Redaction: The Lord does command as was prefigured in verse 38 with Jared’s request. They are to leave and go to a choice land that they will have for their inheritance. These verses provide an interesting parallel to the story of Abraham:
Genesis 12:1-3
1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
The parallels begin even before the cited text, for the story that is immediately previous to Abraham in Genesis is the Tower of Babel followed by the intervening genealogy. After the Tower story, we have Abram who is commanded to “get thee out of they country.” Then Abram and his family leave, and are told that they will be a “great nation,” as well as a promise that there will a great increase in his seed. These elements are directly paralleled in the Jaredite story. The similarity of structure as well as the proximity to the Tower suggests that there is more than a coincidental link between the description of Abram and that of the departure of the Jaredites. However, this linkage could not have been original to Ether because the Jaredites left generations prior to Abraham. The form of this description is therefore due to someone who was influenced by the Genesis record. Again, we have Mosiah and/or Moroni as candidates for the particular phrasing of this passage.
Textual: There is no chapter break at this location in the 1830 edition.