According to Shirley Heater, in some places words on the Printer's Manuscript [which help to establish the Manuscript as a literal translation of an ancient text] were omitted in the 1830 edition (and subsequent editions). In the 1981 LDS edition, Alma 8:13 reads, "Now when the people had said this, and withstood all his words, and reviled him, and spit upon him, and caused that he should be cast out of their city, [. . .] he departed thence and took his journey towards the city which was called Aaron." In the Printer's Manuscript we find that the verse reads, "and he departed thence and took his journey . . ." [Shirley R. Heater, "The 1830 Edition: History and Manuscript Comparison," in Recent Book of Mormon Developments, Vol. 2, pp. 95-97]
Thus, there seems to have been an abundant usage of the word "and" in the Manuscript. According to Angela Crowell, in Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar, the author states, "Contrary to English usage, which in lengthy enumerations uses the and to connect only the last member of the series, in Hebrew polysyndeton is customary" (i.e., "and" stands before each word or phrase in a series). A perfect example is found in Genesis 24:35 of the Old Testament:
And the Lord hath blessed my master greatly,
and he is become great;
And he hath given him flocks and herds,
And silver and gold;
And men servants and maid servants . . .
[Angela M. Crowell, "Hebraisms in the Book of Mormon," in Recent Book of Mormon Developments, Vol. 2, p. 4]
“The City Which Was Called Aaron”
According to the geographical theory of John Sorenson (a Chiapas Depression setting for the general land of Zarahemla), Alma likely at first followed the route toward Ocozocoautla/Noah but branched off toward Aaron before reaching Noah. Later, however, when he and Amulek "came out" of the Ammonihah valley and over the intervening elevation heading to Sidom, they would have passed through Noah. One ancient site dominated the middle sector of the land, San Isidro. San Isidro was found to be the economic and political key to the whole Middle Grijalva zone and the largest site on the river downstream from Chiapa de Corzo. A person going from Mirador/Ammonihah toward the [east lowlands] would naturally pass through this city. Traveling on or near the great river through the hilly tangle that separates the central depression from the lowlands. The road from Mirador to the [east] coast would head in a direction such that the traveler would miss Ocozocoautla, as Alma appears to have done at first. The entire arrangement of distances, topography, and drainage involving San Isidro provides a neat solution for the Aaron problem. Incidentally, the excavation at San Isidro showed that it was not occupied during the first century B.C., the period following Alma's day. This would explain why we hear nothing further of the place through the period of wars and migrations covered later in the books of Alma and Helaman. [John L. Sorenson, An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon, F.A.R.M.S., p. 203]
Alma 8:13 The city which was called Aaron (Illustration): Ammonihah (Mirador); Noah (Ocozocoautla); Aaron (San Isidro); Sidom (Chiapa de Corzo): Projection of the Coast and Highlands of Chiapas indicating Modern and Ancient Routes of Communication. [Gareth Lowe, Thomas Lee, and Eduardo Martinez, Izapa: An Introduction to the Ruins and Monuments, N.W.A.F., p. 73]
Alma Departed Towards the City Which Was Called Aaron
When Alma left Ammonihah he went "towards the city which was called Aaron" (Alma 8:13). How far he had to go in order to reach that city it doesn't say. What direction he went in going "towards" the city of Aaron it doesn't say. It is also unknown whether this city of Aaron was the same city of Aaron mentioned later on in Alma 50:14 In Alma 50:14 it states that the Nephites "began a foundation for a city between the city of Moroni (which was 'by the east sea; and it was on the south by the line of the possessions of the Lamanites'--Alma 50:13) and the city of Aaron, joining the borders of Aaron and Moroni." This description creates some problems because the city of Aaron referred to here in Alma 8:13 is associated with the land of Melek, which was "on the west of the river Sidon . . . by the borders of the wilderness" (Alma 8:3). The city of Aaron here in Alma 8:13 is also associated with the city of Ammonihah, which was "three days' journey on the north of the land of Melek" (Alma 8:6).
According to John Clark [who postulates an "hourglass" shape for the Book of Mormon lands and assumes no duplication of place names], the relative position of Aaron can be deduced by the following reasoning:
1. Alma was cast out of Ammonihah, and he "took his journey towards the city which was called Aaron" (Alma 8:13). Thus:
a. A route connected Aaron and Ammonihah (Alma 8:13).
b. The route was probably not westward (the wilderness side -- also the Lamanite invasion route).
c. The route was probably not southward (Alma had just traversed this route coming from Melek).
2. When Alma returned to Ammonihah, "he entered the city by another way, yea, by the way which is on the south of the city of Ammonihah" (Alma 8:18). Because of this phrase "another way," we might presume that Alma had not entered (or been cast out of) this southern entrance on his previous visit: Thus, Aaron was probably either north or east of Ammonihah. [Note* If all Nephite cities were situated so that the main entrance was towards the east (as in Nephihah -- see Alma 62:18-23), then the phrase "another way on the south" might be saying that Alma was to enter the city of Ammonihah by a "south" entrance rather than the main "east" entrance.]
3. A city named Aaron is mentioned in association with the land of Nephihah (Alma 50:13), which was located in the east wilderness. Thus, Aaron was located on a route that probably led eastward from Ammonihah. [John Clark, "A Key for Evaluating Nephite Geographies," in Review of Books on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 1, 1989, F.A.R.M.S., p. 47] [See Geographical Theory Maps]
Alma 8:13 The city which was called Aaron (Illustration): The Southern and Western Borders of Nephite Lands [John Clark, "A Key for Evaluating Nephite Geographies," in Review of Books on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 1, 1989, F.A.R.M.S., p. 44]