Culture: Alma’s personal self-introduction provides a glimpse into Zarahemla’s political sophistication. Alma will continue by communicating his general pleasure with the people of Gideon for their faithfulness and his regret that his duties as chief judge have prevented an earlier personal visit. Because the chief judge was a political, not a uniquely legal, position, by this he means the complexities of governing, not a caseload. Zarahemla is thus large enough that government was a full-time occupation, probably precluding tilling the soil for his own sustenance. Benjamin may have been the last Nephite king to claim this distinction (Mosiah 2:14).