21 Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, having been afflicted with my brethren because of the loss of my bow, and their bows having lost their springs, it began to be exceedingly difficult, yea, insomuch that we could obtain no food.
This is the verse that got me thinking about this account as
more than a story about hunting. The cross-reference at the bottom of the page
to the word “springs” takes us to Genesis 49:24. Just before Jacob died he gave
a blessing to each of his sons, and this is part of the blessing he gave to
Joseph, the ancestor of Lehi. This blessing refers to a bow metaphorically,
which got me thinking that Nephi might be using this experience to teach about
something higher than mere bow hunting to feed the body. Nephi feeds his family
spiritually, which they sometimes resent, but they sure don’t resent it when he
feeds his family physically.
Genesis 49:24
