Nephi () is one of the central figures described in the
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1830 by Joseph Smith as ''The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi''.
The book is one of ...
. In the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian restorationist Christian denomination and the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. Founded durin ...
, he is described as the son of
Lehi, a
prophet
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...
, and the founder of the
Nephite
In the Book of Mormon, the Nephites () are one of four groups (along with the Lamanites, Jaredites, and Mulekites) said to have settled in the ancient Americas. The term is used throughout the Book of Mormon to describe the religious, poli ...
people. The
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1830 by Joseph Smith as ''The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi''.
The book is one of ...
also describes him as the author of its first two books,
First
First most commonly refers to:
* First, the ordinal form of the number 1
First or 1st may also refer to:
Acronyms
* Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array
* Far Infrared a ...
and
Second Nephi.
In the narrative, Nephi's family flees Jerusalem as commanded by God but returns twice. The first time, Lehi's sons return to retrieve the brass plates from a man named
Laban. After two unsuccessful attempts to get the plates, Nephi, prompted by the Holy Spirit, kills Laban and receives the plates after disguising himself as Laban. The next time they return, the brothers convince
Ishmael's family to join them. Both times Nephi's life is threatened by two of his older brothers,
Laman and Lemuel.
After spending eight years in the wilderness, the family reaches the land Bountiful, where Nephi builds a ship under the direction of God. As the family voyages across the sea, Laman and Lemuel rebel, tying Nephi when he admonishes them about their behavior. A storm pushes them back on their journey, and eventually Laman and Lemuel untie him. Some time after their arrival in the Promised Land, Laman and Lemuel once again try to kill Nephi and he flees with several members of the family. Now safe, Nephi becomes a leader over his people and builds a prosperous community. Nephi is the subject of religious scholarship and various creative authorial works.
Background and family

According to the Book of Mormon, Nephi is the fourth of six sons of
Lehi and
Sariah. Nephi and his family live in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
, circa 600 BC, during the reign of
King Zedekiah, who is initiated as king under the direction of
Nebuchadnezzar. They live there until Lehi is commanded by God to take his family and flee into the wilderness. Before their flight, Nephi's father Lehi prophesies of the impending destruction and captivity of
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
by the armies of
Babylon
Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...
, an event mentioned in the Bible several times.
Family tree
Nephi also mentions having sisters, though he does not give their names or birth orders. Little is known about Nephi's children. Religious scholar
Grant Hardy suggests that all of Nephi's children may have been daughters at the time of passing on the record, or that his sons were influenced by Laman and Lemuel; his speculations are based on the fact that Nephi says he has children yet passes the record on to his brother Jacob.
Narrative
In the narrative of the Book of Nephi, Nephi and his family leave Jerusalem around 600 B.C., travel to the Red Sea, and journey three days farther into the wilderness, stopping in
a valley by a river near the
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...
. Lehi then sends four sons (Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi) back to Jerusalem to get the
brass plates
Laban () is a figure in the First Book of Nephi, near the start of the Book of Mormon, a scripture of the Latter Day Saint movement. Although he only makes a brief appearance in the Book of Mormon, his Book of the Law of the Lord, brass plates ...
. After successfully obtaining them, they are commanded to return to Jerusalem a second time to bring Ishmael's family.
Returning to Jerusalem
A powerful man named
Laban, who is a kinsman to Lehi, possesses the brass plates, a record kept by the
Jews
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
which contains their laws, customs, history, and lineage. Nephi and his brothers attempt three times to get them from Laban. First, they send Laman, whom Laban accuses of theft and sends servants to kill when he asks for the plates. Nephi convinces his brothers to try buying the plates using their abandoned wealth; Laban refuses the offer, though he keeps the goods, and sends his servants to kill them. After running away, the brothers hide in a cave, where Laman and Lemuel beat Nephi and Sam. An angel appears and stops them. Nephi returns a third time to make a final attempt to get the plates. When Nephi finds Laban drunk and passed out in the street, the Lord commands him to kill Laban—an idea Nephi struggles with. The
Spirit tells him that it is better for "one man to perish than for an entire nation to dwindle and perish in unbelief." Nephi follows through with the command and then dresses himself in Laban's clothing and armor. He returns to Laban's house and orders Zoram, one of Laban's servants, to bring him the brass plates. When he leads Zoram back to his brothers, they think that Nephi is Laban and turn to flee; Nephi calls out to them. Realizing that Nephi is not Laban, Zoram turns to run, but Nephi stops him. He commands him to join them as an act of self-preservation, to which Zoram consents.
Sometime after they obtain the brass plates, the Lord tells Lehi to send his sons back to Jerusalem so they can convince
Ishmael’s family to join them. This allows Lehi’s sons to marry, as Ishmael is father to five daughters. They succeed and return to the wilderness. During the journey, Laman and Lemuel as well as members of Ishmael’s family defy Nephi, three of Ishmael’s daughters, and Ishmael and his wife. They want to go back to Jerusalem. When Nephi warns them that they will be destroyed if they do so, they tie him up, planning to leave him behind on their journey. Nephi's bonds are loosed by the Lord when he prays for help. Laman and Lemuel want to tie him again, but eventually give in to the pleas of mercy from Ishmael's family.
Nephi and his family spend eight years in the wilderness, facing many hardships. At one point Nephi's bow breaks, making it difficult to obtain food. While the rest of the family complains, Nephi sets forth to make a new bow and prays to God for help.
Building the ship and voyage
Finally, in the land of Bountiful, God commands Nephi to build a ship and sail to the Promised Land. However, Laman and Lemuel do not think he should build it. They try to throw Nephi into the depths of the sea; however, Nephi commands them not to, warning them that they will be smitten by the power of God if they touch him. In response, Laman and Lemuel try worshipping Nephi, but he commands them to stop. Meanwhile, the Spirit protects Nephi.
Partway through the voyage over sea, Laman, Lemuel, and some of Ishmael's family participate in irreverent revelry. Nephi asks them to stop, but in their anger they tie him up. The
Liahona stops working and they are significantly delayed in their journey until the brothers finally untie him. This done, Nephi prays to God and the storm calms down.
Life in the Promised Land
Not long after arriving in the Promised Land, Lehi dies, leaving the leadership of the colony in Nephi's hands. His brothers Laman and Lemuel rebel shortly thereafter, and the colony splits into two. Nephi's followers name themselves "
Nephites
In the Book of Mormon, the Nephites () are one of four groups (along with the Lamanites, Jaredites, and Mulekites) said to have settled in the ancient Americas. The term is used throughout the Book of Mormon to describe the religious, politi ...
" while the others are dubbed "
Lamanites
In the Book of Mormon, the Lamanites () are one of the four peoples (along with the Jaredites, the Mulekites, and the Nephites) described as having settled in the ancient Americas. The Lamanites also play a role in the prophecies and reve ...
." The Nephites separate into the wilderness, where they begin building in the land of Nephi. Within twenty-one years of arriving in the Promised Land, Nephi's people construct a temple. Nephi teaches his people artisan skills, including but not limited to wood and metal work. Under Nephi's leadership, the Nephite civilization prospers despite occasional war with the Lamanites. According to the Book of Mormon, Nephi is revered by his people. Upon his death, Jacob is entrusted with keeping the records of the Book of Mormon.
Nephi's vision
After his father receives a
Vision of the Tree of Life, Nephi receives a similar vision and records it in detail, including an interpretation of each element of the dream. Nephi also sees and records details of the birth, life, and crucifixion of
Jesus Christ
Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
. An
angel
An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...
also shows him similar things to those found in the
vision
Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to:
Perception Optical perception
* Visual perception, the sense of sight
* Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight
* Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...
of
John the Revelator
John of Patmos (also called John the Revelator, John the Divine, John the Theologian; ) is the name traditionally given to the author of the Book of Revelation. Revelation 1:9 states that John was on Patmos, an Aegean island off the coast of R ...
.
Latter-day Saint interpretation
Obtaining the brass plates
Anthropologist Steven L. Olsen points out that the journey to possess the brass plates is the first instance in which Nephi is portrayed as a leader of his brothers. Additionally, Olsen points out that deliverance and remembering are themes that show up in Nephi's account. In fact, the concept of deliverance is one factor in Nephi's contemplation of killing Laban. Writing about this contemplation, R. John Williams, who is an assistant professor of English at Yale, concludes that while Nephi's internal struggle is very personal, his rationalization of killing Laban appears to be more unemotional. According to Hardy, Nephi's difficult decision demonstrates the value of the brass plates to his family. Robert L. Millet explains that the brass plates serve as a link between the Nephites and their predecessors. The content of the plates gives the people a connection to their ancestors, culture, and religious beliefs.
Further, healthcare technologist Ben McGuire identifies what he calls "thematic parallels" between Nephi's slaying of Laban and
David's killing of
Goliath
Goliath ( ) was a Philistines, Philistine giant in the Book of Samuel. Descriptions of Goliath's giant, immense stature vary among biblical sources, with texts describing him as either or tall. According to the text, Goliath issued a challen ...
; among the parallels are confrontation with an intimidating foe, fear of the foe, and slaughter of the foe. Author Elizabeth Fenton, on the other hand, compares Nephi and Laban to David and
Saul
Saul (; , ; , ; ) was a monarch of ancient Israel and Judah and, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament, the first king of the United Monarchy, a polity of uncertain historicity. His reign, traditionally placed in the late eleventh c ...
, pointing out that Nephi killed Laban but David did not kill Saul, while both were encouraged to kill said enemies.
The ship
The design for Nephi's ship is divine, which theme is common in various Biblical stories, says legal editor Alan Goff. He points out that Nephi wants to make it clear that he is following a divine pattern. On another note, Riess compares Nephi's calming of the water to
Jesus
Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
'
calming of the storm in the
New Testament
The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
, pointing out that while Jesus used his own power, Nephi prayed.
Visions
Like others, during his visions Nephi is often taken by the Spirit into a mountain. Brent Farley, who is the former manager of
Church Educational System College Curriculum within the LDS church, explains in a devotional-type article that this transportation by the Spirit to a mountain typically occurs in religious records when a
temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
is unavailable to worship in.
Nephi as a narrator
Though Nephi begins his narrative with a basic genealogy, he eventually shifts from a familial to a national focus. Nevertheless, he is conscious of his posterity as he writes. Nephi desires that his record should be filled with religious things. Hardy proposes that Nephi portrays Laman and Lemuel in a negative light in order to solidify his purpose of showing the Lord’s deliverance. Nephi rarely talks about Laman and Lemuel individually, and hardly mentions Sam—possibly an attempt to greater emphasize Laman and Lemuel.
Robert A. Rees agrees concerning Nephi's rhetorical purposes, stating that Nephi is deliberately shaping the reading experience. He argues that Nephi brings his first-person biases into the narrative, making it difficult for his readers to have an impartial perspective. In
Claudia L. Bushman's view, Nephi emphasizes different aspects of the narrative more than others, which impacts the reader experience. According to Hardy, however, Nephi’s motives are not only religious but also political. Latter-day Saint lawyer
Nathan B. Oman explains that legal issues are woven into Nephi's narrative, especially those that concern his brothers.
Fenton argues that Nephi did not write the Book of Mormon for the Nephites, as implied by his inclusion of his dream about their destruction. Nephi was well-versed in Jewish scripture and could read and write in Egyptian. His teaching style has been described as "frank, direct, and even blunt." At the same time, Rees suggests that Nephi may have drawn inspiration for his writing style from passages found in the brass plates. Allusions to the Exodus are deliberate throughout Nephi's record,
Michael Austin explains. Hardy notes several parallels between Nephi and Joseph: both are younger, favored sons whose older brothers resent him and attempt to murder him. Both escape death and later save their families from starvation. Contrasting the stories, Hardy finds that Joseph's story has more emotional range, whereas Nephi's narrative is limited to his "one-sided narrative." Bushman also notices that Nephi relies very little on the experiences of the other members of his travel party.
Writing in
''Dialogue'' in 1969, Robert E. Nichols noticed similarities between Nephi and a writing style from the
heroic age. As evidence, Nichols draws parallels between the narrative's emphasis on Nephi's strength and manly skills and
Beowulf
''Beowulf'' (; ) is an Old English poetry, Old English poem, an Epic poetry, epic in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 Alliterative verse, alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and List of translat ...
's great strength and skills in ''
Beowulf
''Beowulf'' (; ) is an Old English poetry, Old English poem, an Epic poetry, epic in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 Alliterative verse, alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and List of translat ...
''. In this reading, Nephi's
beot, or ritual boast, is found in the famous passage where he says he will "go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded," and his brothers become his band of warriors.
Nephi's legacy
The first major figure in the Book of Mormon, Nephi is regarded by members of the
Latter Day Saint Movement
The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by ...
as a prophet, political leader, and record keeper. Bergin points out that Nephi shares some semblance to
Moses
In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...
, such as being a colonial leader. Riess also points out similarities between the two, such as their both receiving commandments from the Lord atop a mountain. A number of individuals throughout the Book of Mormon were named after Nephi, including all of the kings in the early Nephite civilization. Additionally, his people referred to themselves as "
Nephites
In the Book of Mormon, the Nephites () are one of four groups (along with the Lamanites, Jaredites, and Mulekites) said to have settled in the ancient Americas. The term is used throughout the Book of Mormon to describe the religious, politi ...
"–a name that followed them through the entire 1000-year history given in the Book of Mormon. Nephi is also the name of a city in Utah.
Etymology of ''Nephi''
The origin of the name ''Nephi'' is uncertain and disputed. Based on a non-Latter-day Saint or secular perspective, hypotheses for the name's origin include:
* Its appearance as a geographic name in
2 Maccabees
2 Maccabees, also known as the Second Book of Maccabees, Second Maccabees, and abbreviated as 2 Macc., is a deuterocanonical book which recounts the persecution of Jews under King Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the Maccabean Revolt against him. It ...
of the
Deuterocanon: "And Neemias called this thing Naphthar, which is as much as to say, a cleansing: but many men call it Nephi."
* A reference to the ''
nephilim
The Nephilim (; ''Nəfīlīm'') are mysterious beings or humans in the Bible traditionally understood as being of great size and strength, or alternatively beings of great power and authority. The origins of the Nephilim are disputed. Some, ...
'' ( נְפִילִים ), who are the mythical half-immortal "giants" described in
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Religion
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...
. The name means "fallen ones."
* Or the term ''Nephes'', which is a
Kabbalistic
Kabbalah or Qabalah ( ; , ; ) is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It forms the foundation of mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ().
Jewi ...
term for a ghost that wanders around sepulchers.
Latter-day Saint scholar
John Gee theorizes that Nephi is a Hebrew form of the
Egyptian
''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...
name ''Nfr''. In
Phoenician and
Aramaic
Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...
inscriptions of Egyptian names containing ''nfr'', the ''nfr'' element is rendered ''npy'', and the closely related Hebrew language would presumably transcribe the name the same way.
Nephi in Latter-day Saint literature
Orrin R. Wilcox writes about the journey of Nephi's family in verse form, telling it from Nephi's perspective. In two of the poems Wilcox shares the story of why Nephi's family left Jerusalem, then describes the family relationships. "I was built large in stature / And my brothers did defy," he explains. Wilcox continues to contrast Nephi with Laman and Lemuel, specifically discussing their attitudes about leaving Jerusalem. Later, he writes about obtaining the brass plates and visiting Ishmael's family. When he writes about the brass plates, Wilcox explores the feelings and actions of Nephi as he kills Laban and brings Zoram with him.
In her collection ''Book of Mormon and Other Poems,'' Latter-day Saint poet Mildred Hunt includes a poem that tells of the retrieval of Ishmael's daughters in an allegory of gardeners coming to select beautiful willow and cypress trees for their homes, where the trees represent Ishmael's daughters and the gardeners represent the sons of Lehi. She spends most of the poem describing the grace and beauty of the trees; in the last stanza, however, she tells how their father let the four gardeners select their trees of choice. In her poetry she also explores how Nephi may have felt at various points in his life, including an inference of what successes he may have experienced: "How thankful and how pleased, Nephi, were you / When that first harvest gilt the wilderness."
An emeritus English professor at Pepperdine University and Latter-day Saint,
Michael R. Collings wrote a book entitled ''The Nephiad''. This epic-style work retells parts of the life of Nephi, from Lehi's revelation to leave Jerusalem to Nephi's vision of Jesus Christ, with some creative imagination. Collings describes Nephi's vision of the Americas at the time of Jesus' death as follows: "This Nephi saw, and fain would turn away / Tormented eyes from scenes calamitous / ...Tempests, floods, and quakings o'er the Land / With fracturing force disrupted Spring-smooth soils."
See also
*
First Book of Nephi
*
Second Book of Nephi
*
Plates of Nephi
According to the Book of Mormon, the plates of Nephi, consisting of the large plates of Nephi and the small plates of Nephi, are a portion of the collection of inscribed metal plates which make up the record of the Nephites. This record was late ...
*
Reformed Egyptian
*
Tree of life vision
*
Nephite
In the Book of Mormon, the Nephites () are one of four groups (along with the Lamanites, Jaredites, and Mulekites) said to have settled in the ancient Americas. The term is used throughout the Book of Mormon to describe the religious, poli ...
s
*
Nephi, Utah, named after him.
References
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External links
{{S-end
Angelic visionaries
Book of Mormon prophets
Heroes in mythology and legend
Christian messianism