Is Lehi mentioned in the Bible?

Just an interesting little fact I learnt about on my mission.

The name Lehi is mentioned in the Bible in Judges 15. It was the place where Samson killed a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of an ass.

So we learn that the place, Lehi, mentioned in the bible is significant for that is the scene of Samson’s feat with the ‘jawbone of an ass’ (which by the way is a long jawbone) and we know that Lehi came from that area where the names of people and places are traditionally linked together (a tradition repeated by Lehi himself in 1 Nephi 2:7-10).

Therefore we could assume (by the way I must clarify that this is merely an assumption or theory and not backed up by doctrine) that Lehi’s name was linked in some way to the place of Samson’s feat of strength and that he would have taught his children its significance seeing that Nephi was “taught somewhat in all the learning of [his] father”.

Now that’s an interesting fact in itself but the fascinating thing I found in Tahiti is that they
revere Ta’aroa as the god of the sea. Literally translated ‘Ta’aroa’ means ‘long jawbone’. In maori mythology Tangaroa is the god of the sea and you will find in most other polynesian cultures there is a similar deity, i.e Samoan and Tongan cultures revere the deity ‘Tagaloa’.

Contrary to many theories expounded in many western educational institutions, we as members of the church know the polynesian people to be descendants of Lehi and his family (see the July, 1971 issue of the Ensign).

With this knowledge then, could it be that these polynesian cultures have retained a record of their original ancestor, Lehi who made an unprecedented voyage across the sea, in the symbolic nomination of a common deity, Tagaloa/Ta’aroa/Tangaroa? A family historical myth transmitted through many generations originating in a common truth (Lehi traversing the sea to arrive in the promised land) and culminating in a shared myth (Ta’aroa/Tangaroa – God of the sea).