Almost as soon as the sons returned from bringing their father the plates of brass, Lehi told them to return again to Judah and bring his cousin, Ishmael to join them. The fact that Ishmael had five daughters of marrying age (13 and up) probably accounts for the fact that there was no murmuring from Laman and Lemuel on this trip!Girls in ancient Israel/Judah would have been eligible for marriage as soon as their first menses. The fact that Ishmael had five at an eligible age, yet unmarried was interesting. Perhaps the eldest daughter, like Leah of old, was not beautiful nor well-favored (see Genesis 29.) According to the custom, she had to marry before her younger sisters. Could it be that no one wanted her?
When they got to Lehi's camp, Ishmael's eldest daughter was given to the former servant, Zoram, to be his wife (1 Nephi 16:7) and Laman, Lemuel, Sam and Nephi each married one of the other daughters of Ishmael. Zoram was then numbered as one of Lehi's family. Because Nephi had spared his life and sworn an oath of fidelity, Zoram remained true to his friend when, later, others in the family sought to destroy him.The Book of Mormon tells us nothing about the weddings other than that they occurred. According to the Hiltons, ancient Hebrew marriages didn't require any kind of government license or church/clergy sanction. Rather, these marriages were totally family affairs with the man and woman pledging their faithfulness to one another. The family, in turn, pledged their support for the couple as man and wife. It was usually a lavish affair, sometimes lasting several days (remember the wedding at Cana of Galilee?) We don't know if these weddings were elaborate or simple. We only know that Lehi could now move forward toward his God-given destiny knowing that his sons were wed and his lineage secured.
Text copyright June 2013, Gebara Education
Picture of Lehi's sons explaining the plan to Ishmael from www.lds.org
Ancient carving of a Hebrew wedding scene from www.signaturebookslibrary.org
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