Even though the Book of Mormon does not mention camels, it is difficult to imagine that anyone familiar with the desert would travel without them. We ought not to suppose that a lack of mention indicates the absence of this ship of the desert. In the high-context culture of the Old World, having camels for such a journey would be expected. As a parallel in our modern day, we might discuss going on a vacation but neglect to note that we drove a car. That which is completely normal need not be stated. Potter and Wellington consider the fact that Lehi brought tents as compelling evidence that the family had camels. They measured the weight of a small traditional Middle Eastern tent at two hundred and fifty pounds.
History: The Frankincense Trail was well traveled and well regulated. Various tribes controlled sections of the trail and extracted tribute from the travelers in return for protection from marauders along the trail. Lehi would have been forced to take the established trail both for safety and for the crucial wells. Even though Nephi never mentions meeting other travelers, it would have been impossible for them to make the journey without following this trail that marked the only locations where water was available. Every well was guarded, and the trail itself was well traveled. Lehi’s family encountered numerous people on this part of their journey. Nephi simply doesn’t mention them, a narrative trait he repeats when describing the family’s arrival in the New World.
Geography: How far might Lehi’s family travel if they are traveling for four days as noted in this verse? Of course there are multiple variables, but enough is known of travel with camels that an estimate may be given. Salim Saad, an experienced camel rider and former British officer, indicates that a loaded camel can travel twenty miles in six hours. He is aware of historical records indicating journeys of from thirteen to twenty-four miles per day. Eugene England surveyed other textual sources that give a day’s travel at between twenty and twenty-five miles. Lehi’s family does not appear to be in a hurry to reach their destination, as we know that it takes them more than eight years to arrive in Bountiful. It is doubtful that they would have been traveling at the fastest rate possible for long periods of time, knowing that they had a long journey before them. Using the six-hour time for the loaded camels gives an estimate of eighty miles for this leg of the journey.
The textual clues for the location of Shazer include the distance from the Valley of Lemuel, the ability to hunt in that area, and that their departure was still in the mountains. The name “Shajer” has a collective meaning of “trees” in Semitic languages, and is pronounced “shazher” by many Arabs. The wadi Agharr lies along the Gaza arm of the Frankincense Trail and fits Nephi’s plausible description of a valley with trees, mountains, and good hunting.