In this verse we have a slight alteration in what the modern reader might expect of a meal. Rather than a pre-meal prayer, it appears that Alma eats, and after eating “gave thanks unto God.” While there is no sure way to link the practice to the Old World roots of the Lehites, it is nevertheless instructive that this is a common Old World custom.
“In Judaism while a brief blessing is recited before eating, a series of longer blessings, the birkat ha-mazon, follows the meal. Four blessings come after the consumption of bread, while separate blessings are offered for other foods depending on their nature and origin. The basis for this practice id Deuteronomy 8:10…
This observance is also found in a Dead Sea Scroll poem, which Gaster calls Invitation to Grace after Meals; this poem paraphrases the language in the first part of Deuteronomy 8:10. It says, “whenso they eat and are filled,” noting that this is when men should speak of wisdom and think of the law given by God. “Crowell, Angela M. and John A. Tvedtnes, “Blessing God After Eating One’s Fill.” In: Pressing Forward with the Book of Mormon. FARMS 1999, p. 142-143).