Historical: We have the closing of a year-record. The events of the eighteenth year have been many, from the blessing of Alma’s sons to this major war. The eighteenth year of the reign of the judges figures to be about 76 BC in our modern calendar.
Textual: This is the end of a chapter in the 1830 edition. What is most interesting is that it is not the end of a book, even though it appears to indicate that it is. At the end of verse 24 it says “thus ended the record of Alma, which was written upon the plates of Nephi.” Very certainly we are told that we have the end of “the record of Alma” yet we have not reached the end of the Book of Alma. There is a different principle operating on the book names than there is on the chapter breaks. The book of Alma is not named because of the author, but rather because of the nature of the record keeper.