Ezion-Gaber or -Geber was much more than just 'a place of encampment for the Israelites during the exodus (Num. 33: 35; Deut. 2: 8). It was the one place where Moses had the children of Israel encamp twice, once before going into the southern regions of the promised land the first time from the south when Israel feared to go into the land, after which Moses had Israel return to their encampment at Ezion-Geber before they would again march into the promised land some 37 years later. It might well be that the land regions of Ezion-Geber is where the children of Israel spent the most of their time in the wilderness. Certainly it is a land region which at that date had access to a number of resources.

The land stood at the top of the northern tip of the gulf of Aqaba of the eastern arm of the Red Sea. And it presented the opportunity for a enterprising sea port as it was 'afterwards one of the headquarters of Solomon’s navy (1 Kgs. 9: 26; 1 Kgs. 22: 48; 2 Chr. 8: 17; 2 Chr. 20: 36). From this great sea port Solomon's ships would set sail and not return for the space of three years. Just where all there ports of call and trade were located during that three year tour is not known but with evidence of products from the Americas turning up in Egypt, it is quite possible that a part of their route was in trade with who would have been the Jaredites in the Americas during that date and time (Read about Cocain Mummies which had such substance as Coccain, Majawana, and tobacco found enbedded within such mummies of that date and time. Such products came only from the Americas.)

As time passed, by the date and time of Lehi, the Red Sea had receded and the actual location of Ezion-Geber was altared accordingly. It is also associated with such sites known in the scriptures as Elath or Eloth. And according to the scripture it was still functioning as a sea port though no longer in the hands of the Kingdom of Judah, but under the direction of the Assyrians and possibly such members of the the Kingdom of Israel who had associated with them. It was in the extreme south of the country of Edom, at the head of the Gulf of Aqabah.

That land region has been found to have had sources of metal ores and smelters which produced large quantities of copper and other metals, even iron. It laid as an international sea port upon the route of the 'King's Highway which went from Damascus to Egypt. Being about a three day journey from Lehi's encampment, one must speculate that when Nephi obtains a 'steel bow' and Lehi is commanded in the wilderness to gather 'all manner of seeds of every kind' for their journey to the promised land of America, if the then operating sea port operated by the Assyrians was not the actual source of all those seed and that 'steel bow'. Certainly the trade route to Damascus would have allowed such metal products to find their way there and perhaps was the first sources of the famed 'Damascus Steel'.