According to John Tvedtnes, critics of the Book of Mormon point to Nephi’s slaying of Laban in 1 Nephi 4 as evidence that the Book of Mormon is false. They contend that God would never have approved such an act. God’s commandment to expel and destroy the wicked inhabitants of the land of Canaan (Deuteronomy 7:1-2) puts the lie to this kind of reasoning. More important are the legal issues behind Nephi’s actions, discussed at length by John W. Welch (“Legal Perspectives on the Slaying of Laban,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 1/1 (Fall 1992), 119-141). Among the evidences for justifying Nephi’s actions, Welch refers to the precedent of Moses’ slaying of the Egyptian in Exodus 2.
An ancient rabbinic source sheds further light on Moses’ actions. According to Abot de Rabbi Nathan 20, Moses summoned a court of ministering angels and asked them if he should kill the Egyptian, to which the angels responded “Kill him.” The same story is told in Midrash Rabbah Exodus 1:29, which adds that, before calling on the angels for counsel, Moses perceived that no righteous persons would descend from the Egyptian man.
A similar tale is told of David in the Tosefta Targum on 1 Samuel 17:43, where we read that, before killing Goliath, David looked up to heaven and saw the angels deliberating the fate of the giant. The Lord then expresses his will to David by telling him which stone to put in the sling. It should be noted that the story of David has other parallels with that of Nephi:
(1) Goliath and Laban were dressed in armor (1 Samuel 17:4-6; 1 Nephi 4:1);
(2) David and Nephi cut off their adversaries heads with the man’s own sword (1 Samuel 17:51; 1 Nephi 4:18);
(3) Both David and Nephi took the dead man’s armor (1 Samuel 17:54; 1 Nephi 4:1); and
(4) David and Nephi each took the dead man’s sword, which became a national treasure (1 Samuel 21:9; 22:10; 1 Nephi 4:21; 2 Nephi 4:14; Jacob 1:10; Words of Mormon 1:13; Mosiah 1:17; D&C 17:1).
[John A. Tvedtnes, “The Slaying of Laban,” in The Most Correct Book, pp. 110-111]
1 Nephi 4:10 I was constrained by the spirit that I should kill Laban ([Illustration] “I was constrained by the spirit that I should kill Laban: but I said in my heart: Never at any time have I shed the blood of man. And I shrunk and would that I might not slay him.” [W. Cleon Skousen, Treasures from the Book of Mormon, Vol. 1, p. 1047]
1 Nephi 4:10 I was constrained by the Spirit that I should kill Laban ([Illustration] Nephi Slaying Laban. Nephi was “constrained by the Spirit” to kill Laban. Artist: Scott Snow. [Thomas R. Valletta ed., The Book of Mormon for Latter-day Saint Families, 1999, p. 12]