The Jordan depression is unique among the features of physical geography. Formed as a result of a rift valley, it is the lowest depression on earth. The headwaters of the river Jordan, fed by springs, collect into Lake Huleh, 70 meters above sea-level. Ten kilometers south at Lake Tiberias the river is already nearly 200 meters below the Mediterranean, while at the northern end of the Dead Sea the floor of the trench has plunged to 393 meters below sea-level. Thus the name "Jordan" aptly means "the descender."
While on the north the Jordan has a vivid green vegetation cover and is the haunt of wild animals, moving southward it becomes increasingly more arid until at the head of the Dead Sea there is scarcely more than 5 cm. mean annual rainfall. [Tyndale House, The Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Vol. 2, pp. 809-812] [See 1 Nephi 10:9; 17:32]
2 Nephi 19:1 Jordan ([Illustration]): The Jordan valley in Old Testament times. [Tyndale House, The Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Vol. 2, pp. 811]
“Grievously Afflict”
John Tvedtnes compares the Isaiah verses in the Book of Mormon with the King James Bible and comes up with the following:
KJV: "afflict her by the way of the sea" (Isaiah 9:1)
BM: "afflict by the way of the Red Sea" (2 Nephi 19:1)
He writes that the deletion of italicized "her" is understandable, since it is not in the Massoretic Hebrew Text. However, the Book of Mormon text must be wrong in speaking of the "RED Sea", which is certainly not "beyond Jordan, in Galilee", nor near the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali. This appears to be a case of scribal overcorrection [by whom?] due to prior mention of the Red Sea in the Book of Mormon text. In Matthew 4:12-16 we have this verse of Isaiah apparently quoted as follows:
Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
[John A. Tvedtnes, "The Isaiah Variants in the Book of Mormon," FARMS, p. 45]
“Galilee of the Nations”
The name Galilee denotes the regional name of part of northern Palestine, which was the scene of Christ's boyhood and early ministry. The term Galilee occurs occasionally in the Old Testament (e.g. Joshua 20:7; 1 Kings 9:11), and notably in Isaiah 9:1. The latter reference probably recalls the region's history: it originally formed part of the lands allocated to the twelve tribes, but, owing to the pressure from peoples farther north, its Jewish population found themselves in a kind of northern salient, surrounded on three sides by non-Jewish populations--"the nations."
Galilee consists of an upland area, bordered on all sides save the north by plains. Much of Upper Galilee is at 1,000 meters above sea-level. In New Testament times it was a forested and thinly inhabited hill-country. Lower Galilee is at 450-600 meters above sea-level, but falls steeply to more than 180 meters below sea-level at the Sea of Galilee. It is to the area of Lower Galilee that most of the Gospel narrative refers.
Outside the main stream of Israelite life in Old Testament times, Galilee came into its own in the New Testament. [Tyndale House, The Illustrated Bible Dictionary , Vol. 1, p. 537]
2 Nephi 19:1 Galilee of the Nations ([Illustration]): New Testament Galilee: the scene of Christ's childhood and early ministry. [Tyndale House, The Illustrated Bible Dictionary , Vol. 1, p. 539]
2 Nephi 19:4 The yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor ([Illustration]): In biblical times, the staff and rod were used by taskmasters on slaves. A yoke was a wooden frame designed to harness together beasts of burden. These three items--the yoke, staff, and rod--signify oppression, or the burdens placed on Israel by its neighbors (Isaiah 10:5, 24-27). In particular, the language of this verse recalls the manner in which Egypt oppressed the Israelites before Moses led them out of captivity.
Above: Pair of yokes with crossbar and other attachments. Jericho. A yoke is a wooden frame designed to harness animals such as oxen or asses, to wheeled vehicles, plows, or other agricultural implements. Photograph by Tana and Mac Graham. [Donald W. Parry, Visualizing Isaiah, p. 79]
2 Nephi 19:9-10 The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones ([Illustration]): Fallen bricks with hewn stones in the background at Hisham's Palace, near Jericho. In Isaiah's time, bricks were made of mud or clay mixed with sand, straw, or other material, and then baked in a kiln or dried by the sun. Bricks were inferior to hewn stone because bricks were more breakable. Additionally, hewn stone was more expensive to prepare. Photograph by Tana and Mac Graham. [Donald W. Parry, Visualizing Isaiah, p. 11]
2 Nephi 19:9-10 The sycamores are cut down ([Illustration]): The fruit of a sycamore tree is abundant and nearly ripe, Jericho. The sycamore is a fruit-bearing tree valued for its figs and lumber. The Egyptians used its wood to make coffins, but apparently sycamore wood was not as precious as that of a cedar (Isaiah 9:10). The sycamore grows to a height of forty feet. Its branches spread widely from a short trunk. Photograph by Arnold H. Green. [Donald W. Parry, Visualizing Isaiah, p. 11]
“Red Sea”
In 2 Nephi 19:1 we find the following:
Nevertheless, the dimness [or affliction referred to in 1 Nephi 18:22] shall not be such as was when at first he [or apparently the Assyrians under Tiglath-pileser and Sargon II] lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun [or the Nazareth area] and the land of Naphtali [in Northern Israel], and afterwards did more grievously afflict [northern Israel] by the way of the Red Sea beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.
The Book of Mormon student should take note that the word "Red" appears in 2 Nephi 19:1, whereas it is absent in the corresponding verse of Isaiah 9:1. Critics of the Book of Mormon have jumped on this supposed addition to the text as a foolish geographical mistake by Joseph Smith, for the Red Sea is well to the south of Galilee some 250 miles.
According to a posting by "mikeyom" on April 7, 1998, there are three points to consider when trying to evaluate the impact on interpretation made by the inclusion of the term "Red Sea" in 2 Nephi 19:1.
Point #1: In 2 Nephi 19:1 the Hebrew word kabad is translated as "grievously" ("and afterwards did more grievously afflict"). Some commentators have taken the position that in this instance the word "grievously" actually means "to gloriously bless" or "exalt." This has led them to make this verse a messianic prophecy. However, perhaps the primary meaning of the word kabad should remain just as it was translated--"grievously." In Genesis 18:20 we also find the word "kabad" ("And the Lord said, because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous"). Clearly, the Lord is not saying that the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah are honourable. In Exodus 5:9, 8:15, 8:32, 9:7, etc., the word "kabad" is also associated with grievous trials which men must go through. Matthew Henry's Commentary on Isaiah 9:1 has a similar view: "Note, God tries what less [lighter afflictions] will do with a people before he brings greater [or more grievous] judgments.
Points #2: The phrase "by the way of the Red Sea beyond Jordan" implies a route. Commentators have commonly linked the phrase in Isaiah ("the way of the sea") to either a route along the Mediterranean, a route passing by the Sea of Galilee, or both. However, the phrase "by the way of the Red Sea" might imply a route of the king's highway, a major travel route that extended from the northern tip of the Red Sea (Gulf of Aqaba) all the way to Damascus (see map).
Point #3: Apparently the area beyond Jordan (the route of the King's Highway) was the area from which a second vexation afflicted the northern kingdom of Israel. Reading 2 Nephi 19:1 again we find the following:
Nevertheless, the dimness [or affliction referred to in 1 Nephi 18:22] shall not be such as was when at first [1] he [or the Assyrians under Tiglath-pileser and Sargon II] lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun [or the Nazareth area] and the land of Naphtali [in Northern Israel], and afterwards [2] did more grievously afflict [northern Israel] by the way of the Red Sea beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.
There are reputable commentators who suggest that a second vexation did indeed come from east of Jordan ("beyond Jordan"). The tenth chapter of 2 Kings can be cited in support:
In those days [the days of king Jehu, king over northern Israel in Samaria] the Lord began to cut Israel short: and Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel; From the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan. (2 Kings 10:32-33)
An analysis of any Bible Atlas reveals that all of the above named locations were east of (or "beyond") Jordan, along the King's Highway. Thus one might conclude not only that there were two vexations, but that the second vexation came from "beyond Jordan" from the area or route of the King's Highway. [mikeyom, [http://exmormon.org/boards/honestboard/messages/19.html;] [http://lds-mormon.com], 7/14/2001]
Note* Now it says or prophesies in 2 Nephi 19:2 that the people (that have been in darkness) have seen (or will see) a great light (Christ). It is interesting that when Christ came and dwelt in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali, a prophecy concerning that part of his life is said to have been fulfilled (see Matthew 4:13). Could the "great light" that was to shine on the people of northern Israel "by way of the Red Sea beyond Jordan" have reference to the coming first of John the Baptist out of the wilderness to prepare the way (he taught beyond Jordan). And could the answer to the second vexation come when Christ emerged from the wilderness and presented himself to John to be baptized as John was baptizing "beyond Jordan"? Is it possible that during Christ's preparation in the wilderness he had traveled south to the Red Sea, specifically to Mt Horeb (Sinai) in Arabia (Mt. Lawz?)? Many things in Moses' life were a pattern for that of Christ. Moses was prepared for his ministry at Sinai. He spent 40 days and nights preparatory to receiving the law. Was Sinai also "the wilderness" by the Red Sea where Jesus was instructed and communed with his father for forty days? Did Jesus retrace the path of Israel from Sinai into the promised land by way of the Red Sea? Jesus was baptized of John in the waters of Jordan at Bethabara. This is the area where Joshua crossed through the waters of Jordan as he led the covenant children of Israel into the Promised land. [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes] [See the commentary on the location of Mt. Sinai in 1 Nephi 4:2; 3 Nephi 25:4]