By the Hand of Wickedness

"By the hand of wickedness" sounds like a very poetic turn of phrase; in fact, I take it for a Hebraism, like "by the hand of my industry."

They All Sware Unto Him

The shalems swear yes and no when they make their covenants.

The followers of the false mysteries swear more elaborate oaths.

Behold, I Am Fair

The daughter of Jared, whose ambition and twisted filial piety launch the false mysteries among the Jaredites, is "fair," like the Virgin.  Where the Virgin will give birth to the king, the daughter of Jared desires the king's head.  Moroni must have seen her as the Virgin's antitype, the whore of Babylon.

The Devil Taketh Him Up

Note that what Jared wants, and what his daughter promises can be had by means of the "secret plans" of "them of old," is the same thing that Satan offers in Christ's third temptation, upon an "exceeding high mountain": kingdoms and glory.

He Had Set His Heart Upon the Kingdom

The false mysteries rise to prominence among the Jaredites as a weapon given into the hands of one of the losers in their brutal dynastic politics.  What does Jared want?  The "kingdom" (but not the kingdom of God) and the "glory of the world."

Broke Down the Door of the Prison

In the sequel, Corihor's son Noah imprisons Shule and plans to execute him, but Shule's sons rescue and re-enthrone him.

Shule's name and the enthronement motif are provocative.  I am reminded of Lehi and Nephi's jailbreak; they are rescued by the temple, as it were, "encircled" by fire, with mists, and a voice that comes down from above the mist.  Peter and John are similarly rescued from prison by an angel, who immediately sends them into the temple to teach.

I note also that in the oldest Isaiah materials, preserved by Nephi, the Son of the Morning, before he is cast down (into the "pit," like the Azazel-goat on the Day of Atonement), will not release his prisoners.

Why all these prison-escape stories?  Did the Worship of the Shalems include a symbolic-spiritual deliverance from captivity?

Shule Waxed Strong

Corihor enslaves his father, King Kib, but then Kib has a final son, who rebels and restores his father.

The narrative of this righteous rebel prince echoes the story of the brother of Jared in Ether 3.  His name is Shule (compare with Mount Shelem).  He goes to a hill (Mount Ephraim), and there he "moltens" steel to make swords.  These swords must in some sense be temple weapons, and the tale of the temple-sword-prince Shule (shalem?) giving battle to Corihor in the land of Nehor must have resonated with Moroni at the end of Nephite civilization (given that the record he carried contained both Korihor and Nehor as the names of major apostates).

Shule wins, and receives "the kingdom," over which he executes judgment in righteousness.