1 Nephi 16: 37

37 And Laman said unto Lemuel and also unto the sons of Ishmael: Behold, let us slay our father, and also our brother Nephi, who has taken it upon him to be our ruler and our teacher, who are his elder brethren.

This could be the first premeditated conspiracy recorded in the Book of Mormon. Laman especially must have been extremely angry. Up until now, Nephi and Lehi could pretty much keep the rebellion in check, often with an appeal to the experiences of their ancestors, such as Moses leading the children of Israel out of bondage to Egypt. This time, Laman seems pretty determined, even conspiring to break the Mosaic Law outright, and murder his father and brother. Several times Nephi has compared his brethren to the Jews in Jerusalem. Those Jews at least gave lip service to the Law of Moses, except when it came to prophets.

This verse coming at this point in the narrative almost makes it sound like Laman is offering his father to the children of Ishmael to compensate for the loss of their father, Ishmael, in some sort of apology for dragging them along on this foolish wild goose chase. “You lost your father because of my father, so let’s lose our father to compensate. Oh, and we’ll throw in our pesky brother as an added bonus.”

As justification for killing Nephi, Laman states that he (Nephi) has always tried to usurp his (Laman’s) rightful place, as the eldest son, to be the ruler and teacher, next in line from Lehi. That’s the rightful position in customary inheritance practice at the time. The same complaint was made against Joseph, one of the sons of Jacob. Even Jacob seems to be surprised at some of the dreams that Joseph had (Genesis 37:9–10). The proud or putout always resent when those who offend or put them out then claim some sort of leadership over them. The children of Israel made the same complaint to Moses (Numbers 16:12–14). Never mind that the Lord makes these appointments, not the servants of the Lord, who simply, and often reluctantly, accept the assignment. In this particular case, and angel had told Laman that Nephi was chosen to be a ruler and teacher over him and his brethren because of their iniquities (see 1 Nephi 3:29). So Laman should have known better, but pride seems to be his big downfall. He just can’t get past the fact that he is not the one chosen to lead, although, if not for his iniquities, he very well might have been that leader.

• Genesis 37:10 (9–11)
• Numbers 16:13
• 1 Nephi 2:22
• 1 Nephi 3:29
• 1 Nephi 7:16
• 1 Nephi 17:44
• 2 Nephi 1:24

1 Nephi 16:36

36 And thus they did murmur against my father, and also against me; and they were desirous to return again to Jerusalem.

It seems like it’s human nature to prefer the known to the unknown, at least when times get tough. Here is an example of that. As already noted, Ishmael’s children were justifiably sad when he died. And in their mourning, they started focusing on the hardship instead of the Promised Land. I’m sure that’s why they wanted to go back to Jerusalem. Another thing we as humans tend to do is romanticize the past. The children of Israel, wandering in the desert, came to a point where they would rather return to Egypt, to slavery, than face any more hardship (Exodus 16:2–3; Numbers 14:4 (1–5)). 

I, myself, have fallen victim to that thought process. I felt that going back to school to finish my Master’s Degree was an answer to prayer. My Patriarchal Blessing mentions a gift of teaching, and Sheri and I both had a strong answer to prayer that I should go back to school. So we left on a shoestring and a lot of faith on our journey to the “Promised Land” of a career change. It’s been very difficult. My marriage was tested during graduate school like never before. We obviously survived. My student loans have been an enormous burden, and the salary of a teacher, at least the jobs that I have had, has not been nearly enough to justify the debt load. There were many times over the past nine years (as of the time of this entry, May 2008) when I have wanted to turn back, to get out of education, to go back to working in a print shop. I forgot how hard that was at times, and how unfulfilling. Now that I am in my “Promised Land,” I see that it was all worth it, changing careers. I still have the debt load, but with my current job I see a way to reduce that debt, or even eliminate it altogether. So I can empathize with going back to Jerusalem. 

The problem is that as much as I wished at times I had never gone to school and started the journey, the fact is that I couldn’t go back. And neither could Lehi’s group. They had people in Jerusalem who wanted to kill them, not to mention the imminent destruction of Jerusalem. They didn’t know what a good deal they had, and wouldn’t really know until they actually reached their Promised Land.

1 Nephi 16:35

35 And it came to pass that the daughters of Ishmael did mourn exceedingly, because of the loss of their father, and because of their afflictions in the wilderness; and they did murmur against my father, because he had brought them out of the land of Jerusalem, saying: Our father is dead; yea, and we have wandered much in the wilderness, and we have suffered much affliction, hunger, thirst, and fatigue; and after all these sufferings we must perish in the wilderness with hunger.

I can understand mourning for the death of a parent, but the rest of this verse indicates to me that these daughters of Ishmael may have been on this journey for the wrong reason. I assume everyone in the company understood at the outset that this would be a difficult journey. I doubt any of them realized how difficult until they got into it. Those who have come in obedience to the Lord pretty much seem to roll with the punches. Those who came in obedience to a person, such as a father, are complainers. We see it with Laman and Lemuel, now we see it with the daughters of Ishmael. In my experience those who do things for a higher cause, or a reason bigger than themselves or their own self-interest are less bothered by difficulty and hardship. Or rather, they are too focused on the cause to be distracted by obstacles. Obstacles are what we see when we take our eyes off the goal. At this point in the journey, though, it would be just as difficult for them to go back to Jerusalem like they want to, as it would to push forward. They are committed. It’s like walking on a tightrope, and halfway across losing your nerve, so you turn around and go back. Going back is just as difficult as going forward. The difference with Lehi’s company is the unknown. If you don’t have faith in the trip leading to the Promised Land, Jerusalem looks pretty good, even if it is just as difficult getting back as going forward. There is also the added factor of whether they would receive the Lord’s help to go back rather than forward. My guess is that He would hinder more than help that. For example, I doubt the Liahona would have cooperated with a return trip.

1 Nephi 16:33–34

33 And it came to pass that we did again take our journey, traveling nearly the same course as in the beginning; and after we had traveled for the space of many days we did pitch our tents again, that we might tarry for the space of a time.
34 And it came to pass that Ishmael died, and was buried in the place which was called Nahom.

I wonder how long Ishmael had been in poor health (as I assume was his cause of death) before he died. The record doesn’t say how old he was; it doesn’t say what the cause of death was. We’re simply told that he died and was buried in a place called Nahum. We don’t know how long he was with the party before he died either, so there probably is no way of getting to this answer from the records we have. In fact, the records are pretty light on any information about Ishmael at all. Back in chapter seven, when the sons of Lehi went back for Ishmael and his family, we read that the Lord softened his heart so he came with them (vs. 5). But later on in that chapter, when they tied up Nephi, we don’t really know which side he took, because he isn’t mentioned on either side. I take that back. In verse 6 we see that he was one of the ones being rebelled against. So we can probably be safe in saying that he stood with Nephi. The curious thing to note is that he is not mentioned as one of the ones pleading for Nephi in verse 19. One possibility for that is that he could have been injured during verse 6. We don’t know, but it’s interesting that he is not accounted for in the conflict, although his wife is. Could it be that what happened in chapter 7 led to a weakened condition resulting in his early exit from the story? I suppose we’ll never know. It just seems odd to me that in a culture much more likely to record the doings of its men, that he would be so conspicuously absent from the record in an incident where he should be taking a leading role as patriarch of his own household. Unfortunately, Ishmael is a more interesting character by what the record does not say about him, than what it does say.

1 Nephi 16: 32

32 And it came to pass that I did return to our tents, bearing the beasts which I had slain; and now when they beheld that I had obtained food, how great was their joy! And it came to pass that they did humble themselves before the Lord, and did give thanks unto him.

It is interesting to me how even after all that had happened in connection with this episode: Nephi’s preaching, the family’s repentance, the Liahona writing, after all that, there is no  mention that Nephi received any help with the hunting. In fact, he came back bearing beasts, and they beheld that he had obtained food. I think that if I had been chastened by the Lord (vs. 25), if I had seen the writing on the Liahona and felt that fear that they did (vs. 27), if I had felt the depth of sorrow and repentance that they did (vs. 25), I would have offered to help with the hunt. But there is no mention of help, just how happy everyone was when he came home with the food. He must have had at least one pack animal with him, such as a camel, because I don’t think that Nephi alone could have carried enough meat to feed the size of company I think they had. This is kind of like when they went to get the brass plates. There’s no indication then that he got any offers for help there either, even after the angel came. Nephi just went and did what needed to be done. I wonder if Nephi refused offers of help, or if there were just no offers. It’s possible also that he could have taken some servants or people outside his blood family who may have also come with them.It just seems curious to me. 

1 Nephi 16: 31

31 And it came to pass that I did slay wild beasts, insomuch that I did obtain food for our families.

In the physical sense, Nephi provided nourishment for everyone’s physical bodies. In my spiritual analogy Nephi goes to the temple and obtains spiritual nourishment that he can share with his family. It’s a lesson to me of my obligation to go to the temple. As spiritual head of my family, the temple is where I go to obtain the depth of spiritual understanding that I can in turn share as spiritual nourishment with my family.

1 Nephi 16: 30

30 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did go forth up into the top of the mountain, according to the directions which were given upon the ball.

If this whole broken bow story has spiritual significance as a type, as I have suggested starting in verse 18, then this verse must also fill that requirement. If so, it could have reference to the temple. In the Topical Guide the terms “mountain” and “mount” have quite a few references, but when you narrow the search to include the word “top” there are very few references combining “top” with “mount” or “mountain,” including this verse, and one of those is a quote of one of the other verses. In nearly every other case there is direct reference to the temple, as in Isaiah 2:2 (2 Nephi 12:2), or at least there is sacred communion with God. So this term that Nephi uses, “[going] forth up into the top of the mountain,” is relatively a rare expression in scripture that seems to have specific, spiritual context and significance each time. I’m suggesting that in the context of this story as a type or an analogy, it carries the same meaning. Otherwise Nephi could have just said “into the mountains,” instead of specifically engraving the top of the mountain.

• Isaiah 2:2