“A Righteous Branch Unto the House of Israel”

D. Kelly Ogden, Andrew C. Skinner

Lehi taught his last-born son that “Joseph [of Egypt] truly saw our day [that is, the time of Lehi]. And he obtained a promise of the Lord, that out of the fruit of his loins the Lord God would raise up a righteous branch unto the house of Israel; not the Messiah, but a branch which was to be broken off, nevertheless, to be remembered in the covenants of the Lord that the Messiah should be made manifest unto them in the latter days, in the spirit of power, unto the bringing of them out of darkness unto light… . For Joseph truly testified, saying: A seer shall the Lord my God raise up, who shall be a choice seer unto the fruit of my loins.”

Four Josephs in 2 Nephi 3

Name

Time Period

Verses in 2 Nephi 3

Joseph, son of Jacob (Israel)

ca. 1800 b.c.

4–22

Joseph, son of Lehi

500s b.c.

1–4, 22–23, 25

Joseph Smith Sr.

a.d. 1800s

15

Joseph Smith Jr.

a.d. 1800s

6–9, 11–21, 24

Verse by Verse: The Book of Mormon: Vol. 1

References