Textual: We have a rather abrupt transition from the previous chapter into this chapter. This represents a break in the 1830 chapters, and a very clear change in Mormon’s source document, so it is understandable that Mormon would create a new chapter. The transition is accomplished by the header information that is left without verse numbering in the modern edition:
The Record of Zeniff.
An account of his people, from the time they left the land of Zarahemla, until the time that they were delivered out of the hands of the Lamanites
The nature of the head suggests that Mormon wrote it. It is certainly introductory, and also requires that the person who wrote the introduction know then end of the story. That very fact indicates that this was not the introduction on Zeniff’s plates, but something added later. Since Zeniff’s plates would appear to be original source material, not necessarily including in the original plates of Nephi kept my Mosiah, it is most likely that this is Mormon’s introduction. The alternative is that Zeniff’s record was entered into the dynastic plates of Nephi as a complete copy. With the labor required to engrave plates, this does not seem likely.
Even with this introduction, however, Mormon’s transition is problematic, as there is no direct thematic relationship between the immediately preceding events and the record of Zeniff. In fact, from the introduction to the seer and the proclamation of Mosiah as such a seer, one might expect that the next inserted record would be that of Ether. Not only do we not see Ether, we see Ether only very late in the compilation of the Mormon’s work when Moroni is finishing the work for his father.
The transition between the material in Mosiah 7-8 and 9 is certainly Mormon’s least literary shift to date in the Book of Mormon. Mormon will begin this insertion with direct quotations from Zeniff, but will end with abridgements of that information. It would appear that Mormon’s logic for the transition was something on the order of the following:
While this reasoning gives us the place of the plates in the current text, the transition is still very abrupt.
Literary: Mosiah 9 begins with a formal declaration beginning: “I, Zeniff, having been taught in all the language of the Nephites, …” This introduction has very clear echoes of Nephi’s introduction: “1 Nephi 1:1 I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days. 2 Yea, I make a record in the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians.”
While the two introductions share certain traits, such as the declaration of the writer and the indication of the “learning” and “language” of each person, they are still sufficiently different that it would not appear that Zeniff is a copy of Nephi. Indeed, most of the Book of Mormon shows an ignorance of the small plates of Nephi, and we would therefore not expect that Zeniff would have (or could have) copied the 1 Nephi 1 as we have it. However, it is possible that Nephi’s introduction to his large plates began similarly, and this self-identification in Zeniff is a direct model of the large plates of Nephi.
This possibility becomes even more probably when we understand the reason that Limhi begins his lineage with Zeniff. Zeniff is the first of the new kings in the new (old) land. Just as Nephi was the beginning of a lineage (honored by the continuation of Nephi as the king name), Zeniff was also a lineage founder, and therefore it was appropriate that he begin both a new record, and create a formal declaration of its source.
As with our analysis of the probably contents of the Book of Lehi, the Book of Zeniff would have included more than a single king. The Book of Lehi would have included multiple “Nephis” and the Book of Zeniff included the acts of Zeniff, Noah, and Limhi (who closed the dynasty by reuniting with Zarahemla and bowing to Zarahemlaite authority).
Historical: We have met Zeniff before in two locations in the Book of Mormon. We are first introduced to him in Omni 1: 27-30. We do not have Zeniff’s name from that account, but that is the beginning of Zeniff’s story. We meet Zeniff again in Mosiah 7:9 where Limhi proclaims his lineage to Ammon, beginning with Zeniff. Beginning in Mosiah 7:21 Limhi gives an abbreviated account of the history of his people, an account that receives flesh in Mosiah 9-21, which account comes from the official dynastic history of the Zeniffites.
The next curiosity in this verse is the reason for the original expedition. We have little information about the original purpose, only the statement: “that our army might come upon them and destroy them.” While this is sufficient explanation, that explanation still requires some examination. Why was military action being considered? Mosiah and his people had recently fled the city of Nephi, apparently being less militarily able than those who forced their flight. We may suppose that with the addition of the armed ability of the Zarahemlaites, the displaced Nephites might have felt that they had the military strength to “correct” the wrong done against them. In this expedition, we appear to see a people who are still looking back to their old home, and carrying grudges against those who had forced them out. Thus this military action was mounted, apparently with the blessing of Mosiah I.
Zeniff is a spy for the army, His job is to learn about the people they want to attack to increase the ability of the army to defeat them. What Zeniff learns, and his reaction to it, changes the plans of the group: “but when I saw that which was good among them I was desirous that they should not be destroyed.” This statement also requires some analysis. We must assume that Zeniff’s original intent was the same as the rest of the party – to scout out a way to beat the inhabitants of the city or land of Nephi. What could have changed his mind?
We know little of how Zeniff conducted his spying mission. It appears, however, that he went into the City of Nephi in disguise, using his knowledge of the language of his fathers to fit in (note that verse 5 indicates that he went into the city again). Zeniff was therefore able to talk with some of the people, and witness their lifestyle. We must remember that while there is animosity towards those who are in the city of Nephi, they are probably racially Nephite, but politically Lamanite. As we examined in Omni, Mosiah is fleeing from internal pressure, not external attack. Those who were left in the city of Nephi were those who had developed the wealth and power that Jacob had railed against (and it was they who had conspired against Jacob). Their way of life would have been somewhat familiar to Zeniff, and certainly their wealth and power would have been impressive.
As many soldiers have discovered, the average person who is the “enemy” is still a person, and there is much good in all of the world. Zeniff saw this first hand. Nevertheless, Zeniff’s proclamation of the goodness of the people must have had more to it than good hearts. In order for Zeniff to persuade a large number of the invading army that there was “much good” in these Nephites-become-Lamanites, there had to be something that they could see that would cause them to believe Zeniff, as certainly not all who fought with Zeniff against the leader of the expedition would have entered the city and spoken with the inhabitants.
It is probable that seeing the wealth and power of the inhabitants of the land of Nephi helped the others to see “that which was good.” We should remember that based on the tentative connections between Book of Mormon cities and archaeological sites that Nephi/Kaminaljuyu was much more spectacular than Zarahemla/Santa Rosa. The internal evidence from the Book of Mormon would confirm that difference in size and wealth.
Perhaps Zeniff thought that with the removal of Mosiah’s people, the internal tensions would have been relieved, and that the returning Nephites might gain place in the general area, and he probably thought they might also gain access to the sources of the wealth of the city of Nephi. Indeed, the granting of land to Zeniff’s people indicates that there was no consuming hatred on the part of the people of the city of Nephi towards those who had fled their city.
Language: As with most comments involving language in the Book of Mormon, Zeniff gives us ambiguous information which we would prefer he had elaborated. The essential information is:
“1 I, Zeniff, having been taught in all the language of the Nephites, and having had a knowledge of the land of Nephi, or of the land of our fathers’ first inheritance, and having been sent as a spy among the Lamanites that I might spy out their forces, that our army might come upon them and destroy them….”
Zeniff is explaining his selection to the group of men sent to spy on the Lamanites in the land of Nephi. The apparent reasons for including Zeniff have to do with his having been “taught in all the language of the Nephites” and with his “knowledge of the land of Nephi.” This second qualification is quite easy to understand. Since Zeniff was one who had come from Nephi, he knew the land, and such information would be invaluable to a spy party. However, what is the significance of the first qualification? It would appear that his knowledge of “all the language of the Nephites” was also beneficial. Just as knowing the lay of the land would be beneficial, so too would be a knowledge of language. While the idea is simple, the implications are profound. First, Zeniff is assuming that knowing the “language of the Nephites” will help him in the land of the Lamanites! Why is that? While we might appeal to the common origins of the Nephites and Lamanites, those origins are nearly 500 years in the past, and that is plenty of time for at least one of the groups to have adopted the language of other tribes in the area.
More likely, the language of the Nephites was valuable because Mosiah’s people were not the only Nephites at the time of their flight, and they left behind linguistic and cultural “Nephites” when the fled Nephi. At this point in time, however, those genetically, linguistically, and culturally related Nephites have now become Lamanites, because they fit the definition of enemies to the people of Nephi who are the self-defined people who fled with Mosiah.
The next curiosity is that Zeniff specifically notes that he was taught that language. The implication is that the language of the Nephites is not a common asset among the people of Zarahemla. In spite of the fact that Mosiah had “Nephite” taught to the Zarahemlaites (Omni 1:18), Zeniff was able to use his knowledge of that language as a special qualification for the spy mission. This statement from Zeniff is quite suggestive that the Nephite language was not the dominant language of post-Mosiah Zarahemla.