These verses introduce us to one of the rare named women in the Book of Mormon. Her name may be significant. Rather than naming her, it may be describing her. The name appears to have Hebrew roots, and meant “father is a man,” or possibly “my father is a man.” If that is a correct reading, it may be Mormon’s play on words connecting Ammon who was “a man” to her father, who was similarly “a man,” but who was similarly the recipient of a “remarkable vision.”
This designation places Abish in a position to understand what was happening. She was already a believer in the Nephite religion, even though she lived as a Lamanite. Perhaps that was the reason that she was described as “Lamanitish,” as she lived politically as a Lamanite, but religiously as a Nephite believer.
Abish understands that great events are underway, and so she gathers nearby people to come to be witnesses to the power of the Lord.