Abstract: Nothing was more terrifying in the ancient world than a siege. Besiegers disregarded normal conventions of war and either utterly slaughtered or enslaved a city’s residents. Nephi used siege warfare imagery — including fire arrows, blinding, and being led away into captivity — to teach his brothers the importance of holding fast to Christ’s iron rod (see 1 Nephi 15:24). By analyzing this scripture and the vision of the Tree of Life in context of ancient siege warfare, we learn how Satan besieges God’s people, cuts off their access to the Tree of Life, draws them away through scorn, blinds them, and yokes them with a yoke of iron. Christ, in contrast, extends his iron rod through Satan’s siege, inviting us to hold fast to his word, accept him as our covenant family head, and join him in his work by speaking his word. Those who act on Christ’s invitation will find safety and joy in Christ’s kingdom.

Shortly after Nephi received his vision in 1 Nephi 11–14, he taught a vital principle to his brothers — that the word of God provides spiritual protection from Satan’s temptation and power: “Whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness” (1 Nephi 15:24). Since this principle is absent from the King James Version of the Old Testament, one might wonder where Nephi developed this idea. The Joseph Smith Translation of Genesis may indicate that Nephi had access to a similar [Page 2]teaching on the Brass Plates.1 However, even if Nephi had read Moses 4:4 — or something similar — Nephi’s insights still constitute a significant expansion on the information there. The timing and context in which Nephi states the principle — directly after experiencing his magnificent vision — strongly indicates that angelic instruction, rather than past scripture study, is the likely source of Nephi’s understanding. A close comparative analysis of Nephi’s vision with 1 Nephi 15:24 shows that the angel selectively chose visionary manifestations that helped Nephi clearly understand (a) Satan’s efforts to besiege Zion, its inhabitants, and all who seek refuge there, and (b) that the only way to withstand Satan’s siege is to give heed to God’s true word. The purpose of this paper is to illuminate connections between 1 Nephi 15:24, Nephi’s vision, and the cultural context in which Nephi received that vision, in order to better understand how he hoped that his brothers and all of his readers might endure Satan’s incessant efforts to draw people out and lead them away captive from Christ’s Kingdom.

1 Nephi 15:24 is given amidst a question-and-answer session between Nephi and his older brothers. Directly after experiencing his vision of the Tree of Life, Nephi saw his brothers arguing over the meaning of their father’s dream. Unlike Nephi, they had not “[looked] unto the Lord as they ought” (1 Nephi 15:3), and because Lehi had not explained the symbols of his visionary experience, Nephi’s brothers were left in [Page 3]the dark as to their meaning. After taking some time to recover from his own vision, Nephi directly answered their questions. During this conversation, they asked their younger brother, “What meaneth the rod of iron which our father saw?” (1 Nephi 15:23).