Killing of Laban

Killing of Laban
A painting of the scene in 1 Nephi 4 (in the Book of Mormon) when Nephi feels the spirit of God tell him to kill Laban, whom he has found unconscious on the street in Jerusalem. Two men on a cobblestone street, surrounded by high walls; the lighting of the sky and scene indicate it is nighttime. One man lies on the ground, his eyes shut. He wears clothing with very wide sleeves. A scabbard for a sword is at his belt. One arm rests under his head, as if his pillow. He is fully plunged in the shadow of a wall/building to the left in the image. This man is Laban. The second man stands over him, hunched over but leaning slightly back. His back down is caught in shadow; his head is caught in light (moonlight?). He has in his right hand a sword, visible only by silhouette in the lighting. He wears an orange-ish tunic that goes down to his wrists and shins. He wears a not-quite-turban head covering of a more bluish/whitish hue. This man is Nephi. In the background, the street stretches on, passing under a semi-oval arch.
H. H. Haag's Nephi and Laban (1894)
TimeNight
EraReign of Zedekiah
LocationJerusalem
Participants

The story of the Killing of Laban, where Nephi kills Laban, is found near the beginning of the Book of Mormon. After the family of Lehi flees Jerusalem and sets up a camp in the wilderness, Nephi sends his four sons back to Jerusalem to obtain a set of brass plates from a religious leader named Laban. Lehi believes that these plates will be necessary for his descendants to preserve their culture and religion in the new land they will inhabit. When Lehi's sons meet with Laban, he refuses to give them the plates and attempts to have them killed. Later, Nephi encounters a drunken Laban on the steps of his house. Under direction from the Holy Spirit, Nephi kills and decapitates Laban and then impersonates him in order to obtain the brass plates. The ethical implications of Nephi, an important prophet in the Book of Mormon, taking a man's life in order to secure the long-term prosperity of his descendants have made this one of the most analyzed and debated passages of the Book of Mormon.


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