The Hiltons discovered three routes out of Jerusalem (see illustration), each of which would have taken Nephi and his brethren to the city of Aqaba (formerly called Ezion-geber), which was the only way to the Arabian side of the Red Sea (the proposed location of the "tent of our father" -- 1 Nephi 4:38):
(1) One route went east from Jerusalem to Jericho through the bleak Judean wilderness, then crossed the Jordan River and went up and joined the King's Highway, going down the east bank of the Dead Sea through the towns of Madaba, Karak, and Petra to Aqaba, all of which are in the present-day Kingdom of Jordan. . . . This route was well-known even 800 years before Lehi; Moses mentioned it in asking permission to proceed along it with the host of Israel without turning "to the right hand nor to the left" on their way to Canaan (Numbers 20:17; 21:22). Although Nephi and his brethren would probably not have been in danger on this route, they would almost certainly have been delayed and taxed at each border as they passed through the kingdoms of Ammon, Moab and Edom.
(2) Another possible route leaves Jerusalem and goes south to Hebron, continues southwest to Beersheba, then goes down Wadi al 'Araba to Aqaba at the Red Sea.
(3) The third route goes east from Jerusalem on the same road as the first route, turns south just before Jericho, passes the Dead Sea on the west, continues past the caves and cliffs of Qumran, and then through the Wadi al 'Araba to emerge at Aqaba. Nephi and his brethren could have traveled the entire distance without crossing an international border, for the road all lay within Judea until after Aqaba. Even though this route exposed Nephi and his brethren to the Jewish government security forces longer, it was the shortest and fastest way to the Red Sea, which was their goal. [Lynn M. and Hope A. Hilton, Discovering Lehi, pp. 19-20] [See the commentary on 1 Nephi 2:5 for additional routes]
1 Nephi 4:38 We took the plates of brass . . . and journeyed unto the tent of our father ([Illustration]): Nephi Returns with Plates [Gary E. Smith, Verse Markers, Book of Mormon, Vol. 1, p. 3]
Geographical Theory Map: 1 Nephi 4:38 Nephi Journeys to the Tent of His Father (Year 001)
Through the Wilderness to the Promised Land
(1 Nephi )