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Question: Should the Book of Mormon describe Jewish customs or laws?
Question: Should the Book of Mormon describe Jewish customs or laws?
The portions of the Book of Mormon that describe Lehi's family in the Old World do reflect Jewish customs or laws
- Lehi's Tree of Life vision is highly reflective of ancient Hebrew religion and particularly aspects of ancient temple worship.
- Nephi's killing of Laban fits within the Jewish law. (See Ethical considerations related to Nephi's killing of Laban)
Other evidence of Jewish customs in the Book of Mormon
- There is strong evidence of a Year of Jubilee in the King Benjamin address. (See Benjamin's Themes Related to Sabbatical and Jubilee Years)
- There is the covenant emphasis from King Benjamin that is evidence of Hebrew influence.
The Book of Mormon was edited and compiled by people living post-Christ
The people that edited the Book of Mormon lived many years after Christ, and are approaching the history of the people from a point after the law as such is a lived reality and they know that they are writing to a people for whom the law is also no longer a lived reality. Thus, there isn't the emphasis on its particulars that would logically be included if they were writing as and to people who were living the law and could be well-served by the normative reinforcement of the customs under the law.
The Book of Mormon lists sins which are consistent with the Ten Commandments
Notwithstanding this fact, they do make a point of their obedience to the law while it lasted, making repeated reference to "the statutes, and the judgments, and the commandments of God (For example Mosiah 6꞉6, 3 Nephi 25꞉4, 2 Nephi 1꞉16, Helaman 6꞉34, Alma 8꞉17, Helaman 15꞉5, Alma 58꞉40, Helaman 3꞉20, Alma 31꞉9 and 2 Nephi 5꞉10). These are in fact reflective of actual Hebrew categories under the law of Moses, and in particular, the Ten Commandments. For example, the commandment not to commit adultery is clearly considered a sin in 3 Nephi 12꞉27:
Behold, it is written by them of old time, that thou shalt not commit adultery;
The Ten Commandments are in fact a component of the Mosaic law.
Other indications of Hebrew customs
The term Jews is a misnomer as the primary Book of Mormon migration was Ephraimite and Manassehite whereas only the migration that promptly forgot their culture, language and religion were in fact Judahite and there is a certain amount of divergent northern kingdom perspective present in the Book of Mormon, for example the rather dimmer view of David that Jacob expresses. The slaying of Zemnarihah, particularly cutting down the tree afterward, is consistent with ancient customs. The differentiation under the law between thieves and robbers. King Benjamin's speech has been fruitfully examined in terms of ancient Hebrew festival traditions.
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