“And Thus Moroni Put an End to Those King–men”

Brant Gardner

Many were killed, and the leaders of the insurrection were imprisoned. Significantly, some version of trial was expected, since Mormon takes pains to explain that imprisonment without a trial was justified by the circumstances, something he would not have done unless he knew his readers expected trials.

“Four thousand” is a suspicious number. Whenever “four” appears in a Mesoamerican context that is not a calendar (and at times when it is), it is important to consider it as a possible symbol, rather than enumeration. “Four” was the number of completion in Mesoamerican cultures, and four thousand deaths could easily mean the “complete” destruction of the dissidents. (See Helaman, Part 1: Context, Chapter 4, “The Meaning of Numbers: Counts and Estimates in the Book of Mormon.”)

Second Witness: Analytical & Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 4

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