Zeniff () is a minor but pivotal person in 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 ...

. According to the Book of Mormon, his lineage is uncertain other than he came from a group of Nephites which included Nephites, Zoramites, and Mulekites. He left

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 ...

with a large group of this merged tribe to go to the

land of 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 ...

. At the time of Zeniff's journey to the

, it was inhabited by the Nephite's arch-enemies, 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 ...

. Zeniff became the king of the group of Nephites with whom he went to the

. He is the first of three kings whose story is recounted in

The Record of Zeniff In the Book of Mormon, chapters 9 through 22 of the Book of Mosiah are identified as the Record of Zeniff. These chapters contain the story of a group of Nephites, led by Zeniff, who leave the land of Zarahemla and return to their former land, kno ...

. The record concerns a group of

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 who returned for a time to the

, were enslaved by the Lamanites, and ultimately escaped bondage by fleeing back to Zarahemla.

Lineage

Background

contains a synopsis of the history of the Nephites up to the time of Zeniff. At the time of Zeniff, the Nephites were living in the land of

and the land of Nephi was occupied by the Lamanites.

The Return to the Land of Nephi

After Mosiah's death, during the reign of his son,

King Benjamin According to the Book of Mormon, King Benjamin, son of King Mosiah the first, was the second Nephite king to rule over Zarahemla. An account of his life and teachings are recorded in both the Words of Mormon and the Book of Mosiah. He was consid ...

, an army of Nephites determined to return to the land of Nephi and "possess the land of their inheritance" (Omni 1:27). Zeniff was among this group. When they drew near to the land of Nephi, Zeniff was sent to spy on the Lamanites, so that their army could destroy them. After seeing the Lamanites, Zeniff felt that they should not be destroyed but that the Nephites should enter into a treaty with them. The (unnamed) leader of the Nephite army, "an austere and blood-thirsty man", viewed this report as treasonous and tried to have Zeniff put to death. Fighting broke out among the Nephites, "the greater part of their army was destroyed", and "those that were spared" returned to the land of Zarahemla (Mosiah 9:1-2). After a short time, Zeniff, who describes himself as "over-zealous to inherit the land of our fathers" (Mosiah 9:3), gathered another group of Nephites and returned to the land of the Lamanites. This time Zeniff went to the king of the Lamanites and, pledging peace, persuaded him to let them stay in the land. The Lamanite king, Laman, gave them the land of ''Lehi-Nephi'' and the land of ''Shilom'', after commanding the Lamanites in those lands to depart.

Contention with the Lamanites

The people of Zeniff lived peacefully for twelve years, but Zeniff began to realize that King Laman had deceived him and did not intend for them to live in peace, but intended to exploit them and take, by force, the goods they produced. At first the Lamanite aggressions were limited to small pillaging raids, but soon a major battle was fought, with the Nephites victorious. Another ten years of watchful peace followed, until the death of King Laman, when Laman's son and successor again tried to drive the Nephites out of their land, but the Lamanites were once again defeated.

An Uneasy Peace

After these two great battles, Zeniff realized that their continued existence among the Lamanites would always be precarious. He ascribes their success in battle to their faith in God, and exhorts his people to always be faithful, since God alone can continue to deliver them from the Lamanites. His people enjoyed an uneasy peace throughout the rest of his reign and for some time afterward. Grant Hardy says: :''Zeniff has a remarkable ability to see the good in others, for earlier record keepers n the Book of Mormonsuch as

Enos Enos or Enosh (Hebrew: , Standard ''Enosh'', Tiberian ''ʼĔnôš''; "mortal man”) may refer to: People in religious scripture * Enos (biblical figure), a genealogical figure in the Bible. * The Book of Enos, one of the books that make up the B ...

and

Jarom According to the Book of Mormon, Jarom () was a Nephite prophet, the son of the prophet Enos, who lived from about 420 BC to about 361 BC. Jarom is thought to have authored the Book of Jarom, which comprises 15 verses in the Book of Mormon. Family ...

found nothing of value in Lamanite culture... Yet Zeniff, as a man of peace, argues that the Nephites should make a treaty with the Lamanites and regain the land of their inheritance through negotiation rather than conquest''Hardy, p 125

Aftermath

After a reign of about forty years, Zeniff grew old and conferred the kingdom on his son,

Noah Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...

. (Zeniff's death is not specifically recorded.) King Noah "did not walk in the ways of his father" (Mosiah 11:2), but was sinful and idle. He taxed the people heavily to support himself and his corrupt supporters. Though warned by the prophet

Abinadi According to the Book of Mormon, Abinadi () was a prophet who lived on the American continent about 150 BC. In the Book of Mormon account, Abinadi visited the court of King Noah at Lehi-Nephi, and pleaded for them to repent of their iniquity and ...

that if he did not repent he would be destroyed, he continued his wicked practices, killed Abinadi, and as was prophesied by Abinadi, King Noah was killed and his people were conquered by the Lamanites. Noah's son

Limhi In the Book of Mormon, Limhi () was the third and final king of the second Nephite habitation of the land of Lehi-Nephi. He succeeded his father, Noah. Led by Ammon (a mulekite) Limhi escaped from the Lamanites with his people to the land of Zara ...

became king, but he was subject to the Lamanite king and his people were forced to pay a tribute of one-half of all their possessions to the Lamanites. The people of King Limhi were ultimately rescued by

Ammon Ammon (Ammonite: 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''ʻAmān''; he, עַמּוֹן ''ʻAmmōn''; ar, عمّون, ʻAmmūn) was an ancient Semitic-speaking nation occupying the east of the Jordan River, between the torrent valleys of Arnon and Jabbok, in p ...

, who journeyed from the land of Zarahemla, helped them to escape and led them back to Zarahemla.

References

* ''Book of Mormon'' (1981 edition) * Hardy, Grant ''Understanding the Book of Mormon : a reader's guide'' ({{ISBN, 978-0-19-973170-1 ) Book of Mormon people