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How Was Lehi a Descendant of the Jews?

TitleHow Was Lehi a Descendant of the Jews?
Publication TypeMagazine Article
Year of Publication1955
AuthorsSmith, Joseph Fielding
MagazineImprovement Era
Volume59
Issue Number10
Pagination702
Date PublishedOctober 1955
KeywordsEphraim (Tribe); Jews; Lehi (Prophet); Manasseh (Tribe)
Abstract

This article discusses how Lehi and the Nephites are referred to as “Jews” in several Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants passages (2 Nephi 30:4; D&C 19:27; D&C 57:4), even though they were literal descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh (Alma 10:3). They were Jews not so much by actual descent as by citizenship, having lived in Jerusalem in the kingdom of Judah, or through intermarriage.