KnoWhy #162 - Why was Ammoron Determined to Avenge the Blood of His Brother? (Alma 54:16)

After Amalickiah’s death, his brother Ammoron did not hesitate in continuing his fallen brother’s warfare against the Nephites. In a heated letter to Moroni, the new Lamanite king vowed, “Behold, I will avenge [Amalickiah’s] blood upon you.” One motivating factor for Ammoron may be related to the Hebrew judicial concept of “blood vengeance.” In a world with no real equivalent to modern law enforcement, many ancient cultures allowed “for the nearest of kin to hunt down and carry out the death-penalty on a person that had slain a member of the sept or family.” Ammoron’s personality warns readers of the Book of Mormon to avoid allowing past grievance to consume one with hatred and malice.