehi-Nephi In the Book of Mormon, the land of Lehi-Nephi (; also referred to as the land of Nephi) is the homeland of the Nephites in the early times of the Book of Mormon. The land is later conquered by the Lamanites, and the remaining Nephites flee to the ...

to flee from the

, the exiled remnants discovered the city of

, to their north. The Book of Mormon records that the Mulekites spoke a language that was largely unintelligible to the Nephites. When taught the Nephite language, the Mulekites recounted their descent from Mulek, which was then recorded. The Mulekites had in their possession a stone that told the story of Coriantumr, a survivor of the Jaredites who had encountered the Mulekites and lived among them until his death. Much of the prior Mulekite history was lost because of their lack of records.

Assimilation with Nephites

The Nephites settled among the Mulekites. The Mulekites eventually adopted the Nephites' language and religion, and the two peoples formed one nation by establishing

as their new capital and naming the Nephite Mosiah as their king.

Possible origin of the name

Hugh Nibley Hugh Winder Nibley (March 27, 1910 – February 24, 2005) was an American scholar and an apologist of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who was a professor at Brigham Young University (BYU) for nearly 50 years. He was a ...

relates the name to his royal origins, Nibley, Hugh & Hummel, Sharman Bookwalter (ed.) ''Nibley's Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 1'' (2013), ASIN: B00GFY0GUO and states: :"The word 'malek' is 'king' but the word 'mulek' ulaikmeans 'dear little king'. The Mulekites were the people who had the little king with them; they were rather proud of that." Of the Mulekites, he says they are the "Mulekiah, which means 'the king people'".

References

{{Portal bar, Latter-day Saints Book of Mormon people