In the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude date ...

, Amalickiah (; Ameleckiah as a frequent scribal variant in the original manuscript) was a

Nephite According to the Book of Mormon, the Nephites () are one of four groups (along with the Lamanites, Jaredites, and Mulekites) to have settled in the ancient Americas. The term is used throughout the Book of Mormon to describe the religious, po ...

leader of a movement to reestablish a king, specifically himself, as the king of the

Nephites According to the Book of Mormon, the Nephites () are one of four groups (along with the Lamanites, Jaredites, and Mulekites) to have settled in the ancient Americas. The term is used throughout the Book of Mormon to describe the religious, po ...

. When he failed to gain power through a popular uprising he dissented to the

Lamanites The Lamanites () are one of the four ancient peoples (along with the Jaredites, the Mulekites, and the Nephites) described as having settled in the ancient Americas in the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement. The Lamani ...

becoming their king and using them as a means to gain power over the

. He was killed during the ensuing war.

Biography

Amalickiahite movement

The Amalickiahite () movement arose during a power vacuum following the separation of church and state and by the transfer of leadership of the church from

Alma the Younger According to the Book of Mormon, Alma, the son of Alma () was a Nephite prophet often referred to as Alma the Younger to distinguish him from his father, who is often referred to as Alma the Elder. These appellations, "the Younger" and "the Elde ...

to his son

Helaman The Book of Mormon mentions three men named Helaman ( ). The first was the son of King Benjamin, king of the united Nephite-Zarahemla kingdom who lived in the 2nd century BC. Besides his genealogy, information about the first Helaman is limite ...

succeeded his father as High Priest over the Nephite Church but did not have any political authority. His father was the last High Priest who also held the post of Chief Judge (or governor) of the

had found that the church suffered from neglect due to his political duties and so resigned the latter office. Amalickiah is described as a large and strong man who was also an eloquent speaker. He may have been a lower (i.e. local) judge, for many of his followers (called Amalickiahites) held that office. It is noted that he was also a member of the Nephite Church, and that the lower judges were members themselves. They were upset with the reforms or "regulation" of the church established by

following the last war with the

. They were angry over the preaching by

and his high priests — so angry that they were willing to kill

and all those that held an opposing view.

Moroni's counter-revolution

Captain Moroni According to the Book of Mormon, Captain Moroni was an important Nephite military commander who lived during the first century BC. He is first mentioned in the Book of Alma as "the chief captain over the Nephites." Captain Moroni is presented ...

learned of the Amalickiahites' rebellion, and rallied the Nephite people against it. He raised the

Title of Liberty According to the Book of Mormon, Captain Moroni was an important Nephite military commander who lived during the first century BC. He is first mentioned in the Book of Alma as "the chief captain over the Nephites." Captain Moroni is presented ...

over the capital, and then over every city of the land where the rebellion was taking place. Those that followed the

and the reformed church called themselves Christians. The rebels were soon outnumbered in the land, their hopes for power broken.

Dissent to the Lamanites

Amalickiah led his followers away into the wilderness to join the

when he realized his political campaign had failed. Moroni did not want their enemy to gain any further strength so he set off in pursuit with the army. Moroni's army defeated the rebels, but Amalickiah and a small band of trusted followers escaped to the

land of Nephi In the Book of Mormon, the land of Lehi-Nephi (; also referred to as the land of Nephi) is the homeland of the Nephites in the early times of the Book of Mormon. The land is later conquered by the Lamanites, and the remaining Nephites flee to the ...

King of the Lamanites

Amalickiah and his men went to the court of the Lamanite king and persuaded him to issue a call to arms against the Nephites. However, this proved unpopular with the majority of warriors, the

having just lost a costly war against the

. Amalickiah flattered the king and got appointed to command the loyalists. He is ordered to go and compel the rest of the warriors into the army to fight for the king. The rebels outnumbered the loyalist army that Amalickiah commands. Knowing he would likely fail to press the warriors into the army, he came up with plan to use his greatest strengths: flattery and treachery. Setting up camp at the base of a large hill where the rebels were in their defensive position, he secretly sent word to the rebel leader

Lehonti This list is intended as a quick reference for individuals mentioned in the Book of Mormon. Notation Names with superscripts (e.g., Nephi1) are numbered according to the index in the LDS scripture, the Book of Mormon. Missing indices indica ...

that he will betray the loyalists into the rebels' hands if he is made second in command of the rebel army.

agrees, and Amalickiah sets his own men as guards, allowing the rebel army to approach and surround the loyalist camp. When the loyal warriors woke to see themselves in a hopeless position, they begged Amalickiah to allow them to surrender and join the rebels to save their lives. Amalickiah gains standing with the rebels, "saves" his men, and becomes second-in-command of the combined Lamanite army. This was not enough for Amalickiah, for he wanted to be king. He slowly poisoned

while the army is marching to the capital. When

died on the march, command then fell to Amalickiah. At the capital the Lamanite king got word that his army is approaching with general Amalickiah at the head. The king was pleased and, accompanied by his closest servants, went to meet him. As the king neared, the henchmen of Amalickiah went before him bowing to the king. The king raised his arm beckoning them to rise. As the first henchman does he drew a dagger and thrust it up into the chest of the king. He fell, slain by the assassins. The servants of the king then turned to run away. Amalickiah's henchmen shouted to the army that the king has been slain by his own servants. Amalickiah led the warriors to the fallen king and feigns heartache at such treachery. He goaded the warriors, former loyalist and rebel alike, to go and slay the king's servants. Despite pursuit, the servants escape to the Nephites and tell the tale of Amalickiah's deceit. Meanwhile, as commander of the army, Amalickiah goes to the court to tell the queen the awful news. After telling of the treacherous attack by the king's servants, he brings forth his assassins who swear that the servants fled because of their perfidity. Amalickiah comforts and woos the grieving queen. Soon he marries her to become the next king of the

War against the Nephites

As the new king Amalickiah proceeded to aggravate the Lamanites to war against the

. Staying behind with his new queen, he sent his armies to attack the Nephites under the command of Nephite dissenters. Their plan was to attack those cities that had previously shown to be weakest. Unfortunately for them,

had fortified all the Nephite cities, in case of such a sneak attack. The Lamanites proceeded to assault the walls of these "weak" cities, never once managing to slay a single Nephite in the process, while losing many men and all their chief captains who led the forlorn hope. They returned to relate the tale of bad news to their king. King Amalickiah, however, was not to be deterred. As the Nephites were dealing with

king-men Pahoran (), in the Book of Mormon, was the third chief judge of the Nephites, who inherited the position from his father Nephihah in about 67 BC, in the 24th year of the judges (). Soon after his appointment, he was opposed by the king-men, who ...

, Amalickiah saw his advantage, and began to capture Nephite cities on the eastern coast, well away from

and his main army. After taking seven cities, however, he was met by

Teancum According to the Book of Mormon, Teancum () was a Nephite military leader. He is described in the Book of Alma between Alma 50:35 and Alma 62:40 (inclusive). According to LDS teachings, he is known for the assassinations of King Amalickiah and the ...

whose force stood up to the king. Teancum's warriors wore the Lamanite army down till they withdrew into camp for the night. Teancum sneaked into the king's camp with a trusted aide and killed Amalickiah with a javelin.

Etymology

The "-iah" suffix can be found in a number of Book of Mormon names such as Mosiah and

Sariah According to the Book of Mormon, Sariah () was the wife of Lehi, and the mother of Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi. The Book of Mormon also mentions Jacob, and Joseph, two additional sons born to Lehi after his departure from Jerusalem, but does ...

, as well as the Biblical names

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...

Jeremiah Jeremiah, Modern: , Tiberian: ; el, Ἰερεμίας, Ieremíās; meaning " Yah shall raise" (c. 650 – c. 570 BC), also called Jeremias or the "weeping prophet", was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish ...

and

Zedekiah Zedekiah (), was the 20th and last king of Judah before the destruction of the kingdom by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. His birth name was Mattaniah/Mattanyahu ( he, מַתַּנְיָהוּ, ''Mattanyāhū'', "Gift of God"; el, Μαθθ ...

, where it represents Yah or Jah ( he, יה, ''Yah''), a shortening of the name

Yahweh Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age if not somewhat earlier, and in the oldest biblical literature he posse ...

(Jehovah). This short form of the name occurs 50 times in the text of the Hebrew Bible, of which 24 form part of the phrase "

Hallelujah ''Hallelujah'' ( ; he, ''haləlū-Yāh'', meaning "praise Yah") is an interjection used as an expression of gratitude to God. The term is used 24 times in the Hebrew Bible (in the book of Psalms), twice in deuterocanonical books, and four tim ...

", which is actually a two-word phrase, not one word. The preceding syllables resemble the name ''

Amaleki According to the Book of Mormon, Amaleki () was a Nephite record keeper (ca 130 BC). He received the plates of Nephi from his father Abinadom, and penned 18 verses in the Book of Omni (Omni 1:12-30). He was the last person to write in the small ...

'', which according to

Hugh Nibley Hugh Winder Nibley (March 27, 1910 – February 24, 2005) was an American scholar and an apologist of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who was a professor at Brigham Young University (BYU) for nearly 50 years. He was a ...

, simply means "my king." Nibley, Hugh & Hummel, Sharman Bookwalter (ed.) ''Nibley's Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 1'' (2013), ASIN: B00GFY0GUO Thus Amalickiah may mean "My King is Jah".

References

{{S-end Book of Mormon people