A few details from Alma

 I haven't written in a few weeks, and that is mostly because I haven't had any grand insights.  There are a few notes I want to make, though, so I won't forget them.  

The Name Isabel

Going back to Alma 39:3 we have one of the few women mentioned by name in the Book of Mormon.  Her name is Isabel, and she is a harlot.  When I have read this in the past, I had noticed that the name sounded like Jezebel from Kings 16 in the Bible.  Now that I have studied Hebrew a bit, I realize that it isn't "like" the Biblical name, it "is" the same name.  In ancient Hebrew there weren't any vowels, and the glottal i and j were represented by the same consonant. I think it is a good guess that Isabel was a title rather than a personal name. Just as a person 50 years ago might have called a hooker a "Jezebel" that is what Mormon is doing here. He is also calling the reader's mind to the fact that just as the Biblical Jezebel led Ahab away from the true worship of Jehovah, Isabel was leading souls away from their religious duties. 

Lamanite Identity

When the Stripling Warriors form ranks around Helaman and commit themselves to fight for the Nephite cause, they take upon them the identity of Nephites,  (Alma 55:16) In the very next chapter, Ammoron, the brother of the Nephite dissenter, Amalickiah, proclaims "And behold now I am a bold Lamanite." (Alma 54:24) and goes on to state the Lamanite cause, "behold, this war hath been waged to avenge their wrongs, and to maintain and to obtain their rights to the government; and I close my epistle to Moroni." We are clearly not thinking of biological identities any more.  The Stripling Warriors were Lamanite by birth, and Ammoron, if he truly is the biological sibling of  Amalickiah, was Nephite by birth.  Each group chooses their identity to meet their own needs. It seems clear that the Stripling Warriors truly accepted the religion and culture of the Nephites, and considered the lands of the Nephites as their native country.  They were fighting to defend their families and their home. Ammoron was just looking to wield power and to make the Lamanites do his fighting for him. I am guessing in his letter Ammoron is just repeating to Moroni the same lines he has used to stir up the Lamanites to anger so they are willing to go to battle against the Nephites yet again.