1 Nephi Chapter 7

[thekabalist]

1 And now I would that ye might know, that after my father, Lehi, had made an end of prophesying concerning his seed, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto him again, saying that it was not meet for him, Lehi, that he should take his family into the wilderness alone; but that his sons should take daughters to wife, that they might raise up seed unto the Lord in the land of promise.

Not many people realize that the Hebrew idiom “raise up seed” (הקם זרע– hakem zerah) means literally to give someone descendants. This can be seen from Gen. 38:8: “And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.” When G-d says to Nephi that he wants them to raise seed unto Him this means that G-d wanted Nephi to give descendants unto G-d Himself.

How do we understand that someone can give a descendant to G-d? In Torah-law whatever is given unto G-d belonged to the Temple. And this would include even the first born sons of every Israelite. This is why every Israelite was required to perform a ritual called פדיון הבן (pidyon haben – redemption of the son) for every male born.

This ceremony meant to replace the firstborns by the Levites in the priesthood as stated in Numbers 3:12-13: “And I behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every first-born that openeth the womb among the children of Israel; and the Levites shall be Mine. For all the first-born are Mine: on the day that I smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto Me all the first-born in Israel, both man and beast, Mine they shall be: I am the LORD.”

This is crucial to understand what G-d was requiring of the children of Lehi. He is requiring them to do the very opposite. If they were to raise seed unto G-d then every male born unto them would be counted as a priest before G-d. This is a very tough calling and it shows just how special Lehi’s family was. It is possible that G-d’s intention was to prepare Lehi’s family to become a family of priests that would then in turn restore the House of Israel unto G-d.

2 And it came to pass that the Lord commanded him that I, Nephi, and my brethren, should again return unto the land of Jerusalem, and bring down Ishmael and his family into the wilderness.

And it came to pass: Why does Nephi repeat these words so much in the narrative? Some critics say that if Nephi was running short in space it wouldn’t make sense to use this expression so much. However in Hebrew this expression is rather short: ויהי (vayehi – and it was/happened).

And this expression is rather meaningful because it’s the same expression that G-d used to indicate that the world was created. For example to say “and there was light” the Bible says ויהי אור (vayehi or). Our sages therefore believe that such an expression indicate that G-d’s power was behind the cause of such events.

So whenever Nephi uses this expression, the reader should understand it as “this was happening because of G-d’s plan.”

3 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did again, with my brethren, go forth into the wilderness to go up to Jerusalem.

Why does Nephi repeat this sentence? Sometimes in Jewish literature the authors will repeat a sentence with a slightly different word order or grammar in order to make a deeper revelation to the reader. When reading Scripture the order of words does matter. Notice that the first time Nephi says such sentence he says that G-d told him and his brothers to go again. The verb appears after the expression “I, Nephi, and my brethren”. Now the second time that Nephi uses this expression he says: “I, Nephi, did again, with my brethren, go forth”. He deliberately puts the action of “doing again” immediately after his name, and before his brothers’. This seems to indicates that he was the only one who was really willing to comply to G-d’s instructions.

4 And it came to pass that we went up unto the house of Ishmael, and we did gain favor in the sight of Ishmael, insomuch that we did speak unto him the words of the Lord.

There is again a wordplay between the expression מדבר (midbar - wilderness) and יהוה דברי (divrei hashem – words of the Lord).

There’s also a wordplay with “speaking” to Ishmael, (ישמעאל) which literally means “El will hear”.

Finding favor: The Orach Chayim when commenting Gn. 6:8 indicates that this expression means that the goodness that follows is not as a result of a direct action of a person. In fact the word חן (hen – favor) means something that is not merited for. In this narrative it indicates that Ishmael’s favor towards Nephi didn’t come as a result of friendship or human persuasion but by a direct intervention from G-d.

5 And it came to pass that the Lord did soften the heart of Ishmael, and also his household, insomuch that they took their journey with us down into the wilderness to the tent of our father.

The expression to “harden/soften” one’s heart in Hebrew means to be open or not to a certain idea. In this particular case it took a very open mind on Ishmael’s part to accept such an idea.

6 And it came to pass that as we journeyed in the wilderness, behold Laman and Lemuel, and two of the daughters of Ishmael, and the two sons of Ishmael and their families, did rebel against us; yea, against me, Nephi, and Sam, and their father, Ishmael, and his wife, and his three other daughters.

7 And it came to pass in the which rebellion, they were desirous to return unto the land of Jerusalem.

There’s an interesting wordplay between “rebellion” (מרד - mered) and “wilderness” (מדבר - midbar). Notice how the difference between them is the order of the letters reish and dalet and the absence of the letter beit. Beit also means “house”.

In ancient Kabalah, the letter beit is associated with the Temple (beit hamikdash) which is the house of G-d. In the beginning of this chapter we can see how G-d wanted the seed of the family of Lehi to belong to his Beit (House) as a priesthood. But the sons of Ishmael and some of Nephi’s brothers didn’t want this “beit” so they rebelled.

This brilliant wordplay by Nephi could be a possible indication that what made them rebel was the fact that they didn’t want their seed to become priests. This is understandable because the priesthood were denied to have possessions among the people and lived only to serve G-d. They however wanted their families to pursue richness and the things of this world.

8 And now I, Nephi, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, therefore I spake unto them, saying, yea, even unto Laman and unto Lemuel: Behold ye are mine elder brethren, and how is it that ye are so hard in your hearts, and so blind in your minds, that ye have need that I, your younger brother, should speak unto you, yea, and set an example for you?

Blind in your minds: In ancient Hebrew the expression “to blind” meant to change one’s course or to stray from a path. This can be seen from the Talmud:

“Observing that a snake, cutting through the water, was approaching, he said to his attendant, 'Blind its eyes,’ and the attendant took some water and was pouring it into the wine; whereupon the snake turned back!” (b. Avodah Zarah 30a)

So when Nephi says that their minds were blind he means that their minds had strayed from the path of righteousness.

9 How is it that ye have not hearkened unto the word of the Lord?

It is never too much to remember that the term “hear” (השמ) also means “to obey” and that the term “word of the Lord” refers to an anthropomorphic manifestation of G-d. Please refer to the previous chapters for more details.

10 How is it that ye have forgotten that ye have seen an angel of the Lord?

It is linguistically possible that “an angel of the Lord” also refers to a manifestation of G-d himself.

11 Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten what great things the Lord hath done for us, in delivering us out of the hands of Laban, and also that we should obtain the record?

12 Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him? Wherefore, let us be faithful to him.

The word faith (אמונה - emunah) in Hebrew literally means “trusting”. In Judaism faith is not seen as a belief but rather as a willingness to take the steps that G-d has guided us to.

His will: The biblical term used for will (רצון - ratzon). This term doesn’t only mean “will” but rather a “desire to reconcile”. Thus says Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki (Rashi) the greatest Jewish commentarist in his commentary on Gen. 33:10:

“Likewise, every [instance of] רָצוֹן in Scripture is an expression of appeasement, apayement in Old French, e.g.,“for it will not be for an appeasement (לְרָצוֹן) for you” (Lev. 22:20),“The lips of a righteous man know רָצוֹן. They know how to placate and appease (לְרַצוֹת)” (Prov. 10:32).”

So we can learn from this that Nephi is saying that if they put their trust in G-d they will be reconciled with Him.

13 And if it so be that we are faithful to him, we shall obtain the land of promise; and ye shall know at some future period that the word of the Lord shall be fulfilled concerning the destruction of Jerusalem; for all things which the Lord hath spoken concerning the destruction of Jerusalem must be fulfilled.

There is abundant records in Jewish literature of the righteous being warned to flee Jerusalem because of its coming destruction. One of such fragments which reminds us of the story of Nephi is the work called Apocalypse of Baruch which opens with the following statement:

“And it came to pass in the twenty-fifth year of Jeconiah, king of Judah, that the word of the Lord came to Baruch, the son of Neriah, and said to him: 'Have you seen all that this people are doing to Me, that the evils which these two tribes which remained have done are greater than (those of) the ten tribes which were carried away captive? For the former tribes were forced by their kings to commit sin, but these two of themselves have been forcing and compelling their kings to commit sin. For this reason, behold I bring evil upon this city, and upon its inhabitants, and it shall be removed from before Me for a time, and I will scatter this people among the Gentiles that they may do good to the Gentiles. And My people shall be chastened, and the time shall come when they will seek for the prosperity of their times. For I have said these things to you that you may bid Jeremiah, and all those that are like you, to retire from this city.”

14 For behold, the Spirit of the Lord ceaseth soon to strive with them; for behold, they have rejected the prophets, and Jeremiah have they cast into prison. And they have sought to take away the life of my father, insomuch that they have driven him out of the land.

How did Nephi know that the Spirit of G-d would soon cease to strive? Aside from possibly having received this revelation from G-d it is also possible that Nephi was observing the signs. The Talmud in tractate Yomah describes that several miracles occurred in the Temple on a daily basis as a result of the indwelling of the Shechinah (G-d’s presence) such as G-d sending fire to burn the altar sacrifices. And yet when the Shechinah departed the miracles would cease. The ceasing of the miracles indicated the absence of the Shechinah which in turn would indicate an imminent destruction of the Temple would be coming. So the people didn’t need to have a blind belief in the message of the prophets. The signs of times were very evident each time the Temple would be destroyed.

15 Now behold, I say unto you that if ye will return unto Jerusalem ye shall also perish with them. And now, if ye have choice, go up to the land, and remember the words which I speak unto you, that if ye go ye will also perish; for thus the Spirit of the Lord constraineth me that I should speak.

16 And it came to pass that when I, Nephi, had spoken these words unto my brethren, they were angry with me. And it came to pass that they did lay their hands upon me, for behold, they were exceedingly wroth, and they did bind me with cords, for they sought to take away my life, that they might leave me in the wilderness to be devoured by wild beasts.

In Jewish texts there are often many layers of meanings. Why would Nephi say that he was going to be left to be devoured by wild beasts? To understand this we should look at Pirkei Avot 5:11 which says:

“Wild beasts come to the world for false oaths and the desecration of G-d's Name.”

When Nephi says that his brothers desired him to be devoured by wild beasts it means that they were breaking their oaths – which we see is true from the previous chapters – and that they were desecrating G-d’s name. It is likely that when Nephi mentioned to them that the warning came from G-d that they cursed G-d’s name or blasphemed out of mockery.

To bind with cords: Why did Nephi bother specifying that they bound him with cords? What difference does it make that they used cords? Once again if we look at the Hebrew we have the answer. The word used for “cord” (חבל – chevel) in its verb form לחבל (lichevel) means “to plot”. So with this Nephi is saying that they plotted against him.

It is also possible that this is a wordgame with the name Abel which is written (הבל - Hevel). The similarity could be an indication that once again there was an attempt on the life of an innocent man.

17 But it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound.

18 And it came to pass that when I had said these words, behold, the bands were loosed from off my hands and feet, and I stood before my brethren, and I spake unto them again.

We should always take into consideration when in Scripture we see a change in the noun used for a certain description. Instead of using the word “cord” as before Nephi now uses the word “band” which in Hebrew would be (פס - fas).

What is he trying to tell us? The word “fas” has a gematria value of 140. What is interesting from that number is that it is also the gematria of the word “מעל” (maal) which means both “faithlessness” and “treachery”. So on a deeper level Nephi is telling us that his brothers’ treachery were a result of their faithlessness.

19 And it came to pass that they were angry with me again, and sought to lay hands upon me; but behold, one of the daughters of Ishmael, yea, and also her mother, and one of the sons of Ishmael, did plead with my brethren, insomuch that they did soften their hearts; and they did cease striving to take away my life.

20 And it came to pass that they were sorrowful, because of their wickedness, insomuch that they did bow down before me, and did plead with me that I would forgive them of the thing that they had done against me.

Why would all of the sudden his brothers understand their wickedness and ask for Nephi’s forgiveness. If they were unimpressed about being visited by an angel why would they be impressed by the fact that Nephi’s bands were loosened?

It is important to understand Jewish logic on this one. In Judaism it is believed that an act of sin is annulled by an act of righteousness that directly opposed it. For example: the red heifer annulled the sin of the golden calf.

Notice that when Nephi prays he mentions his faithfulness in his prayer to ask for deliverance. Already acting like a priest he he offered his faithfulness as a means of forgiveness to their faithlessness. So when they saw that his righteousness annulled their wickedness they realized that they were being sinful.

21 And it came to pass that I did frankly forgive them all that they had done, and I did exhort them that they would pray unto the Lord their God for forgiveness. And it came to pass that they did so. And after they had done praying unto the Lord we did again travel on our journey towards the tent of our father.

Once again we see a revelation in the details of the text. Nephi is emphatic that they should pray to the “L-rd their G-d”. The natural outcome after this would be that his brothers would acknowledge that G-d was “the G-d of Nephi” and would resort to him for prayer. However Nephi wanted to make clear that G-d expected to have with them the same kind of relationship that He had with Nephi.

22 And it came to pass that we did come down unto the tent of our father. And after I and my brethren and all the house of Ishmael had come down unto the tent of my father, they did give thanks unto the Lord their God; and they did offer sacrifice and burnt offerings unto him.

Down and up: It is important to understand that a “burnt offering” in Hebrew is עולה (olah). Now “olah” means literally “that which goes up” in reference to the fact that the scent of the offering would ascend unto G-d.

So notice how Nephi begins this verse by saying that they “came down” but eventually have them “going up” when they make a burnt offering. This clever ending indicates the path of their spiritual life. It began very low when they were rebellious but then it ended up much higher when they harkened unto Nephi’s words and asked for forgiveness.

Edited December 8, 2009 by thekabalist

[thekabalist]

Forgot to mention that the post above is chapter 7. How do you guys like it so far? I'm thinking of organizing this commentary into a book. What do you think? :)

[Giant_Son]

Forgot to mention that the post above is chapter 7. How do you guys like it so far? I'm thinking of organizing this commentary into a book. What do you think? :)

Chapter and verse would be great.

Example: 1st Nephi: Chapter 8

I love reading your insights here. Thanks for taking the time to share with us.

P.S.

I misunderstood. You mean like a book that is bound and sold? I don't know if there is anything like it that would be comprehensive for the entire book. Unless you are an academic faculty in Hebrew and Religious studies, you may want the backing of such. Good Luck.

Edited December 3, 2009 by Giant_Son

[Maya]

Forgot to mention that the post above is chapter 7. How do you guys like it so far? I'm thinking of organizing this commentary into a book. What do you think? :)

I was thinking of that too.. it would be very welcome! Then you can have the Finnish translation to it too! I am a bit slow in this as I already am commenting the BoM and I am at the end of 2 Nefi now... maybe I take a break in that and just translate this...

This is really interesting... keep on commenting please! :)

[Vanhin]

Forgot to mention that the post above is chapter 7. How do you guys like it so far? I'm thinking of organizing this commentary into a book. What do you think? :)

Yes, a book would be awesome. I look forward to your commentary, each time.

Regards,

Vanhin

[The_Seeker]

I'm thinking of organizing this commentary into a book. What do you think? :)

I was thinking of suggesting that. I would happily buy a book with commentary like this. :)

thekabalist, is this the same way that you "deconstruct" (for lack of a better term) the Torah when you do scripture study? It's a fascinating way of looking at the text. I never would have imagined that there might be so many layers of meaning in the BoM -- but I guess most of this would only occur to someone who was familiar with the Hebrew language and Jewish culture.

[Zechariah]

Forgot to mention that the post above is chapter 7. How do you guys like it so far?

Thoroughly enjoying the insight you're providing!

I'm thinking of organizing this commentary into a book. What do you think? :)

I agree that a book like this would be a great idea, and rich study resource.

:)

[pam]

And it came to pass: Why does Nephi repeat these words so much in the narrative? Some critics say that if Nephi was running short in space it wouldn’t make sense to use this expression so much. However in Hebrew this expression is rather short: ויהי (vayehi – and it was/happened).

And this expression is rather meaningful because it’s the same expression that G-d used to indicate that the world was created. For example to say “and there was light” the Bible says אור ויהי (vayehi or). Our sages therefore believe that such an expression indicate that G-d’s power was behind the cause of such events.

So whenever Nephi uses this expression, the reader should understand it as “this was happening because of G-d’s plan.”

I thought this very interesting. In reading those words I've never given them much thought at all. I just figured they were a figure of speech so to speak that I was reading. This perspective gives these words an entirely new and different meaning to me.

[pam]

This brilliant wordplay by Nephi could be a possible indication that what made them rebel was the fact that they didn’t want their seed to become priests. This is understandable because the priesthood were denied to have possessions among the people and lived only to serve G-d. They however wanted their families to pursue richness and the things of this world.

This got me to thinking about Laman and Lemuel in particular. They just weren't getting what was going on. If in fact they wanted to have their families to pursue the richness and things of the world..I wonder if they still thought they would be able to go back to claim some of the wealth their family had to leave behind.

Thekabalist, you might have answered this somewhere else and if you have I apologize. But when you mention the Priesthood and becoming Priests, did this office allow them to marry and have families? You mention that being named Priests they give their all to God.

[thekabalist]

I thought this very interesting. In reading those words I've never given them much thought at all. I just figured they were a figure of speech so to speak that I was reading. This perspective gives these words an entirely new and different meaning to me.

Your quoting this passage made me realize that my Word Processor is sometimes inverting the order of words. I have made a test here and it is acting funny. Sometimes it displays Hebrew in the right order but sometimes after I press ENTER it will go ahead and invert the order of the Hebrew words. This is a typical case. I wrote "Vayehi or" but somehow Word made it into "Or vayehi". Does anyone know how to fix this???

[pam]

It may just be that your word processing program is thinking the words are out of order. You can also edit it here on the thread.

[thekabalist]

Fixed it. At least I fixed the instances I noticed. LOL. Thanks Pam! :)

[thekabalist]

This got me to thinking about Laman and Lemuel in particular. They just weren't getting what was going on. If in fact they wanted to have their families to pursue the richness and things of the world..I wonder if they still thought they would be able to go back to claim some of the wealth their family had to leave behind.

Thekabalist, you might have answered this somewhere else and if you have I apologize. But when you mention the Priesthood and becoming Priests, did this office allow them to marry and have families? You mention that being named Priests they give their all to God.

A priest could be married but he would have no portion of land assigned to him. Even if he did acquire some land it would eventually return to one of the other tribes. At least so it was with the tribe of Levi. It could be that they wouldn't want the same to happen to them.

[thekabalist]

I was thinking of suggesting that. I would happily buy a book with commentary like this. :)

thekabalist, is this the same way that you "deconstruct" (for lack of a better term) the Torah when you do scripture study? It's a fascinating way of looking at the text. I never would have imagined that there might be so many layers of meaning in the BoM -- but I guess most of this would only occur to someone who was familiar with the Hebrew language and Jewish culture.

Yes this is precisely the Jewish way of looking into Scripture. It can even get much deeper than that. Judaism has always maintained that Scripture has a lot of layers of meaning and each of them are true and can add to the understanding of the text. :)

[Maya]

Mu computer acts funny when I glue the hebrew words from your text.. even the marking goes opposite direction and if I take both english and hebrew at the same time... I may loose the two first letters of Hebrew!

[Maya]

Comments:

Similar thing is in Abrahams book:

8 My name is Jehovah, and I know the end from the beginning; therefore my hand shall be over thee.

9 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee above measure, and make thy name great among all nations, and thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after thee, that in their hands they shall bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations;

10 And I will bless them through thy name; for as many as receive this Gospel shall be called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy seed, and shall rise up and bless thee, as their father;

11 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee (that is, in thy Priesthood) and in thy seed (that is, thy Priesthood), for I give unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee, and in thy seed after thee (that is to say, the literal seed, or the seed of the body) shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal.

That every male should get the priesthood sounds just alike we have. Every boy gets the priesthood at 12 years of age. Also as Laman and Lemuel did not want this priesthood so it is no wander that they later turned against Nefi and the rest and they separated.

“So whenever Nephi uses this expression, the reader should understand it as “this was happening because of G-d’s plan.”” Wow… so that is the real translation to these words that are the same… how brilliant is that. Kabalist you know we believe God has a plan….

So many translations miss HALF of it when we are not able to read it in Hebrew.. or rather as we are incapable to read it as a Hebrew would.

I know some other places too where the house is probably used similarly… If I just can find where… LDS faith is also more the Jewish kind, where we have to trust the Lord. Our faith is like when the daughter hears her fathers voice far down in a well and s the father says jump she jumps as she knows he is there to take her….

We believe there was also other Jewish people there where Lehis family went. We believe that there has been other groups besides Lehis family who got either Gods command or felt the spirit of leaving Israel.

How easy it would be to translate the cords to ropes… like in the Finnish translation, that has NO such meaning at all as plotting! Many words do have the same second meaning in Finnish but many don’t. “So on a deeper level Nephi is telling us that his brothers’ treachery were a result of their faithlessness”. I would have never known that without these comments!

This too sounds very LDS: “However Nephi wanted to make clear that G-d expected to have with them the same kind of relationship that He had with Nephi.” As we don’t believe in Monsons God but we all should have an equal relationship with Him.

[pam]

Why would all of the sudden his brothers understand their wickedness and ask for Nephi’s forgiveness. If they were unimpressed about being visited by an angel why would they be impressed by the fact that Nephi’s bands were loosened?

This is one thing that has always left me bewildered. Laman and Lemuel were visited by an angel yet they still murmured.

[Maya]

Excuse my ignorance but what is: The Orach Chayim??

[Blackmarch]

Forgot to mention that the post above is chapter 7. How do you guys like it so far? I'm thinking of organizing this commentary into a book. What do you think? :)

Yes!, especially if other scholars come to a similar conclusion and can testify that such insights are accurate.

I"d buy one.

[Maya]

Yes!, especially if other scholars come to a similar conclusion and can testify that such insights are accurate.

I"d buy one.

I think I might by it even though it had some "mistakes" in LDS scolars eyes. After all ti is a Jewish comment, not the Jewish either. I think it is really interesting... sorry but I stil have my doubts in solars weather LDS or not. For BoM I take only the spirits testimony, even if scolars can show ther eis no DNA or no cureloms or what ever, so to me everything else is a "possibility".... well sometimes I do take the scolars word for it too...

May the spirit be strong with us.

[Blackmarch]

I think I might by it even though it had some "mistakes" in LDS scolars eyes. After all ti is a Jewish comment, not the Jewish either. I think it is really interesting... sorry but I stil have my doubts in solars weather LDS or not. For BoM I take only the spirits testimony, even if scolars can show ther eis no DNA or no cureloms or what ever, so to me everything else is a "possibility".... well sometimes I do take the scolars word for it too...

May the spirit be strong with us.

I think i should clarify a bit.. I was thinking along the lines if there are any other jewish scholars out there who could find the same or similar things that TheKabalist is finding, who have had little or none interaction with the BoM and LDS scholarship that revolves around it.

I think that would help establish Thekabbalist's findings. It doesn't matter really that much whether they are dead accurate or not, but the fact that he is finding so much that fits with ancient hebrew as he knows it- and much more than I have previously guessed was in the Book of Mormon.

It would basically mean it would be form of witness for the Book of Mormon.

It's always good to keep in mind that the book of mormon is not about the physical evidences, but a means to gain a spiritual testimony of Christ, and the truth of his work.

[volgadon]

Excuse my ignorance but what is: The Orach Chayim??

Way of life.

[KerryShirts]

Thekabalist said:

1 And now I would that ye might know, that after my father, Lehi, had made an end of prophesying concerning his seed, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto him again, saying that it was not meet for him, Lehi, that he should take his family into the wilderness alone; but that his sons should take daughters to wife, that they might raise up seed unto the Lord in the land of promise.

Not many people realize that the Hebrew idiom “raise up seed” (הקם זרע– hakem zerah) means literally to give someone descendants. This can be seen from Gen. 38:8: “And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.” When G-d says to Nephi that he wants them to raise seed unto Him this means that G-d wanted Nephi to give descendants unto G-d Himself.

Kerry notes:

YES! This is also why John Tvedtnes has found the etymology of the Book of Mormon city Zarahemla so interesting. It definitely has the Hebraic ZERA in it! This in the FARMS Updates for the 1990's.

The name Zarahemla probably derives from the Hebrew zeraʿḥemlāh, which has been variously translated as “seed of compassion”1 or “child of grace, pity, or compassion.”2 It may be that the Mulekite leader was given that name because his ancestor had been rescued when the other sons of King Zedekiah were slain during the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem. To subsequent Nephite generations, it may even have suggested the deliverance of their own ancestors from Jerusalem prior to its destruction or the anticipation of Christ’s coming.

[mariam]

you learn well, grasshopper

[MORMANMAN1]

saitans not real god doesnt exist sorry