In the last chapter we had a righteous king sustaining the prophets and saving the Jaredite nation from destruction. But Satan had a plan to lay the foundation that would ultimately make the Jaredites extinct as a people. This plan was launched in this eighth chapter.
We have previously seen that a wicked and ambitious son could break away from the king long enough to build up a following so he could overthrow the king, his father. In the beginning he got only half the kingdom, but then we read:
“And when he had gained the half of the kingdom he gave battle unto his father, and he did carry away his father into captivity, and did make him serve in captivity; And now, in the days of the reigns of Omer he was in captivity the half of his days. And it came to pass that he begat sons and daughters among whom were Esrom and Coriantumr;”