2 Yea, I make a record in the alanguage of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians.
Nephi chose to write in the language of his father, which was some kind of a combination of the Egyptian language and included the learning of the Jews. It seems like he is saying that it was not pure Egyptian, but heavily influenced by Jewish language, poetic forms, traditions and environment and all things Jewish (Hebrew).
Was the language tie due to the influence of the Egyptians while the children of Israel were captive in the land? Was it because Lehi came from a merchant background and he learned the language as a part of his profession and family culture? Interesting that this is also the language of the brass Plates (Mos 1:4)
Could the fact the Joseph (who was sold into Egypt) and became more Egyptian than any of the other brothers, taught the language to his descendents and it was carried down to Lehi as one of Josephs descendents?
1 comment:
I guess I should have saved my comment for this verse.
Another thought to consider on this might be the fact that the Jews and Israelites had associations with many of the neighboring peoples, even if they weren't all friendly.
Remember that the Egyptians greatly respected King Solomon for his wisdom. I believe he may have had a daughter of Pharaoh for a wife.
I do like the idea about Lehi and his profession, that probably had the greatest influence on Nephi and his language understanding. If for no other reason than it brought about a certain affluence.
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