Lehi and Joseph

Lehi seems to have felt a strong connection with Joseph who was sold into Egypt.  When Lehi first obtained the brass plates, he immediately searched them and “found upon the plates of brass a genealogy of his fathers; wherefore he knew that he was a descendant of Joseph; yea, even that Joseph who was the son of Jacob, who was sold into Egypt, and who was preserved by the hand of the Lord, that he might preserve his father, Jacob, and all his household from perishing with famine” (1 Nephi 5:14).  Though he discovered his whole genealogy, Joseph was the only one that Lehi focused upon, at least in Nephi’s summary: “And now I, Nephi, do not give the genealogy of my fathers in this part of my record…. For it sufficeth me to say that we are descendants of Joseph” (1 Nephi 6:1-2).  On their journey Lehi named his sons Jacob and Joseph, surely thinking of Joseph and how he did “preserve his father, Jacob” in very difficult times.  As Lehi traveled in the wilderness and suffered because of the hardships there, he may have been inspired by the story of Joseph in Egypt who similarly left his home and struggled through great difficulty.  And just as Joseph was sent forth in order to preserve his family, Lehi knew that he was being sent forth to preserve his family from destruction at Jerusalem. 

I have to wonder if another connection between Lehi and Joseph was that Lehi also had struggles with the wickedness of his own brothers, for he made the comment to Sariah, “If I had not seen the things of God in a vision I should not have known the goodness of God, but had tarried at Jerusalem, and had perished with my brethren” (1 Nephi 5:4).  Who were his “brethren” that he would have perished with?  He could have meant brethren in a general sense of those at Jerusalem, but I believe he was more likely referring to his actual brothers who must have rejected the Lord.  Up through the account of Lehi’s death, the word brethren in other verses in the Book of Mormon always refers to physical brothers.  For example, Lehi said to Nephi, “Behold I have dreamed a dream, in the which the Lord hath commanded me that thou and thy brethren shall return to Jerusalem” (1 Nephi 3:2).  When they had to go back a second time, Nephi wrote, “The Lord commanded him that I, Nephi, and my brethren, should again return unto the land of Jerusalem” (1 Nephi 7:2).  When Lehi spoke to Jacob he said, “In thy childhood thou hast suffered afflictions and much sorrow, because of the rudeness of thy brethren” (2 Nephi 1:1).  Similarly to Joseph he said, “may the Lord consecrate also unto thee this land, which is a most precious land, for thine inheritance and the inheritance of thy seed with thy brethren” (2 Nephi 3:2).  All of these usages of the word brethren, and many others by Nephi, refer to biological brothers of Lehi’s children.  To me that then suggests that when Lehi said he would have perished with “my brethren” in Jerusalem he was then speaking of his brothers who must have rejected the words of the Lord.  If this were the case, then he certainly would have felt an affinity towards Joseph in Egypt in this regard, knowing that he too had struggled because his brothers rejected the words of the Lord.      

               The strongest connection, though, between Lehi and Joseph in Egypt seems to have been the fact that Joseph in Egypt had prophesied about Lehi specifically.  When Lehi taught his son Joseph during his final days, he said, “Wherefore, Joseph truly saw our day. 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” (2 Nephi 3:5).  When Lehi first read the plates of brass at the beginning of their journey, the Spirit must have confirmed to him that part of Joseph’s prophecies actually referred to Lehi and his family.  It must have given him great confidence to know that though he was going forth into a desolate wilderness to face untold dangers, an ancient prophet of the Lord had foreseen it and foretold its success.  Lehi knew from Joseph’s prophecy that they would indeed make it to the promised land, and like Joseph of old Lehi would be the means of preserving his family for the generations to come.