He sent fiery flying serpents among them, and after they were bitten, he prepared a way that they might be healed.

1 Nephi chapter 17, verse 41.

Hey listeners, this is Nick from Book of Mormon Central, and today's podcast addresses the question,

we're there fiery flying serpents along Lehigh's trail?

As Nephi planned and prepared to build a ship, his brothers mocked him,

saying he was a fool for thinking he could build a ship and cross these great waters.

In response, Nephi reminded his brothers of several of the miracles the

Lord performed during Israel's exodus from Egypt, including the sending of fiery flying serpents

among them, and then, after they repented, providing the means by which they might be healed.

Modern readers may not readily appreciate how relevant this story was to Lehi

and his family's own circumstances at the time. The Israelites' encounter with the fiery serpents

occurred in the region roundabout the Gulf of Akaba, a branch of the Red Sea. Isaiah later characterized

the fiery flying serpent as one of the beasts of the South, with

South Negev in Hebrew, referring to the desert region of southern Judah.

Biblical texts are not the only sources to describe this as a region infested with flying serpents.

On account of the Assyrian king Ezrahaddin, circa 680 to 669 BC, describes traveling past

yellow snakes spreading wings in the same region. The Greek historian Herodotus, circa 484 to 425 BC,

also reported hearing stories about winged serpents living in the Sinai or Arabian desert,

and even claimed to have seen the skeletal remains of some.

All of these sources indicate that the desert regions to the south of Jerusalem were the primary

habitat of fiery and or flying serpents.

This is the same region Lehi and his family

...