The Book of Jacob: The Brother of Nephi, usually referred to as the Book of Jacob, is the third of fifteen books in the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude d ...

. According to the text, it was written by the ancient

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...

. The purpose of the book, in his own words, is to persuade all men to "come unto Christ" (Jacob 1:7). While this book contains some history of the

Nephite According to the Book of Mormon, the Nephites () are one of four groups (along with the Lamanites, Jaredites, and Mulekites) to have settled in the ancient Americas. The term is used throughout the Book of Mormon to describe the religious, p ...

s, including the death of Nephi, it is mainly a record of Jacob's preachings to his people. Chapter 5 contains the

Parable of the Olive Tree A parable is a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, that illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles. It differs from a fable in that fables employ animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature as characters, wh ...

, which is the longest chapter in the Book of Mormon, and which is a lengthy allegory of the scattering and gathering of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, comparing the

Israelites The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...

and gentiles to tame and wild olive trees, respectively. Jacob is seven chapters long.

Narrative

According to the Book of Mormon, in 545 BCE the prophet Nephi grew old and transferred record keeping responsibility to Jacob. Jacob writes that all the Jacobites, Josephites, and Zoramites were called Nephites together with the actual Nephites, and opposed to them were all the Lemuelites and Ishmaelites who were called Lamanites together with the actual Lamanites. Despite being blessed by God, the Nephites became wicked. The book of Jacob contains numerous sermons by Jacob, calling the people of Nephi to repentance. Topics of the sermon included imparting of substance to the poor, admonitions against polygamy and concubines, and a lengthy allegory describing the

Gathering of Israel The Gathering of Israel ( he, קיבוץ גלויות, ''Kibbutz Galuyot'' (Biblical: ''Qibbuṣ Galuyoth''), lit. Ingathering of the Exiles, also known as Ingathering of the Jewish diaspora) is the biblical promise of given by Moses to the peop ...

in the last days. The final section in the book tells the story of an

antichrist In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist refers to people prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus Christ and substitute themselves in Christ's place before the Second Coming. The term Antichrist (including one plural form)1 John ; . 2 John . ...

named Sherem, who God smites at the request of Jacob. Sherem confesses that he was lying about Christ, and then dies. When Jacob finished writing on the plates he bequeaths them to his son Enos.

References

External links

''The Book of Jacob'' from the official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
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Narrative

Further reading

References

External links