Lehi's exodus Nephi has been brought up as a
Moses figure in the past, says BYU professor and past director of
FARMS Noel B. Reynolds, but Lehi may have set that example as well. In an analysis of Lehi's final words to his family, Reynolds suggests fourteen different connections to Moses. There were often issues with people in Lehi's group failing to acknowledge him as a prophet. As his children knew and understood Moses as a prophet and leader of
the exodus from Egypt, Lehi may have used comparisons to Moses to help them understand the significance of the Lord's guidance of their family and the commandments he asked them to follow. Lehi's exodus from Jerusalem has been compared to that of Moses, and additionally sets a precedent for the exodus of later groups in the Book of Mormon. Lehi was called just as Moses was when he prayed to the Lord for his people. Both Lehi and Moses left with their people and led them into the desert through times of difficulty and rebellion. In different occasions, both groups tried to kill their leader. They received commandments, were directed by God, and were led to a promised land. Scholars
S. Kent Brown, Terrence l. Szink, and Bruce J. Boehm add that as 1 Nephi was written a number of years after it happened, Nephi may have noticed similarities between the Israelite exodus and Lehi's leadership of their own journey and reflected that realization as he wrote his history.
Religious sacrifices Multiple offerings are mentioned in Lehi's appearance in the Book of Mormon and S. Kent Brown suggests these were sacrifices of thanksgiving as well as burnt offerings for sin. Both times Lehi's sons returned from Jerusalem, joy and thanks are described, which lines up with descriptions the sacrifices of thanksgiving described in
Psalm 107, says Brown. Sacrifices of thanksgiving are alternately translated as peace offerings, which were connected with the idea of well-being and therefore with safe travels. Such offerings were common and often involved a meal, the sacrifice itself being an animal and unleavened bread. Brown suggests Lehi and his family may have traded with local tribes for animals to sacrifice. Additionally, just as priests in Jerusalem offered daily burnt sacrifices in the likelihood that someone somewhere had sinned that day, Lehi's burnt sacrifices would have been to cover the sins of his family.
Land inheritance Salleh and Hemming also touch on Lehi's mindset of inheriting the Americas as the Promised Land. They point out that there are already people living on the continent when Lehi and his family arrive, and how Lehi talks about having possession of the land as a right. This may be notable in the context that Lehi has been traveling for years without land of his own.
Bondage in the wilderness BYU professor of ancient scripture S. Kent Brown explains that in Lehi's time, a large caravan could travel from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean in a span of weeks rather than years. The full journey is said to have taken about eight years, and Brown suggests the activities and traveling from Jerusalem to the first camp and on to
Nahom lasted less than a year. This time gap presents, according the Brown, a missing part of the narration. Based on the resources they brought with them and the fact that they ran out of food multiple times on the way, Lehi and his family may have turned to a tribe in the area for help in exchange for work. It is noted that in the Bible, "to sojourn" is linked to servitude or living under the protection of another.
Lehi's record and the 116 pages Nephi begins his record claiming he's making an abridgement of his father's writings.
Latter-day Saint founder and prophet
Joseph Smith claimed that the first
116 translated pages of the Book of Mormon which were lost included the Book of Lehi.
"The cold and silent grave" Latter-day Saint apologist Hugh Nibley writes of the oft-compared phrasing from 2 Nephi 1:14 with a quote from
Hamlet. Alexander Campbell of the
Millennial Harbinger proposes that the words were copied from Shakespeare. Nibley alternatively suggests that although the wording is similar, there are other examples of similar usage around Lehi's time period. ==Modern commemorations==