According to John Tvedtnes, Lehi apparently named his sons Jacob and Joseph after their distant ancestors Jacob and Joseph. Lehi termed Joseph "my last-born . . . born in the wilderness of mine afflictions" and spoke to him of his inheritance in the New World, calling it "a most precious land" (2 Nephi 3:1-2). He then went on to speak of their common ancestor, Joseph, who had been sold into Egypt (see 2 Nephi 3:4). The original Joseph was the last-born son of the patriarch Jacob (Israel) before he returned to the land promised to him (see Genesis 28:13-15). It is significant, therefore that Lehi's son Joseph was born in the wilderness, then went, as his ancestor Joseph, with his father to a land of promise. [John A. Tvedtnes, "Firstborn in the Wilderness," in Pressing Forward with the Book of Mormon, F.A.R.M.S., 1999, pp. 63-65; see also Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 3/1 (1994): 207-209] [See the commentary on 2 Nephi 2:1]
2 Nephi 3:1 And now I [Lehi] speak unto you, Joseph, my last-born ([Illustration]): Lehi blessing his son Joseph, statuary at the L.D.S. Hawaiian Temple. [Paul R. Cheesman and Millie F. Cheesman, Early America and the Polynesians, p. 27]