Although driven out from Jerusalem, Jacob knows they have been led to a far better land of promise. His acknowledgment of being on an isle of the sea confirms the ancient belief that every place away from the land they knew was considered to be an island. Some of the promises made to those on the isles of the sea are enumerated in 1 Nephi 21 (Isaiah 49) and commented on in 1 Nephi 22. Jacob knew his people were included in these promises.