This interesting word is Hebrew with an Egyptian ending.
It is the name which Lehi gave to the ball or director he found outside his
tent the very day he began his long journey through the "wilderness,"
after his little company had rested for some time in the Valley of Lemuel. (I
Nephi 16:10; Alma 37:88)
L is a Hebrew preposition meaning "to," and
sometimes used to express the possessive case. Iah is a Hebrew abbreviated form
of "Jehovah," common in Hebrew names. On is the Hebrew name of the
Egyptian "City of the Sun," also known as Memphis and Heliopolis.
L-iah-on means, therefore, literally, "To God is Light"; or, "of
God is Light." That is to say, God gives light, as does the Sun. The final
a reminds us that the Egyptian form of the Hebrew name On is Annu,* and that
seems to be the form Lehi used.
Lehi had just received the divine command to begin his
perilous journey. The question uppermost in his mind, after having received
that call, must have been how to find the way. That must have been quite a
problem. But he arose early in the morning, determined to carry out the command
given. Undoubtedly he had prayed all night for light and guidance. And now,
standing in the opening of the tent, perhaps as the first rays of the sun broke
through the morning mists, his attention is attracted by a metal ball "of
curious workmanship." He picks it up and examines it. And then, as he
realizes that it is the guide for which he had been praying, he exclaims in
ecstacy, L-iah-on-a! Which is as much as to say, This is [p.179] God's delight;
it has come from him! And that became the name of the curious instrument. This
was not a compass. It was a miraculously formed instrument which served both as
compass and actant.
Now, the fact is that this manner of giving names was an
ancient Semitic custom. Hagar, when her son was perishing in the wilderness and
she beheld the angel by the life-giving spring, exclaimed, Beer-lachai-roil
which means, literally, "Well, to live, to see." That is to say,
"the well of him that liveth and seeth me," for that was the thought
that came to her mind. (Gen. 16:13-14) And that became the name of the well. In
the same way, Abraham called the place where he had offered Isaac on the altar,
Jehovah-jireh, "the Lord will provide"; because the Lord did provide
for himself a ram instead of Isaac, as Abraham had assured his son the Lord
would do. (Gen. 27:7-8) And that became the name of the Mount "to this
day."
Lehi gave the metal ball a name commemorative of one of
the great experiences of his life, just as these Old Testament worthies had
done. And, furthermore, he gave it a name that no one but a devout Hebrew
influenced by Egyptian culture would have thought of. Is that not the strongest
possible evidence of the truth of the historic part of the Book of Mormon?
Verse 39
And behold, it was prepared to show unto our fathers the
course which they should travel in the wilderness. The Prophet Nephi in
recording the events connected with the acquisition of this ball of
"curious workmanship," says: And thus my father had fulfilled all the
commandments of the Lord which had been given him. And also, I, Nephi, had been
blessed of the Lord exceedingly. And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord
spake unto my father by night, and commanded him that on the morrow he should
take his journey into the wilderness. And it came to pass that as my father
arose in the morning, and went forth to the tent door, to his great
astonishment he beheld upon the ground a round ball of curious workmanship; and
it was of fine brass. And within the ball were two spindles; and the one
pointed the way whither we should go into the wilderness. (I Nephi 16:8-10)
Lehi had received a command to start on his journey on the
morrow. Naturally, his great concern was how to find the road through the
wilderness, and how to avoid encounters with those who might prove enemies.
Ezra, in leading a large company of his countrymen from Babylon to Jerusalem,
was confronted with a similar problem. He could have obtained an armed escort
from the king, but because he had told the ruler that the Lord would protect
them, he was, as he says, ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers,
thereby proving that his faith in Jehovah had no practical value. Ezra gathered
his company, instead, at the River Ahavah, and for three days they fasted and
prayed for guidance and protection. Then they set out on their perilous
journey. "And the hand of our God," Ezra says, "was upon us, and
He delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the
way." (Ezra 9:15-23, 31-32) As for Lehi the problem of guidance and
protection from robbers was solved in a most remarkable way. He was up early in
the morning. As he stood by the opening of his tent, undoubtedly wondering what
course to take in his journey, he perceived a ball lying on the ground before
the tent door. He picked it up and found, on examining it, that it contained
two spindles, one of which pointed the way "whither we should go."
That solved the problem. The spindle indicated the general direction, and also
where to go to find food and safety from robber bands.
And it did work for them according to their faith in God.
Lehi's journey was thus continued for a long time. The company would travel for
a few [p.180] days, then rest and hunt, then again take up their directed
course as the compass indicated. It generally guided them through the most
fertile portions of the great desert.
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