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Were Directions in the Book of Mormon Confused in Translation?

In The Geography of Book of Mormon Events: A Source Book, by John L. Sorenson, the Mesoamerican setting apologist cites William Hamblin. Hamblin proposes that Book of Mormon directions are “distorted” because the Nephites used Egyptian like terms with Hebrew intent:

“If Nephi used Egyptian terms with Hebrew meanings in mind, and if Joseph Smith translated these terms literally, you end up with … Hebrew (and modern) ‘land west ward’ (Heb. behind) would be written in Egyto-Nephite characters as ‘land northward,’ (Eg. behind) while the conceptual Hebrew (and modern) ‘land eastward’ (Heb. front) would have been written in Egypto-Nephite as ‘land southward’ (Eg. Front)…In other words, you find the conceptual geography of the Hebrew universe must be “distorted” in relation to the Egyptian vocabulary…” (William Hamblin, “Which Way Did He Go?” Some Notes on Book of Mormon Geography, unpublished manuscript in possession of John Sorenson; summarized in F.A.R.M.S. Update for May 1990)  

In other words (according to Hamblin) the Semitic minded Nephites tried to say land westward but it got translated “land northward” in the English Book of Mormon. They tried to say land eastward but it got translated “land southward”. They tried to say south sea but it got translated “west sea”, and they tried to say north sea but it got translates “east sea”.  

But Hamblin's argument does not account for the fact that directions described by Nephi (translated by Joseph Smith), fit perfectly the biblical or common sense coordinates in the following verses:

“AND it came to pass that we did again take our journey in the wilderness; and we did travel nearly eastward from that time forth…” (1 Nephi 17:1 - Bold emphasis added)

The above verse was also translated from “the reformed Egyptian”! Are we to understand, using Hamblin's argument, that Nephi was actually saying that, “we did travel nearly northward from that time forth”? This translation contradicts the account placing Nephi in the wilderness south of Jerusalem. Consider also this verse:

“And it came to pass that we traveled for the space of four days, nearly a south–southeast direction…” (1 Nephi 16:13 - Bold emphasis added)

If Hamblin’s logic is followed, we should interpret that Nephi was saying that they had traveled “nearly an east – eastnorth direction”. This doesn’t make sense! It does not fit the setting of the narrative! Rather, the directions in Joseph's translation, taken as is, fit perfectly the Hebrew coordinate system!

The Book of Mormon informs us that its quotations from Hebrew Scripture (e.g. Isaiah), were also written in “the language of the Egyptians” upon the “plates of brass”. (Mosiah 1:3-4)  The Hebrew directions cited in the Isaiah portions of the Nephite record, translate just fine into English! Of particular importance are the following verses:

“Therefore, O Lord, thou hast forsaken thy people, the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east…” (2 Nephi 12:6, Isaiah 2:6 - Bold emphasis added)

“But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines towards the west; they shall spoil them of the east …” (2 Nephi 21:14, Isaiah 11:14 - Bold emphasis added)

The original Hebrew word translated “the east” in the above passages, literally means “front” – as in facing sunrise. Hebrew scripture is replete with examples. (E.g. Ezekiel 8:16 ; 11:1) These expressions were translated by Joseph Smith without the least distortion!

Had there been a problem with representing Hebrew directions with Egyptian styled characters, the Semitic minded Nephites could have simply “reformed” their characters so that they represented exactly what they wanted to convey. Moreover, had there been some difficulty in communicating the meaning of a Nephite expression or symbol into English, the translation could have simply inserted the familiar English equivalent. E.g. the familiar King James Bible term “Red Sea” substituting for the actual Semitic term behind 2 Nephi 19:1 (Isaiah 9:1).

Sorenson’s discussion of Book of Mormon directions is a mass of confusion, which he seeks to excuse, perhaps even dodge by insisting that the subject is complicated and culturally sensitive. (An Ancient American setting for the Book of Mormon, "Directions in the Book of Mormon", pg. 38)

"East" is East, "West" is West in the Promised Land

The Central American Isthmus of Tehuantepec is far too wide to be the Book of Mormon's "small neck of land" (Alma 22:32) The distance across the Mesoamerican isthmus is comparable to the distance across the Yucatan Peninsula. In fact, the distance across Tehuantepec is about 3/4 as far as the distance across the narrowest breadth of the Yucatan.

The "narrow pass" mentioned in the Book of Mormon is described as having water "on the west and on the east" of it. (Alma 50:34) It is clear from scripture that there was a "west sea" by the "narrow neck". (Alma 50:34) In order to accept a Central American setting featuring the wide, lateral, Isthmus of Tehuantepec as the Book of Mormon's "small neck of land", one has to accept that ancient peoples of that region used outrageously skewed definitions of "west" and "east". The Isthmus of Tehuantepec, lies between the Gulf of Mexico to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south.  

It is true that various cultures around the world have different ways of coordinating directions, but ancient Israelites coordinated their east and west according to sunrise and sunset. For instance, the Hebrew expression translated "westward" (in the direction of the Great inland sea) in Joshua 23:4, literally means "going down of the sun".