Having been commanded by the Spirit, Nephi killed Laban. He
took Laban’s garments and put them on, including his armor. He headed to the
treasury of Laban.
While going there, he met Zoram, one of Laban’s servants. He
had the keys to the treasury. Nephi commanded him, in Laban’s voice, to go with
him to the treasury. Zoram accepted Nephi’s deception and talked to him as if
he were Laban. He spoke to Nephi about the elders of the Jews. Nephi continued
to respond as if he were Laban. Hugh Nibley explain the role Zoram filled for
Laban.
“Zoram, as Laban’s private secretary and keeper of the keys,
was himself an important official, and no mere slave. Professor Albright has
shown that the title ‘servant’ by which Nephi designates him meant in Jerusalem
at that time something like ‘official representative’ and was an honorable
rather than a menial title.”[1]
Nephi told Zoram that he was taking the plates to his
brethren who were outside the walls of the city. Assuming he meant Jewish
leaders, he followed Nephi, still believing he was Laban. While they were
leaving the city, Zoram continued talking to Nephi about the Jewish leaders.
Laman, Lemuel, and Sam saw them coming and thought it was
Laban coming to kill them. Since he was coming, Nephi was obviously dead. They
were frightened and ready to flee, hoping to escape Laban’s wrath. Nephi called
out to them and they stopped and returned.
Zoram must have realized Laban was, most probably, dead, and
he might be next. As he tried to escape, Nephi grabbed him and he held him,
preventing his escape.
Nephi spoke to Zoram and promised him if he listened to his
words, he would spare his life. He spoke with an oath that he had nothing to
fear and that he would be a free man if he went with them into the wilderness. Nephi
told him the Lord commanded him to do this. “[S]hall we not be diligent in keeping the commandments of the Lord?” (1
Nephi 4:34). If he came, he would “have a place with us.” Val Larsen wrote:
“Having restrained Zoram, Nephi specifies the terms on which
Zoram may live peaceably with the family of Lehi. Nephi swears with the most
powerful of oaths that if Zoram ‘would hearken unto my words, as the Lord
liveth, and as I live, even so . . . he should be a free man like unto us’ (1
Nephi 4:32–33).”[2]
Zoram accepted the offer. He made an oath that he would
remain with them. Nephi wrote, “[W]hen Zoram had made an oath unto us, our
fears did cease concerning him” (1 Nephi 4:37).
Hugh Nibley explains the importance of oaths.
“[T]he oath is the one thing that is most sacred and
inviolable among the desert people and their descendants: ‘Hardly will an Arab
break this oath, even if his life be in jeopardy,’ for ‘there is nothing
stronger, and nothing more sacred than the oath among the nomads,’ and
even the city Arabs, if it be exacted under special conditions. ‘The taking of
an oath is a holy thing with the Bedouins,’ says one authority. ‘Wo to him who
swears falsely; his social standing will be damaged and his reputation ruined.
No one will receive his testimony, even if it is true, and he must also pay a
money fine.’”[3]
Zoram is portrayed as willingly going with Nephi and his
brothers. Hugh Nibley explains, “He was not forced into it at all, but talked
into it, softened and persuaded by Nephi’s words, in particular the promise ‘that
he should be a free man like unto us if he would go down in the wilderness with
us’ (1 Nephi 4:33).”[4]
Ammoron, wrote Moroni1, telling him, “I am
Ammoron, and a descendant of Zoram, whom your fathers pressed and brought out
of Jerusalem” (Alma 54:23). “This statement indicates there was a tradition
among the people that Zoram had been forced to accompany Nephi.”[5]
What is the truth? There is no question Zoram was loyal to
Nephi. Lehi gave Zoram a blessing before his death, saying, “And now, Zoram, I
speak unto you: Behold, thou art the servant of Laban; nevertheless, thou hast
been brought out of the land of Jerusalem, and I know that thou art a true
friend unto my son, Nephi, forever” (2 Nephi 1:30).
When the family separates, Nephi wrote, “I, Nephi, did take
my family, and also Zoram and his family, and Sam, mine elder brother and his
family, and Jacob and Joseph, my younger brethren, and also my sisters, and all
those who would go with me.” (2 Nephi 5:6).
When Nephi grabs him, Zoram is not in a good situation. Since
Nephi has the brass plates, is wearing Laban’s clothes and armor, and has Laban’s
sword, it would be a reasonable to infer Laban was dead. He is now outside the
city, surrounded by Nephi and his brothers. If he doesn’t agree to their terms,
he will most probably be killed. He doesn’t have much choice
At some point, the tradition that Zoram was forced to go against
his will (kidnapped), develops. This tradition may have been behind the split of the
Zoramites from the Nephites.
Whether or not Zoram initially went along with Nephi and his
brothers willingly is unimportant. We will see that Zoram always stood by,
supported, and was loyal to Nephi. This is what we should remember about Zoram.
[2] Killing Laban: The Birth of Sovereignty in
the Nephite Constitutional Order, Val Larsen, Provo, Utah:
Maxwell Institute .
[5] The Zoramite Separation: A Sociological
Perspective, Sherrie Mills Johnson, Provo, Utah: Maxwell
Institute .
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