The word "offer" was omitted on the Printers Manuscript in the process of copying from the Original Manuscript and has never been printed in any edition. Restoring this word provides another example of the Hebrew cognate accusative form ("offer an offering"). [Zarahemla Research Foundation, Study Book of Mormon, p. 16]
Through the Wilderness to the Promised Land
(1 Nephi )
“An Offering Unto the Lord”
We know that Lehi offered sacrifices in the valley of Lemuel ("an offering unto the Lord"--1 Nephi 2:7; "sacrifice and burnt offerings"--1 Nephi 8:9), but we are not told either what he sacrificed or where he obtained what he sacrificed. According to George Potter, the chances are very slim that he would have brought any clean animals with him into the wilderness, so if he did use animals for sacrifice he probably purchased them from local tribesmen, for these tribesmen certainly were there. Kent Brown notes that "in a desert clime all arable land and all water resources have claimants." How did Lehi acquire the right to camp in a valley that was controlled by a local tribe? We are not certain why the ruling tribe would have let Lehi camp in the valley, yet this was probably not a serious problem for Lehi. Lehi was a wealthy man, and though he left all his immovable gold and silver in Jerusalem or the land of his inheritance, he probably carried in his provision some form of currency. Since Lehi was not intending to be a long-term resident and had no flocks that would deplete the grazing lands, the tribute was moderate. It is even quite likely that Lehi's family could have on occasion exchanged their services to assist the local tribes. [George Potter with Richard Wellington, Following the Words of Nephi: Part One: Discovering the Valley of Lemuel, Unpublished Manuscript, 1999, p. 77]
1 Nephi 7:22 An offering unto the Lord (Altars) (Potter Theory) [[Illustration]]: Fig. 7.2 George Potter next to the altar that is lightly over waist high. Photograph taken by Bruce Santucci in Wadi Tayyib al-Ism (proposed Valley of Lemuel). [George Potter with Richard Wellington, Following the Words of Nephi: Part One: Discovering the Valley of Lemuel, Unpublished Manuscript, 1999, p. 137]
1 Nephi 7:22 An offering unto the Lord (Altars) (Potter Theory) [[Illustration]]: Fig 7.3 Altar position on the top of the hill immediately above the circle next to the east grove. (Bruce Santucci sitting next to the altar). Photograph taken by George Potter in Wadi Tayyib al-Ism (proposed Valley of Lemuel). [George Potter with Richard Wellington, Following the Words of Nephi: Part One: Discovering the Valley of Lemuel, Unpublished Manuscript, 1999, p. 137]
1 Nephi 7:22 An offering unto the Lord (Altars) (Potter Theory) [[Illustration]]: Second pile of stones atop a mountain that appears to have been an altar. Photo by George Potter in Wadi Tayyib al-Ism (proposed Valley of Lemuel). [George Potter with Richard Wellington, Following the Words of Nephi: Part One: Discovering the Valley of Lemuel, Unpublished Manuscript, 1999, p. 139]
“They Did Offer Sacrifice and Burnt Offerings”
According to Kent Brown, when Lehi's family initially set up its base camp not far from the Red Sea (1 Nephi 2:5-6), Lehi "built an altar of stones" and thereafter "made an offering . . . and gave thanks unto the Lord (1 Nephi 2:7). On two subsequent occasions, Lehi's party not only gave "thanks unto . . . God," but offered "sacrifice and burnt offerings" (1 Nephi 5:9; 1 Nephi 7:22). Each set of offerings came after the return of Lehi's sons from extended trips back to Jerusalem. . . . One might wonder, why were burnt offerings made on the two later occasions and not at first? What was the difference?
The difference is the presence of sin, real or perceived. In each of the three instances--the family's arriving at the base camp, the return of the sons with the brass plates, and their later return with Ishmael's family--the common factors are a safe journey and the subsequent giving of thanks. We then ask, How much do these observations tell us about the sacrifices? A lot.
For a safe journey, according to Psalm 107, a person was to "sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving" (Psalm 107:22) for safety in travel, whether through the desert or on water (Psalm 107:4-6, 19-30). What were those "sacrifices of thanksgiving"? They consisted of peace offerings, known from Leviticus 3. . . . The sacrifice itself was to be an animal--either "male or female" in this case--from the flock or herd (Leviticus 3:1,6,12), accompanied by unleavened baked goods (Leviticus 7:12-13). Peace offerings were "the most common type of sacrifice," an offering accompanied by a "covenant meal" in which worshipers enjoyed "fellowship with one another and their God." Truly such occasions were to be a time of rejoicing. . . .
We now turn to the need for the burnt offerings. Why, one may ask, did Lehi offer this other kind of sacrifice? In response we note that according to Leviticus 1, a burnt offering was made for atonement--and more specifically, purging--after one had committed sin. . . . In the ceremony of the burnt offering, before slaughtering the sacrificial animal, the petitioner placed a "hand upon the head of the burnt offering" (Leviticus 1:4), thus transferring guilt to the animal. . . .
In the trip of Lehi's sons back to Jerusalem to obtain the plates of brass, one does not need to look far to find sin. . . . While some of these sinful occurrences may seem mild, involving complaints and a family scuffle, another one was not, for it involved what some might have considered a homicide. Nephi killed Laban (1 Nephi 4:4-18), creating a need for sacrifice. . . . Although the Lord clearly placed Laban among "the wicked" (1 Nephi 4:13) and although Nephi knew Laban's failings because "he had sought to take away [Nephi's] life" and "also had taken away our property" (1 Nephi 4:11), Nephi "shrunk and would that I might not slay" Laban (1 Nephi 4:10). In the end, however, Nephi "did obey the voice of the Spirit, and . . . I smote off [Laban's] head with his own sword" (1 Nephi 4:18), thus creating the deepest need for Lehi to "offer . . . burnt offerings unto the Lord" to purge any vestiges of uncleanness that might have clung to Nephi (1 Nephi 5:9). It might be noted here that even though laws existed that would protect Nephi until he received a fair hearing, as Reynolds points out, the killing of Laban potentially brought sin within Lehi's camp.
The second time that Lehi sacrificed burnt offerings came after the return of his sons with the family of Ishmael (1 Nephi 7:3-22). Where was the sin? . . . Nephi, not shy in expressing his feelings about his brothers' "rebellion," became embroiled in a heated exchange of words that eventually provoked his angry brothers into tying him up "with cords" so "that they might leave [him] in the wilderness to be devoured by wild beasts" (1 Nephi 7:7,16). . . . Even though Nephi "did frankly forgive them all that they had done" (1 Nephi 7:21), there still remained the necessity to purge their sin from themselves. . . As a result, after the party reached the camp Lehi found it necessary to "offer . . . burnt offerings" to the Lord (1 Nephi 7:22).
Thus, the three recorded occasions of Lehi offering sacrifices, when measured against sacrificial law in the Bible, become immediately understandable in light of the family's situation. When Lehi "made an offering unto the Lord, and gave thanks" (1 Nephi 2:7; 1 Nephi 5:9; 1 Nephi 7:22), he was sacrificing a peace offering which served as a thanksgiving for safety in travel, whether for oneself or for others. In each instance, members of the family had safely completed a long journey. When he offered "burnt offerings unto the Lord" (1 Nephi 5;9; 1 Nephi 7:22), Lehi was bringing to the altar sacrifices that would atone for sin, sin that would stain the camp and those within it. And in each case, one can readily detect sin in the prior behavior of family members, whether it took the form of complaining, family jousts, or the taking of human life. Here, Lehi sought to free his extended family from the taint of unworthiness so that he and they would be able to carry out the purposes of the Lord. [S. Kent Brown, "What Were Those Sacrifices Offered by Lehi?" in From Jerusalem to Zarahemla: Literary and Historical Studies of the Book of Mormon, pp. 1-8]