According to Reynolds and Sjodahl, the word "Palestina" in 2 Nephi 24:31 means Philistia, the country of the Philistines (Heb. Peleshet), the southern part of the coast plain of Canaan. This country was once one of the most flourishing, and consequently, one of the most important and wealthy in Syria. Its cities, particularly Gaza, Askelon, and Ashdod, were famous in the Old World, when the prophets predicted their destruction. Even long after their doom was proclaimed, they continued to prosper. Alexander the Great, the conqueror of the Persian army, was halted outside Gaza and delayed for two months. Askelon was famous for its flourishing vineyards, which made it an important commercial center. Ashdod was a strongly fortified city, strong enough to hold the Egyptian conquerors at bay for twenty years. It was demolished by the Turks in A.D. 1270, and Ibrahim Pasha carried away a considerable part of the ruins to use for building material elsewhere. The surrounding country was fertile enough for many years. Wheat, peas, beans, fig trees, almonds and pomegranates were produced in abundance, but gradually the curse seemed to settle upon the soil. It became barren, and the few inhabitants who survived eked out a precarious existence by taking care of a few sheep and goats. Gaza was destroyed by Alexander the Great, 333 B.C. Strabo, at the beginning of our era, refers to it as a "desert." That is the very expression the angel of the Lord used when he sent Philip to go and meet the Ethiopian. He said "rise and go . . . unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert." (Acts 8:26) True, Constantine rebuilt Gaza, and established an ecclesiastic see there, but not on the old site but some distance from it. [George Reynolds and Janne M. Sjodahl, Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 1, p. 369]