The wilderness near the Red Sea extends from a point south of Jerusalem and extends, at the least, almost the length of the Red Sea. The valley of Lemuel, river Laman, Shazer, an unnamed mountain, and Nahom are in the wilderness near the Red Sea.
Commentaries (
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I NEPHI 1:31 [2:5]: And he traveled in the wilderness in the borders which were nearer the Red Sea;
Commentary: This verse references the places of the Red Sea and the wilderness near the Red Sea. The term 'he' refers to Lehi. There is a wilderness near the Red Sea.
I NEPHI 1:33 [2:6]: And it came to pass that when he had traveled three days in the wilderness, he pitched his tent in a valley by the side of a river of water.
Commentary: This verse references the places of the Red Sea, the river Laman, and the wilderness near the Red Sea. The term 'he' refers to Lehi. The wilderness near the Red Sea is at least the size of three days of travel. There is a river of water in a location that is three days of travel after getting to the Red Sea. This river is the river Laman.
I NEPHI 1:62 [3:4]: Wherefore the Lord hath commanded me that thou and thy brothers should go unto the house of Laban, and seek the records, and bring them down hither into the wilderness.
Commentary: This verse references the places of Jerusalem, the river Laman, the wilderness around Jerusalem, and the wilderness near the Red Sea. The term 'me' refers to Lehi. The term 'thou' refers to Nephi. The house of Laban is located in Jerusalem. This verse does not specify if 'wilderness' refers to the wilderness around Jerusalem or the wilderness near the Red Sea or if the two wildernesses are the same. So, the phrase 'bring them down hither into' indicates either the wilderness around Jerusalem or the wilderness near the Red Sea are lower in elevation than Jerusalem.
I NEPHI 1:67 [3:9]: And I, Nephi, and my brethren took our journey in the wilderness with our tents, to go up to the land of Jerusalem.
Commentary: This verse references the places of Jerusalem, the river Laman, and the wilderness near the Red Sea. The journey started at the river Laman, so the wilderness refers to the wilderness near the Red Sea. The phrase 'go up to' indicates the wilderness near the Red Sea is lower in elevation than Jerusalem.
I NEPHI 5:15 [16:12]: And it came to pass that we did take our tents, and depart into the wilderness, across the river Laman.
Commentary: This verse references the places of the river Laman and the wilderness near the Red Sea. The term 'we' refers to Lehi and the people with him. They had camped on the west or north side of the river. The wilderness near the Red Sea extends further south than the river Laman. This verse also illustrates consistent use of the term 'across' as referring to water.
I NEPHI 5:17 [16:14]: And it came to pass that we did take our bows and our arrows, and go forth into the wilderness, to slay food for our families; and after we had slain food for our families, we did return again to our families in the wilderness, to the place of Shazer.
Commentary: This verse references the places of the Red Sea, Shazer, and the wilderness near the Red Sea. The term 'we' refers to Lehi and the people with him. They were still traveling along the Red Sea. The wilderness near the Red Sea extended to the place of Shazer.
I NEPHI 5:18 [16:14]: And we did go forth again, in the wilderness, following the same direction, keeping in the most fertile parts of the wilderness, which were in the borders near the Red Sea.
Commentary: This verse references the places of Nahom, the Red Sea, Shazer, and the wilderness near the Red Sea. The term 'we' refers to Lehi and the people with him. The phrase 'same direction' indicates they were still heading in a 'south, south-east direction' as stated in I Nephi 5:16 [16:13] from Shazer to Nahom. The wilderness near the Red Sea extends to this point and they are still near the Red Sea.
I NEPHI 5:55 [17:1]: And it came to pass that we did again take our journey in the wilderness; and we did travel nearly eastward, from that time forth.
Commentary: This verse references the places of Nahom, the Red Sea, and the wilderness near the Red Sea. The term 'we' refers to Lehi and the people with him. The wilderness near the Red Sea extended as far south as Nahom.
I NEPHI 5:61 [17:4]: And we did sojourn for the space of many years, yea, even eight years in the wilderness.
Commentary: This verse references the places of Bountiful, Nahom, and the wilderness near the Red Sea. The term 'we' refers to Lehi and the people with him. They traveled for eight years in the wilderness between Nahom on the Red Sea and the land Bountiful on the shores of the Sea Irreantum. The wilderness near the Red Sea either extended a substantial distance away from the Red Sea or Lehi stayed fairly close to the Red Sea for a number of years.
I NEPHI 5:62 [17:5]: And we did come to the land which we called Bountiful, because of its much fruit, and also wild honey;
Commentary: This verse references the places of Bountiful, the Red Sea, and the wilderness near the Red Sea. The term 'we' refers to Lehi and the people with him. They had left the Red Sea and proceeded eastward, so Bountiful is eastward of the place where they had left the Red Sea. The wilderness near the Red Sea extended at least to the place they had started their journey eastward.
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