1 Nephi 4:31 - 4:35

1 Nephi 4:31 And now I, Nephi, being a man large in stature, and also having received much strength of the Lord, therefore I did seize upon the servant of Laban, and held him, that he should not flee.

31However, Nephi grabs him to prevent his escape. Nephi is a big boy and he also was strengthen by the Lord so he could keep him from escaping.

1 Nephi 4:32 And it came to pass that I spake with him, that if he would hearken unto my words, as the Lord liveth, and as I live, even so that if he would hearken unto our words, we would spare his life.

Nephi now has to talk fast to convince the servant to remain with the boys. Nephi promises him that if he will follow their instructions, the servant will not be killed to keep him from revealing the theft of the plates and the boys escape into the desert with them.

1 Nephi 4:33 And I spake unto him, even with an oath, that he need not fear; that he should be a free man like unto us if he would go down in the wilderness with us.

In addition, Nephi promises the servant that if he will stay with them and go with them, that he would have his freedom and would become a free man like the boys were. But he would have to give up living in Jerusalem and become involved in a unknown situation which he knew nothing of at the moment.

The servant must have been a indentured servant or maybe a slave, because he went for the proposition. It must have been a decision that cause him to think at least for a little bit. He had security and a home, but now uncertainly. But I guess the death threat plus the thought of being a free man convinced him to throw in with the boys and leave Jerusalem.

If he was a slave, he may have brought from some other part of the middle east and had no family around. Having no family to worry about, he could come and go without that worry.

1 Nephi 4:34 And I also spake unto him, saying: Surely the Lord hath commanded us to do this thing; and shall we not be diligent in keeping the commandments of the Lord? Therefore, if thou wilt go down into the wilderness to my father thou shalt have place with us.

Nephi also points out that their mission to get the plates was a commandment of the Lord. It should be self evident that it was not just a whim of the boys. Who in their right mind would stake their lives on getting something that was a little value as far as the material it was made of was concern.

In addition, the written material may have been available from other sources as well, so why put their lives on the line to get the plates. The only reason to have them would be so they could have God’s commandment with them and no man would think of such a thing if he were fleeing for his life. And if it is a commandment of the Lord, should not a man who hears them, live by them?

The servant is then promised to be on equal terms with everyone else in the camp so he would not just become a servant to Lehi’s family. He would be just like everyone else with equal say in what was going on. That might be a new experience to him.

1 Nephi 4:35 And it came to pass that Zoram did take courage at the words which I spake. Now Zoram was the name of the servant; and he promised that he would go down into the wilderness unto our father. Yea, and he also made an oath unto us that he would tarry with us from that time forth.

This was a proposal that Zoram, that was name of the servant, could not turn down. To be free and not to be a servant to Laban who may not have been a very good master to him was something he live with and be happy.