In 1 Nephi 4:13 the angel states that “it is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief.” According to Kelly Ogden, the reader should compare this statement with the warning of Alma to Korihor: “Behold, it is better that thy soul should be lost than that thou shouldst be the means of bringing many souls down to destruction” (Alma 30:47). [D. Kelly Ogden, “Answering the Lord’s Call,” in Studies in Scripture: Book of Mormon, Part 1, pp. 28, 33]
“It is Better That One Man Should Perish”
It is intriguing that this phrase spoken to Nephi by the Spirit, “It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief” is the same phrase prophetically spoken by Caiaphas, the high priest, regarding Jesus (see John 11:49-52, “And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad”). [Zarahemla Research Foundation, Study Book of Mormon, p. 10]
Concerning the message of the Spirit to Nephi: “It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief” (1 Nephi 4:13), John Welch and Heidi Parker produce recent research which shows that this “one for many” principle operated from a time much earlier in the Israelite culture.
Second Samuel is a pivotal example, King David sought the life of Sheba, a rebel guilty of treason. When Sheba took refuge in the city of Abel, the leader of David’s army confronted the people of the city and demanded that Sheba be turned over to him. Rather than turn Sheba over, or face military destruction, the people of the city of Abel beheaded Sheba themselves. David’s army then retreated. This episode became an important legal precedent justifying the killing of one person in order to preserve an entire group.
A second Old Testament case is preserved more fully in the Jewish oral tradition. It involved Jehoiakim, the king of Judah who rebelled against the Babylonian leader Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar demanded that the Jewish Council surrender Jehoiakim or the nation would be destroyed. Jehoiakim protested, “Do they set aside one life in favor of another?” Unmoved, the Jewish Council replied, “Did not your forefather do exactly that to Sheba ben Birchri?” Jehoiakim was subsequently given over to Nebuchadnezzar, who took him to Babylon (see 2 Chronicles 36:6), where presumably he was executed.
Because Zedekiah would become king of Judah less than four months later (see 2 Chronicles 36:9-10, and because the Book of Mormon story begins by mentioning “the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah” (1 Nephi 1:4 ), Nephi could have been very aware of the “one for many” principle… .
Not only is this a point that few legal historians are aware of even today, but once again, Joseph Smith would have had no way of knowing. [John W. Welch and Heidi H. Parker, “Better That One Man Perish,” FARMS Update, Number 118, in Insights an Ancient Window, June 1998, p. 2]
One might also wonder if Nephi interpreted the Spirit’s “one for many” remark in a covenant perspective. In other words, because all covenant works are based on the atonement of Christ, and because Nephi received a covenant promise from the Lord just before embarking on the trip to retrieve the plates from Laban (see 1 Nephi 2:16-22), the Spirit might have been reminding Nephi of Christ’s atonement (“it is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief” (1 Nephi 4:13). [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes] [See the commentary on Alma 30:47]
1 Nephi 4:13 It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief ([Illustration] Chart: “When Is It Better for One Man to Perish Than an Entire Nation?” [John W. & J. Gregory Welch, Charting the Book of Mormon: Visual Aids for Personal Study and Teaching, F.A.R.M.S., Chart #115]