John Welch notes that the use of the name "Sidon" in the Book of Mormon (without any mention of the name "Tyre") is in complete harmony with the Old World time period for Lehi (and those who might have accompanied Mulek--the "Mulekites"). During this time, Israel's rulers formed an alliance with Egypt against their traditional enemy, Babylon. Jeremiah vehemently criticized this choice, and there seems to be evidence that Lehi's political sympathies were as unpopular as Jeremiah's. One of Babylon's allies was Sidon; but Sidon's twin city, Tyre, had sided with Egypt. It is worthy of note that the name Tyre never appears in any form in the Book of Mormon, whereas in the Old Testament the two names are constantly linked; one hardly ever appears without the other. This apparent preference for Sidon over Tyre in the Book of Mormon fits perfectly into the world situation that Lehi knew. (Approach to the Book of Mormon, Melchizedek Priesthood Course, 1957, p. 52.) [John W. Welch, "A Book You Can Respect," in The Ensign, September 1977, p. 47.] [See the commentary on Mormon 6:13].
“The River Sidon”
According to John Hilton, the river Sidon was the only American river identified by name in the Book of Mormon. Yet we have no description of the river downstream farther than Zarahemla other than that it empties into the sea.
A description of the geographical locations on the river Sidon, starting from its highest headwaters and moving downstream follows:
1. "Away above Manti" in the south wilderness the river can still be called Sidon. (Alma 16:6)
2. "Away above Manti" the river still has an east (and a west) side. (Alma 16:6)
3. There is a northward-flowing river identifiable as the Sidon comparatively near to the west sea coast. (Alma 16:7; 53:22; 56:31)
4. Just upstream from the land Manti, there is an east and a west side of the river. (Alma 43:31-32)
5. Just upstream from the land Manti, open valleys flank either side of the river. (Alma 43:31-32)
6. Just upstream from the land Manti, the river was readily fordable by a large army fleeing under enemy attack, yet it was also [capable of washing away an "exceedingly great" number] of dead bodies. (Alma 44:21-22)
7. Near Zarahemla, it has an east and a west side. (Alma 2:34)
8. Near Zarahemla, the river could be crossed by an army of tens of thousands of men to engage the enemy immediately, while it could also wash away a multitude of dead bodies. (Alma 2, 3:3)
9. The river generally flows northward. (Alma 17:1)
10. The river Sidon empties into the sea downstream from Zarahemla. (Alma 3:3, 44:22)
Therefore, the text describes the river Sidon as flowing northward with its high headwaters relatively near to the west sea. Assuming a Mesoamerican location, the Sidon must then flow inland from near the Continental Divide, which is relatively near the Pacific Ocean. Then, as a good-sized river, it flows past Manti, down past Zarahemla, and with unknown variations continues on to the sea. [John L. and Janet F. Hilton, "A Correlation of the Sidon River and the Lands of Manti and Zarahemla with the Southern End of the Rio Grijalva (San Miguel)," in Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, Fall, 1992, F.A.R.M.S., p 151]
According to a Mesoamerican setting and the models of Sorenson and Allen, the land of Zarahemla is placed in the Chiapas valley of Mexico. Coursing through this valley in a "northerly" (northwest) direction is the fifth largest river in Mexico, and it reaches the "northern" (northwestern) part of the valley depression, it turns "east" (north) through the mountains to empty into the Gulf of Mexico (Sorenson's East Sea or Allen's North Sea). Another Mesoamerican river considered on many models as the Sidon is the Usumacinta River (see Hauck, Norman, etc.). [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes] [See Geographical Theory Maps]
“The River Sidon”
According to Verneil Simmons, a study of the historical situation at the fall of Jerusalem quickly reveals that the only part of the country not under control of Nebuchadnezzar were the two Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon. They were still free, but not to remain at liberty for long. The prophet Isaiah, more than a century earlier, had foreseen the time when Tyre should be destroyed and he spoke of those who should flee their cities to the western colonies by ship (see Isaiah 23:1,2,5-7). The merchants of Tyre and Sidon, the two great cities of Phoenicia, referred to themselves as Sidonians. These merchant-ships were capable of circumnavigating the continent of Africa, as described by the historian, Herodotus. Today's scholars are beginning to accept the suggestion that they possibly even reached the Western World in their colonizing attempts. . . . It takes little imagination to tell us that when the siege machines moved up to attack the wall of Tyre, many of the inhabitants fled aboard ships headed for the western colonies on the Atlantic shores. Did a little group of people fleeing from Jerusalem find their way westward in such a colony? . . . Knowing that the sailors of Phoenicia called themselves Sidonians, it is difficult to escape the conclusion that this river running by where the people of Zarahemla had settled came by its name because colonists from Tyre or Sidon had originally been part of the first group of settlers of the people of Zarahemla that arrived in the New World.
Once the Sidonian sailors had sailed the length of the Mediterranean, the westward drifting warm equatorial currents, aided by the prevailing northeast and southeast tradewinds, make the crossing of the Atlantic an easy matter at this latitude. The celebrated voyages of the Ra 1 and Ra 2 from the tip of Morocco in Northern Africa across the Atlantic to the Caribbean, as carried out by Thor Heyerdahl in 1970 and 1971, demonstrate that the currents will carry a primitive boat from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean basin in less than sixty days [see illustration--Omni 1:16].
Whatever lingering doubts we might have about the origin of the name "Sidon" and about the presence of Phoenicians in Mesoamerica disappear when we discover that the ancient art of dyeing cloth with the famous purple dye of the Tyrians was well known in Mesoamerica. In the Isthmus of Tehuantepec the Indians know how to extract the dye from the sea snail, in the same process developed in Phoenicia centuries ago, and they obtain the same royal purple color. An excretion is taken from tiny sea snails at just certain times of the year. It is then applied to hanks of yarn, which are next dipped in sea water and then spread out in the sun to wait for the yarn to turn the color of imperial purple. The very complicated process is a most unlikely candidate for independent invention. Examples of such dyed cloth can be viewed today in Mexico City's anthropological Museum. It is said that one can always identify the genuine article by the fishy smell that clings to the cloth for years. Incidentally, the name Sidon meant "fishing" or "fishery." [Verneil W. Simmons, Peoples, Places and Prophecies, pp. 97-98]