Nephi made note of Jeremiah’s incarceration (see 1 Nephi 7:14). According to David and JoAnn Seely, these observations raise an important question of whether Lehi and his family departed early in the reign of King Zedekiah … or whether the party left Jerusalem just before the final Babylonian conquest of the city. Randall Spackman has brought forward reasons for the later dating that are based largely on Nephi’s reference to the imprisonment of Jeremiah (see 1 Nephi 7:14) and the fact that, according to Jeremiah’s book, he went to prison in the tenth year of Zedekiah’s rule, only months before the Babylonians captured the city (see Jeremiah 32:1-12; 37:15-16,21; 38:6-13,28). The book of Jeremiah is silent about Jeremiah‘s activities during the first year of Zedekiah’s reign. If Jeremiah was imprisoned at the time, as suggested by the Book of Mormon (see 1 Nephi 7:14), we would not expect to find a reference to this imprisonment in the Bible. But two passages in Jeremiah’s book may refer to earlier imprisonments. In 605 B.C., Jeremiah declared “I am shut up,” referring to the fact that he was restricted from going into the temple area (Jeremiah 36:5). The Hebrew word he used (’atsur) is ambiguous. It can mean “imprisoned” or “in custody.” In fact, it is the word in Jeremiah 33:1 that refers to his imprisonment. Later, in 601 B.C., Jeremiah was punished by being put in “the stocks” (Jeremiah 20:1-6). The Hebrew word used here is also not clear; some translations take it as meaning “imprisoned.” Hence, Jeremiah’s celebrated imprisonment just before the city fell to the Babylonians in 587 B.C. was not the only instance in which the prophet had been officially restrained. [David Rolph and JoAnn H. Seely, “Lehi & Jeremiah: Prophets, Priests & Patriarchs,” in Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, FARMS, Vol 8, Num 2, 1999, p. 28] [For more information on the possible relationship between Jeremiah and Zedekiah, see the commentary on Omni 1:18]
“Jeremiah Have They Cast into Prison”
According to the chronological theory of Randall Spackman, this passage may provide one of the most important clues for dating the time of Lehi’s “total” departure from the land of Jerusalem. It seems that the actions taken against Jeremiah and the other prophets were connected with the threats on Lehi’s life. Jeremiah 37:4 states that prior to the Egyptian invasion of Palestine to attack the Babylonian army (and thus prior to the five-month lifting of the siege of Jerusalem -- between August 588 B.C.E. and April 587 B.C.E.), “Jeremiah came in and went out among the people: for they had not put him in prison.” This respite from the siege allowed Jerusalem to open its gates and augment its siege provisions During this time Jeremiah attempted to leave the city to go to the land of his inheritance at Anathoth, a village located a few miles north of the city. At the city gate, Jeremiah was seized and charged with deserting to the enemy. He denied the charge, but he was quickly brought before the princes, who beat and imprisoned him. He was placed in a cistern and left to die. Through the pleadings of a servant in Zedekiah’s household, Jeremiah was saved from the muddy cistern, but he was kept in prison until after the city was sacked by the Babylonians on July 12, 586 B.C.E. (Jeremiah 38-39).
If Jeremiah 38-39 was the imprisonment referred to by Nephi, and if Nephi learned of this imprisonment on his trip to bring back Ishmael and his family, then Nephi’s trip for Ishmael was probably during this lifting of the siege. In fact, given 5 months time and the freedom to come or go from Jerusalem, it is possible (although at this point not proven) that all four main events: (1) Lehi’s departure, (2) the trip for Laban’s plates, (3) Jeremiah’s departure, seizure, and imprisonment, and (4) the trip for Ishmael’s family, could have been made during this lifting of the siege.
Thus, the knowledge of Lehi‘s sons concerning Jeremiah’s imprisonment places at least the escape of Ishmael’s family (and maybe also the escape of Lehi) during the lifting of the siege, or in other words, between August 588 B.C.E. and April 587 B.C.E. [Randall Spackman, “An Introduction to Book of Mormon Chronology,” F.A.R.M.S., pp. 10-11] [See Appendix A]