Isle
of the sea. Jacob also declared, “We are upon an isle of the sea” (2
Ne. 10:20), which seems a strange way to term the American contingent or even a
portion of it. But the Hebrew word אי (‘ēy), generally translated “isle”
in the King James Bible, has a wider range of meaning than the English term and
most often refers to “coastal lands.” Thus, in Isaiah 41:5 and 42:10, the term “isles”
is in poetic parallelism with “end(s) of the earth,” while in Isaiah 42:4 it
parallels “earth.” In two other passages, it refers to distant lands, alluding
to the edge of the continental mass (Isa. 49:1; Jer. 31:10). From the Nephite perspective,
they were in a distant land or “isle,” far from their homeland. (John A.
Tvedtnes, “Hebrew Words Reflected in the Book of Mormon,” in Seek Ye Words
of Wisdom: Studies on the Book of Mormon, Bible, and Temple in Honor of Stephen
D. Ricks, ed. Donald W. Parry, Gaye Strathearn, and Shon D. Hopkin [Provo,
Utah: Interpreter Foundation and Religious Education, Brigham Young University,
2020], 144-45)
Tvedtnes references BDB. Here is the entry for אי:
†i. אִי S336, 337, 338, 339
TWOT39a, 43a, 76, 77 GK362,
363, 364, 365 n.m. Is 20:6 (†f. Is. 23:2) coast, region (contr. from אֱוִי so Ol 152 b; place
whither one betakes oneself for resting, etc., orig. from mariner’s standpoint)—אִי
abs. Is 20:6 +; cstr. Je 47:4; (Jb 22:30 v. sub IV. אִי cf. Di) pl. אִיִּים ψ 72:10 +; אִיִּן Ez 26:18 (Co איים) אִיֵּי Gn 10:5 +;—coast, border region (mostly late), of
Philistia & Phoenicia with adjacent country Is 20:6; 23:2, 6; so of Caphtor
( = Crete) Je 47:4; מַלְכֵי הָאִי אֲשֶׁר בְּעֵבֶר הַיָּם Je 25:22; elsewhere pl., coasts of Kittim Je 2:10; Ez 27:6, of
Elishah v 7; different countries (on or in sea) v 3, 15, 35; 26:15, 18()
(last del. Co cf. 𝔊) cf. 39:6, so also אִיֵּי הַגּוֹיִם Gn 10:5 (P); partic. אִיֵּי
הַיָּם = coast-lands & islands Is 11:11;
24:15, || הָאָרֶץ
Est 10:1; v. (without הַיָּם)
Dn 11:18, & ψ 72:10, so often Is 2 incl. inhabitants, 41:1, 5;
42:4, 10 (אִיִּים וְישְׁבֵיהֶם || הַיָּם וּמְלֹאוֹ) v 12; 49:1; 51:5; 59:18; 60:9; 66:19; cf. Je 31:10 ψ 97:1, Zp 2:11 (אִיֵּי הַגּוֹיִם); islands, distinctly (taken up by י׳ as little things) Is 40:15; coasts,
banks, i.e. habitable lands Is 42:15 (|| נְהָרוֹת).
