The text says that "Zarahemla did rejoice exceedingly" (Omni 1:14). When and why did this happen if, according to verse 17, the people of Zarahemla "denied the being of their Creator; and Mosiah[1], nor the people of Mosiah, could understand them"? According to Michael Hobby, this rejoicing happened much later, after Zarahemla was "taught" to read and speak Mosiah's language (Omni 1:18). Apparently, when Zarahemla came to understand the story of the Brass Plates, he found that he was descended from the lineage of the kings--the Tribe of Judah. To this Mulekite ruler, coming from a background associated with Jaredite kings, the linkage to Jewish kingship might indeed have been a cause for rejoicing. [Michael M. Hobby, The Mulekite Connection, p. 25]