These verses set up the magnificent experience Ammon had with King Lamoni. The story is told in detail, and these introductory details are both important and very human. Ammon comes to the king at the end of his assigned labors, and “saw the countenance of the king was changed.” Something was very different, and from the previous verses, which underscored King Lamoni’s fear of Ammon, it was a concerned look on the king’s face. Ammon did not know why things had changed, but as with many who might approach a powerful authority figure who appears to be less than happy, he thought retreat was the best option.
At that point, the other servants tell him that the king wants him to stay. While the combination of that request and the king’s countenance might have suggested that Ammon might be in trouble, and therefore really wouldn’t want to be there, the servants do address with the honorific “Rabbanah.” That title suggested that something else was happening.
Ammon stays, and asks the king what Ammon could do for him. The king continues to be perplexed. The tension in that room had to have been palpable as the king remained silent for a long time, translated as an hour. If the king did not speak, surely no one else spoke. We might picture a reception hall with a number of people, all standing as still as possible, and trying not to make a noise while they wait for the king. And the king was silent. For whatever long period of time it was, it was translated as an hour.