Nephi’s “Shazer”: The Fourth Arabian Pillar of the Book of Mormon

Abstract: Book of Mormon students are aware that several locations along Lehi’s Trail through the Arabian Peninsula have impressive evidence of plausibility, including the River Laman, valley of Lemuel, Nahom, and Bountiful. One location that has received less attention is Shazer, a brief hunting stop. After reviewing the potential etymology of the name, Warren Aston provides information from discoveries made during field work in late 2019 at the prime candidate for the Valley of Lemuel that lead to new understanding about the path to Shazer. It appears that Nephi’s description of crossing the river from the family’s campsite and then going south-southeast toward Shazer is exactly what can be done from the most likely candidate for a campsite in the most likely candidate for the Valley of Lemuel. The account of Shazer, like Nahom, the River of Laman/Valley of Lemuel, and Bountiful, may be a fourth Arabian pillar anchoring and supporting the credibility of the Book of Mormon’s Old World account.