Nephite History in Context 2: Special Issue

This special issue of Nephite History in Context examines ancient sources relevant to Alma’s statement that the Son of God would be born “at Jerusalem, the land of our forefathers” (Alma 7:11). First, a fragment from the Dead Sea Scrolls which uses the phrase “land of Jerusalem” in a story about Jeremiah, Lehi’s contemporary, and in a setting very similar to that of 1 Nephi. Next, some of the Amarna Letters also use the phrase “land of Jerusalem,” and even mention a town in the land of Jerusalem that has been equated with Bethlehem by several scholars. Finally, a small fiscal bulla from Bethlehem found in Jerusalem, dated to Lehi’s day and attesting that Bethlehem was part of Jerusalem’s hinterland at that time.  

 

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