“1. The Land Northward was a prized piece of land. The Jaredites lived there solely, and the Nephites protected it at all costs, living there exclusively just before their extinction in 400 AD. The land was considered "choice above all other lands."
In reality, the Land Northward was part of the Promised Land, and along with the Land Southward, was all a choice land. The Jaredites lived there solely because the Lord did not want them moving into the Land Southward, and placed the poisonous serpents to bite any humans that tried to pass through the Narrow Neck of Land and go into the Land Southward (Ether 9:33).
An example of a Land Northward with a Narrow Neck of Land separating the Land Southward, which the Jaredites referred to as an Animal Preserve (Ether 10:20-21). By the very nature of hunting into this area, the Jaredites would not have gone very far into this land and would have known very little about it beyond their hunting area The Nephites protected the entrance into the Land Northward at all costs because it was “wisdom in the Nephites” to keep the Lamanites from obtaining the Land Northward (Alma 22:33-34) in which case the Nephites would be surrounded and have to fight a two-frant war.
The Nephites lived in the Land Northward exclusively just before their extinction, because the Lamanites captured all the land to the south of the Narrow Neck, driving the Nephites back into the Land of Desolation (Mormon 3:5-7; 4:2), and a truce was established by which the Nephites were granted (by the Lamanites) the Land Northward, and the Lamanites kept their possession of all the Land Southward (Mormon 2:28-29).
The Land of Promise was considered choice, above all other lands by the Lord and he led the Jaredites, Nephites and Mulekites to it for their future inheritance.
“2. The Land Northward was such a small piece of land, the scent of their dead covered "all the face of the land:"
It was very common in the Hebrew language to call places by extensive names, thus we find in the Book of Mormon that the terms “in all the land,” “on all the face of the Earth,” etc., when actually the statement deals with a much smaller area. Hebrew, like most Eastern languages, is figurative by nature, and colorful in expression. When Ether writes about the death and destruction of the Jaredite nation, and the running battles that moved all over the land and, in some cases, from the east to the west seas, and even to the sea north (Ripliancum), there is no suggestion this land was “such a small place.”
After all, two million of Coriantumr’s men (plus women and children) had died in battle long before the last battles took place. Assuming that Shiz’ side lost as many, that would be 4 million, plus the remaining armies on both sides of at least a couple million or more each when including women and children. These numbers could be as many as 8 to 12 million. How much land does it take to house, feed, and care for 8 to 12 million people in an agrarian society? One that required land to grow crops, etc.? Certainly not a land small enough for the stench of death to permeate every square foot of it. Also, the phrase "he had the smell of death about him" refers to a characterization often used where a person or people were involved in much bloodshed, not an actual smell.
Ether’s comment, however, is well intended, for the dying were everywhere, the fighting took place everywhere, and the concept of death was upon all the land without question. The same was said during the battles of Europe when the Allies landed on Normandy, and eventually pushed their way to Berlin. All of Europe, it was said, was covered with the dead—8,000,000 died in Europe during WWII, and counting Russia, another 8,000,000. Europe, including Russia and England, is a very large land.
In addition, when Limhi's 43-man expeditionary force looking for Zarahemla ended up in the Land Northward and discovered "a land covered with bones of men" which were located so far north "they traveled in a land of many waters" (Mosiah 8:8). Mormon describes this land of many waters "so far northward" (Alma 22:30) in the Land Northward, which was where Cumorah was located (Mormon 6:4), that we might assume these Nephites traveled for to the north before discovering all the bones mentioned. Which suggests that not all the Land Northward was covered with bones at that time, but just the land of Cumorah located in an area of many waters, rivers and fountains.
(See the Next Post, for the third point of the H38 Virus in “The So-Called H38 Virus – Part IV”)
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