If Joseph Smith was copying from the Bible, wouldn’t he have said “the city of Jerusalem” rather than the “land of Jerusalem”?

The Bible never mentions the phrase “the land of Jerusalem” however it appears over 40 times in the Book of Mormon. If Joseph Smith was trying to copy the language of the Bible wouldn’t he have called Jerusalem a city? 

Michael R. Ash remarks:

The Bible declares that the Messiah of Israel was to be born in Bethlehem, and the gospel of Matthew records the fulfillment of this prophecy. But the Book of Mormon states ‘…the son of God… shall be born of Mary at Jerusalem, which is the land of our forefathers’.

The Tell El Anarma Tablets say the “land of Jerusalem” was an area larger than the city itself. The phrase “land of Jerusalem” is not in the Bible and was not current in Joseph Smith’s day. It is, however, an accurate description for Jerusalem and the surrounding cities and is precisely the language that would have been used by an ancient Israelite in 600 BC.

– Michael R. Ash – Faith and Reason 42: Land of Jerusalem

Why do the Dead Sea Scrolls and other ancient documents also use this unbiblical phrase? Where would Joseph Smith have learned this?

See:

• Book of Mormon Central – Why Does the Book of Mormon Talk about a “Land of Jerusalem”?
• Michael R. Ash – Faith and Reason 42: Land of Jerusalem

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