Ether 15
Coriantumr’s Sorrow
Ether 15:1–3
1 And it came to pass when Coriantumr had recovered of his wounds, he began to remember the words which Ether had spoken unto him.
2 He saw that there had been slain by the sword already nearly two millions of his people, and he began to sorrow in his heart; yea, there had been slain two millions of mighty men, and also their wives and their children.
3 He began to repent of the evil which he had done; he began to remember the words which had been spoken by the mouth of all the prophets, and he saw them that they were fulfilled thus far, every whit; and his soul mourned and refused to be comforted.
Comments
As Ether, chapter 14, ended, Coriantumr had been injured and was carried away from the battlefield. Shiz caused his armies to withdraw. There was a pause in what had been a nearly constant battle of death and destruction. In Coriantumr’s personally injured state, and with the time to reflect, he remembered Ether’s prophecy to him (Ether 13:20–21). Coriantumr finally understood that Ether’s prophecy was being fulfilled, and perhaps for the first time, he saw that his entire people might be destroyed. Finally, he “began to repent of the evil which he had done.”
Ether 15:4–6
4 And it came to pass that he wrote an epistle unto Shiz, desiring him that he would spare the people, and he would give up the kingdom for the sake of the lives of the people.
5 And it came to pass that when Shiz had received his epistle he wrote an epistle unto Coriantumr, that if he would give himself up, that he might slay him with his own sword, that he would spare the lives of the people.
6 And it came to pass that the people repented not of their iniquity; and the people of Coriantumr were stirred up to anger against the people of Shiz; and the people of Shiz were stirred up to anger against the people of Coriantumr; wherefore, the people of Shiz did give battle unto the people of Coriantumr.
Comments
Coriantumr attempts to stop the destruction, offering to give up the kingdom if it would end the war. Shiz was somewhat amenable, but his personal hatred desired personal revenge upon Coriantumr for the death of his brother, Lib (Ether 14:16).
There can be times when hatred overtakes reason. Neither side was in a mood to be forgiving, or to work towards peace—and so the war continued.
Ether 15:7–11
7 And when Coriantumr saw that he was about to fall he fled again before the people of Shiz.
8 And it came to pass that he came to the waters of Ripliancum, which, by interpretation, is large, or to exceed all; wherefore, when they came to these waters they pitched their tents; and Shiz also pitched his tents near unto them; and therefore on the morrow they did come to battle.
9 And it came to pass that they fought an exceedingly sore battle, in which Coriantumr was wounded again, and he fainted with the loss of blood.
10 And it came to pass that the armies of Coriantumr did press upon the armies of Shiz that they beat them, that they caused them to flee before them; and they did flee southward, and did pitch their tents in a place which was called Ogath.
11 And it came to pass that the army of Coriantumr did pitch their tents by the hill Ramah; and it was that same hill where my father Mormon did hide up the records unto the Lord, which were sacred.
Comments
The changing tides of the war saw Coriantumr and his army flee. They came to “the waters of Ripliancum, which, by interpretation, is large, or to exceed all.” Having the definition added suggests that this name was in Ether’s record and had to be interpreted so that it could be understood that they came to the shore of a large body of water. In a Mesoamerican view of the geography of the Book of Mormon, this would have been along the Gulf of Mexico.
Most importantly, they move again. This time going southward. Coriantumr’s army “did pitch their tents by the hill Ramah.” That name must also have been on Ether’s original plates. In this case, Moroni doesn’t give an interpretation, but rather a more important definition: “It was that same hill where my father Mormon did hide up the records unto the Lord.” See Mormon 6:6 for the set of records that Mormon buried in Cumorah.
Moroni does not tell us how he knows that the Jaredite hill Ramah is the same as the Nephite hill Cumorah. Perhaps it was by revelation. Perhaps it was the symbolic symmetry of the destruction of the two peoples at the same location, for the same sin of turning away from God.
Coriantumr Versus Shiz: The Final Battle
Ether 15:12–14
12 And it came to pass that they did gather together all the people upon all the face of the land, who had not been slain, save it was Ether.
13 And it came to pass that Ether did behold all the doings of the people; and he beheld that the people who were for Coriantumr were gathered together to the army of Coriantumr; and the people who were for Shiz were gathered together to the army of Shiz.
14 Wherefore, they were for the space of four years gathering together the people, that they might get all who were upon the face of the land, and that they might receive all the strength which it was possible that they could receive.
Comments
Moroni would have seen yet another parallel between the destruction of the Jaredites and Nephites. Not only were they at the same hill, but he notes that there is a time when all the people are gathered together for a final battle. This recalls the words of Mormon: “And I, Mormon, wrote an epistle unto the king of the Lamanites, and desired of him that he would grant unto us that we might gather together our people unto the land of Cumorah, by a hill which was called Cumorah, and there we could give them battle” (Mormon 6:2).
There is a difference, of course. The Jaredites gather for four years, and we don’t have the timing to know how long Mormon had to prepare. Four years would appear to be a very long time, and it is possible that the number is more symbolic than literal. The number four was a number of completeness among Mesoamerican peoples, similar to the Hebrew use of seven. When we see seven in the Bible, we pay attention because it may be symbolic more than literal, and the same should occur in the New World with the number four. As a number of completeness, it signaled that this was the end of the gathering.
Ether 15:15–16
15 And it came to pass that when they were all gathered together, every one to the army which he would, with their wives and their children—both men, women and children being armed with weapons of war, having shields, and breastplates, and head-plates, and being clothed after the manner of war—they did march forth one against another to battle; and they fought all that day, and conquered not.
16 And it came to pass that when it was night they were weary, and retired to their camps; and after they had retired to their camps they took up a howling and a lamentation for the loss of the slain of their people; and so great were their cries, their howlings and lamentations, that they did rend the air exceedingly.
Comments
The first battle is inconclusive, but deadly. Moroni records that “after they had retired to their camps they took up a howling and a lamentation for the loss of the slain of their people; and so great were their cries, their howlings and lamentations, that they did rend the air exceedingly.” That is an understandable reaction, but also a plausible description. The process of mourning in the ancient world often took the form of visible and audible distress.
Ether 15:17–19
17 And it came to pass that on the morrow they did go again to battle, and great and terrible was that day; nevertheless, they conquered not, and when the night came again they did rend the air with their cries, and their howlings, and their mournings, for the loss of the slain of their people.
18 And it came to pass that Coriantumr wrote again an epistle unto Shiz, desiring that he would not come again to battle, but that he would take the kingdom, and spare the lives of the people.
19 But behold, the Spirit of the Lord had ceased striving with them, and Satan had full power over the hearts of the people; for they were given up unto the hardness of their hearts, and the blindness of their minds that they might be destroyed; wherefore they went again to battle.
Comments
Even though Moroni saw similarities between the Nephite battle at Cumorah and the Jaredite end at Ramah, there were differences. Mormon describes only a single, terrible battle. The Jaredite battle raged back and forth.
Coriantumr again attempts to end the conflict, but things are too far gone. They were on their way to destruction.
Another important difference between the end of the Jaredites and the end of the Nephites is that there was a victorious army which defeated the Nephites. There were clearly losses on both sides, but only the Nephites were destroyed. In the case of the Jaredites at Ramah, both contending armies are Jaredite. Thus, for them it was a mutual destruction. There was no victor. Everyone lost.
Ether 15:20–26
20 And it came to pass that they fought all that day, and when the night came they slept upon their swords.
21 And on the morrow they fought even until the night came.
22 And when the night came they were drunken with anger, even as a man who is drunken with wine; and they slept again upon their swords.
23 And on the morrow they fought again; and when the night came they had all fallen by the sword save it were fifty and two of the people of Coriantumr, and sixty and nine of the people of Shiz.
24 And it came to pass that they slept upon their swords that night, and on the morrow they fought again, and they contended in their might with their swords and with their shields, all that day.
25 And when the night came there were thirty and two of the people of Shiz, and twenty and seven of the people of Coriantumr.
26 And it came to pass that they ate and slept, and prepared for death on the morrow. And they were large and mighty men as to the strength of men.
Comments
Moroni tells the story in repeated events and phrases. This gives a picture of the continued destruction. Sleeping on their swords is an image of both war weariness, and an unwillingness to bend. The battle would continue, inexorably. Finally, there are few left standing and they prepare for one last battle, knowing that many of them would die, but not quite understanding that there would only be one remaining.
Ether 15:27–29
27 And it came to pass that they fought for the space of three hours, and they fainted with the loss of blood.
28 And it came to pass that when the men of Coriantumr had received sufficient strength that they could walk, they were about to flee for their lives; but behold, Shiz arose, and also his men, and he swore in his wrath that he would slay Coriantumr or he would perish by the sword.
29 Wherefore, he did pursue them, and on the morrow he did overtake them; and they fought again with the sword. And it came to pass that when they had all fallen by the sword, save it were Coriantumr and Shiz, behold Shiz had fainted with the loss of blood.
Comments
In many ancient battles that were hand to hand, exhaustion was often the real killer. Two evenly matched fighters might not find advantage, but if exhaustion entered the picture, the danger increased. These men were exhausted. One more time there is a chance to end things without total destruction, “but behold, Shiz arose, and also his men, and he swore in his wrath that he would slay Coriantumr.”
Ether 15:30–31
30 And it came to pass that when Coriantumr had leaned upon his sword, that he rested a little, he smote off the head of Shiz.
31 And it came to pass that after he had smitten off the head of Shiz, that Shiz raised up on his hands and fell; and after that he had struggled for breath, he died.
Comments
The action of Shiz arising and struggling for breath, without his head, is a difficult scene to imagine. Nevertheless, a modern medical doctor examined the passage and noted that if the sword was not precisely at the neck, but at the base of the skull, then it was actually the severing of the midbrain. With Coriantumr’s documented exhaustion, there is no reason to expect that he made a clean decapitation. Cutting through the midbrain would result in the rising, though clearly the idea that he “struggled for breath” was not a medical description, but a literary one.
Ether 15:32–34
32 And it came to pass that Coriantumr fell to the earth, and became as if he had no life.
33 And the Lord spake unto Ether, and said unto him: Go forth. And he went forth, and beheld that the words of the Lord had all been fulfilled; and he finished his record; (and the hundredth part I have not written) and he hid them in a manner that the people of Limhi did find them.
34 Now the last words which are written by Ether are these: Whether the Lord will that I be translated, or that I suffer the will of the Lord in the flesh, it mattereth not, if it so be that I am saved in the kingdom of God. Amen.
Comments
Ether’s prophecy was fulfilled. This record does not describe Coriantumr being discovered by the people of Zarahemla (prior to their unification with Mosiah2’s Nephites). We learn of that in Omni 1:21.
There are few things in the book of Ether where we can easily know when Moroni quoted his source rather than summarized it. Indeed, for the most part, Moroni summarized. That is not true of the conclusion. At the end, Moroni quotes Ether’s words. Whether the amen was part of the quotation, or added by Moroni is immaterial. For both men, the final word was a testimony to what had been recorded.
