Textual: Mormon returns to his historical narrative, and returns to events from the end of chapter 27 and the beginning of chapter 28. It is possible that he intentionally echoed the beginning of our chapter 28: Alma 28:1 And now it came to pass that after the people of Ammon were established in the land of Jershon…
While it might appear that chapter 28 is a beginning, it should be remembered that it was not a chapter break in the 1830 edition, and therefore not a chapter break in Mormon’s redaction. What we can say is that Mormon began a historical line, interrupted it, and is now returning to that earlier point. The historical narrative was interrupted by Alma’s soliloquy, and now Mormon must pick up the thread of this history. What we return to is the sad result of the great battle of the fifteenth year of the reign of the judges (Alma 28:2-7).