Textual: It is difficult to see the reason for these four verses that follow Omni 1:26. Verse 26 is very clearly a terminating verse. Omni has done all of the “correct” things; he has declared the future transmission line, and he has born personal testimony. That should have been the end of the plates. After that very final piece, and before he actually does give the plates to Benjamin, he tacks on another bit of history. It is tempting to assume that the triggering event was the departure of his brother mentioned in verse 30, but that does not seem likely. Amaleki is now old and facing his death, and a brother could be younger, but that still places the brother as a relatively old man for such a speculative journey. In addition, Amaleki notes that he has not heard from his brother since he left. Had the brother left only days before, this would be an odd statement. Therefore we must assume that these are events from years before.
While we may speculate that a delay in access to Benjamin gave Amaleki the opportunity to write more, there is nothing in the text that explains why he chose to add this information.
Historical: Amaleki is giving a brief description of the people of Zeniff. This story is more fully told in Mosiah 9-22.
Sociological: There are two pieces of information that help us get a relative dating for the expedition of Zeniff. The first is that Zeniff was one of the Nephites who came from the City of Nephi (Mosiah 9:1) and the second is Amaleki’s information that his brother was one of those who went with Zeniff (verse 30). Both of these men had to have been young enough for the rigors of the journey, and we may therefore understand that this attempt to return to the City of Nephi occurs relatively soon after the arrival of the Nephites in Zarahemla, say perhaps no more than ten years.
What is of greatest interest, however, is the reason why there were two separate movements to return to the City of Nephi within perhaps ten years of having to flee that city for their lives. Zeniff appears to have been a participant in both expeditions mentioned by Amaleki, and from Zeniff’s record it would appear that the purpose of the first was military conquest and the second a more peaceful entry into the land.
While we might understand a military reprisal for the expulsion of the Nephites, it is still a question as to why they would want to mount a military expedition that had to travel around 180 miles through the “wilderness” before they could actually be in a position to fight.
The most reasonable suggestion comes from the comparison between the sites of Kaminaljuyu and Santa Rosa. Kaminaljuyu was clearly the larger and richer. It would appear that the Nephites had a nostalgia for the lost good life, something very similar to the desire of Laman and Lemuel to return to their comfortable life in Jerusalem rather than endure the hardships of the wilderness. Likewise, there were many of the Nephites who appear to have desired to return to what they had lost. While more will be discussed of this expedition when Zeniff’s record is entered into the Book of Mormon record, there is a fascinating piece of information in Zeniff’s introduction:
Mosiah 9:1 I, Zeniff, having been taught in all the language of the Nephites, and having had a knowledge of the land of Nephi, or of the land of our fathers’ first inheritance, and having been sent as a spy among the Lamanites that I might spy out their forces, that our army might come upon them and destroy them—but when I saw that which was good among them I was desirous that they should not be destroyed.
Zeniff is part of a reconnaissance party that scouts out the City of Nephi prior to moving up the army that is with them (referenced in Mosiah 9:2). The interesting part is that Zeniff lists his qualifications as a spy. There are two. One is that he is familiar with the land of Nephi. The other is that he has been “taught in all the language of the Nephites.” Why is it that a knowledge of the language of the Nephites is an advantage in a spy mission?
There are two reasons. One is that there are certainly those in the army who are Zarahemlaites, and therefore do not speak “Nephite.” Secondly, “Nephite” is apparently still the language of the land of Nephi! Remember that there were two possibilities for the group that drove out Mosiah. The first was invading Lamanites (who might be presumed to have a different language) and the second was the power structure of the Nephites who no longer believed in the God of Israel (or at least in his living prophets). Internal evidence suggested previously that the Nephite wealthy remained in Nephi (since apparently the reigning king did not come with Mosiah), and the need to speak “Nephite” upon their return appears to confirm that cultural Nephites still possess that land.