King, Coronation, and Covenant in Mosiah 1-6

King Benjamin on the tower

Mosiah 1-6 mentions several features of the Feast of Tabernacles: the pilgrimage of entire families to the temple, the dwelling of the people in booths or tents, as well as the offering of sacrifices. According to Stephen Ricks, the correlation of King Benjamin’s speech to the elements in the Feast of Tabernacles have brought him and other scholars to concluded that this is the setting to the speech of King Benjamin in Mosiah 1-6. In this article, Ricks outlines how Benjamin’s speech paralleled the Feast of Tabernacles. Many of the features of this speech show that this was a ceremony that was involved reflect the traditions of ancient Israelite culture. First is the significance of the office of king to the Nephites. Next is the coronation ceremony for the new king. The details of this ceremony have parallels in Israel and other ancient Near Eastern societies and even in other parts of the world. Finally, the order of events reported in these chapters reflects the “treaty-covenant” pattern well known in ancient Israel and the ancient Near East literature.

You can read Stephen Ricks’ article here.