The Jews gathered to the Lands of Their Inheritance And their Lands of Promise

"This is a promise of the restoration of the Jews to the true Church and fold of God ’when they shall be gathered home.’

"The Lands of their Inheritance (See map #5). When Israel entered Canaan under Joshua, the country was divided by lot ‘for an inheritance’ among the families of the various tribes. In the division the larger tribes received a larger territory than those with a smaller number of families. The country east of the Jordan was allotted to Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh. The rest of the people were settled between the Jordan and the Mediterranean. To the descendants of Levi, who were devoted to the temple service and literary pursuits, a certain number of cities with surrounding land for grazing purposes were to be allotted. (See Numb. 33:54–34:1–15) The total number of Levitical cities was to be 48, six of which were to be cities of refuge, where one guilty of manslaughter, but accused of murder, might find protection against the ’avenger,’ which was the next of kin to the victim. (Numb. 35:1–8) This was the land of their inheritance. The southern boundary was the ‘River of Egypt’ (Numb. 34:5), which is a brook running through the Sinai peninsula to the Mediterranean south of Gaza. The northern boundary was a line drawn through Hazarenan, which some have identified as the modern Kuryetein, sixty miles northeast of Damascus.

“Their Lands of Promise. This, probably, refers to the entire territory which the Lord promised the descendants of Abraham. (Gen. 15:18–21)” (Reynolds and Sjodahl, Commentary on the Book of Mormon, vol. 1, p. 297)