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Let us place ourselves in the position of someone living in the early 1800s. We might have a map showing the general outlines of Central America, but many regions on our map would be still unexplored and mysterious. If we were unable to obtain accurate information about the geography of Central America, we might decide to construct our own map, substituting a well-known area of the world. And if we were also writing a Nephite scripture, we might turn to the Bible, so that our New World promised land would parallel the biblical promised land. Indeed, there are many aspects of the Book of Mormon which suggest that its setting is patterned after Palestine.
The land southward was divided by a strip of wilderness which separated the land of Nephi to the south from the land of Zarahemla to the north. Similarly, the empire of David and Solomon was later divided into the southern kingdom of Judah, comprising the territories of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and the northern kingdom of Israel, which included the lands allotted to the other ten tribes. The Lamanites occupied wilderness areas along the west coast and also to the east and north of Zarahemla; Judah was bordered on the west by the lands of the Philistines along the Mediterranean coast, while Ammonites lived to the east of Israel, and Phoenicians dwelled farther north on the west coast. North of Zarahemla was a narrow neck of land; Israel also narrows in the north between the Mediterranean and the Sea of Chinnereth (Galilee).
Our analysis of the text revealed that the head of the river Sidon was in the east and that the river then flowed north, west, and south, and from there into the sea. This exactly describes the course of the Jabbok river, which originates east of the Jordan Valley, then runs north and west, until its waters flow into the Jordan River and continue southward to empty into the Dead Sea.
The city of Zarahemla, which was in the central portion of the land, corresponds quite well with Shechem, in the center of Israel. The neighboring cities of Noah, Ammonihah, and Aaron were north of the river Sidon and east of Zarahemla; Succoth , Penuel, and Mahanaim were north of the Jabbok River and east of Shechem. Nephihah was on the east coast near the head of the Sidon and corresponds with Rabbah near the head of the Jabbok River. Moroni might represent Heshbon, but placed further north.
Melek, which was west of the river Sidon, corresponds with Shiloh, which was west of the juncture of the Jabbok and Jordan rivers. The wilderness of Hermounts represents Mt. Gerizim, which is northwest of Shiloh, near Shechem. Gideon, east of the river Sidon, may be Jazer, east of the Jordan. The city of Manti, west of the Sidon and south of Gideon, corresponds with Gilgal, west of the Jordan and south of Jazer. South of Manti in the land of Nephi was Minon, which represents Jericho, south of Gilgal. To the west of Manti lay the cities of Zeezrom, Cumeni, and Antiparah, stretching east to west. These cities correspond with Michmash, Mizpah, and Beth-Horon, which form almost a straight line westward from Gilgal. Beyond Antiparah was an unnamed city by the west sea, which might be Jabneel, near the Mediterranean Sea. North of these cities was Judea, representing Bethel.
Antionum was east of Zarahemla and south of Jershon, corresponding to Tishbe, northeast of Shechem and south of Jabesh-gilead. The city of Lehi was in the northeast and might be Abel-meholah. Other cities in the north but near the east sea included Morianton, Omner, Gid and Mulek; these cities might correspond respectively to Ramoth-gilead, Edrei, Ashtaroth, and Golan.
An obvious difficulty here is the fact that there is no east sea in Palestine, although the Arabian peninsula is surrounded on three sides by water. However, Judah was bordered on the east by the Dead Sea, and I believe that the author of the Book of Mormon simply continued the coastline east and north, cutting off the lands east of Palestine. This alteration was necessary in order to make Palestine more closely resemble Central America.
I have argued that Lehi-Nephi was not the city of Nephi, but was in a remote part of the land, along with the cities of Shilom and Shemlon. The fact that Ammon's group, sent by Mosiah to find Lehi-Nephi, wandered in the wilderness for forty days seems to be a very large clue. It recalls the forty years that the Israelites wandered in the wilderness after leaving Egypt. Shemlon, where the Lamanite king lived, could be Ramses. The hill north of Shilom, which was "a resort for the children of Nephi at the time they fled out of the land," corresponds to Pihahiroth, where the Israelites encamped while fleeing from Egypt. Near Pihahiroth were Migdol and Baalzephon, represented by Lehi-Nephi and Shilom.
Alma, we recall, fled from Lehi-Nephi to Mormon, which was "in the borders of the land." It corresponds to Beer-sheba, which marked the southern boundary of the lands of the Israelites. From Mormon, Alma made an eight-day journey to Helam, which might be Ashdod in Philistine territory on the west coast. Helam was near Amulon and Jerusalem, which represent two other Philistine cities near Ashdod, Ekron to the northeast and Ashkelon to the south. When Alma's people left Helam, they came after a day's journey to the valley of Alma, which corresponds with the Valley of Elah, east of Ashdod.
We have seen that Jerusalem, Ani-Anti, and Middoni seem to have formed a line east and west. South of Middoni was Ishmael, and further south was the city of Nephi. Joshua 10 suggests a configuration of cities which matches this arrangement. When the Israelites invaded Canaan, they quickly captured the cities of Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, Eglon, and Hebron. Ani-Anti corresponds with Libnah, and Middoni with Makkedah, both of which were "over" from Ashkelon. Ishmael represents Lachish, and Nephi corresponds to Hebron. Midian, a city near Ishmael, could be Eglon.
Onidah and the mountain called Antipas, north of the land of Nephi, correspond with Jezreel and Mt. Gilboa in northern Israel. North of Zarahemla was the city of Bountiful, corresponding with Beth-shan at the east end of the Valley of Jezreel.
When the Nephites started their retreat northward from Zarahemla, they were driven first to Angola and then to David. These two places might represent Dothan and Taanach, north of Shechem. From David, the Nephites fled to Joshua near the west sea, corresponding with Dor on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Nephites then retreated to Jashon, which was near the hill Shim. Jashon represents Megiddo, and the hill Shim is Mt. Carmel. Shem was north of Jashon and might be Shimron, north of the Kishon River. The Nephites gathered next at the city of Desolation, representing Aphek, northwest of Shimron. Teancum was near Desolation and by the sea, corresponding with Acco, north of Aphek on the west coast. From Teancum, the Nephites fled first to Boaz and then to Jordan, which represent the Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon.
We should also note the exchange of names here. The river Sidon includes part of the Jordan River, while the city of Jordan corresponds with the city of Sidon.
The hill Cumorah, which was east of the hill Shim, corresponds with Mt. Tabor, east of Mt. Carmel. Cumorah was in "a land of many waters, rivers, and fountains," and north of Mt. Tabor is the Sea of Galilee and the Waters of Merom. Cumorah was also the hill Ramah, where the final Jaredite battle took place.
The principal Jaredite city of Moron was north of Desolation and corresponds with Damascus in Syria. The land of Nehor might be Gebal (Byblos) northwest of Damascus on the coast. The land of Heth could be the city of Laish (Dan) southwest of Damascus. The hill Ephraim corresponds with Mt. Hermon between Laish and Damascus. The wilderness of Akish might be the mountain range called Anti-Lebanon, while the valley of Gilgal and the plains of Heshlon would lie between Mount Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon. The plains of Agosh would correspond to the area northeast of Damascus in the direction of Tadmor. Tadmor would mark the point on the east sea to which Shiz pursued Coriantumr. If the region of the two valleys was westward from Tadmor, it would correspond to Hamath on the Orontes River. The waters of Ripliancum represent the Mediterranean Sea. Ogath might be En-dor near Mt. Tabor, which would be the hill Ramah.
The land northward, which was settled by migrations of people traveling by ship and on foot, would correspond to northern Syria and Asia Minor and probably Armenia as well. The missions of Nephi and Lehi to the land northward would have parallels in the journeys of Paul to such cities as Antioch, Tarsus, Miletus, Ephesus, and Smyrna.
The large bodies of water encountered by one group which traveled "an exceedingly great distance" northward may refer to lakes Van and Urmia in Armenia south of Mt. Ararat. The north sea would correspond to the Black Sea.
The text requires that the land between Bountiful and Desolation narrow to a relatively small area, since Alma 22:32 and Helaman 4:7 state that it required no more than a day or a day and a half to cross the neck of land. Apparently the sea cut in a short distance on the west coast, because the text says that when the Nephites battled the Lamanites at the city of Desolation, they "did slay a great number of them, and their dead were cast into the sea" (Mormon 3:8). They could not have cast the bodies into the sea unless Desolation was near the coast. But the west sea could not have run inland very far, since Omer passed by the hill Shim before continuing eastward, which he could not have done if he was completely separated from the hill Shim by a channel of water. The Nephites also retreated northward to Shem from Joshua and Jashon on the west coast, and Mormon went back to the hill Shim from Boaz. However, the sea must have extended inland a considerable distance on the east, for the Book of Ether says: "Wherefore they did go into the land southward, to hunt food for the people . . . . And they built a great city by the narrow neck of land, by the place where the sea divides the land" (Ether 10:19-20). This passage indicates that a channel of the sea separated the land southward from the land northward. This is a geographical feature which Sorenson does not mention or indicate on his map. Another passage suggests the existence of this barrier of water. A group of people from Morianton decided to flee into the land northward. They passed through the land of Bountiful, but Moroni, who set out to stop them, did not overtake them "until they had come to the borders of the land Desolation; and there they did head them, by the narrow pass which led by the sea into the land northward, yea, by the sea, on the west and on the east" (Alma 50:34). Since Morianton was on the east coast and the people passed through Bountiful, they must have been heading west to cross over the narrow neck of land. Therefore, they must have been blocked from going northward by the sea channel, and the channel must have run for a fairly long distance westward.
There is one aspect of the geography of the Middle East which suggests this channel of the sea. The Red Sea cuts inland, dividing Egypt from the Sinai Peninsula, and there is only a narrow neck of land between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. I have identified the hill Cumorah with Mt. Tabor, but this channel gives Cumorah another connotation; it also represents Mt. Sinai. It was on Mt. Sinai that Moses received the stone tablets with the law written on them, and it was in the hill Cumorah that Mormon buried the records which he had taken out of the hill Shim.
The sea channel would also correspond with the southern boundaries of the tribes of Issachar and Zebulun, which separated them from the tribe of Manasseh.
If my map is compared to a map of Central America, certain resemblances will be found. The peninsula where the cities of Mulek, Gid, Omner, and Morianton are located represents the Yucatan peninsula. Correspondingly, the river Sidon would flow through Nicaragua and Honduras, and the city of Zarahemla would be located in Honduras. The land of Zarahemla would therefore include the Yucatan, Guatemala, Honduras, and part of Nicaragua. The land of Nephi would extend through Costa Rica and Panama, but would also include El Salvador and the west coast of Nicaragua. The region where Lehi-Nephi was located would be the west coast of Colombia.
The sea channel would extend from Campeche across Chiapas. The hill Cumorah would be "south" of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, perhaps in Tabasco. Moron would correspond with Mexico City, while the region of the two valleys would be in the area of Guadalajara. The land northward, which was settled by migrations of people, would correspond to the United States, and the large bodies of water in the far north would be the Great Lakes.
There is, of course, no channel of the sea which extends through southern Mexico, although the land does narrow considerably between Panama and Colombia. However, the Book of Mormon says that at the time of the death of Jesus, the New World was shaken by great geological convulsions which lasted for three hours: "And there was a great and terrible destruction in the land southward. But behold, there was a more great and terrible destruction in the land northward; for behold, the whole face of the land was changed" (3 Nephi 8:11-12). A number of cities, including Moroni and Jerusalem, sank into the sea, while other cities were buried in the earth. We know from another passage that great changes occurred in the area of Bountiful: "there were a great multitude gathered together, of the people of Nephi, round about the temple which was in the land Bountiful; and they were marveling and wondering one with another, and were showing one to another the great and marvelous change which had taken place" (3 Nephi 11:1). It seems, therefore, that according to the Book of Mormon, Central America assumed its present shape at this time. The channel of the sea may have been filled in by land, while in other areas, land sank into the sea. Two later passages - Mormon 2:29 and 3:5 - refer to the narrow pass which led from the land southward to the land northward, without mentioning the sea.
The cataclysm which struck the New World may have been suggested by Plato's description of the destruction of Atlantis: "But afterward there occurred violent earthquakes and floods, and in a single day and night of misfortune all your warlike men in a body sank into the earth, and the island of Atlantis in like manner disappeared in the depths of the sea" (Plato 1961, Timaeus 25d).
We may also note that the Book of Mormon shows a surprising interest in geology. About 6 B.C., Samuel interrupted a prophecy to deliver a brief discourse on earth science: "and the earth shall shake and tremble; and the rocks which are upon the face of this earth, which are both above the earth and beneath, which ye know at this time are solid, or the more part of it is one solid mass, shall be broken up; yea, they shall be rent in twain, and shall ever after be found in seams and in cracks, and in broken fragments upon the face of the whole earth, yea, both above the earth and beneath" (Helaman 14:21-22).
We have determined from our map that Lehi landed on the northwest coast of Colombia and that the city of Zarahemla was located in Honduras. Other cities were located on the Yucatan peninsula, while the city of Desolation was near the west coast of central Mexico. The Times and Seasons had asserted in 1842 that Lehi landed just south of the Isthmus of Darien and that the city of Zarahemla was located in Central America, perhaps in Guatemala. In 1843, Orson Pratt said that the Nephites had inhabited the cities of Yucatan and that the city of Desolation was in or near Yucatan. It is surprising how close these statements are to our conclusions; they seem to confirm the map which we have constructed. However, Mormons did not endorse this interpretation of Book of Mormon geography until after John Lloyd Stephens published his book. Joseph Smith's letter to John Bernhisel indicates that he accepted Stephens's book instantly and wholeheartedly, although he had previously identified Nephite sites in Illinois and Missouri. The enthusiasm with which the Times and Seasons received Stephens's book leads us to suspect that Mormons did know at least a few details about the geographical scheme.
However, Oliver Cowdery, W. W. Phelps, and Orson Pratt had all firmly placed the hill Cumorah in the state of New York, and Phelps referred to the prairies of the Midwest as the land of Desolation. Both before and after 1842, Orson Pratt had developed his own scheme, which placed Lehi's landing in Chile and Zarahemla in northern Colombia. The fact that Joseph Smith and other Mormon leaders felt no loyalty to the geographic model of the Book of Mormon suggests that it was not the product of either Joseph or of anyone close to him, and that Mormons did not realize how vital the correct model is to understanding the text. This is a strong indication that the Book of Mormon was not written by Joseph Smith. While he was living, Joseph allowed others to make statements which conflicted with the text. But, if Joseph had written the book, he would not have permitted any variation from the correspondences which exist between the geographic model, Palestine, and Central America. The scheme was carefully worked out and is locked together so firmly that it can not be altered. This has important implications in the dispute over whether the Book of Mormon was written by Joseph Smith or Solomon Spalding.
After Lehi's family journeyed for three days in the wilderness, they camped in a valley by the side of a river. This river, which Lehi named Laman, "emptied into the Red Sea" (1 Nephi 2:8). However, the text provides many indications that Lehi's camp in the wilderness was north of Jerusalem. For example, Lehi tells Nephi that he and his brothers must go back to Jerusalem: "go unto the house of Laban, and seek the records, and bring them down hither into the wilderness" (1 Nephi 3:4). They set out "to go up to the land of Jerusalem" (1 Nephi 3:9). Since Lehi's camp was "down" and Jerusalem was "up," the camp must have been north of Jerusalem. Furthermore, according to the text, Lehi possessed land north of Jerusalem. After Nephi and his brothers failed in their first attempt to obtain the plates form Laban in Jerusalem, Nephi said, "we will not go down unto our father in the wilderness until we have accomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us. . . . therefore let us go down to the land of our father's inheritance, for behold he left gold and silver, and all manner of riches" (1 Nephi 3:15-16). Thus both the camp in the wilderness and the land of Lehi's inheritance were "down" or north of Jerusalem.
There are many other passages which indicate that Lehi's camp was "down" or north and that Jerusalem was "up" or south, including: 1 Nephi 3:22-23; 4:1, 4, 33-35; 5:1, 5-6; and 7:2-5.
How can we reconcile the directions given in he text with the fact that the Red Sea is south of Jerusalem? First, we should note that the Dead Sea was not always known by that name; originally it was called the Salt Sea (Gen. 14:3; Num. 34:3, 12; Josh. 15:5). This suggests that it might have been known by other names. An incident in 2 Kings might have provided a basis for referring to the Dead Sea as the Red Sea. When Jehoram and Jehoshaphat were traveling through Edom to put down the rebellion of the king of Moab, Elisha told them to remain in a valley: "And it came to pass in the morning . . . that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water. . . . and the sun shone upon the water, and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood" (2 King 3:20, 22). Moab was, of course, east of the Dead Sea. Furthermore, the name of Edom means "red" and is derived from the name of Esau, who was covered with red hair (Gen. 25:25, 30).
In addition, the Book of Mormon gives us an explicit indication that "Red Sea" does not always mean what it appears to mean. The text quotes Isaiah 9:1, but with an important difference: "and afterwards did more grievously afflict by the way of the Red Sea beyond Jordan in Galilee of the nations" (2 Nephi 19:1). The Book of Mormon is unique in its reading of "Red Sea"; the term does not appear in any other version of the Bible. Thus the Book of Mormon seems to give "Red Sea" its own peculiar meaning.
Other Mormon scriptures suggest that there may be a deeper meaning to the term "Red Sea." We have already seen that the Book of Mormon records great geologic changes in the New World, and we might assume that similar convulsions have transformed the earth in other parts of the world. According to the Book of Moses, which Joseph Smith wrote after finishing the Book of Mormon, Enos, the son of Seth, led a group of people out of the land of Shulon to a land of promise, which was named after his son, Cainan (Moses 6:17). Enoch, the son of Jared, was born in the land of Cainan and became a seer. It is not clear where the land of Cainan was, but it was near a body of water, for Enoch says, "I journeyed from the land of Cainan, by the sea east" (Moses 6:42). If Cainan was bounded by a sea on the east, it may be that this body of water was the Red Sea, which at that time may have connected with what is now the Dead Sea. The Book of Moses says further that at the word of Enoch, "the earth trembled, and the mountains fled . . . and the rivers of water were turned out of their course . . . . There also came up a land out of the depth of the sea, and so great was the fear of the enemies of the people of God, that they fled and stood afar off and went upon the land which came up out of the depth of the sea" (Moses 7:13-14). The enemies which the text refers to are identified as the people of Canaan; therefore, it seems probable that these geologic changes either occurred near the biblical land of Canaan or actually created it out of the sea. A later work written by Joseph Smith, called the Book of Abraham, says that Egypt was discovered by the daughter of Ham and "when this woman discovered the land it was under water" (Abraham 1:24).
These passages reveal a world very different from the one that we know, one in which the Red Sea may have covered a much vaster area than it does at present. It is probable that this picture is derived from Herodotus. Herodotus reports that Egyptian priests told him that "the first man to rule Egypt was Min, in whose time the whole country, except the district around Thebes, was marsh, none of the land below Lake Moeris - seven days' voyage up river from the sea - then showing above the water" (Herodotus 1972, 131). He says further:
In Arabia not far from Egypt there is a very long narrow gulf running up from the Red Sea (as it is called) . . . . Now it is my belief that Egypt itself was originally some such arm of the sea - there were two gulfs, that is, one running from the Mediterranean southwards towards Ethiopia, and the other northwards from the Indian Ocean towards Syria, and the two almost met at their extreme ends, leaving only a small stretch of country between them. Suppose, now, that the Nile should change its course and flow into this gulf - the Red Sea - what is to prevent it from being silted up by the stream within, say, twenty thousand years? Personally I think even ten thousand would be enough. That being so, surely in the vast stretch of time which has passed before I was born, a much bigger gulf than this could have been turned into dry land by the silt brought down by the Nile . . . . (Herodotus 1972, 132-33)
Herodotus's theory fits very well with both the Book of Moses and the Book of Abraham. It accounts for the fact that Egypt was originally under water when it was discovered by the daughter of Ham, and it explains the "sea east" referred to by Enoch and the sea from whose depths new land arose.
It seems evident therefore that the reason the Book of Mormon uses the term "Red Sea" in the way that it does is due to the fact that the sea once extended from the Indian Ocean northward toward Syria. Both the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea would be the remnants of this gulf.
The Book of Mormon may also intentionally use "Red Sea" in order to relate Lehi's exodus with Moses' exodus. The Israelites under the leadership of Joshua, entered the land of Canaan north of the Dead Sea, and there are indications in the text that Lehi was traveling in the reverse direction. As already noted, Lehi's family traveled three days before setting up camp near a river, where Lehi "built an altar of stones" (1 Nephi 2:7). He then sent his sons back to Jerusalem to get the plates of Laban. After their second attempt, Nephi and his brothers were pursued by the servants of Laban: "we fled into the wilderness, and the servants of Laban did not overtake us, and we hid ourselves in the cavity of a rock" (1 Nephi 3:27). Similarly, Joshua stopped on the east side of the Jordan River and sent two spies to Jericho. They were discovered and pursued and remained hidden in the hills for three days, before returning to Joshua. The Israelites crossed the Jordan and encamped at Gilgal, where Joshua set up twelve stones. Thus, it appears that Lehi traveled north from Jerusalem to the Gilgal-Jericho area near the Jordan River.
As we have seen, Lehi left "gold and silver, and all manner of riches" in the land of his inheritance, which appears to have been north of Jerusalem. We are reminded of the fact that Jeremiah tried to leave Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin, which was north of Jerusalem. In addition, after the Israelites had destroyed Jericho, a man named Achan took some things which had been dedicated to the treasury of the Lord. He explained to Joshua: "When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it" (Josh. 7:21). This suggests Lehi's gold and silver.
When Lehi's group left their camp, they crossed the river and traveled for four days in a south-southeast direction, until they came to a place called Shazer. This would correspond to Mount Nebo or Pisgah east of the Jordan, where Moses stopped. From Shazer, they traveled in the same direction, "keeping in the most fertile parts of the wilderness, which were in the borders near the Red Sea" (1Nephi 16:14). After traveling many days, they came to a place called Nahom, where Ishmael died. If Lehi's group was journeying down the east side of the Dead Sea, Nahom may have been a point east of Mount Hor, where Aaron died.
From Nahom, Lehi's group turned eastward, and after an eight-year sojourn in the wilderness, they came to a land called Bountiful near a sea, which they named Irreantum. If Lehi traveled no further south than Mount Hor before turning east, his eight-year journey across Arabia would bring him approximately to the mouth of the Euphrates River on the Persian Gulf, southeast of the city of Ur. It was from Ur that Abraham set out on his journey along the Euphrates to Haran and then to Canaan. A famine drove him from Canaan to Egypt. When Lehi's group set sail for the promised land, therefore, they would have departed from a point near Ur, sailing down the Persian Gulf and across the Indian and Pacific oceans to Colombia, which we have discovered corresponds in Book of Mormon geography to Egypt. Nephi moved northward from their landing site to establish the city of Nephi, which corresponds to Hebron, just as Abraham left Egypt to return to Canaan and settled near Hebron. (See also the discussion in "Recent Defenses of the Book of Mormon," page 2.)
Once again, it appears that we have a demonstration that the geography of the Book of Mormon was not worked out by either Joseph Smith or by any other Mormon leader. The route which I have described would carry Lehi across Arabia at about the thirtieth or thirty-first degree of north latitude. But, as we have seen, the statement copied by both Frederick G. Williams and John Bernhisel places Lehi's trek along the nineteenth degree of north latitude, which would bring him to about the middle of the coast of Oman along the Arabian Sea. This route may follow what appears to be the surface meaning of the text, but it makes no sense for Lehi to travel so far down the coast of the Red Sea and then turn inland, cutting all the way across the Arabian peninsula to the coast of Oman. The course across northern Arabia to the Persian Gulf would be more direct and a good deal shorter.
Although Joseph Smith did not publish the description of Lehi's journey, he obviously did not reject it, since it was kept among his papers. However, he certainly would not have even entertained the idea, if he understood the meaning of the text. I have already suggested that this statement actually came from Orson Pratt, and we have seen that Orson's interpretation of the text does not agree with the correct model. It appears that either Joseph Smith and the men around him did not have any insight into the Book of Mormon, or they simply tried to change the geography without seeing that there were contrary indications in the text. In either case, Joseph Smith could not have been the author.
I believe that we have discovered the actual route traveled by Lehi's group through the wilderness and across the ocean to the New World. I also believe that the true geographical model of the Book of Mormon is a map of Palestine altered to resemble Central America. I feel certain that this is the only map which is consistent with the text.
In the Old Testament there is no consistency in the use of "up" and "down." Some passages apparently retain the usual "north" and "south" meanings, while others, beginning with 1 Samuel, reverse these meanings. The New Testament, however, is more consistent in using the terms with the reversed meanings. Listed below are examples of the use of "up" and "down" with reversed meanings from the Old and New Testaments.
1 Sam. 15:[33] And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal. [34] Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.
1 Sam. 27:[8] And David and his men went up, and invaded the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites: for those nations were of old the inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt.
2 Sam. 19:[34] And Barzillai said unto the king, How long have I to live, that I should go up with the king unto Jerusalem? [Barzillai was crossing the Jordan river with King David.]
1 Kings 12:[27] If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. [28] Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
1 Kings 15:[17] And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
1 Kings 20:[1] And Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it.
2 Kings 16:[5] Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him
2 Kings 17:[5] Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years.
2 Kings 18:[9] And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it. [13] Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them. [17] And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rab-shakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem.
2 Kings 24:[10] At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.
2 Chron. 25:[21] So Joash the king of Israel went up; and they saw one another in the face, both he and Amaziah king of Judah, at Beth-shemesh, which belongeth to Judah.
2 Chron. 36:[23] Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.
Ezra 1:[11] All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand and four hundred. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up with them of the captivity that were brought up from Babylon unto Jerusalem.
Ezra 7:[6] This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him. [7] And there went up some of the children of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinims, unto Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king. [9] For upon the first day of the first month began he to go up from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month came he to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him. [13] I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee.
Isa. 7:[5] Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil against thee, saying, [6] Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal.
Isa. 36:[1] Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them.
Jer. 35:[11] But it came to pass, when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians: so we dwell at Jerusalem.
1 Sam. 13:[12] Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made suppllication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering. [The Philistines were encamped at Michmash, southwest of Gilgal.]
1 Sam. 15:[12] And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal. [Carmel, not to be confused with Mt. Carmel, was south of Hebron.]
1 Sam. 29:[4] And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, Make this fellow return, that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he be an adversary to us: for wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master? should it not be with the heads of these men? [The Philistines had gathered at Aphek, while the Israelites were encamped at Jezreel. Aphek was south of Jezreel.]
1 Kings 22:[2] And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel.
2 Kings 2:[2] And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel. [They were departing from Gilgal, southeast of Bethel.]
2 Kings 9[16] So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah king of Judah was come down to see Joram.
2 Kings 10:[12] And he arose and departed, and came to Samaria. And as he was at the shearing house in the way, [13] Jehu met with the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are ye? And they answered, We are the brethren of Ahaziah; and we go down to salute the children of the king and the children of the queen.
2 Chr. 18:[1] Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in abundance, and joined affinity with Ahab. And after certain years he went down to Ahab to Samaria.
Mark 10:[32] And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him, [33] Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles:
Luke 2:[4] And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
John 2:[13] And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, [Jesus was at Capernaum.]
John 11:[55] And the Jews' passover was nigh at hand: and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the passover, to purify themselves. [Jesus had retreated to the town of Ephraim, northwest of Jericho.]
Acts 11:[2] And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him, [Peter had been with Cornelius in Caesarea.]
Acts 13:[31] And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people.
Acts 15:[2] When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. [Paul and Barnabas were in Antioch.]
Acts 21:[4] And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem. [Paul was in Tyre.] [12] And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem. [Paul was in Caesarea.] [15] And after those days we took up our carriages, and went up to Jerusalem.
Acts 25:[9] But Festus, willing to do the Jews a pleasure, answered Paul, and said, Wilt thou go up to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these things before me? [Paul was in Caesarea.]
Gal. 1:[17] Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. [18] Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.
Gal. 2:[1] Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also.
Mark 3:[22] And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils. [The scribes were in Galilee.]
Luke 2:[51] And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. [Jesus and his parents were in Jerusalem.]
Luke 4:[31] And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days. [Jesus was in Nazareth.]
John 2:[12] After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days. [Jesus was in Cana, southwest of Capernaum.]
John 4:[47] When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death. [Jesus was in Cana, and the official lived in Capernaum.]
Acts 9:[30] Which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus. [Paul was in Jerusalem.]
Acts 12:[19] And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode.
Acts 15:[1] And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. [This was in Antioch.]
Acts 18:[22] And when he had landed at Caesarea, and gone up, and saluted the church, he went down to Antioch. [Antioch was north of Caesarea.]
Acts 21:[10] And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus. [This was in Tyre.]
Acts 25:[6] And when he had tarried among them more than ten days, he went down unto Caesarea; and the next day sitting on the judgment seat commanded Paul to be brought. [Festus had been in Jerusalem.] [7] And when he was come, the Jews which came down from Jerusalem stood round about, and laid many and grievous complaints against Paul, which they could not prove.
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