Comments on Mosiah 17 v1 "commanded that the priests should take him", as in 13:1 Noah first attempted to have the priests take Abinadi. It is not until v. 5 of this chapter that the guards are told to take Abinadi. v2 "Alma, he also being a descendant of Nephi. And he was a young man, and he believed the words", the text sets up Alma as not being like the others in that he believes Abinadi. But, it also adds the descriptors of being a Nephite and younger, suggesting the other priests were in general Mulekites and older. v4 "he...did write all the words", we would presume this is how we got such a detailed record of Abinadi's confrontation with Noah and his priests. Alma was a first-hand witness of the entire proceedings and he documented it, subsequently making it available to Mormon. Other details were probably filled in by record keeping derived from Limhi and others who survived and ultimately rejoined the Nephites. v6-8 It takes the priests three days to fabricate an accusation against Abinadi they are hoping will cause him to recant his testimony against them. They primary interest here is to get him to recant, so they want to use an accusation that is religiously based so as to appeal to his strong religious convictions. And, they are attempting to cast doubt on his previous statements concerning the Messiah, so they are seeking to undercut his logic so he will doubt himself in the moment his life is in jeopardy. They are hoping his fear of death in combination with their counter argument that it is blasphemy to suggest God will condescend to flesh will raise enough doubt in him to get him to recant. v11-12 Noah initially backs off from the threat of execution because of Abinadi's warning (v. 11). However, when the priests realize he is backing down they appeal to his pride and arrogance and get him to follow through with it (v. 12). These two verses do a great deal to show the real character of these people and what their relationship was really like. Noah is extremely prideful, and the priests are using this as a means of manipulation to get what they want. The priests are a group of self-promoters who have learned to get what they want by catering to and manipulating the king. v13 "scourged his skin with faggots", as indicated in the next verse this is a death by fire. The term "faggots" refers to bundles of dry twigs bound together. They were used historically to start fires as they caught fire easily and burned quickly when compared to split logs. v15-18 Abinadi continues his warning from 13:10 that what they do to him will be indicative of what happens to them. This was ultimately fulfilled with Noah's death by fire in 19:20, and the death of the priests and their children in Alma 25:4-12. Copyright © 2001 by S. Kurt Neumiller . All rights reserved. No part of this text may be reproduced in any form or by any means for commercial gain without the express written consent of the author. Digital or printed copies may be freely made and distributed for personal and public non-commercial use.