"My Father Dwelt in a Tent"

Since accepting Teresa's challenge (Thanks again Teresa!), it has been interesting to visit with some of you about the things we are reading, and (Oh my golly, new scripture!) the new insights and understandings we have not noticed or learned before. Isn't it interesting how the Spirit enlightens our understanding as we put forth the effort to read, ponder and pray.

I feel that the Lord is blessing our family with great understanding and scriptural wisdom as we work at completing Teresa's challenge.

A couple of days ago I received a text from Becca which said, "Just a thought from last night (We had talked about how long of a journey it was for Nephi, Lamen and Lemuel, to return to Jerusalem from the borders of the Red Sea, a journey of about 260 miles) When Lamen and Lemuel were told about going back to their home in Jerusalem, and complained about it being a hard thing, it really was a hard thing if it was a months journey. Just our two day journey backpacking was hard. Can you imagine a month. I wonder if I would've complained."

We all have finished 1 Nephi by now. One thing that caught my attention, was the phrase that Nephi used 4 times in 1 Nephi, "and my father dwelt in a tent." I remember reading some research on this awhile ago, so I revisited the research and thought I would share some things that I learned about this phrase.

Dwelling in a tent for a desert nomad, was a thing of great importance. A nomad's tent was a place of gathering, of prayer and worship. It was a center for the family. In Lehi's case, it could have also been a symbol of his obedience and humility to the Lord, as he was a very wealthy man, having had great possessions and a nice "stationary/fixed" home in Jerusalem. The upper class dwelt in homes built from materials, while the poor dwelt in tents.

The late Hugh Nibley, writes this in his book "Lehi in the Desert:"


The editors of the Book of Mormon have given a whole verse to Nephi's laconic statement, "And my father dwelt in a tent" (1 Nephi 2:15), and rightly so, since Nephi himself finds the fact very significant and refers constantly to his father's tent as the center of his universe. 35 To an Arab, "My father dwelt in a tent" says everything. "The present inhabitants of Palestine," writes Canaan, "like their forefathers, are of two classes: dwellers in villages and cities, and the Bedouin. As the life and habits of the one class differ from the those of the other, so do their houses differ. Houses in villages are built of durable material; . . . on the other hand, Bedouin dwellings, tents, are more fitted for nomadic life." 36 An ancient Arab poet boasts that his people are ''the proud, the chivalrous people of the horse and camel, the dwellers-in-tents, and no miserable ox-drivers." 37 A Persian king but fifty years after the fall of Jerusalem boasts that all the civilized kings "as well as the Bedouin tent-dwellers brought their costly gifts and kissed my feet," 38 thus making the same distinction as the later poet. One of the commonest oaths of the Arabs, Burckhardt reports, is "by the life of this tent and its owners," taken with one hand resting on the middle tent pole. 39 If a man's estate is to be declared void after his death, "the tent posts are torn up immediately after the man has expired, and the tent is demolished," while on the other hand "the erection of a new tent in the desert is an important event celebrated with feast and sacrifice." 40 And the cult of the tent was as important to the Hebrews as well. Indeed, the Hebrew word for tent (ohel) and the Arabic word for family (ahl), were originally one and the same word. 41 "The Bedouin has a strong affection for his tent," says Canaan. "He will not exchange it with any stone house." 42 So Jacob was ''a plain man, dwelling in tents" (Genesis 25:27), though, let us add, by no means in squalor: "Casual travelers in the Orient, who have seen only the filthy, wretched tents of the tribeless gypsy Bedouins . . . would be surprised, perhaps, at the spaciousness and simple luxury in the tent of a great desert sheik." 43
So with the announcement that his "father dwelt in a tent," Nephi serves notice that he had assumed the desert way of life, as perforce he must for his journey. Any easterner would appreciate the significance and importance of the statement, which to us seems almost trivial. If Nephi seems to think of his father's tent as the hub of everything, he is simply expressing the view of any normal Bedouin, to whom the tent of the sheikh is the sheet anchor of existence. 44 "A white flag," we are told, "is sometimes hoisted above his tent to guide strangers and visitors. All visitors are led directly to the tent of the [sheikh]." 45 When Nephi urged the frightened Zoram to join the party in the desert, he said: "If thou wilt go down into the wilderness to my father thou shalt have place with us" (1 Nephi 4:34). The correctness of the proposal is attested not only by the proper role of Lehi in receiving members and guests into the tribe but also in the highly characteristic expression, "thou shalt have place with us." For since time immemorial the proper word of welcome to the stranger who enters one's tent has been ahlan wa sahlan wa marhaban, literally (perhaps), "a family, a smooth place, and a wide place!" 46 Equivalent expressions are found in the Old Testament, as when Abraham invites his heavenly visitor to sit beneath his tree (Genesis 18:4), and here too such details are authentic touches of Bedouin life. But none of the Bible expressions are as typically "Arabic" as Nephi's invitation.


Knowing that we all are on a tight reading schedule, I won't expound any more on this subject. But I do recommend, when you have more free time, to study more on this topic.

I look forward to reading your comments and thoughts on this or any other topic you have gained this past week from reading the Book of Mormon. We could spend years just talking about Lehi's dream of the Tree of Life. Matter of fact, I'll reserve this topic for later discussion, after we have completed our B of M reading assignment. However, just a seed of thought to think about. Think about the symbolism of the Tree of Life in Lehi's dream. And think of how many similar trees there are through out the scriptures and in the temple. (A few hints: The olive tree, the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the tree spoken of in Alma 32...)

Love, Dad