“Behold Here Are Six Onties of Silver”

Alan C. Miner

One might ask, Why did Mormon take up space on his abridgment to show the Nephite money scale? Do we find the answer in Alma 11:22? In other words, did Mormon only show the money scale in order to help the reader appreciate the enormity of Zeezrom's bribe? ("All these will I give thee if thou wilt deny the existence of a supreme being") Or is the answer tied to a number of things. One possible insight is that in the scriptures, certain numbers are symbolic. The bribe of six onties was equal to 42 Senums, or 42 days pay for a judge. The number 42 is a product of 6 X 7. The number "6" is symbolic of Satan. The number "7" is symbolic the perfection, or the combination of "4" man + "3" God. However, Satan can imitate the ways of God: "And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy" (see Revelation 13:1). Thus we might ask, Is the amount of Zeezrom's bribe an allusion to Satan?

Zeezrom's big issue was the need for this "Son of God" to "save the people in their sins" (Alma 11:34). Apparently, according to Zeezrom's philosophy, salvation was a given (Nehor doctrine--see Alma 1:4). Beyond that, the object of life "was to get gain; and they got gain according to their employ" (Alma 10:31). Mormon notes that "the foundation of the destruction of this people is beginning to be laid by the unrighteousness of your lawyers and your judges" (Alma 10:27). Amulek's response was a discourse on the role of the Son of God (The Eternal Judge)--"all shall rise from the dead and stand before God, and be judged according to their works" (Alma 11:41).

Thus, if the issue has to do with judgment, why does Amulek speak on resurrection? Unlike an unjust society where men get gain according to their unrighteous works, the resurrection will be perfectly just--"everything shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body, and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil" (Alma 11:44). [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes]

Step by Step Through the Book of Mormon: A Cultural Commentary

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