How large are these lands? How much territory would the Zeniffite party need? Although no number is suggested, this group consisted of some Nephites and some Zarahemlaites—possibly with a larger number of younger Zarahemlaites who, after several generations of settlement, might be exceeding the carrying capacity of their family’s land. For the purpose of constructing a scenario, let’s assign Zeniff’s party a thousand people. That number might be able to leave Zarahemla without depleting it excessively, considering that Zarahemla had already lost people in its own civil strife. By settling half in each location, Zeniff would have five hundred in each town, prepared to farm its surrounding terrain. Although this population is reasonable for a “town,” it would be too small for an urban center the size of the city of Nephi. Furthermore, it is very unlikely that the king would withdraw himself and all of his people from his own large city to give it up to some distant relatives.
Further indication that Lehi-Nephi and Shilom were not already powerful locations comes in the next verse, where the first tasks were to build and repair. The Zeniffites apparently received smaller lands in two separated, though probably contiguous, locations; meanwhile, the residents of Nephi stayed right where they were, keeping an eye (and thumb?) on the Zeniffites.