Question: How did the prophet Jeremiah’s words get in records kept by a wicked Laban? [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes]
“By the Mouth of Jeremiah”
John A. Tvedtnes informs us that Hebrew often uses compound prepositions, made up of a preposition plus a noun, in places where English would normally use just a preposition. For example, Hebrew uses compound prepositions that would be translated literally as “by the hand of” and “by the mouth of [Jeremiah]” (1 Nephi 5:13). English would normally use just “by [Jeremiah].” [John A. Tvedtnes, “The Hebrew Background of the Book of Mormon” in Rediscovering the Book of Mormon, F.A.R.M.S., p. 81]
“The Prophecies of the Holy Prophets from the Beginning Down to Jeremiah”
According to Walter Kaiser, Jr., by the sixth century B.C., in the book of the prophet Daniel, there were clear references already to “the books” of the prophets (Daniel 9:2). In fact, what Daniel had reference to was the prophecy of Jeremiah about Judah remaining in captivity for seventy years. Since Daniel was writing during Judah’s captivity, that means he was writing scarcely more than seventy years since Jeremiah wrote his prophecy, and already regarded it as “Scriptures.” A similar situation can be observed in the way Jeremiah treated a prophecy of the prophet Micah, who preceded him by some 125 years. Jeremiah warned: “Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah … ”This is what the Lord Almighty says: Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets’" (Jeremiah 26:18). Here is a strong argument for the progressive recognition of the Scriptures as they emerged from the hands of their writers rather than the more popular assertion that it was a church council or the like that declared what properly constituted Scripture and what did not.
One of the criteria found within the text of Scripture is that there was a passing of the mantle, as it were, from one writer to another. Indeed, a veritable chain of verses in Chronicles could well set the scene for this thesis. For example, 1 chronicles 29:29 declared that the history of David was written in the books of the prophets Samuel, Nathan and Gad. This is followed by a notice in 2 Chronicles 9:29 that the history of Solomon was written by the prophets Nathan, Ahijah and Iddo. Similarly, the work of Rehoboam (2 Chronicles 12:15) was composed by the prophets Shemaiah and Iddo. Then Abijah’s history was composed by the prophet Iddo (2 Chronicles 13:22); Jehoshaphat’s by the prophet Jehu (2 Chronicles 20:34); Hezekiah’s by Isaiah the prophet (2 Chronicles 32:32); and Manasseh’s by “seers” (another name for prophets) who went unnamed (2 Chronicles 33:18-19). This chain of prophets existed from before the days of David up to the end of the Judean kingdom. Accordingly, the case for a succession of prophets is a real phenomenon of the biblical text. In effect, the prophets passed the baton from one to the other, thereby setting up a stream of thought and an indication of where to look for that which was to be regarded as canonical. [Water C. Kaiser Jr., The Old Testament Documents: Are They Reliable & Relevant?, pp. 26, 32-33]
“Many Prophecies Which Have Been Spoken by the Mouth of Jeremiah”
Nephi declares that the plates of brass contained “many prophecies which have been spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah” (1 Nephi 5:13) and that they were “a record of the Jews from the beginning, even down to the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah” (1 Nephi 5:12). One might wonder, How did the prophet Jeremiah’s words get in records kept by a wicked Laban who sided with the king? Jeremiah’ words had been considered subversive to the state and the scroll upon which they were written was cut up into little pieces by king Jehoiakim. Why would Laban even consider engraving those words on metal plates? According to Potter and Wellington, Zoram might have been the one responsible. Zoram appears to have been in charge of the plates so presumably he could determine what was placed on, or removed from, them. When Nephi eventually revealed his true identity to Zoram something interesting happened. Zoram was afraid for his life and had to be restrained by Nephi. Nephi first promised that he would spare Zoram’s life if he would listen to what Nephi had to say (1 Nephi 4:32). He then made an oath that Zoram would be a free man if he accompanied them into the wilderness (1 Nephi 4:33). Zoram remained apparently unconvinced at this stage because Nephi had to speak to him still further. Nephi next told Zoram that it was the Lord who had commanded him to “do this thing” (1 Nephi 4:34). Only at this stage does Nephi tell us that Zoram was satisfied.
Zoram obviously held a high position in his master’s household and presumably had some power and authority therein. He had a great deal to lose by joining with Nephi and yet as soon as he heard that the Lord had commanded them to do this thing he immediately joined them and even made an oath to remain with them from that time forth. Zoram left all his possessions behind, perhaps even family, to be with the Lord’s anointed. This sounds very much as though Zoram, although associated with those in authority, in fact sided with the prophets and saw this was an opportune time to depart. This assumption is further born out when we look at Zoram’s actions following this time. We never read of Zoram murmuring against Lehi or Nephi. Nephi is the only other one who is not reported to murmur on the entire journey. When the family reached the promised land, Nephi eventually left with the righteous members of the family. Zoram and his family went with him (2 Nephi 5:6).
Could one possibly conclude that Zoram had placed the records of the prophet Jeremiah on the brass plates, unbeknownst to Laban? That instead of following his master he had followed the Lord, that his interest in the plots of the elders of the Jews was as much in the interest of self-preservation as current affairs? He must have known that his position was precarious. If Laban ever read the plates he would immediately become aware of Zoram’s politics. Who can know how Zoram felt when he thought that Laban (Nephi in disguise) wanted to see the plates? How must his heart have pounded as his mind raced to think of excuses? At first he was confused when he found that Laban was in fact Nephi, but quickly regained his composure and came to the conclusion that now was the time to make the transition from siding with Laban to siding with the Lord’s servants.
The obtaining of the brass plates is the central portion of the chiasm of the first nine chapter. Nephi is bringing this part to our attention in order to prove his purpose to show us “that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance” (1 Nephi 1:20). Nephi tells us that he is abridging the record of his father (1 Nephi 1:17) and yet this part of the story is composed entirely of intimate details of what went on in Jerusalem that would only have been available to Nephi. This part is obviously an insertion by Nephi to create that chiasm and to place it at the center of the narrative. As such, it is interesting to note what Nephi is teaching us here. Not only is Nephi successful, an obvious conclusion to anyone reading the story, but also the Lord’s tender mercies are extended to Zoram, who has been faithful, even unto the power of his deliverance from the predicament he finds himself in. [George Potter & Richard Wellington, Discovering The Lehi-Nephi Trail, Unpublished Manuscript (July 2000), pp. 265-266] [See the commentary on 1 Nephi 4:20; 4:35]
“Many Prophecies Which Have Been Spoken by the Mouth of Jeremiah”
According to David and JoAnn Seely, the Book of Mormon records that the brass plates contained “the prophecies of the holy prophets, from the beginning, even down to the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah; and also many prophecies which have been spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah” (1 Nephi 5:13).
Although we do not know the process by which the keeper of the brass plates acquired and wrote the prophecies on the plates, the book of Jeremiah is the only book in the entire Bible that tells us how it originated.
In 605 B.C. the Lord commanded Jeremiah to recite to his scribe Baruch all of the word of the Lord from the time of Josiah down to that moment (see Jeremiah 36:1-4). Jeremiah then commanded Baruch to take this scroll and read it to the people in the precincts of the temple (see Jeremiah 36:8). This Baruch did, but, when King Jehoiakim heard about it, he ordered Baruch to deliver the scroll to the king. Jehoiakim had a servant read the scroll to him and as he heard the words of the Lord read to him he took his knife and cut the scroll in pieces and burned it (see Jeremiah 36:20-26). The Lord then commanded Jeremiah to take a fresh scroll and give it to Baruch and to dictate again the prophecies. Baruch wrote down all of the prophecies that had been lost, together with many similar words (see Jeremiah 36:32).
From this account we learn many significant things about the book of Jeremiah, and several possibilities emerge as to how Jeremiah’s writings were preserved on the brass plates. First, it seems clear that Jeremiah maintained the prophecies in his memory for a long time. Jehoiakim’s destruction of the scroll of Jeremiah may have provided the impetus for the keeper of the record on the brass plates to acquire a copy of the prophecies of Jeremiah. The keeper of the brass plates could have had Jeremiah dictate the prophecies directly to him to be recorded on the plates; possibly Baruch loaned him the scroll; or perhaps the keeper of the brass plates copied the record from the second scroll as a backup in case the scroll was again destroyed. It is interesting that the Book of Mormon does not specify that the prophecies of Jeremiah up to the time of Zedekiah were preserved. Perhaps this is an indication that the sayings of Jeremiah were copied onto the brass plates in conjunction with the attempt to destroy the prophecies of Jeremiah during the reign of King Jehoiakim (see Jeremiah 36). [David Rolph and JoAnn H. Seely, “Lehi & Jeremiah: Prophets, Priests & Patriarchs,” in Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, FARMS, Vol 8, Num 2, 1999, pp. 29-30]
Note* The book of Jeremiah records that it was Baruch, son of Neriah, who transcribed the prophet Jeremiah’s words (Jeremiah 32:12; 36; 43:1-7; and 45). According to Walter Kaiser, through a most amazing combination of circumstances, it would appear that we now have two extraordinary reminders of reliability of the witness to Baruch’s presence in the time of Jeremiah (thus giving added credence to Jeremiah’s words).
A bulla is a lump of clay impressed with a scribe’s seal. Bullae were used to seal documents written on papyrus or parchment. After the document was rolled and secured with a string, a glob of clay was applied to the knot and then a seal was affixed to show ownership or the name of the sender. One particular bulla that has been found bears the same name as the scribe in the book of Jeremiah. In three lines of ancient Hebrew text, written in the formal cursive style of the seventh century B.C., the seal reads, “belonging to Berekhyahu, the scribe.” Berekhyahu is almost certainly the complete name of the shortened form Baruch, which means “Blessed of Yahweh.” Baruch’s father, likewise, in its full form is also Neriyahu, called Neriah in the Bible. The suffix -yahu is a shortened form of Yahweh and appears on many Israelite names in this period of history. The bulla has been designated “the seal of Baruch.”
Now a second bulla has shown up in a privately printed book entitled Forty New Ancient West Semitic Inscriptions. Even though no authors are listed in the book, it is said that one is Robert Deutsch, a self-described archaeologist, and the other is Michael Heltzer, a professor of the Hebrew Bible at the University of Haifa. The same seal that impressed the bulla just described as belonging to Baruch was used on this one, for the three registers of writing are identical. The whole seal is also surrounded by a double framing line. On the back of this bulla are impressions of the papyrus fibers from the document to which it once was tied. What is remarkable about this second bulla is that its edge is embossed with a fingerprint, which is presumably that of Baruch the scribe himself. Baruch must have written and sealed the document to which it was attached. Thus we not only have evidence of the accuracy of the claim that Baruch was a scribe; we may even have the very fingerprint of Jeremiah’s scribe. [Water C. Kaiser Jr., The Old Testament Documents: Are They Reliable & Relevant?, pp. 158-159]