Alma
52:1 the Lamanites awoke on the first morning of the
first month
“With remarkable consistency, the Nephite record
reports a pattern of seasonality in Nephite warfare. Since wars in pretechnical
societies are usually launched at opportune times of the year, the Nephite
pattern of warfare tells us something about the seasons and their calendar.
“The beginning and ending of the Nephite year
frequently falls around the time of major battles. For example, Alma 44 ends
with the defeat of a Lamanite army and the return of Moroni's forces to their
houses and their lands: ‘Thus ended the eighteenth
year of the reign of the judges’ (Alma 44:24). When all such dates are
tabulated, the distinct pattern emerges that most wars were fought in the
eleventh through second months of the year…But virtually no battling took place
in months six through ten. Instead, that period was when the mass of part-time
soldiers were required to till the ground, ‘delivering
their women and their children from famine and affliction, and providing food
for their armies’ (Alma 53:7).
“When the seasons for cultivation and warring in
Mesoamerica before the time of Columbus are studied, an equally sharp division
is seen. (The schedule is essentially the same anywhere in tropical America, in
fact.) The preparation and cultivation of farmlands and other domestic chores
went on from about March through October, which constituted the rainy season.
Wars began after the harvest and mainly went on during the hot, dry months,
November through February. Of course, camping in the field was sensible at this
time, and movement was least hampered by the swollen streams or boggy ground
common in the other part of the year.
“Putting these two sets of information together, we
see that the fighting season referred to in the annals of the wars in the books
of Mosiah through Helaman—their months eleven through two—likely coincided
approximately with November through February in our calendar. Moreover their
new year's day is likely to have fallen near winter solstice (December 21/22),
as with many other peoples of the ancient world.
“Interestingly, December was a hot season both in
Mesoamerica and in the Book of Mormon, as we read in Alma 51:32-37 and 52:1.
Recall that Teancum slew Amalickiah on the Nephite/Lamanite new year's eve as
he slept deeply from fatigue ‘caused by the labors
and heat of the day’ (Alma 51:33). In Joseph Smith's New England, of
course, New Year's Eve would have been icy.
“If our equation is correct, the Nephite
[calendar]…began near our December 22…” (John W. Welch, Reexploring The Book
of Mormon, pp. 173-5)
Alma
52:2 when the Lamanites saw this they were
affrighted
“There is evidence that the Lamanites also recognized
the importance of the New Year in the renewal of kingship. To the Lamanites,
the Nephites in the land to the north would have been considered evil
adversaries, ripe for destruction. Divinely sanctioned wars were a prominent
part of Mayan theology and were often tied to astronomical events or
appropriate dates on the ancient calendar…It is therefore no accident that the
Lamanite king Amalickiah chose New Year's to engage the Nephites in battle
(Alma 51:32-52:1). The Nephite general Teancum took advantage of the situation
by slaying Amalickiah on New Year's Eve, precisely when the underworld lords
would have been believed to be their strongest. When the Lamanites awoke the
following morning, expecting a divinely sanctioned victory, they found instead
their king and protector dead. It is no wonder, then, that they fled in
terror.” (Allen J. Christenson, FARMS: Journal of Book of Mormon Studies,
vol. 3, 1991, p. 30)
Alma
52:11-14 the Lamanites are upon us in the borders of
the land by the west sea
Hugh
Nibley
“The Nephites with their inferior numbers were being
forced to fight that kind of a war that all commanders dread—a war on two
fronts…Things looked very bad indeed for Moroni ‘in
those dangerous circumstances’ (Alma 52:14); here was a situation that
would test his skill to the utmost, and he rose to the occasion. First he
ordered Teancum to sit tight on his sector while harassing the Lamanites as
much as possible and keeping a sharp lookout for any chance opportunity or
opening to do them real damage (Alma 52:10).” (Since Cumorah, p. 31)
Alma
52:19 the chief captains held a council of war
Hugh
Nibley
“But how was a major city, superbly fortified by
Moroni's own foresight, to be taken? The first step was a logical one. It was
the ancient custom of warfare to invite the occupants of a city to come out on
the open plain and engage in a fair set contest, or, as the Nephites put it, ‘upon fair grounds’; fn the Nephite commanders in
issuing such an invitation to the comfortably ensconced opposition hardly expected
the Lamanites to comply with a request so disadvantageous to themselves, but
they thought it was worth a try and at any rate it was the conventional thing
to do (Alma 52:19-20). Their next move was to try a decoy trick. Teancum
allowed the Lamanites to discover a task-force of his moving along the coast
and to give it chase; Moroni then slipped into the city behind them and
overpowered the defenders, characteristically sparing all who yielded up their
arms (Alma 52:22-25).” (Since Cumorah, p. 314)
Alma 52:37 If ye
will bring forth your weapons of war…we will forbear shedding your blood
Hugh
Nibley
“Moroni was especially keen to watch for any
slightest tendency of the enemy to give up; he was hypersensitive to that
moment in the battle when the enemy falters, and the instant that came, when he
sensed they were weakening, he would propose a stop to the fighting to talk
things over (Alma 52:37-38). ‘We do not desire to be
men of blood’ (Alma 44:1), he tells them on the battlefield; ‘ye are in our hands, yet we do not desire to slay you. .
. . We have not come . . . that we might shed your blood for power’ (Alma
44:1-3). ‘We would not shed the blood of the
Lamanites, if they would stay in their own land…’ (Alma 60:10-12).” (The
Prophetic Book of Mormon, p. 523)