These verses highlight the complex problem of tracing both kingship and genealogy among the Jaredites. It also suggests that the destruction of the Jaredites will be not only the model for the Nephite destruction, but also that the division between Nephites and Lamanites was also similar to an unexpressed political divide among the Jaredites. Unlike the Nephite record, we never hear of another people. We do hear that sons rebelled against fathers, and also that there are splits within the kingdom. The reality of the politics is that there must have been sufficient separation of some cities that a rebelling son could build up a power base.
In verse 17 we find that another outsider to the listed genealogy, another “mighty man,” overthrew and captured Moron. We don’t know this man’s - this king’s - name. The fact that he is a descendant of the brother of Jared confirms that Jared’s line was not the only one to claim a right to rule. We cover this diversity because we call all of these people Jaredites, a term that only appears once in the Book of Mormon, in Moroni 9:23. The fact that Moroni uses the name Jaredites does not mean that that is what they called themselves, or that there was even a unity of peoples. The history of Mesoamerica strongly suggests that there was no such overarching single government. We simply read it that way because we have only the story of one particular lineage.