31 And it came to pass
that he flattered them by his words, saying: My brethren, be of good cheer and
let us go in search of the flocks, and we will gather them together and bring
them back unto the place of water; and thus we will preserve the flocks unto
the king and he will not slay us.
32 And it came to pass
that they went in search of the flocks, and they did follow Ammon, and they
rushed forth with much swiftness and did head the flocks of the king, and did
gather them together again to the place of water.
33 And those men again
stood to scatter their flocks; but Ammon said unto his brethren: Encircle the
flocks round about that they flee not; and I go and contend with these men who
do scatter our flocks.
34 Therefore, they did
as Ammon commanded them, and he went forth and stood to contend with those who
stood by the waters of Sebus; and they were in number not a few.
35 Therefore they did
not fear Ammon, for they supposed that one of their men could slay him
according to their pleasure, for they knew not that the Lord had promised
Mosiah that he would deliver his sons out of their hands; neither did they know
anything concerning the Lord; therefore they delighted in the destruction of
their brethren; and for this cause they stood to scatter the flocks of the
king.
36 But Ammon stood
forth and began to cast stones at them with his sling; yea, with mighty power
he did sling stones amongst them; and thus he slew a certain number of them
insomuch that they began to be astonished at his power; nevertheless they were
angry because of the slain of their brethren, and they were determined that he
should fall; therefore, seeing that they could not hit him with their stones,
they came forth with clubs to slay him.
37 But behold, every
man that lifted his club to smite Ammon, he smote off their arms with his
sword; for he did withstand their blows by smiting their arms with the edge of
his sword, insomuch that they began to be astonished, and began to flee before
him; yea, and they were not few in number; and he caused them to flee by the
strength of his arm.
38 Now six of them had
fallen by the sling, but he slew none save it were their leader with his sword;
and he smote off as many of their arms as were lifted against him, and they
were not a few.
39 And when he had
driven them afar off, he returned and they watered their flocks and returned
them to the pasture of the king, and then went in unto the king, bearing the arms
which had been smitten off by the sword of Ammon, of those who sought to slay
him; and they were carried in unto the king for a testimony of the things which
they had done.
Alma 17:31-39
Having seen his opportunity to show his fellow servants the
power of the Lord, he told them to cheer up.
They would search for the flocks, gather them together, and return them
to the king. This they did. They quickly gathered them together once
again at the watering hole.
The same group responsible for scattering the flocks
gathered to scatter them once again.
Ammon ordered his fellow servants to make a circle around the flocks,
preventing them from running away. Ammon told them he would contend with the
gang.
It was done. The
flocks were protected and Ammon confronted the gang. Mormon tells us “they were in numbers not a
few” (verse 34).
When they saw Ammon heading towards them, they were not
concerned He was only one man. They had no doubt he would be dispatched of
quickly and easily.
They did not know the Lord had promised to protect Ammon.[1] Remember, to them, it was a game.
Well, for one thing the
Lamanites played the game for sport; it was more than meat that they were
after, for “they delighted in the destruction of their brethren; and for this
cause they stood to scatter the flocks of the king” (Alma 17:35). They thought
it was great sport. The Arabs have a saying, “If we cease ghāza, we
will cease to live. Aghāza is a raid; our word raid is
from the Arabic ghāza. They must raid or life isn't worth living. “Life
is raiding.”[2]
When he was ready, Ammon collect rocks and began flinging them
at the gang using his sling. While they
were amazed at what he could do, they were angry because he killed some of the
gang. Even worse, despite their best
efforts, they couldn’t hit Ammon. They took
their clubs and approached Ammon with the intent of killing him.
While defending the flocks of King
Lamoni, Ammon was attacked by a band of brigands who had been marauding in the
region. He killed a number of them … with his sling, after which "they
came forth with clubs to slay him. But behold, every man that lifted his club
to smite Ammon, he smote off their arms with his sword; for he did withstand
their blows by smiting their arms with the edge of his sword" (Alma 17:36-37).
This incident is important since it clearly indicates that Nephite swords were
edged weapons used for cutting. Thrusting or stabbing with swords is rarely
mentioned in the Book of Mormon.7 The
weapon is generally "raised" and is used to "smite," which
imply a cutting action, as explicitly described in the incident with Ammon.[3]
Anyone who lifted a club against Ammon had their arms cut
off with his sword. What were the swords
used by Ammon? John Tvedtnes speculates:
The sword of Laban appears to have been
a relic possessed by the kings. We read that King Benjamin (who, in Omni 1:24,
leads the Nephites against the Lamanites) wielded the sword in battle (see
Words of Mormon 1:13). He passed the weapon to his son Mosiah at the time
Mosiah became king (see Mosiah 1:16), about 130 B.C. It is not impossible that
this was the sword used by the king's son, Ammon, against the Lamanite raiders
some forty years later (see Alma 17:37-39). Possibly his training in the
use of such weapons resulted from his royal status.[4]
Matthew Roper also writes:
Those familiar with Mesoamerican
warfare and historical descriptions of this weapon would not view this as a
problem. Those Spaniards who encountered Mexican "swords" in battle
were deeply impressed by their deadly cutting power and razorlike sharpness.34 Here
are a few statements that adequately illustrate this point:
These swords cut naked men as
if they were steel.35
Their swords, which were as long as
broadswords, were made of flint which cut worse than a knife, and the blades
were so set that one could neither break them nor pull them out.36
They slashed at his mare, cutting
her head at the neck so that it only hung by the skin.37
They killed the mare with a
single sword-stroke.38
There were shields large and small,
and a sort of broadsword, and two-handed swords set with flint blades that
cut much better than our swords.[5]
Seeing how effective he as with the swords, the gang fled
for their safety.
While six had fallen from being hit by stones from Ammon’s
sling, only the leader of the gang was killed by Ammon with the sword.
Having run off the gang, they returned the kings flock to
pasture. He went before the king and
presented him the arms that had been cut off as a testimony of the things they
had done.
Hugh Nibley sums up:
Well, for one thing the Lamanites
played the game for sport; it was more than meat that they were after, for “they
delighted in the destruction of their brethren; and for this cause they stood
to scatter the flocks of the king” (Alma 17:35). The fun of it was their main
interest, but Ammon spoiled the fun when he “stood forth and began to cast
stones at them with his sling.” They were outraged: “They began to be
astonished [and] angry” (Alma 17:36)—he wasn't playing fair. So they came after
him with clubs; why only clubs? He had a sword. There is only one way you can
wield a club; you cannot cut or thrust with it but have to raise it up over
your head and thus expose your arms. Ammon took full advantage of the
situation, slicing away at the arms raised against him. And yet, with his
overwhelming advantage, Ammon “slew none save it were their leader with his
sword” (Alma 17:38). He knocked six of them out with his sling and cut off the
arms of others as they raised their clubs, but he only contended with the leader to
death. After that, the winning party or team brought back the trophies to the
king, “bearing the arms which had been smitten off by the sword of Ammon” (Alma
17:39).[6]
[1] “And
the Lord said unto Mosiah: Let them go up, for many shall believe on their
words, and they shall have eternal life; and I will deliver thy sons out of the
hands of the Lamanites” (Mosiah 28:7).
[2] Teachings
of the Book of Mormon – Semester 2, Lecture 51 – Alma 17–19, War – Ammon and
King Lamoni, Maxwell Institute, accessed May 16, 2015.
[3]Warfare
in the Book of Mormon – Swords in the Book of Mormon, William J. Hamblin
and A. Brent Merrill, Maxwell Institute, accessed May 16, 2015.
[4] Warfare
in the Book of Mormon – Book of Mormon Tribal Affiliation and Military Castes,
John A. Tvedtnes, Maxwell Institute, accessed May 16, 2015.
[6] The
Book of Mormon: Forty Years After, Hugh W. Nibley, Maxwell Institute,
accessed May 16, 2015.
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