In the Book of Mormon, Nephi and his brothers go to the "house of Laban" to retrieve the plates of brass (see 1 Nephi 3). In 1 Nephi 3:31, Laman and Lemuel object to Nephi stating that they should try again to retrieve the plates after their first failed attempt, stating that "Laban can command fifty, yea, even he can slay fifty; then why not us?"
In my LDS upbringing, I seem to recall Laban being referred to as a "king," though I cannot find any reference to him being a king of any type in Book of Mormon verses. Additionally, according to this Wikipedia article about Laban, he is not referred to as a king, but as a prominent member of Jerusalem society.
In 1 Nephi 7:14, Nephi references that Jeremiah (the presumed acting "Prophet") is cast into prison:
14 For behold, the Spirit of the Lord ceaseth soon to strive with them; for behold, they have rejected the prophets, and Jeremiah have they cast into prison [...]
As a cross-reference to the Old Testament (Jeremiah 37:17-18), one can surmise that King Zedekiah is the appointed king of Jerusalem:
17 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the Lord? And Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon. 18 Moreover Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah, What have I offended against thee, or against thy servants, or against this people, that ye have put me in prison?
Thus, my question is this: What title does Laban hold? Is he a government figure, a religious figure, or in a position of power of any kind? And if he is capable of commanding fifty, how is he capable of that? Does he work for King Zedekiah at all? Is he one of King Zedekiah's priests? Or is Laban just some rich member of society who has his own personal/private security and servants?
