Laban () is a figure in the First Book of Nephi, near the start of the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1830 by Joseph Smith as ''The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi''. The book is one of ...

, a scripture of the

Latter Day Saint The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded b ...

movement. Although he only makes a brief appearance in the Book of Mormon, his

brass plates Laban () is a figure in the First Book of Nephi, near the start of the Book of Mormon, a scripture of the Latter Day Saint movement. Although he only makes a brief appearance in the Book of Mormon, his Book of the Law of the Lord, brass plates ...

play an important role when they are taken by Laman and Nephi (often referred to as the "sons of Lehi") and are used by the

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

Narrative

Laban appears in First Nephi as a wealthy and politically influential military commander who may be a distant kinsman of Lehi. Laban owns brass plates which are held in high esteem. Lehi sends his sons Laman and Nephi to retrieve these plates, but Laban rebuffs them. He then attempts to kill the brothers two times, and the second time he steals the Lehi family fortune. Later, Nephi sneaks into Jerusalem and discovers Laban lying drunk in the road. Directed by the Spirit of the Lord, Nephi decapitates Laban. He then puts on Laban's clothing and armor and retrieves the plates.

Interpretations

Brass Plates

Brant Gardner identified five ways that the brass plates of Laban were "extremely important", both in the immediate context of their retrieval by the sons of Lehi and in later

, Lamanite, and Mulekite society. For Gardner, the plates function as a symbol of political authority, as a "social anchor" for the Nephites, a doctrinal source text, a prototype for Nephite recordkeeping, and as a "sacred object." The last point, indicating that the brass plates function as royal insignia, is also discussed in depth by Stephen D. Ricks, a

Latter-day Saint The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded b ...

Hebraist A Hebraist is a specialist in Jewish, Hebrew and Hebraic studies. Specifically, British and German scholars of the 18th and 19th centuries who were involved in the study of Hebrew language and literature were commonly known by this designation, a ...

and

apologist Apologetics (from Greek ) is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and recommended their fa ...

. Ricks associated the brass plates with the "protocol" that was used as a prop in

Josiah Josiah () or Yoshiyahu was the 16th king of Judah (–609 BCE). According to the Hebrew Bible, he instituted major religious reforms by removing official worship of gods other than Yahweh. Until the 1990s, the biblical description of Josiah’s ...

coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

, citing

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi (). Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...

's interpretation of the Hebrew word "edût" as the

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

in 2 Kings 11:12.

James Strang James Jesse Strang (March 21, 1813 – July 9, 1856) was an American religious leader, politician and self-proclaimed monarch. He served as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives from 1853 until his assassination. In 1844, he said he ...

, like Joseph Smith, claimed to translate scripture from metal plates. The resulting scripture, the

Book of the Law of the Lord A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, mo ...

, claims to contain at least part of Laban's plates.

Death

Nephi's killing of Laban has been argued over by believers and others engaging with the narrative on its own terms. Some say that the killing was legally justified as self defense, that it was a political act, that it was specifically one of "

sovereignty Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...

," and that it functioned similarly to the biblical Akedah as a test of Nephi's faith. Commentators have suggested that the story was a way for

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...

to deal with repressed childhood trauma and symbolically sever of the Book of Mormon narrative from the established

biblical canon A biblical canon is a set of texts (also called "books") which a particular Jewish or Christian religious community regards as part of the Bible. The English word ''canon'' comes from the Ancient Greek, Greek , meaning 'ruler, rule' or 'measu ...

as the Spirit of the Lord ordered Laban's murder.

Steven L. Peck Steven L. Peck (born July 25, 1957) is an American evolutionary biologist, poet, and novelist. His literary work is influential in Mormon literature circles. He is a professor of biology at Brigham Young University (BYU). He grew up in Moab, Uta ...

, a

novelist wrote a

Deleuze Gilles Louis René Deleuze (18 January 1925 – 4 November 1995) was a French philosopher who, from the early 1950s until his death in 1995, wrote on philosophy, literature, film, and fine art. His most popular works were the two volumes o ...

an treatment of the sword of Laban as emblematic of

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

and of power structures, referring to it as symptomatic of the "Jerusalem-machine."

Popular culture

In ''

The Book of Mormon Movie ''The Book of Mormon Movie, Volume 1: The Journey'' is a 2003 American Adventure film, adventure Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Gary Rogers and written by Rogers and Craig Clyde. A film adaptation of the first two books in ...

'', adapted from

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and Second Nephi, Laban was portrayed by the actor Michael Flynn. The film was widely panned by

and

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...

critics. The ''

Austin Chronicle Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

'' wrote of "Michael Flynn turning in a ripping good Edward G. Robinson impersonation as the villainous Laban."The Book of Mormon Movie, Volume 1: The Journey
in the ''Austin Chronicle''

References

Works cited

* *

External links

LDS research articles on the Sword of Laban

References to Laban
in the index to the

LDS LDS may refer to: Organizations Religion * Latter Day Saint movement (LDS movement), a collection of independent church groups **The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the largest group within the Latter Day Saint movement * Latvijas ...

edition of The Book of Mormon
References to brass plates
in the index to the LDS edition of The Book of Mormon

The Royal Press, St. James, 1856. Book of Mormon people Deaths by decapitation