In
that post, I noted how these LDS scholars help us recognize that the
Nephites had sacred relics for their own "ark" that have
remarkable parallels to the sacred relics that were in the Ark of the
Covenant of Solomon's temple.
Four
of the five sacred relics of the Nephites that I discussed have
fairly clear parallels to their Old World counterparts: the
interpreters like the Urim and Thummin, the metal plates like the
stone tablets with the law, the sword of Laban as a symbol of
authority like the rod of Aaron, and the Nephite breast plate like
the High Priest's breastplate.
The
least obvious and most interesting parallel deals with the pot of
manna preserved in the Ark of Solomon's temple. A possible Nephite
parallel is introduced to us using language that may have been
crafted to serve as a parallel to the sacred manna which, according
to Exodus 16:13-15, was discovered in the desert in the morning and
was described as "a small round thing" which obviously
astonished them, "for they
wist not what it was."
In
parallel, it was on a morning in the desert when Lehi was also
surprised with his discovery of another gift from the Lord to weary
travelers seeking a promised land: “As my father arose in the
morning, and went forth to the tent door, to his great astonishment
he beheld upon the ground a round ball of curious workmanship”
(1 Nephi 16:10).
While the word "round" also appears to provide an interesting parallel to the description in Exodus, I have recently learned that the KJV use of "round" to describe the manna in Ex. 16:14 is not supported by the Hebrew text and is not used in other translations. But the gist of the parallel still stands.
Lehi’s
Liahona serves as a fitting parallel to the pot of manna, a symbol of
the Lord’s mercy and deliverance. And like manna, it wasn’t
a gift to be taken for granted, but could quit functioning as a
result of rebellion.
With
relics to match each of the relics of the Ark of the Covenant, the
Nephites could have a reasonable imitation of Solomon's temple in
spirit and function, making the Holy of Holies a suitably sacred
place.
There's
more to the Liahona that we should consider. Long ago I had
correspondence with a man studying to become a rabbi who was also
impressed with the Book of Mormon as an authentic ancient Jewish
text. He wasn't LDS and I'm not sure what became of his interest, but
he offered his rough analysis of the word Liahona, opining that it
was good Hebrew.
He
said the name (lamed-yud-hey-vav-nun-alef in Hebrew) is related to
known Hebrew words with relevant meanings:
LIA (lamed-yud-hey), Strongs 3914: something round; a wreath
LAWAH (lamed-vav-hey), Strongs 3867: to bind around; to wreathe; to start or stop
LON (lamed-vav-nun), Strongs 3885, from LAWAH: to abide, to dwell, to remain or to continue.
That
was interesting, but recently I noticed that a much more complete
exploration of the name has been conducted: James Curci, "Liahona,
'The Direction of the Lord," An Etymological Explanation,"
Journal of Book of Mormon
Studies, vol. 16, no. 2
(2007): pp. 60-67, 97-98.
Curci
concludes that Liahona is a word coined by Nephi and/or Lehi using
Hebrew elements conveying the meaning "The Direction (Director)
of YHWH" or literally "To the Lord Is the Whither."
As
is so often the case in the Book of Mormon, there are interesting
Hebrew word plays in the text that only recently are coming to light.
In this case, the use of the word "whither" in relationship
to Liahona-related passages in First Nephi link to the "whither"
(hona) element of the name. Here is an excerpt from Curci:
Curci
has much more to say about the term Liahona and its aptness in the
Book of Mormon record. Just one of many cool, ancient, and
increasingly plausible elements in the Book of Mormon.
Jeff Lindsay has been defending the Church on the Internet since 1994, when he launched his
LDSFAQ website under JeffLindsay.com. He has also long been blogging about LDS matters on
the blog Mormanity (mormanity.blogspot.com). Jeff is a longtime resident of Appleton,
Wisconsin, who recently moved to Shanghai, China, with his wife, Kendra.
He works for an Asian corporation as head of intellectual property. Jeff and Kendra are the parents of 4 boys, 3 married and the the youngest on a mission.
He is a former innovation and IP consultant, a former professor, and former Corporate Patent
Strategist and Senior Research Fellow for a multinational corporation.
Jeff Lindsay, Cheryl Perkins and Mukund Karanjikar are authors of the book Conquering
Innovation Fatigue (John Wiley & Sons, 2009).
Jeff has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Brigham Young University and is a registered US
patent agent. He has more than 100 granted US patents and is author of numerous publications.
Jeff's hobbies include photography, amateur magic, writing, and Mandarin Chinese.