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 ...

, Laman and Lemuel () are the two eldest sons of

Lehi Lehi (; he, לח"י – לוחמי חרות ישראל ''Lohamei Herut Israel – Lehi'', "Fighters for the Freedom of Israel – Lehi"), often known pejoratively as the Stern Gang,"This group was known to its friends as LEHI and to its enemie ...

and the older brothers of

Sam Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional ...

, Nephi,

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 ...

, and

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the m ...

. According to the text, they lived around 600 BC. They were notable for their rebellion against Lehi and Nephi, becoming the primary antagonists of the First and Second Books of Nephi. Their descendants became known as the

Lamanites The Lamanites () are one of the four ancient peoples (along with the Jaredites, the Mulekites, and the Nephites) described as having settled in the ancient Americas in the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement. The Laman ...

and Lemuelites, while the descendants of Nephi and their other brothers became 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, ...

s. Laman was Lehi's first-born son. He rejected the teachings of his father (in particular Lehi's prophecy of the forthcoming destruction of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

in 600 BC). He and Lemuel persecuted and beat their brothers Sam and Nephi, who supported Lehi. Because

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

chose Nephi to lead Lehi's descendants after his death, Laman maintained that he had been robbed of his birthright, resulting in constant wars between the two peoples for nearly 600 years.

Divine Interventions

In the Book of Mormon there are incidences of Laman and Lemuel beating or binding up Nephi. On the first occurrence, when they were beating Nephi and Sam with a rod, an angel visited the brothers and rebuked Laman and Lemuel. On other occasions, Laman and Lemuel were chastened by the voice of the Lord, or "shocked" by divine power.

River of Laman and Valley of Lemuel

In , Lehi's party makes its way from Jerusalem towards the promised land. Verse 5 says that Lehi "''came down by the borders near the shore of the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...

; and he traveled in the wilderness in the borders which are nearer the Red Sea.''" The group traveled for three more days after they had reached "''the borders near the shore of the Red Sea''" before making camp. At this point, they make camp "''in a valley by the side of a river of water.''" Verses 8-10 read: Hugh Nibley, an LDS scholar and apologist, thought this area referred to as "the borders" was by Jabal al-Lawz (( ar, جَبَل ٱللَّوْز), also known as Gebel el-Lawz), Nibley, Hugh & Hummel, Sharman Bookwalter (ed.) ''Nibley's Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 1'' (2013), ASIN: B00GFY0GUO a mountain sometimes identified with

Mount Sinai Mount Sinai ( he , הר סיני ''Har Sinai''; Aramaic: ܛܘܪܐ ܕܣܝܢܝ ''Ṭūrāʾ Dsyny''), traditionally known as Jabal Musa ( ar, جَبَل مُوسَىٰ, translation: Mount Moses), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is ...

although most people reject this classification.Hoffmeier, James Karl ''Ancient Israel in Sinai'' Oxford University Press USA 2005 p13

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Etymology

"Lemuel" (Hebrew:לְמוּאֵל) is the name of a Lemuel (Biblical king), Biblical king mentioned in Proverbs 31, but otherwise unknown. In verse 4, it says, "Give not to kings, O Lemuel, give not wine to kings ..." The discourse, which is an exhortation to

chastity Chastity, also known as purity, is a virtue related to temperance. Someone who is ''chaste'' refrains either from sexual activity considered immoral or any sexual activity, according to their state of life. In some contexts, for example when ma ...

and temperance, appears to end with verse 9, but might continue through the end of the chapter. Hugh Nibley remarks Lemuel has a "good pure Arabic name, incidentally." Nibley, Hugh & Hummel, Sharman Bookwalter (ed.) ''Nibley's Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 1'' (2013), ASIN: B00GFY0GUO

Divine Interventions

River of Laman and Valley of Lemuel

Etymology

Family

References

Further reading

See also