19 Now Zerahemnah, when he saw that they were all about to be destroyed, cried mightily unto Moroni, promising that he would covenant and also his people with them, if they would spare the remainder of their lives, that they never would come to war again against them.
20 And it came to pass that Moroni caused that the work of death should cease again among the people. And he took the weapons of war from the Lamanites; and after they had entered into a covenant with him of peace they were suffered to depart into the wilderness.
Alma 44:19-20 (Emphasis mine)
The Lamanites are suffering a rout. Zerahemnah realizes there is no hope of victory, only massive defeat. He cried out his surrender, agreeing to all of Moroni(1)’s terms.
Moroni(1) immediately stopped the battle. He wanted peace, not a massacre. His terms having been accepted, he collected their weapons and let them depart.
Hugh Nibley observes:
“This time Moroni had had enough of the obnoxious Zoramites and gave the order to let them have it. But very quickly Zerahemnah and his crew knew they were beaten, and again Moroni instantly stopped the fighting; he ‘caused that the work of death should cease again, … and after they [including Zerahemnah himself] had entered into a covenant with him of peace they were suffered to depart into the wilderness’ (Alma 44:20). So they lived to fight another day (though Zerahemnah, lacking a scalp, is never heard of again), as Moroni knew they would. He would have been justified in view of Zerahemnah's threats in finishing them off as a preventive measure, by modern standards; but he would not condemn them for a crime they had not yet committed, and in offering them a chance to sin again was also offering them a chance to repent and become his friends, which, as we shall see, many of them later did.” [1] (Emphasis mine)
John Welch explains the importance of an oath in Nephite society.
“The case of Moroni and Zerahemnah demonstrates in considerable detail how the Nephites and Lamanites often used oaths to consummate a legal treaty at the end of a war. Upon gaining a position of clear advantage in battle, Moroni proposed a negative covenant— something a conqueror commonly imposed in the Near East on a defeated army—requiring the Lamanites to surrender their weapons of war and covenant never to return to fight against the Nephites. The oath of peace was obviously an important part of Moroni's proposal because he refused Zerahemnah's counteroffer, which simply involved the Lamanites delivering up their weapons of war (see Alma 44:6-10). After further conflict, Zerahemnah and his soldiers eventually yielded up their weapons, and ‘after they had entered into a covenant with [Moroni] of peace they were suffered to depart into the wilderness’ (Alma 44:20). The Nephites required similar covenants of peace of the Lamanites in later battles (see Alma 62:16), of the people of Morianton (see Alma 50:36), and of the captured soldiers of Zemnarihah (see 3 Nephi 5:4).” [2] (Emphasis mine)
21 Now the number of their dead was not numbered because of the greatness of the number; yea, the number of their dead was exceedingly great, both on the Nephites and on the Lamanites.
22 And it came to pass that they did cast their dead into the waters of Sidon, and they have gone forth and are buried in the depths of the sea.
23 And the armies of the Nephites, or of Moroni, returned and came to their houses and their lands.
24 And thus ended the eighteenth year of the reign of the judges [73 B.C] over the people of Nephi. And thus ended the record of Alma, which was written upon the plates of Nephi.
Alma 44:21-24 (Emphasis mine)
The war was costly to both sides. They did not number the dead as there was so many. They bodies were thrown in the River Sidon and the armies returned to their homes.
This ends Alma(2)’s record. Grant Hardy explains:
“Not only does chapter 44 complete the original book of Alma ("And thus ended the record of Alma, which was wrote [sic] upon the plates of Nephi," Alma 44:24), it also provides the conclusion for the conversion stories of both the people of Ammon and the Zoramites…” [3]
[1] A Rigorous Test: Military History, Hugh Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed December 20, 2011.
[2] Law and War in the Book of Mormon, John W. Welch, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed December 20, 2011.
[3] Two More Waves, Grant R. Hardy, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed December 20, 2011.
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