2 And so great were the blessings of the Lord upon us, that while we did live upon raw meat in the wilderness, our women did give plenty of suck for their children, and were strong, yea, even like unto the men; and they began to bear their journeyings without murmurings.
First of all, it should be noted that the Lord has always
strictly forbidden eating blood (see T.G., Blood, Eating of). So I am sure that
Lehi’s company, while eating raw meat, would have drained the blood first, as
required by the Mosaic Law. Even still, eating raw meat was not the norm for
that culture, which is partially why Nephi is careful to mention the fact. I
don’t think they would have done it if it were not a commandment from the Lord.
It went against everything they understood about nutrition, not to mention
their traditions, and especially concerning nursing mothers.
As to the reason they were not cooking their meat, over in
verse 12 of this chapter, Nephi tells us that the Lord did not want them to
have much fire in this journey. At least part of the reason for that could have
been for safety. I’m sure there were roving outlaw bands even at that time, and
it probably just made sense to not draw attention to themselves. Another reason
could have to do with scarcity of fuel in the parts of the wilderness the Lord
took them. Or it may have simply been an expression of faith. Whatever the
reason, it didn’t seem to hurt their health at all. In fact, the women, even
while producing plenty of milk for their children, became strong like the men.
Remember that Lehi and Ishmael were probably wealthy, with servants to do much
of the regular chores. The women in that situation may not have had to do too
much. This may be the first time that strenuous physical exertion had been
required of them.
- 1 Nephi 17:12
- 1 Nephi 17:20 (for contrast)
