BOM 2 Nephi 4

In the wake of the spectacular 2 Nephi 2, it’s easy to pass over the next few chapters without paying much attention to them.  After all, 2 Nephi 9, another very popular and rich chapter, is just ahead.

But that is to do these chapters something of an injustice.  There are, for example, a number of interesting things about 2 Nephi 4, today’s reading.  I’ll briefly mention three of them:

1.

In 2 Nephi 4:2, Nephi reflects upon the extrabiblical prophecies of biblical Joseph recounted by Lehi and recorded in the previous chapter, remarking of “the prophecies which he wrote” that “there are not many greater.”  He may, here, be acknowledging their exceptionally clear and precise character.  He may also be feeling a bit sentimental.  After all, within just a few verses of narrating this last great experience with Lehi as prophet, excited student of earlier scripture, and disciple, he’ll be recording his father’s death.

2.  

In 2 Nephi 4:11, Lehi predicts that Sam’s posterity will be numbered with Nephi’s.  And this is completely true.  There are no distinct “Samites” in the Book of Mormon.  Just as Sam himself follows faithfully in the shadow of Nephi — who, it’s easy to forget, is his younger brother — Sam’s descendants will blend in and (to us, anyway, in terms of explicit collective identity) be lost.

3.

The most remarkable thing about this chapter is what has sometimes been called “the psalm of Nephi.”  Extending from 2 Nephi 4:17 to the end of the chapter, it’s a fascinating expression of Nephi’s feelings of guilt and inadequacy.

This is all the more surprising and bracing because, for all of the narrative heretofore, Nephi has come across as self-confident and even perhaps a bit smug.  (He’s reminiscent, as a matter of fact, of the young biblical Joseph, whose older [half-]brothers are told that they will eventually bow to him, who is clearly Daddy’s favorite, and whose frank expressions of his superior future destiny contribute to their nearly-lethal hatred of him.)

Nephi’s previous expressions of self-assurance and merit are perhaps understandable, because, particularly in his first book, he has (as Noel Reynolds — not coincidentally, a professional student of politics — has argued in various places) been trying to illustrate the reasons why he, the youngest of the four Jerusalem-born brothers, is the true successor of their prophet-father.

But, in 2 Nephi 4, we see deep into Nephi’s soul.  Like all the rest of us, even the best of us, he knows that he hasn’t lived up to his own professions and standards, and he’s deeply, poignantly, conscious of his weaknesses and inadequacies.