Lehi’s Three Sacrifices:

A Relationship to the Festivals of Passover, Weeks, and Tabernacles

S.Faux, Ph.D.

Original Draft: May 5, 2005
Current Version: April 12, 2008

Preface: This is probably is my most important blog essay in terms of providing an intellectual contribution. The main findings used by this essay were initially brought to light by Dr. Bruce L. Brown of Brigham Young University, and I am posting my expansion with his permission (although he is NOT responsible for any errors I introduced). This essay summarizes and develops Brown's discovery. I have seriously considered turning the paper into something more suitable for peer-reviewed publication. However, time and health have dictated otherwise. The primary lesson of this essay is that the Book of Mormon has a depth and richness that makes it worth serious scholarship. Dismissing the book as mere frontier literature does an injustice. The ideas in this essay need to be both accessible and assessable.

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A few years ago BYU professor of psychology, Dr. Bruce L. Brown, gave a devotional talk (“The Great Plan of Redemption,” August 4, 1998), describing how he had made close friends with a psychologist who also was a Jewish Rabbi. They discovered as they worked with each other that both had a love for the scriptures. Gifts were given. The Rabbi gave Dr. Brown a large Torah with a blue leather cover. Later, Bruce Brown gave the Rabbi a Book of Mormon about the same size with a similar blue leather cover.

Surprisingly, the Rabbi began to read the Book of Mormon. After reading several chapters in 1 Nephi, he said, “This is a book written by a Jew to a Jew.” He went on to explain to Bruce Brown the meaning of the sacrifices of Lehi described in the Book of Mormon, aspects that Bruce Brown had never noticed before.

The Rabbi noticed that Lehi had offered sacrifices near the Red Sea after the manner of the Mosaic law on three separate occasions (1 Nephi 2:7; 5:9; and 7:22). He explained to Bruce Brown that Jews did not arbitrarily offer sacrifices, but instead those sacrifices were given in conjunction with Jewish festivals. In a fascinating way, Lehi’s family was living out the themes of three festivals as they celebrated each sacrifice. Unfortunately, these proposed correlations have never been fully developed.

Latter-day Saints do recognize the importance of Judaic culture and its festivals. The LDS Bible Dictionary ("Sacrifices," pages 765-767) gives an extended discussion of the different types of sacrificial offerings given by the ancient Jews. There is a similar extensive discussion for “feasts” or festivals (p. 672-674). The Book of Mormon Reference Companion (D. Largely, Ed.) provides some nice articles in sections entitled: “Sacrifices” and “Altar of stones.” This short essay will argue that the three sacrifices of Lehi when placed in the context of Jewish festivals yields an enriched understanding of the ancient ties or correlations of the Book of Mormon.

Briefly, before going further, we must understand that the Mosaic Law demands the following:

Deuteronomy 16:16 [emphasis and brackets mine]
16 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the [1] feast of unleavened bread, and in the [2] feast of weeks, and in the [3] feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty.

Lehi’s First Sacrifice – 1 Nephi 2:7

The first sacrifice appeared to be given in conjunction with the Passover or the Feast of Unleavened Bread (celebrated in the spring; Hebrew = Pesach). A primary scriptural theme of the feast would be the following:

Exodus 12:26 – 27
26 And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?
27 That ye shall say, It [is] the sacrifice of the LORD'S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.

Unleavened bread was prepared and consumed (Deut. 16: 3) in order to commemorate the haste with which the Israelites under Moses escaped from Egypt by means of the parting of the Red Sea (Ex. 14: 15-31), and as they ran into the wilderness. The feast had a deep and abiding theme of freedom and deliverance from bondage in order to find the Promised Land.

The parallels with the flight of Israel are unmistakable. Lehi escaped the evils of Jerusalem, which was about to be destroyed. His family on their way to the Promised Land (somewhere in the Western hemisphere) had to travel into the wilderness. Like Moses, they camped by the Red Sea.

1 Nephi 2:5-7
5 And he came down by the borders near the shore of the Red Sea; and he traveled in the wilderness in the borders which are nearer the Red Sea; and he did travel in the wilderness with his family, which consisted of my mother, Sariah, and my elder brothers, who were Laman, Lemuel, and Sam.
6 And it came to pass that when he had traveled three days in the wilderness, he pitched his tent in a valley by the side of a river of water.
7 And it came to pass that he built an altar of stones, and made an offering unto the Lord, and gave thanks unto the Lord our God.

Lehi’s family appeared to be living out an exodus experience as they celebrated the Passover and gave sacrifice upon an altar of stones. The parallels are so close that critics of the Book of Mormon have argued that Lehi’s story was dependent upon Exodus (e.g., G. Palmer, 2002, Mormon Origins, p. 74-78). Unfortunately, such critics often have neglected to mention that spiritual stories often parallel each other. Many other examples of parallelism could be cited. The story of the fasting of Jesus (Matthew 4:8–11) closely parallels the story of the fasting of Elijah (1 Kings 19: 4-12). Jesus feeding the multitudes (Mark 8: 1-10) closely parallels how Elijah multiplies the widow’s oil and meal (1 Kings 17: 10-16). The story of Jesus raising the widow’s dead son (Luke 7: 11-17) closely parallels Elijah raising the widow’s dead son (1 Kings 17: 17-22).

If Lehi’s family was living out an exodus experience and celebrating the Passover, then the Book of Mormon provides many details but without ever using the word “Passover.” Some critics could argue that Joseph Smith did not understand the connection between an exodus and Passover. Instead, he merely conjured up memories of Moses. However, accusations of modern borrowing become strained when the first sacrifice is viewed within the context of the other two sacrifices.

If Lehi made only one sacrifice, then we could easily dismiss the Mosaic parallels described above as inconclusive. But, there are two more sacrifices with similar parallels to Jewish festivals. Ultimately, we must ask: How did Joseph Smith know all this information?

In sum, Lehi’s first sacrifice is consistent with the Passover themes of freedom and deliverance from bondage in order to find a Promised Land.

Second Sacrifice – 1 Nephi 5:9

On the Jewish calendar the Festival of Weeks or Pentecost (May / June; Hebrew = Shovuos) comes after Passover by seven weeks or 50 days. It is a celebration of scripture: the Torah (the five books of Moses) and the 10 Commandments given at Mount Sinai. Occasionally, the festival is called the “Giving of the Torah.” Because it occurs in early summer, it also celebrates the first of the harvest and thus it is sometimes called the Festival of First-Fruits. The holiday involves an intensive reading of scripture into late hours of the night.

In this festival the Book of Ruth is often read, and Jewish women play a more active role in the scriptural readings. Interestingly, in 1 Nephi, chapter 5 we read the extremely rare voice of a woman testifying of the Lord. The overall context is that the sons of Lehi have just returned from Jerusalem with the plates of brass, a compendium of scripture. Celebration is punctuated with burnt offerings:

1 Nephi 5:7-11 [emphasis and brackets mine]
7 And when we had returned to the tent of my father, behold their joy was full, and my mother was comforted.
8 And she spake, saying: Now I know of a surety that the Lord hath commanded my husband to flee into the wilderness; yea, and I also know of a surety that the Lord hath protected my sons, and delivered them out of the hands of Laban, and given them power whereby they could accomplish the thing which the Lord hath commanded them. And after this manner of language did she speak.
9 And it came to pass that they did rejoice exceedingly, and did offer sacrifice and burnt offerings unto the Lord; and they gave thanks unto the God of Israel.
10 And after they had given thanks unto the God of Israel, my father, Lehi, took the records which were engraven upon the plates of brass, and he did search them from the beginning.
11 And he beheld that they did contain the five books of Moses [the Torah], which gave an account of the creation of the world, and also of Adam and Eve, who were our first parents.

Please note that the second sacrifice was given in gratitude for the safe return of Lehi’s sons and for the receipt of the sacred plates of brass containing the books of Moses. The phrase “books of Moses” is used twice in the Book of Mormon. Besides verse 11 quoted above, the phrase is only found again in 1 Nephi 19:23. Thus, it is fascinating that one of Lehi’s sacrifices is juxtaposed against the reading of the five books of Moses, that is, the Torah. A coincidence seems unlikely.

In sum, Lehi’s second sacrifice is consistent with the Feast of the Weeks and its themes of joy in the scripture, receiving the Torah on Mt. Sinai, and Lehi’s sons’ delivery of the sacred brass plates containing holy writ.

Third Sacrifice – 1 Nephi 7:22

On the Jewish calendar the Festival of Tabernacles (Hebrew = Sukkos) follows the Festival of Weeks. It occurs in September or October. It is a celebration of the ingathering or harvest, and thus is sometimes called the Feast of the Ingathering. Another common name is Feast of Booths. Many details of this great holiday are described in another essay of mine called “Festivals of sacrifice.”

One of the basic themes of the Feast of Tabernacles is with respect to joy of harvest, which also symbolizes the harvest of souls. Notice that 1 Nephi, chapter 7 discusses extensively the harvest of Ishmael’s family from Jerusalem. Further, notice that after the sacrifice of thanksgiving was offered (v. 22), Lehi and his band went about harvesting seed.

1 Nephi 7:1-2, 4-5, 22
1 … it was not meet for him, Lehi, that he should take his family into the wilderness alone; but that his sons should take daughters to wife, that they might raise up seed unto the Lord in the land of promise.
2 And it came to pass that the Lord commanded him that I, Nephi, and my brethren, should again return unto the land of Jerusalem, and bring down Ishmael and his family into the wilderness. …
4 And it came to pass that we went up unto the house of Ishmael, and we did gain favor in the sight of Ishmael, insomuch that we did speak unto him the words of the Lord.
5 And it came to pass that the Lord did soften the heart of Ishmael, and also his household, insomuch that they took their journey with us down into the wilderness to the tent of our father. …
22 And it came to pass that we did come down unto the tent of our father. And after I and my brethren and all the house of Ishmael had come down unto the tent of my father, they did give thanks unto the Lord their God; and they did offer sacrifice and burnt offerings unto him.

Verse 22 ends chapter 7 and the following verse directly follows. In the original 1830 Book of Mormon there was no chapter separation between these verses. In the context of this essay, I wonder whether these verses have been inappropriately separated into different chapters.

1 Nephi 8:1
1 AND it came to pass that we had gathered together all manner of seeds of every kind, both of grain of every kind, and also of the seeds of fruit of every kind.

Again, verse 8:1 seems to belong with the others above because it involves harvesting that is consistent with a Feast of Ingathering and the associated sacrifice.

In sum, Lehi’s third sacrifice is consistent with the Feast of Ingathering and its themes of joy in the harvest of souls and the harvest of seed.

Issues and Conclusions

Notice the three sacrifices of Lehi were correctly ordered in timing and sequence – Passover, Weeks, and Tabernacles (Deut. 16:16). Some critics have complained that the Book of Mormon never refers to Jewish festivals. It is true that the Book of Mormon does not name the festivals. However, this essay makes the claim that one cannot fully appreciate the Book of Mormon without being literate in the ritual life of Judaism.

The findings presented here reveal a sophisticated depth to the Book of Mormon that is not easily explained by the authorship of an uneducated boy from the American frontier of the 1820s – that is, Joseph Smith. Joseph may have had access to information about Jewish culture and festivals, but if he did, then why are the festivals not named explicitly in the Book of Mormon? Even so, authorship is not the problem being addressed in this essay. More important is the level of sophistication in the Book of Mormon that is too often dismissed by academic analysts. In terms of actual religious practice, it is the integral sophistication of the book that ultimately explains its popularity with millions of followers.

The main thesis here proposed is not without problems that require some solution. This essay cannot provide fully developed answers, but it can provide a start.

First, burnt sacrifices were performed by priests of the tribe of Levi, having the Levitical priesthood. The lineage of Lehi was the tribe of Manasseh (see Alma 10:3). Even so, most Mormon scholars assume that Lehi held a higher priesthood, the Melchizedek (e.g., see: D. R. Seely, “Lehi’s altar and sacrifice in the wilderness,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, 2001, 10(1), p. 62-69).

A further problem is that Deuteronomy 12: 13-14 appears to forbid burnt sacrifices outside of the Jerusalem temple. However, the Jewish people of the time might have understood that there could be exceptional circumstances. For example, Samuel offered sacrifices in Gilgal:

1 Samuel 10:8
8 And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do.

Samuel at Gilgal offered sacrifices apparently in the absence of the tabernacle (see also, 1st Samuel 13:7-9). Biblically, such sacrifices were an exception to the rule. Lehi and his family certainly had exceptional circumstances.

If one does not accept the divine origin of the Book of Mormon, then the above issues are non-problems. It does not matter whether Lehi held a priesthood or whether Lehi broke the rules about the place of sacrifice. Regardless of one’s position on the dimension of religious legitimacy, the Book of Mormon is worthy of a deeper analysis than often provided by religious critics. The three sacrifices of Lehi are examples.

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NOTE: I am pleased to announce that "Mormon Insights" received "BIV's Blog of the Month Reward."

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Copyright 2008 S.Faux (Email: foxgoku54 [at] gmail [d0t] c0m; URL: http://mormoninsights.blogspot.com). Readers may distribute this post for noncommercial purposes provided such distributing is of the entire post, including author's copyright and contact information. All other rights reserved.




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