Even more on the number 8

I just found a detail that should have been part of this post, but I didn't know at the time so I will make a short, separate post as add-on to it. To recap briefly, in Hebrew, the number eight represents new beginnings and is derived from the word "to grow fat" and therefore also linked to abundance. More details are found in the linked post, where I gave two examples. Lehi and his family sojourned eight years in the wilderness before they came to the promised land. Jared, his brother and their families journeyed to the promised land in eight vessels. It makes sense that the number eight is brought up in conjunction with new beginnings in a promised land with an abundance of resources.

Here is the third example that I should have included in the linked post: Alma was one of the priests of King Noah. He believed Abinadi's message, taught his word in secret among the people and gathered a group of believers. The king sent his army to kill them but they were warned and fled.

3 And they fled eight days’ journey into the wilderness.

4 And they came to a land, yea, even a very beautiful and pleasant land, a land of pure water.

5 And they pitched their tents, and began to till the ground, and began to build buildings; yea, they were industrious, and did labor exceedingly. (Alma 23)

There it is again. New beginnings for a group of recent converts in a "very beautiful and pleasant land". Alma's conversion and the church he established is considered of major significance by Book of Mormon authors. In fact, there is no talk about a church among the Nephites before Alma establishes it. King Benjamin's people take upon them the name of Christ and enter into a covenant but they are not described as a church. Likewise, Nephi, Jacob and Enos preach to their people but they are not described as a church. Alma's organisation of a church is therefore a unique event in the Book of Mormon.

In addition, Alma became the first chief judge and his posterity became the record keepers and authors of the large plates of Nephi. Alma and his people's escape and establishment of a church is therefore a pivotal moment in Book of Mormon history. There are frequent reminders of this scattering in the remainder of the Book of Mormon. Here are some examples:

and thus ended the days of Alma, who was the founder of their church. (Mosiah 29:47)

3 I, Alma, having been consecrated by my father, Alma, to be a high priest over the church of God, he having power and authority from God to do these things, behold, I say unto you that he began to establish a church in the land which was in the borders of Nephi; yea, the land which was called the land of Mormon; yea, and he did baptize his brethren in the waters of Mormon.
4 And behold, I say unto you, they were delivered out of the hands of the people of king Noah, by the mercy and power of God. (Alma 5)

Yea, and I also remember the captivity of my fathers; for I surely do know that the Lord did deliver them out of bondage, and by this did establish his church; yea, the Lord God, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, did deliver them out of bondage. (Alma 29:11)

And behold, I am called Mormon, being called after the land of Mormon, the land in which Alma did establish the church among the people, yea, the first church which was established among them after their transgression. (3 Nephi 5:12)

Mormon was even named after the waters where Alma and his group first gathered and were baptized. Seeing the number eight showing up at this significant event that perfectly fits the description of a new beginning in addition to the two voyages to the promised land cannot just be dismissed as coincidence. It also shows that Hebrew traditions were kept among the Nephites, at least the scribes who were "taught in all the language of [their] fathers" (Mosiah 1:2).