According to scholar Eduard Meyer, Israel’s power and authority referred back to the first allotments of land made by the leaders when they settled in their land of promise. Only one who possessed “the land of his inheritance” could be a part of the aristocracy. This tradition is apparent in the Book of Mormon, where we learn that when Lehi leaves the land of Jerusalem, he is leaving “the land of his inheritance.” Furthermore, when a group of people in the Book of Mormon moves to a different geographical location, the first land they obtain is always referred to as “the land of their inheritance” or “the land of their first inheritance.” The ancient idea of a permanent inheritance of land was largely unknown until modern times, and Joseph Smith certainly would not have been familiar it. (See Echoes 466–467).