Ehter 9

Ether 9:1

1 And now I, Moroni, proceed with my record. Therefore, behold, it came to pass that because of the secret combinations of Akish and his friends, behold, they did overthrow the kingdom of Omer.

Redaction: Moroni clearly announces his return to telling the story of the Jaredites. He set up the secret combination of Akish and the family of Jared. Now he tells us that it succeeded. They are in control of the kingdom.

Ether 9:2

2 Nevertheless, the Lord was merciful unto Omer, and also to his sons and to his daughters who did not seek his destruction.

Ether 9:3

3 And the Lord warned Omer in a dream that he should depart out of the land; wherefore Omer departed out of the land with his family, and traveled many days, and came over and passed by the hill of Shim, and came over by the place where the Nephites were destroyed, and from thence eastward, and came to a place which was called Ablom, by the seashore, and there he pitched his tent, and also his sons and his daughters, and all his household, save it were Jared and his family.

The overthrow of the kingdom of Omer was successful, but the plot against his life was not. He was warned in a dream, and he and his family flee. It is significant that they flee with all but Jared and his family. This tells us that Omer was also told of the conspirators, and he understood that it was Jared who was after his throne. Because the rest of the family was obviously loyal to Omer, they also had to flee. If Omer’s life was in danger, so were the lives of all who supported him.

Geographic: The hill Shim appears in Nephite history as the place where Ammaron hides the records for Mormon to recover. The next location is also common to the Nephites and Jaredites, and that is the “place where the Nephites were destroyed,” or Cumorah. Obviously, when Mormon and Moroni are in the land northward, they are in the former lands of the Jaredites.

Ether 9:4

4 And it came to pass that Jared was anointed king over the people, by the hand of wickedness; and he gave unto Akish his daughter to wife.

Jared keeps his part of the bargain. He is anointed king, and he gives Akish his daughter, as promised.

Ether 9:5

5 And it came to pass that Akish sought the life of his father-in-law; and he applied unto those whom he had sworn by the oath of the ancients, and they obtained the head of his father-in-law, as he sat upon his throne, giving audience to his people.

Ether 9:6

6 For so great had been the spreading of this wicked and secret society that it had corrupted the hearts of all the people; therefore Jared was murdered upon his throne, and Akish reigned in his stead.

Unfortunately for Jared, Akish had learned how to overthrow an established government by secret combinations that include murder. Therefore, he decides that he should be a claimant to the throne. Akish was not of the royal family, but he had his own kin base. What is more, he has as a wife a daughter of a king, and he is able to ride that connection into the throneroom. With Omer and the entire family gone, he is able to sidestep any succession questions from that part of the family, and simply take over for Jared, no doubt on the ironic strength of his marriage to Jared’s daughter. This is similar to the justification of rulership of Spearthrower Owl in Tikal. He marries a Tikal lady, and becomes king over Tikal, fathering the next king of Tikal (Simon Martin and Nikolai Grube. Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens. Thames and Hudson. 2000, p. 31). Spearthrower Owl is a foreigner, but his new dynasty is justified through is Tikal wife.

Ether 9:7

7 And it came to pass that Akish began to be jealous of his son, therefore he shut him up in prison, and kept him upon little or no food until he had suffered death.

Akish has risen to power through secret combinations and murder, and he therefore knows for a fact that there are ruthless men who will kill to get gain, for he is one of them. He suspects that his son is another. It is probable that it is his firstborn son, and therefore the likely claimant to the throne. Akish does what may kings of the Old World did – he locked up the potential rival. In this case, there may have been some reason why he could not kill the son outright, for he allows the son to die of starvation. This at least suggests that he had some social prevention against killing his son.

Ether 9:8

8 And now the brother of him that suffered death, (and his name was Nimrah) was angry with his father because of that which his father had done unto his brother.

Ether 9:9

9 And it came to pass that Nimrah gathered together a small number of men, and fled out of the land, and came over and dwelt with Omer.

Nimrah may have been angry at the treatment of his brother, but he may also have had a healthy sense of self-preservation. If his father had killed his brother, his father could kill him. He gathers what support he can and goes to the land where Omer is dwelling with his kin. No doubt he intended to join forces and create a better defensive position that the two groups could do separately. In spite of his father, Nimrah was the great-grandson of Omer through his mother the daughter of Jared who was the son of Omer.

Ether 9:10

10 And it came to pass that Akish begat other sons, and they won the hearts of the people, notwithstanding they had sworn unto him to do all manner of iniquity according to that which he desired.

Ether 9:11

11 Now the people of Akish were desirous for gain, even as Akish was desirous for power; wherefore, the sons of Akish did offer them money, by which means they drew away the more part of the people after them.

Cultural: As with the Nephites, this economic information must be carefully read. The first problem with the passage is the mention of money, which did not exist. The people of Akish desired wealth, and wealth was provided, just not on the form of money. That term is best seen as an artifact of Joseph’s translation.

In the Mesoamerican world, the riches of the world come both in trade and in the adoption of the worldly trappings of riches. The people desired these things, and Akish and his sons provided them. They provided them by doing “all manner of iniquity,” which usually means that they have turned from God and toward the pagan religions and cultures.

In this they exactly parallel the developmental pressures later seen among the Nephites. Their existence in the Mesoamerican cultural landscape led to the desire to emulate the other locations around them, and to accumulate and display wealth in similar ways.

Ether 9:12

12 And there began to be a war between the sons of Akish and Akish, which lasted for the space of many years, yea, unto the destruction of nearly all the people of the kingdom, yea, even all, save it were thirty souls, and they who fled with the house of Omer.

This would appear to be a great war of destruction. In reality we are probably speaking of the destruction of the warring houses, not all of the people of the land. There would be farmers in the fields who were not effected by this destruction. This text is best read as the destruction of the kin of Akish, and the kin-group beholding to his sons.

Ether 9:13

13 Wherefore, Omer was restored again to the land of his inheritance.

Omer is returned to the land as king. This is the reason that the king-list goes smoothly from Shule to Omer to Emer. There is no accounting of Akish among the kings, for he was of a different lineage. When Omer’s lineage returns to power, Akish’s reign would have been obliterated from official public record.

Even this return of the exile to the throne shows up in later Maya stelae, where Tikal's 21^st ruler, Wak Chan K’awiil appears as a returning exile to take the throne. (Simon Martin and Nikolai Grube. Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens. Thames and Hudson. 2000, p. 39).

Ether 9:14

14 And it came to pass that Omer began to be old; nevertheless, in his old age he begat Emer; and he anointed Emer to be king to reign in his stead.

Ether 9:15

15 And after that he had anointed Emer to be king he saw peace in the land for the space of two years, and he died, having seen exceedingly many days, which were full of sorrow. And it came to pass that Emer did reign in his stead, and did fill the steps of his father.

Emer becomes king. He is the child of Omer in his old age, and this probably indicates that Emer ascends to the throne young, perhaps as a teenager. This was certainly not unknown.

Ether 9:16

16 And the Lord began again to take the curse from off the land, and the house of Emer did prosper exceedingly under the reign of Emer; and in the space of sixty and two years they had become exceedingly strong, insomuch that they became exceedingly rich—

The sons of Akish were able to bribe the people with wealth, but now we are told that the curse is lifted from the land, and the house of Emer “did prosper exceedingly.” We do not know how the prosperity under Emer differed from the wealth under Akish. For Moroni, the point is that Emer is righteous, and therefore prospers in the land.

Ether 9:17

17 Having all manner of fruit, and of grain, and of silks, and of fine linen, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious things;

This part of the cultural catalog is not significantly different from the Nephite catalog. What we see here is silks and fine linens as we did in the Nephite list. In fact, the formulation of the list, and the similarity of context, (that of demonstrating wealth) is so parallel as to suggest that this may have been a Nephite description of prosperity applied by Mosiah to the Jaredites:

Alma 1:29

29 And now, because of the steadiness of the church they began to be exceedingly rich, having abundance of all things whatsoever they stood in need—an abundance of flocks and herds, and fatlings of every kind, and also abundance of grain, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious things, and abundance of silk and fine-twined linen, and all manner of good homely cloth.

Ether 9:18

18 And also all manner of cattle, of oxen, and cows, and of sheep, and of swine, and of goats, and also many other kinds of animals which were useful for the food of man.

This is such a collection of the Old World domesticated animal set that it is hard to see it as anything but that set. While there is an outside chance that the Jaredite barges carried sufficient breeding populations of these large animals, we are far enough in to the time in the New World (and really far into the New World based on the backwards chronology) that any such animals that were brought over would have become a major food source for the entire area, or they would have died out.

The fact is that these animals did not comprise the Mesoamerican catalog of food animals. There is currently no evidence that any of these animals was ever here. As discussed for the Nephite record, the passages listing these animals is best seen as an interpolation by Joseph Smith. His catalog of comestible animals simply replaced whatever was on the record. He used what he was familiar with rather than what the text said.

Ether 9:19

19 And they also had horses, and asses, and there were elephants and cureloms and cumoms; all of which were useful unto man, and more especially the elephants and cureloms and cumoms.

The presence of the terms cureloms and cumoms is frequently presented as a contrast to the oxen, cows, sheep, and swine. Obviously we know what oxen, cows, sheep, and swine are, but we have no idea what a curelom and cumom are. Robert K. Thomas presents a summation of the argument:

“Incidental but very interesting evidence concerning the possible age of the language from which Joseph Smith is translating occurs when we come across a word like "ziff" in Mosiah 11:3. Together with "neas and sheum" of Mosiah 9:9 and "cureloms and cumoms" of Ether 9:19, we have some very convincing examples of what are technically known as hapax legomena. Linguistically, such terms are a part of almost all ancient records. Indeed they become a check on their age. Hapax legomena are terms which cannot be translated, only transliterated-that is, put into the sounds of a language. Epics such as Beowolf, an ancient Anglo-Saxon epic poem, display them often, as does the Bible in a term like selah. No one knows what selah means. As a child I thought it must mean "Amen," because it came at the end of things. Now our best guess is that it is amusical notation because it is only retired in Biblical lyrics.

Similarly the examples cited from the Book of Mormon are still unknown. Since the significance of hapax legomena in establishing the authenticity of ancient records is a relatively recent development, actually given most of its impetus by Germanic higher criticism of the last part of the 19th century, their occurrence in the Book of Mormon is persuasive internal evidence of its claims. (Robert K. Thomas. “A Literary Critic Looks at the Book of Mormon.” Richard H. Cracroft and Neal E. Lambert, comps. A Believing People: Literature of the Latter-day Saints [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1979], 143.)

Everything Thomas says about cureloms and cumoms as hapax legomena is correct. The problem is that these “untranslated” terms appear right after the “translated” terms that cannot represent the food-animals of the New World. There is currently no good explanation for why we have the mislabeling of some animals (the non-existent Old World domesticates) with the “untranslated” curelom and cumom. Perhaps Joseph’s mode of translation keyed on the edibility of the catalog, and the curelom and cumom are useful (“more especially useful” is the text’s term) but not for food. Hence there was not a convenient category for the translation.

The presence of elephants is a little more interesting, because there is a possibility that there might have been elephants in the region. The elephant would not be the Asian type, but rather a lingering Mammoth or Mastodon.

“Most researchers would not care to explore the subject of the elephant in ancient America because many scientists ared of the opinion that there were no elephants in the Americas during this period (approximately 2500 B.C.) the do acknowledge, however, that mastodons and mammoths lived on the western hemisphere thousands of years before this time.

Some scholars have moved up the date to 3000 B.C. Nor does the date of circa 2500 B.C. appear so unreasonable after we examine a little fo the mounting evidence about the elephant in pre-Columbian – not prehistoric – times.” (Diane Wirth. A Challenge to the Critics. Horizon Publishers and Distributors, 1986, p. 50).

The most interesting suggestion of the pre-Columbian presence of elephants comes from an artistic representation:

“Dr. Verrill, a well-known archaeologist who did fieldwork for the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, has not been afraid to express his opinions about this delicate subject. He describes a figure from Cocle, Panama, as follows:

‘The most astonishing of the idols is one bearing a figure which is so strikingly and obviously elephantine that it cannot be explained away byh any of the ordinary theories of being a conventionalized or exaggerated tapir, ant-eater or macaw. Not only does this figure show a trunk, but in addition it has the big leaf-like ears and the forward-bending knees peculiar to the elephants. Moreover, it shows a load or burden strapped upon its back. It is inconceivable that any man could have imagined a creature with the flapping ears and peculiar hind knees of an elephant, or that any human being could have conventionalized a tapir to this extent.” (Diane Wirth. A Challenge to the Critics. Horizon Publishers and Distributors, 1986, p. 51).

Nibley further notes:

“The mention in the Book of Mormon of certain domesticated animals not found in the New World at the time of Columbus has always been taken as irrefutable proof of Smith's folly. Elephants head the list. What happened to the elephants? The Jaredites used them, we are told, but there is no mention of the Nephites having them. They disappear in between the two cultures. When? The Book of Mormon does not say, and the guesses of scientists range all the way from hundreds of thousands to mere hundreds of years ago. Elephants have strange ways of disappearing. If it were not for the written accounts of unquestionable authenticity, no one would ever have guessed that the Pharaohs of the XVIII Dynasty hunted elephants in Syria—where are their remains? Prof. Mallowan says that the wonderful Birs Nimrud ivories which he discovered were made from the tusks of a now-extinct breed of elephant that was being hunted in Mesopotamia as recently as the eighth century B.C. Who would have guessed that ten years ago? (Hugh Nibley, Since Cumorah, Salt Lake City and Provo: Deseret Book Co, 1970, 226-7).

Although these suggestions indicate the plausibility of some elephants remaining in the New World, the dates Wirth is using only have to move speculation from 3000 B.C. to 2500 B.C. According to the timeline used in this chronology, the time difference is not 500 years, but 1500 years. The evidence is suggestive, but not conclusive. There is plausibility that future archaeological research might alter the dates of elephant/human interaction in the Mesoamerican area.

Ether 9:20

20 And thus the Lord did pour out his blessings upon this land, which was choice above all other lands; and he commanded that whoso should possess the land should possess it unto the Lord, or they should be destroyed when they were ripened in iniquity; for upon such, saith the Lord: I will pour out the fulness of my wrath.

Notice that the reason for the catalog of useful animals had nothing to do with teaching future populations about Mesoamerican fauna, but to show that Emer’s people were blessed because they followed the promise of the land. That is Moroni’s main concern.

Ether 9:21

21 And Emer did execute judgment in righteousness all his days, and he begat many sons and daughters; and he begat Coriantum, and he anointed Coriantum to reign in his stead.

Ether 9:22

22 And after he had anointed Coriantum to reign in his stead he lived four years, and he saw peace in the land; yea, and he even saw the Son of Righteousness, and did rejoice and glory in his day; and he died in peace.

Emer is not only a king, but a righteous man. We learn virtually nothing of his spiritual attributes other than the evidence that he obeyed the promise of the land. However, here, we are to understand that he had a vision of the “Son of Righteousness,” which title can only apply to Jesus Christ.

Variant: There is no written variant in this text, but there is an interesting possibility that a variant entered the Book of Mormon as part of the translation process. Joseph spoke to Oliver, and Oliver wrote what he heard. In this case, Sperry has suggested that the original should have been “sun of righteousness,” and that it became “son of righteousness” when Oliver heard the homophonous sun/son, and used son because of the clear connection to the Savior:

“A possible case of an error of the ear is 3 Ne. 25:2: "But unto you that fear my name, shall the Son of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth and grow up as calves in the stall." The phrase "the Son of Righteousness" occurs instead of the suggested emendation "the Sun of Righteousness" occurs instead of the suggested emendation "the Sun of Righteousness." In 1959 Sidney B. Sperry Discussed this passage in some detail and pointed out that although in English sun and son are homophones, the Hebrew of Mal. 4:2 (which is being quoted) has shemesh meaning "sun," and not ben which is the word for "son." Also, the Hebrew text says literally "the sun of righteousness shall arise with healing in her wings," the feminine pronoun agreeing with the feminine gender of shemesh. He concluded that due to this "compelling evidence" from the Hebrew text, one is "driven inevitably to the view that 'Sun of Righteousness' is the correct reading." While proposing this correction to the text, Dr. Sperry adds that "the meaning is not changed at all, because most conservative scholars through the centuries have agreed that 'Sun of Righteousness' refers to the Savior." (Stan Larson. “Conjectural Emendation and the Text of the Book of Mormon”, BYU Studies, vol. 18 (1977-1978), Number 4 - Summer 1978 564.)

The basis for the alteration is the original from Malachi that is altered in 3 Nephi 25:2, and then repeated in this reference in Ether. The original is:

Malachi 4:2

2 ¶ But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. (Italics added)

Cultural: Emer passes the throne to his son Coriantum, and then lives four years. This obviously indicates that Emer is alive after the transfer of power, unlike many monarchies where the power is not effectively transferred until the death of the king. In making the change to a transfer of power to a time before the death of the previous king, the Jaredites may be foreshadowing a similar solution to succession that was used in the Kingdom of Judah. They developed a practice of co-regencies that would assure a clean succession by having the next ruler already in place prior to the demise of the previous king. (Norman K. Gottwald. The Hebrew Bible. A Socio-Literary Introduction. Fortress Press, Philadelphia, 1985, p. 348).

Ether 9:23

23 And it came to pass that Coriantum did walk in the steps of his father, and did build many mighty cities, and did administer that which was good unto his people in all his days. And it came to pass that he had no children even until he was exceedingly old.

Ether 9:24

24 And it came to pass that his wife died, being an hundred and two years old. And it came to pass that Coriantum took to wife, in his old age, a young maid, and begat sons and daughters; wherefore he lived until he was an hundred and forty and two years old.

Coriantum is also righteous, and therefore the promise of the land works for him. He builds “many mighty cities.” In a Mesoamerican context, this would happen when he allowed important attendant family, or other important lines, to leave and establish new cities. The new cities would still maintain an allegiance to the original city.

Coriantum has no children with his first wife, but he does with his second. The only surprising feature of this statement is that Coriantum lived to the age of one hundred and forty two. That comes close to 12x12, but it falls two years short, so we cannot render absolute judgement that it is an artificial number. This does give us license to stretch our chronology, but obviously not enough to cover the missing two thousand years.

Chronology: The average reign listing would place Coriantum at 920 to 890 B.C., although his was a longer than average reign.

Ether 9:25

25 And it came to pass that he begat Com, and Com reigned in his stead; and he reigned forty and nine years, and he begat Heth; and he also begat other sons and daughters.

Com also has a reign that extends farther than the 30 year average used to produce the backbone chronology here. However, one should be hesitant to use the longer term as a model, since it may be listed precisely because it was longer than normal.

Chronology: The average-reign chronology places Com at 890-860 B.C. Obviously, his stated reign was longer than this. Nevertheless, these years are sufficient to give the general time-depth of his reign for comparison purposes.

Ether 9:26

26 And the people had spread again over all the face of the land, and there began again to be an exceedingly great wickedness upon the face of the land, and Heth began to embrace the secret plans again of old, to destroy his father.

Archaeological: At about this time period in the Jaredite history we have the transition from the Initial Olmec Period (1200-900 B.C.) to the Intermediate Olmec Period (900-600 B.C.). In the Initial Olmec Period:

“The large Olmec capital of San Lorenzo flourished and collapsed during the Initial Olmec period. San Lorenzo’s hinterland included small villages and hamlets, smaller satellite elite centers, and special-purpose shrines. La Venta, Laguna de los Cerros , and perhaps Tres Zapotes were inhabited at this time, as well, but little is known about these early occupations. Fore reasons still unclear, San Lorenzo entered a period of decline and abandonment prior to 900 B.C.” (Richard A. Diehl and Michael D. Coe. “Olmec Archaeology.” The Olmec World. Ritual and Rulership. The Art museum, Princeton University, 1996, p. 12)

The specifics of the archaeological record do not appear to have a one-to-one correspondence with the named Jaredites cities, but once again it is important to remember that we should not equate the Jaredites with the Olmec as a single entity. As noted earlier, even the Olmec did not likely consider themselves a single, unified, people (Richard A. Diehl and Michael D. Coe. “Olmec Archaeology.” The Olmec World. Ritual and Rulership. The Art Museum, Princeton University, 1996, p.11). What is similar is the emergence of cities from the villages and hamlets, and the beginnings of kingship. We also have the intimation of some ebb and flow in the political power, as the waning of San Lorenzo attests. Even without direct correlations, the overall pattern described for the Jaredites during this time period are well in accord with the patters seen in the archaeological record.

Ether 9:27

27 And it came to pass that he did dethrone his father, for he slew him with his own sword; and he did reign in his stead.

Heth uses a secret combination (verse 26) to cover himself as he kills his father to take the throne. It is interesting that while Heth is a murderer ascending to the throne, he is still listed in the king-list. When Corihor steals the throne, he does not get entered on the king-list, even though he was king, and was of the right lineage. Akish sits on the throne, but is never in the king-list. This highlights the unusual circumstance of Heth who kills his father to steal the throne, and the does get listed in the king-list. It is not know why there is such a distinction, but there is a use for Heth that there was not for the other usurpers. Heth is blamed for the disintegration of the kingdom.

Ether 9:28

28 And there came prophets in the land again, crying repentance unto them—that they must prepare the way of the Lord or there should come a curse upon the face of the land; yea, even there should be a great famine, in which they should be destroyed if they did not repent.

Ether 9:29

29 But the people believed not the words of the prophets, but they cast them out; and some of them they cast into pits and left them to perish. And it came to pass that they did all these things according to the commandment of the king, Heth.

The prophets come to the people. Unlike the last stated appearance of the prophets in Ether 7:23 during the reign of Shule, Heth does not protect them. Indeed, Heth persecutes the prophets. Heth therefore becomes the symbol of the turning away from God, and because the people have turned away, the blessing of the land turns to a curse. In this case the curse if famine brought on by a great drought (verse 30).

Ether 9:30

30 And it came to pass that there began to be a great dearth upon the land, and the inhabitants began to be destroyed exceedingly fast because of the dearth, for there was no rain upon the face of the earth.

It is interesting that the record of Ether should indicated a drought during the same basic time period that saw the abandonment of San Lorenzo. One of the known facets effective local populations was drought cycles. Webster notes the data for the later Maya, but there is every reason to believe that the effects of the similar climatic changes would have had a similar effect upon the Olmec, since their agricultural system was so similar:

“Sometimes plenty of rain falls, but it arrives a bit late, or there is an unusually dry interval as the crops ripen. In these circumstances, the harvest might be sparse, but people can generally tighten their belts and get by. More serious are marked deficiencies in annual rainfall extending over one or several years. Such protracted droughts can cause widespread famine, along with disease and social disruption. Many episodes of hunger, death, and conflict related to droughts of this kind are featured in the various Books of Chilam Balam, and scores of historical droughts are also recorded for northern Yucatan during Colonial and later times. Although exact census figures are unavailable, during the worst of them as many as 30-50 percent of the rural Maya population might have died.” (David Webster. The Fall of the Ancient Maya. Thames & Hudson, 2002, p. 239).

The effect of this particular drought on the Jaredites appears to have mirrored the suggestion of a 30-50 percent mortality rate. As the story of this drought continues, it stresses the desperation and the death. While there is no specific indication that the abandonment of San Lorenzo was related to a severe drought, it would be consonant with minor regional collapses in later history.

Ether 9:31

31 And there came forth poisonous serpents also upon the face of the land, and did poison many people. And it came to pass that their flocks began to flee before the poisonous serpents, towards the land southward, which was called by the Nephites Zarahemla.

Ether 9:32

32 And it came to pass that there were many of them which did perish by the way; nevertheless, there were some which fled into the land southward.

Ether 9:33

33 And it came to pass that the Lord did cause the serpents that they should pursue them no more, but that they should hedge up the way that the people could not pass, that whoso should attempt to pass might fall by the poisonous serpents.

As the drought intensifies, it has a dramatic effect on animal populations. They begin to search for water, and apparently head south to find it. The drought also leads to an increase in the known presence of serpents. The snakes were probably always there, but the conditions of the drought forced them into different behaviors, just as the flocks of the Jaredites began migrating.

As a quick note, the fact that the “flocks” began to move migrate suggests that there was no rigid control over them. We do not know if there was a domesticated relationship at any time, but there certainly wasn’t later in Mesoamerican history. The “flocks” would therefore be less the herding animals we tend to think of as associated with sedentary populations, and those “flocks” were therefore free of boundaries and moved to water.

This episode with the serpents is a fascinating one. It requires several aspects that can be checked against history and location. The first is that the region must have poisonous serpents. While there are constrictors in the Mesoamerican area, there are also poisonous snakes, so the presence of that type of serpent in this story is certainly plausible. The next set of aspects has to do with the drought, and with the hedging up of the way.

John Tvetdnes relates an experience that bears on the relationship of drought to the increase in serpents:

“During my lengthy residence in Israel (1971-79), I had opportunity to visit the Musa Alami Farm near Jericho. The farm had been constructed after Israel's 1948 War of Independence to settle displaced Palestinian refugees. It was particularly geared toward teaching various farm skills to Palestinian boys. During the 1950s, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had equipped the farm with a dairy and a starter herd and had sent dairy experts to operate that portion of the farm.

Much of the farm was in disrepair during our visit because of the 1967 Six-Day War. Orange groves had died from lack of water, and most of the fields lay fallow. During the war, all but two of the pumps bringing underground water to the surface had been destroyed, making it impossible to maintain the farm at its previous level. Most of the refugees had fled across the Jordan River to the kingdom of Jordan. The Israelis had also expropriated all the land on the western bank of the river in order to maintain security patrols along the new border.

Of particular interest to me was the effect on local wildlife. When crops were no longer being grown near the river, the mice moved westward to find grains in the few fields still under cultivation. They were, naturally, followed by serpents. From time to time, residents of the farm found vipers in and around their houses. This, they assured us, had never happened before the war.

My thoughts turned to the story in Ether 9:30-3, where we read that the Jaredites were plagued by "poisonous serpents" during a time of "great dearth" when "there was no rain upon the face of the earth." Their flocks fled southward from the serpents; some of the people also escaped in that direction, but the large number of serpents "hedge[d] up the way that the people could not pass." After the people repented, the Lord sent rain, which ended the famine, producing "fruit in the north countries" (Ether 9:35).

Several generations after the famine, "in the days of Lib the poisonous serpents were destroyed. Wherefore they did go into the land southward, to hunt food for the people of the land, for the land was covered with animals of the forest" (Ether 10:19). It was at this time that the Jaredites set aside the land southward as a game preserve (Ether 10:21). This suggests that much of the wildlife had perished during the dearth in the land northward.

We do not know by what means—whether miraculous, natural, or by the hand of man—the serpents were eliminated. It may be that they simply dispersed throughout the region as the dearth abated, following the rodents who, in turn, were following the regenerating plant life.” (John A. Tvedtnes “Drought and Serpents.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies. FARMS 6:1, 1997).

The extent of the serpent problem among the Jaredites is also paralleled in Old World historical records:

“The description of how people were driven out of a land by a plague of serpents that then "hedge up the way that the people could not pass" (Ether 9:31-35) may put a strain on your scientific credulity. I hasten to relieve it. Pompey the Great, we are told, could not get his army into Hyrcania because the way was barred by snakes along the Araxes, a stream that still swarms with the creatures. fn One of the chief philanthropic activities of the Persian magi was to make war on the snakes—a duty which must go back to a time when the race was sorely pressed by them. fn The Absurtitani were said to have been driven from their country by snakes, and Esarhaddon of Assyria recalls the horror and danger of a march by his army through a land "of serpents and scorpions, with which the plain was covered as with ants." fn In the thirteenth century A.D. Shah Sadrudin set his heart on the building of a capital which should surpass all other cities in splendor; yet the project had to be abandoned after enormous expense when during a period of drought the place so swarmed with serpents that no one could live in it. fn It is interesting in this connection that the plague of serpents in Ether is described as following upon a period of extreme drought (Ether 9:30).” (Hugh Nibley, Lehi in the Desert/The World of the Jaredites/There Were Jaredites, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co, 1952, 219-20.)

The multiple set of characteristics that would lead to a story about the serpents fits into a Mesoamerican location. There were poisonous serpents, and it was a land prone to serious drought. In addition, the connection between the swarming of the serpents and the drought indicates a touch of absolute authenticity into what otherwise appears a fanciful tale.

Ether 9:34

34 And it came to pass that the people did follow the course of the beasts, and did devour the carcasses of them which fell by the way, until they had devoured them all. Now when the people saw that they must perish they began to repent of their iniquities and cry unto the Lord.

The flocks comprised an important source of food, along with their agricultural production. Because of the drought, the harvest was poor to non-existant, and therefore food was scarce. Since there was no result of agriculture, the main source of food had to be focused on the animals, and the animals were leaving. They were apparently leaving rapidly enough that the people could not catch them, and in at least some (if not many) cases, were reduced to eating carrion to survive. Finally, the people are humbled and they begin to repent.

Ether 9:35

35 And it came to pass that when they had humbled themselves sufficiently before the Lord he did send rain upon the face of the earth; and the people began to revive again, and there began to be fruit in the north countries, and in all the countries round about. And the Lord did show forth his power unto them in preserving them from famine.

With the rain will come a revival, and the symbolically the revival will bring in a new type of king. Heth has died during the famine (Ether 10:1), and so both the wicked king and the wicked conditions are gone. The curse of the land came through wickedness. Now it is broken through repentance, and turning again to the Lord.

Textual: There is no chapter break at this location in the 1830 edition.