Lehi, Nephi and the shekinah -- Part 2 (Lehi's tent as tabernacle)

I introduced the concept of "shekinah" in my previous post with a promise to connect Lehi's tent and the tabernacle of Israel. In 1 Nephi, Nephi repeatedly stresses the fact that his father lived in a tent. For example:

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, returned from speaking with the Lord, to the tent of my father. (1 Nephi 3:1)

A Jewish rabbi comments on this verse:

Nephi had been speaking with the Lord. There's nothing in the narrative that indicates that Nephi had a vision so this conversation must have happened with a direct manifestation of G-d to Nephi. So Nephi was in G-d's presence - ie. the Shechinah (שכינה). One of the words used for tent in Hebrew is the word mishkan (משכן) which comes from the very same root. This word-play cannot be coincidental.

Nephi is not only informing us what kind of accomodation they had in the wilderness. In that case, informing us once would do and even that would be unneccesary really. It is not like any reader would wonder what hotels they were staying at along the way. But Nephi is stressing the fact that this journey was undertaken because of God's commandments and He was with them, leading them to a promised land like Israel of old.

Another textual clue in the Book of Mormon linking Lehi's tent to the tabernacle of Israel are the accounts of sacrifices.

7 And when we had returned to the tent of my father, behold their joy was full, and my mother was comforted.

8 And she spake, saying: Now I know of a surety that the Lord hath commanded my husband to flee into the wilderness; yea, and I also know of a surety that the Lord hath protected my sons, and delivered them out of the hands of Laban, and given them power whereby they could accomplish the thing which the Lord hath commanded them. And after this manner of language did she speak.

9 And it came to pass that they did rejoice exceedingly, and did offer sacrifice and burnt offerings unto the Lord; and they gave thanks unto the God of Israel. (1 Nephi 5)

And it came to pass that we did come down unto the tent of our father. And after I and my brethren and all the house of Ishmael had come down unto the tent of my father, they did give thanks unto the Lord their God; and they did offer sacrifice and burnt offerings unto him. (1 Nephi 7:22)

Both accounts of offering sacrifice and burnt offerings in the wilderness occur when it is explicitly mentioned that they get to Lehi's tent. It is interesting to note Nephi's emphasis on his father's tent when the group obviously had many tents. For instance, in 1 Nephi 17:6, they pitched their tents (plural) by the seashore. Still, on special occasions like the ones quoted above, Nephi goes to his father's tent. Does this mean that Lehi's tent actually functioned as a tabernacle and that the offerings happened inside it? We don't know, but there is an unexpected source confirming what is only hinted at in the Book of Mormon text itself. 

A Palmyra resident named Fayette Lapham interviewed Joseph Smith Sr. after the translation of the lost pages. His account is unique since Joseph Smith Sr. who had read the manuscript before it was lost told Lapham about some of the contents. When Lapham later recounts it, he may not remember everything perfectly, but there are still some interesting elements in his account. In his book, "The lost 116 pages", Don Bradley includes and discusses this account. According to Lapham, after Nephi obtained Laban's record and returned to his father,

The family then moved on, for several days, when they were directed to stop and get materials to make brass plates upon which to keep a record of their journey; also to erect a tabernacle, wherein they could go and inquire whenever they became bewildered or at a loss what to do. After all things were ready, they started on their journey, in earnest; a gold ball went before them, having to pointers, one pointing steadily the way they should go, the other the way to where they could get provision and other necessaries.

On this account, Don Bradley comments

Comparing this with Nephi's small plates account, it becomes clear that Lapham garbled some of what he heard. Yet even where Lapham has misinterpreted, the details he gives are, with one exception, known elements of the Lehi narrative. Elements or retrieving the brass plates, acquiring gold for Nephi's own record, and discovering the Liahona are swapped around, but the construction of "a tabernacle, wherein they could go and inquire" is a unique detail and not merely a combination or facile misreading of elements of that narrative.

I agree with Bradley's comments here. This account from Fayette Lapham further strengthens the connection between Lehi's tent and Israel's tabernacle in the desert. This explains the heavy focus on Lehi's tent in 1 Nephi. It was a sanctuary, a place for the shekinah glory. Lehi dwelt [shakan] in a tent [mishkan] and God dwelt with them and guided them along. The journey to the promised land was commanded by God and he was with them every step being a light to them in the wilderness and preparing the way (see 1 Nephi 17:13).

In the next post, I will go deeper into the roles of Lehi and Nephi regarding the tent/tabernacle and temple, respectively.

Lehi, Nephi and the shekinah -- Part 1 (The divine presence)

Shekinah is an interesting Hebrew word that is difficult to translate directly into English. It denotes the divine presence of God. It is derived from the Hebrew root, shakan/shaken, meaning "to settle down, abide, dwell". According to Encyclopaedia Judaica

In classic Jewish thought, the shekhinah refers to a dwelling or settling in a special sense, a dwelling or settling of divine presence, to the effect that, while in proximity to the shekhinah, the connection to God is more readily perceivable.

Perhaps surprisingly, the word is not found at all in the Bible. It is from later rabbinic literature and is very common there. That does not mean that the rabbis invented a concept that was foreign to Old Testament writers. The idea of God's presence and a dwelling place for him is very common. As mentioned, Shekinah is dervied from the verb, "to dwell". Another word derived from that root is the noun, mishkan. This means dwelling place or tent and can refer to both a secular dwelling (tent) or a holy dwelling place like the tabernacle.

In Jewish thought the shekinah glory or divine presence is often coupled with a physical manifestation. The cloud by day and pillar of fire by night in the wilderness, as well as the smoke and thunder on mount Sinai, denotes the shekinah glory, the divine presence. When Moses was instructed to make a tabernacle in the wilderness, God would have a dwelling place among his people. He would "shakan" in the "mishkan" as we can read in Exodus.

And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses. (Exodus 33:9)

And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode (shakan) thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle (mishkan). (Exodus 40:35)

This is a bit of a side note, but it makes me think of John 1:14 where "the Word [Jesus] became flesh and dwelt among us” and Mosiah 3:5 where "the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay". (I highlighted the part that makes it easy to recognize King Benjamin's Hebrew wordplay). The God of Israel (Jesus Christ) was among his people again but this time they did not recognize him.

The dedication of the temple of Solomon is almost an echo of the tabernacle in Exodus.

10 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord,

11 So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.

12 Then spake Solomon, The Lord said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

13 I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever. (1 Kings 8)

Even though the noun, shekinah, is not found in the Old Testament, it is easy to see how it was derived by the rabbis.

There is another interesting aspect of the shekinah of the rabbis. Even though there is strong evidence that Israelites of old were polytheists and worshiped a divine feminine, the later Deuteronomist and rabbinical views is that God is one in a very literal sense. However, shekinah is a feminine noun and thought to represent feminine aspects of the divine. 

Yet, is not God omnipresent, how can he dwell in one location. This is where we miss it.  The rabbinic teaching is that the omnipresence of God is Heavenly, it is his masculine nature, the part that protects, provides, watches over.  However, the Shekhiniah is the earthly, the feminine nature where He nurtures, comforts, shares intimately with you. (Source)

I am not sure if or how we could relate that to LDS teachings of Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother but I find it beautiful. It certainly does make me think of the heaven and earth relation that I have written about before as well as this post where the male and female counterparts are the culmination of the creation of heaven and earth. While here on earth, we have access to the "earthly" shekinah that will help us to ultimately reunite with the heavenly. As Latter-Day Saints, we would perhaps normally associate the divine presence that we have access to here on earth with the Holy Ghost, but the concept of shekinah is in fact associated with the concept of the Holy Spirit (ruach ha-kodesh) in Judaism.

As you probably already guessed from the heading of this post, this Hebrew thought of God's presence and relations to a tent/tabernacle, would be part of Lehi and Nephi's worldview and provides a better understanding of why there is so much focus on Lehi's tent in the wilderness. 

In my next post I will discuss further evidence of connections between Lehi's tent and Israel's tabernacle.

 

The cavity of a rock

Twice in the Book of Mormon, someone hides in "the cavity of a rock". This is a strange expression. Why not just use the word "cave" since most caves are in a rock anyway? I will first share two different aspects of this expression and then take a closer look at the context of its use in the Book of Mormon.

According to a Jewish rabbi, a cave or cavity in ancient Hebrew would be a euphemism for frustration and a feeling of inability. The rock on the other hand symbolizes assurance and protection and is commonly associated with God. God is the rock of our salvation (Ps. 89:26, 95:1, 2 Nephi 9:45, Jacob 7:25, etc.). The cavity of a rock is therefore a place where you turn to God for assurance in your distress.  

A very different aspect is the historical Mesoamerican setting for this expression. I don't know where the Book of Mormon actually took place, I just find Mesoamerica the most likely alternative. In this article, Jerry Grover explains that many Mesoamerican beliefs are represented by caves and ceremonies related to or taking place in caves. Anthropologists and archaeologists have linked findings in Mesoamerican caves to both kingship and scribes. These are two out of several similarities between the two "cavity of a rock" stories in the Book of Mormon.

The first one is in 1 Nephi 3, where Nephi and his brothers hide from Laban's servants

And it came to pass that we fled into the wilderness, and the servants of Laban did not overtake us, and we hid ourselves in the cavity of a rock. (1 Nephi 3:27)

The other is found in Ether 13

13 And I was about to write more, but I am forbidden; but great and marvelous were the prophecies of Ether; but they esteemed him as naught, and cast him out; and he hid himself in the cavity of a rock by day, and by night he went forth viewing the things which should come upon the people.
14 And as he dwelt in the cavity of a rock he made the remainder of this record, viewing the destructions which came upon the people, by night.

Turning to God for assurance in great distress

This symbolism is certainly present in both these stories. Nephi and his brothers had been "thrust out" (v.25) from Laban's house. They had all their riches stolen from them, had still not obtained the plates and a small army was after them to kill them. Ether had been "cast out" from among the people after they had all rejected him and his prophecies. Being encompassed by rock in that cave gave them the kind of protection that God can offer (even though Laman and Lemuel probably saw it differently, but this was the record of Nephi).

Relations to kingship

In his article, Grover cites anthropologist Healey, who has been researching Mesoamerican caves

About the same time as the Guerrero caves were in use on the Pacific coast of Mexico, several monumental, carved, stone ‘‘altars’’ from Olmec sites on the Gulf Coast depict elite individuals of this precocious society in a cavelike front cavity. These altar ‘‘niche figures,’’ surrounded by maize imagery, have been interpreted as representations of Olmec site rulers seated in the mouth of a cave. David C. Grove (1973:134) theorizes that the ‘‘emergence from the cave’’ was central to Olmec kingship, the ruler’s mythical Underworld origins, and claims to divine status. (Healy 2007)

It may not be obvious what this has to do with the stories of Nephi and Ether. But as we know, Laman and Lemuel started beating Nephi and Sam and an angel appeared

And it came to pass as they smote us with a rod, behold, an angel of the Lord came and stood before them, and he spake unto them, saying: Why do ye smite your younger brother with a rod? Know ye not that the Lord hath chosen him to be a ruler over you, and this because of your iniquities? Behold ye shall go up to Jerusalem again, and the Lord will deliver Laban into your hands.

The angel uses a possible wordplay because rod (makel) and ruler (melech) are similar in Hebrew. Even though Laman and Lemuel were the older brothers, it was given to Nephi to rule over them because of his righteousness and their iniquity. Later, he became a ruler over the Nephites, who separated from his brothers.

The relation to kingship in the case of Ether might not be obvious either. But even though Ether was an outcast, he was the rightful heir of the throne. This is clear from the genealogy in Ether 1 and the narrative in Ether 11. Ether's grandfather Moron was king of the people but "wicked before the Lord". His kingdom was overthrown and he ended up in captivity. His son also spent all his days in captivity before Ether was born. 

Relations to scribal traditions

Another quote from anthropologist Healy (2007) in his Mesoamerican cave research

Scribes, a secondary tier of Maya nobility, also are potential candidates to have visited caves. They may have used cave pilgrimages as a ‘‘mechanism...to affirm their ongoing relationship with the supernatural’’ (Stone 2005:136, 144). Perhaps they visited these sacred places, as pilgrims, to acknowledge ‘‘the divine source of their craft, affirming their legitimacy and supporting their (elevated) social positions by doing so.’’ The cave texts at Naj Tunich, for example, include self-references to scribal visits, where they appear to have been trying to connect with the divine source of their offices. Landa (in Tozzer 1941:153) mentions that holy water, which likely came from a cave or cenote, was used in the purification rites for ancient Maya codices.

The authors examine several hieroglyphic texts from cave sites which, using the new translation for ‘‘cave,’’ seem to record ‘‘arrivals’’ of various visitors and refer to caves as ‘‘a pilgrimage or ritual center’’ (Vogt and Stuart 2005:160–162). Stuart’s earlier work with ancient Maya texts enabled him to decipher the Maya expression for ‘‘writing,’’ tz’ihb, and the phrase u-tz’ihb, ‘‘he writes’’ from one of the cave paintings of Naj Tunich (Stone 1995, 2005a:142). He went further to show that the subject of this clause was the name of an ancient Maya scribe, with a special title of itz’at, or ‘‘sage.’’ The hieroglyph suggests that the scribe in question, with two other protagonists, came ‘‘to see’’ Naj Tunich, which phrase might actually be a Maya metaphor for ‘‘pilgrimage’’. All this fits nicely with the themes, discussed earlier, of caves as pilgrimage sites and meeting places, sometimes used by scribes.

Although Nephi doesn't write anything in the cave, he is a scribe and on an important mission to obtain the Brass Plates. Ether spends his time in the cave making "the remainder of this record" (Ether 13:14).

Of course there is much uncertainty about the ancient Mesoamerican traditional uses of caves and the connections to the specific Book of Mormon stories are rather loose. But the connection is definitely there. In any case, we can learn from these stories that obtaining, preaching or preserving the word of God can lead to adversity and hardship. But if we come to the rock of our salvation, we can find refuge and safety, even by angelic visitations.

 

Preparing a way

After I posted on 1 Nephi 3:7 and the two ways in the wilderness, I studied to understand the concept of "preparing a way". It's a common expression in the scriptures rooted in ancient Middle Eastern imagery, but it has different uses. A well known verse in Isaiah 40:3 reads

A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
    the way for the Lord;
make straight in the desert
    a highway for our God"

One Bible commentary explains this verse as follows:

He hears a crier giving orders, by solemn proclamation, to prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness; to remove all obstructions before Jehovah marching through the desert; through the wild, uninhabited, unpassable country. The idea is taken from the practice of the eastern monarchs, who, whenever they entered upon an expedition, or took a journey, especially through desert and unpractised countries, sent harbingers before them to prepare all things for their passage, and pioneers to open the passes, to level the ways, and to remove all impediments.

With this imagery in mind, it is interesting to  study the various Book of Mormon passages using this expression. It is used in different ways as shown below:

A particular person gets the role as forerunner

1 Nephi 10:7-8 and 1 Nephi 11:27 echo Isaiah 40:3 and the gospels as they talk about John the Baptist as a forerunner preparing the first coming of Christ. Also, in Malachi 3:1 / 3 Nephi 24:1

Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me

An invitation to all the people to prepare the way of the Lord

As Christ's first coming approaches, Alma extends the invitation in Alma 7:9:

repent and prepare ye the way of the Lord 

A similar invitation is given in Alma 9:28 and by Samuel the Lamanite in Helaman 14:9, only 5 years before Christ's birth

God prepares the way to the salvation of His children

This is perhaps the most common usage of the phrase. I only include about half of the examples I found in my search.

the work of the Father shall commence, in preparing the way for the fulfilling of his covenants (1 Nephi 14:17)

O my son, do not let us be slothful because of the easiness of the way; for so was it with our fathers; for so was it prepared for them, that if they would look they might live; even so it is with us. The way is prepared, and if we will look we may live forever. (Alma 37:46) 

therefore, the way is prepared that whosoever will may walk therein and be saved. (Alma 41:8) 

Yea, the work shall commence among all the dispersed of my people, with the Father to prepare the way whereby they may come unto me (3 Nephi 21:27)

But because of the faith of men he has shown himself unto the world, and glorified the name of the Father, and prepared a way that thereby others might be partakers of the heavenly gift (Ether 12:8)

God prepares a way for individuals in their circumstances

We are all familiar with 1 Nephi 3:7 and how the Lord would prepare a way for Nephi to perform this particular task. The Lord would also prepare a way for Lehi's family through the wilderness (1 Nephi 17:13)

The way of death

And here's the twist: In Ether 14:25, we read

And thus we see that the Lord did visit them in the fulness of his wrath, and their wickedness and abominations had prepared a way for their everlasting destruction.

Just to make sure that the teachings of "the two ways" remain intact. Note that it is always God who prepares the way for our salvation, but here it was the Jaredite's own wickedness that prepared a way for their destruction.


Again, "the way" is often connected to the wilderness, playing on this imagery in Isaiah 40.  For instance:

• John the Baptist lived in the wilderness and prepared the way of the Lord
• Jesus, who is "The way", also prepared himself for his mortal mission in the wilderness!
• In 1 Nephi 3:7, Nephi received a call to travel through the wilderness up to Jerusalem to get the plates and trusted that the Lord would provide a way
• In 1 Nephi 8, Lehi walks around in the wilderness before he sees the strait and narrow path to the tree of life.
• In 1 Nephi 17:13, as already mentioned: "And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you"

In our journey in the barren wilderness, it is reassuring to know that God has prepared a way back to the fruitful tree of life.

1 Nephi 3:7

This is one of the most famous verses in the entire Book of Mormon. Much wisdom packed in a few words. We sing about it in Primary and memorize it in Seminary. As I have read the Book of Mormon, I have noticed Nephi repeating this several times. It seems to be one of his favorite scriptures too! Well, at least it seems to be a principle he felt strongly about and a point he really wants to get across to his readers. Let us first review

I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

Only 8 verses later, Nephi repeats the last part of it

But behold I said unto them that: As the Lord liveth, and as we live, we will not go down unto our father in the wilderness until we have accomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us.

Nephi's mother repeats it in 1 Nephi 5:8

I also know of a surety that the Lord hath protected my sons, and delivered them out of the hands of Laban, and given them power whereby they could accomplish the thing which the Lord hath commanded them.

The only difference is "given them power" instead of "prepared a way". A variant of this theme in 1 Nephi 9:6

But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men;

Not only the thing which he has commanded but "all his works". Again, in 1 Nephi 17:3

And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them

"Provide means", "give them power" or "prepare a way". These are just different wordings of the same fundamental principle that Nephi is really eager to convey to his readers and demonstrate how it has applied to his life.

The two ways in 1 Nephi 3

As I read through the Book of Mormon, I'm paying particular attention to the concept of "the Two Ways." I believe this doctrine heavily influenced the worldview of the Book of Mormon writers (at least much more so than our typical modern worldview).

In this chapter, many of the same paired themes I listed in the previous chapter:

Obedience/Reluctance to obey

Obedience:

3:7 -- "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."
3:15 -- "As the Lord liveth, and as we live, we will not go down unto our father in the wilderness until we have accomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us."
3:16 -- Nephi tells his brothers: "Wherefore, let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord;"
3:16 -- Lehi left behind all of his riches "because of the commandments of the Lord."

Reluctance to obey:

3:14 -- "And we began to be exceedingly sorrowful, and my brethren were about to return unto my father in the wilderness."

Belief/Desire/Seeking Inspiration versus Unwilling to believe, unwilling to seek inspiration

Belief/Desire/Seeking Inspiration:



Unwilling to believe, unwilling to seek inspiration:

3:17-18 -- "For he knew that Jerusalem must be destroyed, because of the wickedness of the people. For behold, they have rejected the words of the prophets."

Love of God/Love of worldly things

Love of God:

3:19-20 -- Nephi explains that it is wisdom in God that they should the records, "that we may preserve unto them the words which have been spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets, which have been delivered unto them by the Spirit and power of God, since the world began, even down unto this present time."

Love of worldly things:

3:25 -- "when Laban saw our property, and that it was exceedingly great, he did lust after it, insomuch that he thrust us out, and sent his servants to slay us, that he might obtain our property."

Gratitude/Murmuring

Gratitude:

3:8 -- "when my father had heard these words he was exceedingly glad,"

Murmuring:

3:5 -- "thy brothers murmur, saying it is a hard thing which I have required of them; but behold I have not required it of them, but it is a commandment of the Lord."
3:29 -- "Laman and Lemuel again began to murmur, saying: How is it possible that the Lord will deliver Laban into our hands? Behold, he is a mighty man, and he can command fifty, yea, even he can slay fifty; then why not us?"

Willingness to lovingly exhort/Tendency to mock/scorn

Willingness to lovingly exhort:

3:15 -- "As the Lord liveth, and as we live, we will not go down unto our father in the wilderness until we have accomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us."

Tendency to mock/scorn:

3:28 -- "it came to pass that Laman was angry with me, and also with my father; and also was Lemuel, for he hearkened unto the words of Laman. Wherefore Laman and Lemuel did speak many hard words unto us, their younger brothers, and they did smite us even with a rod."
Blessings/Cursings:

3:6 -- "thou shalt be favored of the Lord, because thou hast not murmured."
3:8 -- "he knew that I had been blessed of the Lord."

3:29 -- "Know ye not that the Lord hath chosen him to be a ruler over you, and this because of your iniquities?"

L Tom Perry's lesson from 1 Nephi 3-4

Deceased Apostle, L. Tom Perry, reflects on the following lesson from 1 Nephi 3-4 in an adress to youth that is very applicable to adults as well.

I often think of what happened in the Book of Mormon, in 1 Nephi 3–4. Lehi sent his sons back to Jerusalem to get from Laban the record known as the brass plates. The record was important; the people needed it so they would not dwindle in unbelief.

On their first try, Lehi’s sons left getting the records to chance. They cast lots, and Laman was selected. He went to talk to Laban, and Laban was angry and cast him out of his presence. If young people leave the study of the scriptures to chance—only what they may casually absorb in Mutual, seminary, or a Sunday School class—they will not get the deep meaning that will come from studying by themselves and with their families. You cannot leave to chance a treasure as important as knowledge of the gospel.

Next Lehi’s sons tried to buy the brass plates using the things of the world. Laban sent his servants to slay them, and they escaped only by leaving their riches behind. Young people today may be tempted to seek happiness through the things of the world. Worldly ideas are presented to them all the time as they sit in front of the television or log on to the Internet. But sooner or later they will find that these ideas will not lead to the happiness they are seeking.

Finally, Nephi determined that the only way to obtain the records was by faith. When he made that decision, he was led by the Spirit to know what to do, and great blessings occurred. He obtained the scriptures, and the family of Lehi could journey in the wilderness with the sacred scriptures to guide them. In the same way, if youth will act in faith, they will receive knowledge that will guide them.

Sukkot in the Book of Mormon

The New Testament mentions several Jewish Holidays but rarely gives any details about the contents or way of celebration. The Book of Mormon is the opposite for some reason. Jewish festivals are not mentioned by name but the celebration according to Old Testament practice is described several places. We had a look at elements of Passover in the Book of Mormon in this post. Now we will turn our attention to Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles.

The most well-known example is in Mosiah 2. This article describes the elements of this feast and how they are reflected in Mosiah 2. In addition to what the article says, it is interesting to note that going to the temple to hear their king and living in tents is what Israel did in 1 Kings 8 at the dedication of Solomon's temple. This happened during the Feast of Tabernacles, which is celebrated in the month, Ethanim (1 Kings 8:2).

There is also another lesser-known example. When the Book of Mormon translation had started, before the loss of the 116 pages, Joseph Smith Sr. had read the translated pages and stated in an interview that there was a "great feast" in Jerusalem at the time Lehi and his family left. Don Bradley argues that this was Passover because he identifies narrative echoes of the Exodus. He might be right but my preliminary conclusion is that I disagree. Not because I am an expert, but because two other people who are more familiar with Jewish customs independently arrive at the conclusion that Lehi left Jerusalem during Sukkot. I think their arguments are persuasive. One is given by Bradley J Kramer here. The other is scattered in several posts on a discussion forum by a Jewish rabbi reading the Book of Mormon. I created a summary of his reasoning here. I find these observations really fascinating. Another observation I have made is that the only time they offer "sacrifice and burnt offerings" in the Book of Mormon, except for Mosiah 2, is during Lehi's exodus.

In any case this is my personal view. We know there was a "great feast" during Lehi's exodus but there are two competing theories as to which one and the readers presented with the different arguments may form their own conclusion.

How wealthy was Lehi?

It has been assumed that Lehi was quite wealthy because of textual clues, including him having a land of inheritance (1 Nephi 3:16), having gold and silver, and knowing the Egyptian language (was he involved in trading as some kind of businessman?). There are a couple of other interesting aspects that might suggest that Lehi was even more wealthy than we might think.

In 1st Nephi 3:13, when Laman first tries to ask Laban for the plates, Laban says he is a robber. That seems a bit odd since he only asked. But we know from 1st Nephi 5:16 that Lehi and Laban were related. Perhaps they knew or believed this already. The same verse also says that the brass plates contained the genealogy of their fathers. According to the Law of Moses, every 7 years the land returned to the families they originally belonged to by birthright. Genealogical records were really important for the more prominent and wealthy Jews because those were proof of their ancestry and hence their rights of property. Without the genealogical records, Laban would be risking his wealth. The fact that Lehi wanted the records could be interpreted by Laban not as merely losing a valuable artifact but that Lehi intented to take away his possession when the year of remission came and the genealogy records were consulted to verify each one's birthright.

Later, Nephi suggests they go to the land of Lehi's inheritance to get all their silver and gold and try to purchase the plates. The reason Nephi was persuaded that he could convince Laban was because their gold and silver would exceed any property Laban would lose for not having the proper records. In other words, if this theory is correct, Lehi was more wealthy than Laban.

1 Nephi 3:25 describes Lehi's property as "exceedingly great"

And it came to pass that when Laban saw our property, and that it was exceedingly great, he did lust after it,

Another, less obvious clue is given in 1 Nephi 6:1

And now I, Nephi, do not give the genealogy of my fathers in this part of my record; neither at any time shall I give it after upon these plates which I am writing; for it is given in the record which has been kept by my father; wherefore, I do not write it in this work.

A Jewish rabbi has the following comment to this passage;

It is crucial for the reader to understand that in Hebrew there are two different expressions for genealogy. One of them is תולדות (toledot) which literally means “sequels” and is usually translated as “generations”. This appears for example in Genesis 5:1: “This is the book of the generations of Adam.” Whenever the term “generations” appears it is simply meant to give a line of descendants.

However, the word that would literally be translated as “genealogy” in Hebrew is the ancient form יחש (yachash) which is found in Nehemiah 7:5 “And my God put into my heart to gather together the nobles, and the rulers, and the people, that they might be reckoned by genealogy.”

This particular word is used to indicate a royal dynasty. As we had already seen there is plenty of evidence that Nephi was of a ruling family in his own tribe so this fits the big picture.

It’s important to understand that an average Israelite would not bother to give a full account of all his descendants until their days. You don’t see this pattern for example in the writings of the prophets. However if one was a ruler it would be crucial to present such information.

When Nephi does not give this information in his records, it is more than simply saving space. He wants his words to be believed because of the message they contain and not because of his own royal background. For a man to consider his own royal bloodline to be nothing compared to what G-d had prepared for him would have required an enormous leap of faith from his part

Based on all this, it seems that Lehi as a descendent of Joseph was perhaps a 2nd or 3rd generation immigrant to Jerusalem from the conquered Northern Kingdom, with a noble bloodline and a large inheritance. Nephi does not focus at all on this aspect in the small plates, so we only have to pick up certain small clues.

This makes me wonder: If Lehi really was that wealthy, did he have a large household with many servants, and if so, did he bring any of them into the wilderness and to the promised land? They are never mentioned, but neither are Nephi's sisters until the last chapter he writes that has any narrative (2 Nephi 5).

So when Laman as the oldest brother keeps complaining to Nephi that he has the right to rule, it may be more to it than just claiming the regular Jewish privileges that being the oldest of 5 brothers would entail.

Anyway, that's probably enough speculation for today:)