I\’ve been studying 1 Nephi 17-18 over the past several weeks. I noticed several curious similarities between the account of finding Bountiful and building the ship and the story of Abraham\’s test in Genesis 22 (OT quotations below are from the NIV) and the creation account from Genesis 1.
“Provide means”
We can compare this with Abraham\’s reply to Isaac\’s question about the lamb for the sacrifice:
Later, Abraham “called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.” (See Genesis 22:14.)
The Hebrew root here is “raah” which has many definitions, including to provide, to show, to behold, to see, to appear, to look, etc. It is worth noting that this same root shows up many times in the creation account, for example when it says “And God saw the light, that it was good” in verse 4 or “let the dry land appear” in Genesis 1:9.
“Get thee into the mountain”
Of course, Nephi also travels to a mountain in 1 Nephi 17:7 —
On the mount, Nephi is “provided” direction where to find ore and shown how to build the ship (see also 1 Nephi 18:1-3). This connects nicely with the Hebrew root “raah” above.
“Seashore” and “Bountiful/Much fruit”
Notice the repetition in naming and describing Bountiful tucked away in Nephi’s account:
The setting here is the border between land and sea, which bring the creation account to the mind. We also have some elements which ring familiar in the context of what God promised Abraham after providing the ram in the thicket, from verse 17:
I’ll admit this one feels like a stretch to me, but it stood out so I decided to include it here.
“My brethren beheld that it was good”
God saw the light, that it was good
my brethren beheld that it was good
Summary
Nephi was a literary genius. The Book of Mormon was very carefully written by someone with intimate familiarity with the Hebrew Bible.
Understanding these points helps us have “eyes to see” as we study and also helps us understand why Nephi’s perspective during his afflictions was so stalwart and so faithful. He understood Abraham’s story in the context of the plan of salvation. He understood his own adversity in the context of the great plan of salvation. He knew that his suffering was helping to fulfill promises given to Abraham by God, and that the purpose of the creation was to bring about the miracle of eternal life among God’s children through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
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