Lehi, Joseph, and the Kingdom of Israel

Title

Lehi, Joseph, and the Kingdom of Israel

Publication Type

Journal Article

Year of Publication

2019

Authors

Crapo, Richley (Primary)

Journal

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

Pagination

289-304

Volume

33

Terms of use

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Bibliographic Citation

Abstract

I present evidence of two priesthoods in the Jewish Bible: an Aaronite priesthood, held by Aaron and passed down through his descendants; and a higher Mushite priesthood, held not only by Moses and his descendants but also by other worthy individuals, such as Joshua, an Ephraimite. The Mushite priests were centered in Shiloh, where Joshua settled the Ark of the Covenant, while the Aaronites became dominant in the Jerusalem temple. Like Joshua, the prophet Lehi, a descendant of the northern tribe of Manasseh, held the higher priesthood. His ministry, as recounted in the Book of Mormon, demonstrates four characteristics that show a clear connection to his ancestors’ origins in the northern Kingdom of Israel: (1) revelation through prophetic dreams, (2) the ministry of angels, (3) imagery of the Tree of Life, and (4) a positive attitude toward the Nehushtan tradition. These traits are precisely those which scholarship, based on the Documentary Hypothesis, attributes to texts in the Hebrew Bible that originated in the northern Kingdom of Israel rather than in Judah.

Documentary Hypothesis
Aaronic Priesthood
Lehi (Prophet)
Kingdom of Israel
Mushite Priesthood

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