As for the name Amlici (commonly pronounced 'Am-lih-sigh), I would tend to pronounce it differently in order to stress some similarities here. By pronouncing this name 'Ama-la-kie, we can consider him, for all intents and purposes, the originator or representative of the Amalekites (pronounced 'Ama-le-kites). By doing this, we solve a major dilemma in the Book of Mormon--the origin of the Amalekites. Let me set out my reasoning here:
(1) Nowhere in the Book of Mormon are we told the source of the name "Amalekites" although they are spoken of in the same context as the Amulonites, who were descendants of the priests of Amulon. The Amulonites originate in the book of Mosiah during the days of King Noah as the people revolted. Later they are geographically located in the wilderness on the path towards the land of Zarahemla. They figure prominently in the persecutions of Alma's people just before Alma's people fled to the land of Zarahemla (only a journey of 13 days away). This flight is recorded in Mosiah 24.
(2) Chronologically, the Amalekites suddenly appear with the Amulonites up in the land of Jerusalem, which is one of the first places the sons of Mosiah go to upon reaching the land of Nephi in their missionary labors. The record of these missionary journeys begins in the 17th chapter of Alma, yet the time frame is parallel to the missionary preachings of Alma, recorded in chapters 5-16.
(3) This leaves a chronological span between Mosiah 24 and Alma 5 in which one might logically look for the origin of the Amalekites. This is precisely the spot where we find the story of Amlici, who is after the order of Nehor, and who leads a rebellion against the Nephite system of judges.
(4) The Amlicites seem to instantly become "powerful," "drawing away much people after them." During this war the Amlicites are (strangely) reinforced with a Lamanite force coming down from the land of Nephi.
(5) Thus the cultural and geographical linkage should be apparent. After their defeat, the Am[a]licites depart from the land of Zarahemla towards the area of Ammonihah, which will be linked not only with the order of Nehor, but with people in the land of Nephi. Apparently, these people migrated up into the land of Nephi--specifically to the land of Jerusalem where we are told the people are after the order of Nehor.
(6) The order of Nehor, as the name implies, derives from the Jaredite culture--a culture of kings. Because of Mulekites had lived among this culture for some 400 years before they met up with the Nephites (led by king Mosiah) it is not hard to imagine their leanings in this regard. The Mulekites were also descendants of Mulek, the heir to the kingship in Jerusalem. According to John Sorenson, Amlilci might have even been a lineal descendant of king Zarahemla (Setting, p. 196).
(7) Thus we apparently have a linkage of both cultures in the names "Amalekites" (Jaredite) and "Jerusalem" (Mulekite) in a correspondingly correct geographical location according to the text, and in a correspondingly correct chronological location in the text, to suggest a connection with Amlici.
[Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes].
“A Certain Man Being Called Amlici”
According to Brian Stubbs, "Book of Mormon language frequently contains lengthy structures of rather awkward English. Some may consider these to be instances of poor grammar, weakness in writing (Ether 12:23-26), or the literary ineptness of a fraudulent author; however, I see them as potentially significant support for a translation from a Near Eastern language in an ancient American setting. Many of these lengths of awkward English parallel Semitic (and Egyptian) patterns, particularly the circumstantial or hal-clause."
Alma 2:1-2 provides a clear example of hal- clauses:
a certain man, being called Amlici, he being a very cunning man, yea, a wise man as to the wisdom of the world, he being after the order of the man that slew Gideon by the sword, who was executed according to the law--Now this Amlici had, by his cunning, drawn away much people after him. (italics added)
The three being participial phrases add background information or accompanying circumstances and are thus a prime language environment for hal- clauses in Semitic . . . The string of hal-clauses evident in Alma 2:1-2 is perfectly acceptable in Hebrew, yet an editor or English teacher would not spare red ink on a similar structure found in written English.
The Book of Mormon is replete with similar examples, the Bible also. John Gee ("La Trahison des Clercs: On the Language and Translation of the Book of Mormon," in Review of Books on the Book of Mormon, 6/1, pp. 51-120), discloses a choice example from the Jewish Publication Society's translation of Genesis 1:1-3:
"When God began to create heaven and earth--the earth being unformed and void, with darkness [being] over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water--God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light."
In the Hebrew text, everything between the dashes consists of three hal-clauses (also known as circumstantial clauses) that begin with wa- (and) + noun/pronoun; the three nouns heading the three hal-clauses are earth, darkness, and wind/spirit, respectively. Ignoring semantic disagreements, the above is structurally a nice translation of hal-clauses: three verses into one sentence, no less. In stark contrast, the King James Version makes separate sentences or independent and-clauses of the three parenthetical hal-clauses:
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light." (Genesis 1:1-3 KJV)
The fact that the King James translators left many of the Hebrew circumstantial clauses inconspicuous by translating them as and-clauses quite undermines the accusation that Joseph Smith was simply mimicking the King James biblical style, because the Book of Mormon employs -ing participial expressions much more frequently than does the King James Old Testament. [Brian D. Stubbs, "A Lengthier Treatment of Length," in Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, Vol 5/2, pp. 82-84,96] [See the commentary on Mosiah 7:21-22]