13 And now behold, Pacumeni was appointed, according
to the voice of the people, to be a chief judge and a governor over the people,
to reign in the stead of his brother Pahoran; and it was according to his
right. And all this was done in the
fortieth year of the reign of the judges; and it had an end.
14 And it came to pass in the forty and first year
of the reign of the judges [51 B.C.], that the Lamanites had gathered together an innumerable
army of men, and armed them with swords, and with cimeters and with bows, and
with arrows, and with head–plates, and with breastplates, and with all manner
of shields of every kind. 15 And they came down
again that they might pitch battle against the Nephites. And they were led by a man whose name was Coriantumr;
and he was a descendant of Zarahemla; and he was a dissenter from among the
Nephites; and he was a large and a mighty man.
Helaman 1:13 – 15 (Emphasis mine)
After the assassination of Pahoran2, his brother,
Pacumeni was appointed chief judge and governor by the voice of the
people. Here we read an implication that
the judgment seat was an “inherited” position.
When Mormon tells us Pacumeni was appointed chief judge, he adds, “it
was according to his right.”
War again strikes the Nephites. A Nephite dissenter stirs up the Lamanites
and attacks the Nephites. It was a large
army (“an innumerable army of men,” an example of hyperbole in the Book of
Mormon).
The leader was named Coriantumr and he was a descendant of
Zarahemla. This tells us he was
descended from the Mulekites. He also
had a Jaredite name.
Even though Coriantumr was of Mulekite descent, Mormon
refers to him as a Nephite. We learn
that the label of “Nephite” is used as a political and cultural label.
16 Therefore, the king of the Lamanites, whose name
was Tubaloth, who was the son of Ammoron, supposing that Coriantumr, being a
mighty man, could stand against the Nephites, with his strength and also with
his great wisdom, insomuch that by sending him forth he should gain power over
the Nephites—17 Therefore he did stir them up to anger, and he did
gather together his armies, and he did appoint Coriantumr to be their leader,
and did cause that they should march down to the land of Zarahemla to battle
against the Nephites.
18 And it came to pass that because of so much contention and
so much difficulty in the government, that they had not kept sufficient guards
in the land of Zarahemla; for they had supposed that the Lamanites durst
not come into the heart of their lands to attack that great city Zarahemla.
19
But it came to pass that Coriantumr did march forth at the head of his numerous
host, and came upon the inhabitants of the city, and their march was with such
exceedingly great speed that there was no time for the Nephites to gather
together their armies. 20 Therefore Coriantumr
did cut down the watch by the entrance of the city, and did march forth with
his whole army into the city, and they did slay every one who did
oppose them, insomuch that they did take possession of the whole city.
Helaman 1:16 – 20 (Emphasis mine)
Coriantumr was appointed head of the Lamanite army by the
king, Tubaloth, son of Ammoron (nephew of Amalickiah) because he was a strong
and wise man. Tubaloth stirred up the
Lamanites, had Coriantumr lead the army, and they marched to Zarahemla. They were expecting a vicious battle.
While this was happening, things were in turmoil in
Zarahemla. Because of the chaos, they
failed to guard adequately the city.
They believed that the Lamanites would not dare to attack Zarahemla.
Coriantumr and “his numerous hosts” appeared so unexpectedly
and quickly that there was no time for the Nephites to organize and defend the
city. The Lamanite army easily entered
the city, killing anyone who got in their way.
They took possession of Zarahemla.
In verse 14, we read the Lamanite army was made up of “an
innumerable [number] of men.” In verse
19 we read, “Coriantumr did march forth at the head of his numerous host[s].” While the number was no doubt hyperbole,
throughout the Book of Mormon we read that the number of Lamanites was always
higher than the number of Nephites. John
L. Sorenson has an explanation for the large numbers.
“The Nephites kept on reporting the daunting scale of
Lamanite military manpower (see Alma 2:24, 28; 49:6; 51:11; Helaman 1:19). This
implies a base population from which the Lamanites could keep drawing an almost
inexhaustible supply of sword fodder. Such a large population is even
more difficult to account for by natural increase of the original Laman-Lemuel
faction than in the case of Nephi's group, for the eventual Lamanite absolute
numbers are disproportionately high. None of this demographic picture
makes sense unless ‘others’ had become part of the Lamanite economy and polity.”[1] (Emphasis
mine)
[1] When
Lehi's Party Arrived in the Land, Did They Find Others There? John L.
Sorenson, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed June 6,
2012.
No comments:
Post a Comment