Why does Lehi give Zoram, the servant of Laban, a patriarchal blessing?

Thomas R. Valletta

“We do not know the ethnic background or bloodline of Zoram, the true friend of Nephi. Being a servant to Laban suggests he was not of the blood of Israel. Regardless, as patriarch of Joseph’s branch of Israel, Lehi extends all the blessings of the Lord to this faithful man and to his seed. If he were not of the house of Israel, he was adopted into it. These blessings were to come through the family unit of Nephi (another suggestion that he was not of the blood of Israel), but were conditional upon their keeping the commandments of the Lord” (Nyman, I, Nephi, Wrote This Record, 1:379).

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