13 And thus they were
prepared to meet the Amlicites at the time of their coming. And there were appointed captains, and higher
captains, and chief captains, according to their numbers.
14 And it came to pass
that Amlici did arm his men with all manner of weapons of war of every kind;
and he also appointed rulers and leaders over his people, to lead them to war
against their brethren.
15 And it came to pass
that the Amlicites came upon the hill Amnihu, which was east of the river
Sidon, which ran by the land of Zarahemla, and there they began to make war
with the Nephites.
16 Now Alma, being the
chief judge and the governor of the people of Nephi, therefore he went up with
his people, yea, with his captains, and chief captains, yea, at the head of his
armies, against the Amlicites to battle.
17 And they began to
slay the Amlicites upon the hill east of Sidon.
And the Amlicites did contend with the Nephites with great strength,
insomuch that many of the Nephites did fall before the Amlicites.
18 Nevertheless the
Lord did strengthen the hand of the Nephites, that they slew the Amlicites with
great slaughter, that they began to flee before them.
19 And it came to pass
that the Nephites did pursue the Amlicites all that day, and did slay them with
much slaughter, insomuch that there were slain of the Amlicites twelve thousand
five hundred thirty and two souls; and there were slain of the Nephites six
thousand five hundred sixty and two souls.
20 And it came to pass
that when Alma could pursue the Amlicites no longer he caused that his people should
pitch their tents in the valley of Gideon, the valley being called after that
Gideon who was slain by the hand of Nehor with the sword; and in this valley
the Nephites did pitch their tents for the night.
21 And Alma sent spies
to follow the remnant of the Amlicites, that he might know of their plans and
their plots, whereby he might guard himself against them, that he might
preserve his people from being destroyed.
22 Now those whom he
had sent out to watch the camp of the Amlicites were called Zeram, and Amnor,
and Manti, and Limher; these were they who went out with their men to watch the
camp of the Amlicites.
23 And it came to pass
that on the morrow they returned into the camp of the Nephites in great haste,
being greatly astonished, and struck with much fear, saying:
24 Behold, we followed
the camp of the Amlicites, and to our great astonishment, in the land of Minon,
above the land of Zarahemla, in the course of the land of Nephi, we saw a
numerous host of the Lamanites; and behold, the Amlicites have joined them;
25 And they are upon
our brethren in that land; and they are fleeing before them with their flocks,
and their wives, and their children, towards our city; and except we make haste
they obtain possession of our city, and our fathers, and our wives, and our
children be slain.
Alma 2:13-25
The Amlicites were prepared to begin a civil war and place
their man as king and rulers of Nephites.
The Nephites began their preparation to defend their government and
people. A. Brent Maxwell tells us verse
13 gives us the best explanation of the structure of the Nephite army. “And
there were appointed captains, and higher captains, and chief captains,
according to their numbers.” Maxwell
further explain the military structure and hierarchy.
Most likely the term "chief captain"
was part of a title for commanders with units of one thousand or more:
"chief captain of a thousand," "chief captain of ten
thousand," or "chief captain of the armies of the Nephites." If
these assumptions are correct, then "higher captains" possibly
commanded formations of one hundred or more men; and "captains" (as
used in Alma 2:13) might have commanded units of fifty or fewer.[1]
The Amlicites attacked the Nephite army at the hill
Aminhu. The army was led by Alma.
Elimination of the monarchy and the
establishment of a hierarchy of judges (see Mosiah 29:28-29) created pressures
for some corresponding reorganization within the armed forces. One obvious
change involved the senior military command position since the king was no
longer available to direct the Nephite armies. The initial solution to this
problem was to have the chief judge lead the armies (see Alma 2:16).[2]
We are also reminded we see the character of Alma in his
actions. “As we read in Alma 2:16, he
could have been absolute dictator. He was in a perfect position to take over
and run everything. Well, he was absolute dictator, wasn't he? No, he refused
to do it. The man makes the difference.”[3]
The war was ferocious.
There was slaughter on both sides; however, the Nephites were
strengthened by the Lord. The Amlicites
were losing and withdrew.
As the Amlicites retreated, the Nephite army followed and
the battle continued. Over 12,500
Amlicites died and over 6,500 Nephites died.
Eventually the pursuit ended and the Nephites made cam in the valley of
Gideon.
Four spies were sent to follow the Amlicites and discover
their plans. Alma needed this to plan
his strategy to make the Nephites safe from further destruction.
The next day, the spies returned to the camp. They brought back bad news. The Amlicites had joined with the Lamanites,
forming one large army. They are heading
towards the Nephites. Should Alma and his
army not arrive their soon, there would be a slaughter among the Nephite
civilian population.
[1] Warfare
in the Book of Mormon – Nephite Captains and Armies, A. Brent Merrill,
Maxwell Institute, accessed January 19, 2015.
[3] Teachings
of the Book of Mormon, Semester 2 – Lecture 42: Mosiah 29-Alma 1, Maxwell
Institute, accessed January 19, 2015.
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