Mosiah Chapter 19

1 And it came to pass that the army of the king returned, having searched in vain for the people of the Lord.

2 And now behold, the forces of the king were small, having been reduced, and there began to be a division among the remainder of the people.

verse 2 "the forces of the king were small, having been reduced" What factors caused a reduction in the number of soldiers in the army of the king? Obviously, some had been converted by Alma and had joined him in the place called Mormon. Others may have been caught up in the "division among the remainder of the people," joined with the minority opposition, and deserted the army.

It is possible that an increasing awareness of the king's profligate and cruel ways among the people, perhaps partly precipitated by Abinadi's preachings and Noah's treatment of Abinadi, resulted in the growing opposition to king Noah among his people.

3 And the lesser part began to breathe out threatenings against the king, and there began to be a great contention among them.

4 And now there was a man among them whose name was Gideon, and he being a strong man and an enemy to the king, therefore he drew his sword, and swore in his wrath that he would slay the king.

5 And it came to pass that he fought with the king; and when the king saw that he was about to overpower him, he fled and ran and got upon the tower which was near the temple.

6 And Gideon pursued after him and was about to get upon the tower to slay the king, and the king cast his eyes round about towards the land of Shemlon, and behold, the army of the Lamanites were within the borders of the land.

verse 6 It is difficult, of course, to know the exact geography of the greater land of Nephi from the sketchy account we have in the Book of Mormon text. At this period of time there are three important lesser lands in the area. These are the lands of Nephi (or Lehi-Nephi), Shilom, and Shemlon. How are these lands oriented with respect to one another? It is not possible to know for certain. One can only create a plausible model that fits the text. We do know that the Nephites were allowed by the Lamanites to occupy the lands of Lehi-Nephi and Shilom (Mosiah 9:6). It would seem likely that these lands bordered upon one another. The Lamanites occupied the nearby land of Shemlon. It is also likely that this land borders one or both of the Nephite lands. Your author favors a model which locates the land of Shilom to the immediate south and sharing a common border with the land of Lehi-Nephi. Shemlon would be located to the south and perhaps to the west of both lands and perhaps sharing a common border with both Shilom and Lehi-Nephi (see the Hypothetical Map of Book of Mormon Lands).

7 And now the king cried out in the anguish of his soul, saying: Gideon, spare me, for the Lamanites are upon us, and they will destroy us; yea, they will destroy my people.

8 And now the king was not so much concerned about his people as he was about his own life; nevertheless, Gideon did spare his life.

9 And the king commanded the people that they should flee before the Lamanites, and he himself did go before them, and they did flee into the wilderness, with their women and their children.

verse 9 Contrast Noah's handling of this Lamanite advance with that of King Benjamin who, in similar circumstances, "gathered together his armies, and he did stand against them; and he did fight with the strength of his own arm, with the sword of Laban" (Words of Mormon 1:13).

10 And it came to pass that the Lamanites did pursue them, and did overtake them, and began to slay them.

11 Now it came to pass that the king commanded them that all the men should leave their wives and their children, and flee before the Lamanites.

verse 11 It seems likely that Noah issued this appalling and ignoble order in his own self interest. In his headlong rush to escape, he abandoned his own wife and family and then sought to legitimize his cowardliness by issuing an official mandate.

12 Now there were many that would not leave them, but had rather stay and perish with them. And the rest left their wives and their children and fled.

13 And it came to pass that those who tarried with their wives and their children caused that their fair daughters should stand forth and plead with the Lamanites that they would not slay them.

14 And it came to pass that the Lamanites had compassion on them, for they were charmed with the beauty of their women.

15 Therefore the Lamanites did spare their lives, and took them captives and carried them back to the land of Nephi, and granted unto them that they might possess the land, under the conditions that they would deliver up king Noah into the hands of the Lamanites, and deliver up their property, even one half of all they possessed, one half of their gold, and their silver, and all their precious things, and thus they should pay tribute to the king of the Lamanites from year to year.

verse 15 Here Limhi, a son of king Noah (see verses 16-17, 26) and his people were brought into bondage as Abinadi had previously prophesied (Mosiah 11:20-21; Mosiah 12:2). Every other segment of Nephites who lived in the land of Nephi when Abinadi made his prophesy also spent some time living in bondage. These included the people of Alma (Mosiah 23:25-24:15) and the descendants of Amulon (Alma 25:1-12). Amulon was one of the priests of Noah who became the leader of that wicked renegade group (Mosiah 23:32).

"they should pay tribute to the king of the Lamanites from year to year" It is helpful to have in mind a concept of time in connection with these events. It is felt that Alma and his converts left the land of Nephi for the land of Mormon in about 147 BC. They probably departed the land of Mormon for the land of Helam in about 146 or 145 BC. They remained in the land of Helam until they returned to Zarahemla in 121 BC. Noah and his people were chased out of the city of Nephi and then placed in bondage in about 145 BC. The Nephites would live in bondage with Limhi as their king until they were rescued by Ammon in 121 BC. They were led back to Zarahemla the same year that Alma and people arrived there. Apparently Limhi and his people arrived in Zarahemla a few weeks or months before the people of Alma.

16 And now there was one of the sons of the king among those that were taken captive, whose name was Limhi.

17 And now Limhi was desirous that his father should not be destroyed; nevertheless, Limhi was not ignorant of the iniquities of his father, he himself being a just man.

18 And it came to pass that Gideon sent men into the wilderness secretly, to search for the king and those that were with him. And it came to pass that they met the people in the wilderness, all save the king and his priests.

verse 18 Gideon sent his men into the wilderness but did not accompany them.

19 Now they had sworn in their hearts that they would return to the land of Nephi, and if their wives and their children were slain, and also those that had tarried with them, that they would seek revenge, and also perish with them.

20 And the king commanded them that they should not return; and they were angry with the king, and caused that he should suffer, even unto death by fire.

verse 20 Abinadi had warned King Noah that his life should be "valued even as a garment in a hot furnace" (Mosiah 12:3).

21 And they were about to take the priests also and put them to death, and they fled before them.

22 And it came to pass that they were about to return to the land of Nephi, and they met the men of Gideon. And the men of Gideon told them of all that had happened to their wives and their children; and that the Lamanites had granted unto them that they might possess the land by paying a tribute to the Lamanites of one half of all they possessed.

23 And the people told the men of Gideon that they had slain the king, and his priests had fled from them farther into the wilderness.

24 And it came to pass that after they had ended the ceremony, that they returned to the land of Nephi, rejoicing, because their wives and their children were not slain; and they told Gideon what they had done to the king.

verse 24 "after they had ended the ceremony" This is the only use of the word ceremony in the Book of Mormon text. It seems to imply that the meeting between the men of Gideon and the exiled Nephites was friendly and polite and perhaps formal.

25 And it came to pass that the king of the Lamanites made an oath unto them, that his people should not slay them.

verse 25 Obviously Gideon or Limhi relayed the account of the fate of Noah to the Lamanite king who was satisfied that Noah was dead (verse 15).

26 And also Limhi, being the son of the king, having the kingdom conferred upon him by the people, made oath unto the king of the Lamanites that his people should pay tribute unto him, even one half of all they possessed.

27 And it came to pass that Limhi began to establish the kingdom and to establish peace among his people.

28 And the king of the Lamanites set guards round about the land, that he might keep the people of Limhi in the land, that they might not depart into the wilderness; and he did support his guards out of the tribute which he did receive from the Nephites.

29 And now king Limhi did have continual peace in his kingdom for the space of two years, that the Lamanites did not molest them nor seek to destroy them.