Mormon has been weaving a fairly complex story here, interweaving the experiences of Ammon and Aaron. Both were important, because we needed to be introduced to the father of Lamoni, who is the focus this part of Aaron’s story. What we must remember about the father of Lamoni as we begin this part of the story is his extreme hatred for Nephites, and his personal battle with Ammon that left him astonished at Ammon’s beliefs. That original amazement opened the door for Aaron’s release. It will now begin to open the door to the over-king’s heart.
Textual: Our current chapter 22 was not a separate chapter in the 1830 edition, and the chapter break was made on a natural separation in the original narrative. This verse was the transition sentence between stories in Mormon’s chapter. This chapter will focus on the story of Aaron before the father of Lamoni, but this verse opens with the conclusion to the previous story of Ammon and Lamoni. The reason is precisely in its functional position as a transition between the two stories, a function that is now accomplished by the more formal break in a chapter.
Political Geography: This verse tells us something more about the political structure of these particular Lamanites. The father of Lamoni reigns in the land of Nephi, that land that became Lamanite around 200 BC and caused the flight of Mosiah I to Zarahemla. As we noted in the story of Zeniff, it appears that the land of Nephi was populated with many who were lineally Nephite, but politically Lamanite. This may explain some of the great antipathy of the father of Lamoni towards the Nephites. We see through multiple examples in the Book of Mormon that those who are most vehemently anti-Nephite are those who had once been Nephite.
In Sorenson’s geographical correlation, the city of Nephi is aligned with the site of Kaminaljuyu, which is the most prominent city of this area at this time. It is therefore quire right that the over-king reside in land of Nephi (presumably at the city that was formerly Nephi, quite probably at the site known as Kaminaljuyu).