Lehi (Book of Mormon)

According to the Book of Mormon, Lehi (/ˈliːhaɪ/LEE-hy) was a prophet who lived in Jerusalem during the reign of king Zedekiah (approximately 600 BC). Lehi was an Israelite of the Tribe of Manasseh, and father to Nephi, another prominent prophet in the Book of Mormon. In the first book of the Book of Mormon, First Nephi, Lehi and Nephi lead their family out of Jerusalem, and across the sea to the "promised land" (the Americas). Mormon scholar Hugh Nibley has suggested that he was a merchant and contemporary of the Seven Wise Men of Greece. The prophet is the namesake of the modern-day city of Lehi, Utah.

According to the Book of Mormon, the families of Lehi, his friend Ishmael and another man named Zoram left Jerusalem some time before its destruction by the Babylonians in approximately 587 BC. Lehi's group proceeded southward down the Arabian Peninsula until they reached a location called Nahom. For some time, Lehi dwelt in a tent. 1 Nephi 2:15 Ishmael is reported to have died by this time, and he was buried at this location.

From Nahom, the group proceeded in an eastward direction across the desert until they reached a fertile coastal region they named Bountiful, where Lehi's son Nephi was instructed by the Lord to build a ship for the purpose of sailing across the ocean to the "promised land." The party of men, women and children along with their animals boarded the ship and sailed until they reached the Americas.

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