Chapter 49
The invading Lamanites
are unable to take the fortified cities of Ammonihah and Noah—Amalickiah curses
God and swears to drink the blood of Moroni—Helaman and his brethren continue
to strengthen the Church. About 72 B.C.
The day came when the Nephites saw the Lamanite armies
approaching. They were approaching the land
of Ammonihah.[1]
It had been rebuilt and Moroni stationed an army nearby. They had built mounds to protect them from
the arrows and stones used by the Lamanites.
Bows and arrows had been a traditional weapon. “And it came to pass that we did travel for
the space of many days, slaying food by the way, with our bows and our arrows
and our stones and our slings” (1 Nephi 16:15).
In a previous war, we read, “Now the army of Zerahemnah … had
only their swords and their cimeters, their bows and their arrows, their stones
and their slings; and they were naked, save it were a skin which was girded
about their loins; yea, all were naked, save it were the Zoramites and the
Amalekites:” (Alma 43:20).
Recall the destruction of Ammonihah because of the
wickedness of the people. Alma had
commanded them “to repent; and except ye repent, ye can in nowise inherit the
kingdom of God. But behold, this is not
all—he has commanded you to repent, or he will utterly destroy you from off the
face of the earth; yea, he will visit you in his banger, and in his fierce anger he will not turn away” (Alma
9:12). “Now Satan had gotten great hold upon the hearts of the people of the
city of Ammonihah; therefore they would not hearken unto the words of Alma” (Alma
8:9)
Alma’s prophesy of destruction was fulfilled. “For behold,
the armies of the Lamanites had come in upon the wilderness side, into the
borders of the land, even into the city of Ammonihah, and began to slay the
people and destroy the city … And thus ended the eleventh year of the judges … and
the people of Ammonihah were destroyed; yea, every living soul of the
Ammonihahites was destroyed, and also their great city … [A]fter many days
their dead bodies were heaped up upon the face of the earth, and they were
covered with a shallow covering. And now
so great was the scent thereof that the people did not go in to possess the land
of Ammonihah for many years” (Alma 16:9, 11).
The Lamanites found the Nephites were prepared for their
attacks. The mounds[2]
built were high enough their stones and arrows would have no effect. The only place the Lamanites could attack was
the entrance to the city. But the
Lamanites would face a battle at the entrance.
“Thus they were prepared, yea, a body of their strongest men, with their
swords and their slings, to smite down all who should attempt to come into
their place of security by the place of entrance; and thus were they prepared
to defend themselves against the Lamanites” (Alma 49:20).
Verse 4 also presents an interesting use of language.
Alma 49:4 reads “the Lamanites
could not cast their stones and their arrows at them.” … For us today, it seems
strange to cast arrows. Yet the [Oxford English Dictionary] gives the following
comment for definition 2 under the verb cast: “Formerly said also of military
engines, bows, and the like, which throw or shoot projectiles.” … [O]ne could
claim that Joseph Smith picked up such vocabulary usage from intensive Bible
reading. But there are words and expressions in the original Book of Mormon text
that never appear, at least with their archaic meanings, in the King James Bible.[3]
The Lamanites were amazed at the preparation of the
Nephites. This time, however, the Lamanites were better prepared. They had prepared themselves with shields,
breastplates, and thick garments made of animal skins. What they did not expect was an army prepared
to oppose their efforts to bring the Nephites under the bondage and control of
the Lamanites. “And now, as Moroni knew
the intention of the Lamanites, that it was their intention to destroy their
brethren, or to subject them and bring them into bondage that they might
establish a kingdom unto themselves over all the land” (Alma 43:29).
[1] “Yea,
[Moroni] had been strengthening the armies of the Nephites, and erecting small forts,
or places of resort; throwing up banks of earth round about to enclose his
armies, and also building walls of stone to encircle them about, round about
their cities and the borders of their lands; yea, all round about the land” (Alma
48:8).
[2] “AND
now it came to pass that Moroni did not stop making preparations for war, or to
defend his people against the Lamanites; for he caused that his armies should
commence in the commencement of the twentieth year of the reign of the judges,
that they should commence in digging up heaps of earth round about all the
cities, throughout all the land which was possessed by the Nephites” (Alma 50:1).
No comments:
Post a Comment