Nephi continues his literary device of having his brothers request an explanation. As previously noted, there is no context where Nephi had set this incident up within the historical narrative. Unlike all other incidents where he shows himself teaching his brothers, this explanation is not connected to a particular incident. It is an explanation triggered by Nephi’s aside, but Nephi’s style brings it back to the connection of his relationship to his brothers. Thus, they continue to be shown as lacking understanding of the scriptures, and Nephi must explain them.
The question that Nephi has the brothers ask is interesting, as it examines the heart of how ancient scripture applies to modern or future audiences. Are scriptures related to the physical world or only have spiritual application?
Nephi’s understanding of the likening of scriptures to a current people informs his response. The answer is that scriptures are both temporal and spiritual. Thus, even prophecies which have not been physically fulfilled can be spiritually applied to a current population. Nephi notes that there will come a time when the house of Israel will be scattered, but he has already likened that future scattering to his own people’s removal from Jerusalem.