1 Nephi 4:22

22  And he spake unto me concerning the ^aelders of the Jews, he knowing that his master, Laban, had been out by night among them.

     "and he spake unto me concerning the elders of the Jews."

-(and verse 27)  why is this twice made mention of?  Why is it such a prominent thing that Nephi records it two times on the plates?

   "Laban, had been out by night among them."
-generally speaking, birds of a feather flock together".  We are sometimes compelled to associate with others not of our choosing in the course of our work but those who we spend time with in the "after hours" are ones we elect.  It is fair to say these are the ones for whom we can be judged by the company we keep.  We do not know who the "elders of the Jews" or what type of character they possessed.  We do know about Laban.  He has revealed his character to us by his decisions as manifest in the past several verses.  We can safely assume that his associates were such that they felt comfortable with Laban and, hence, were like him in temperament, character and values.  Further more, we can surmise that the evening was spent recounting the unique particulars of the day's events.  Most likely there was celebration in their dishonorable conquests and illegitimate acquisition of wealth.  Was it their devilish celebration that led to much drinking and reverie?  It would not be surprising that this was the precursor to the state in which Nephi found Laban.