The suggestion of exaggeration in an ancient account of military actions is hardly foreign to history. However, I suggest that a more logical reason is that Helaman did not have modern medical training. It is quite likely that he had seen animal sacrifices. By this time in his military career, he had surely seen men killed, though not among his own charges; and he had certainly seen men lose blood, faint, and then die. Certainly he understood that loss of consciousness was a sign that death was near. What Helaman could not have determined was the amount of blood lost and, hence, the cause of unconsciousness. The hyperbole, if it can be called that, was that Helaman chose to present the stripling warriors as near death but saved by the miraculous appearance of the extra troops. It is not surprising that Helaman did not make a diagnosis that corresponds to modern understanding.