A future time of redemption will bring the scattered exiles of Israel back from the distant corners of the world to reclaim their ancestral homeland. The prophecy outlines the journey of these displaced communities, detailing their origins and their ultimate destinations.
The primary approach among commentators is that the returning groups are described as a vast army or camp of exiles. Another perspective suggests they will gather from a valley [רש״י]. Alternatively, others understand this description as a reference to the very beginning of the exile [אבן עזרא בשם רב משה, מלבי״ם]. Following this idea, the prophecy points to the Tribe of Dan, who were the first to be taken into captivity [מלבי״ם]. While some link this early exile to the destruction of the First Temple, the ultimate fulfillment of the vision looks forward to the end of the Roman exile and the final redemption [אבן עזרא].
As these exiles return, their geographic origins are explored on two distinct levels. On a traditional Biblical map, Zarephath is a northern city near Sidon, famous as the place where Elijah the Prophet once sought refuge [שטיינזלץ]. In the future, the Tribe of Dan is destined to inherit this northern region of Tyre and Sidon [מלבי״ם]. However, an ancient and central tradition among the commentators maps these locations onto Europe. The reference to the Canaanites is understood as a hint to Germany, as the original Canaanite tribes are said to have fled to that region to escape Joshua during the conquest of the Land of Israel [רד״ק, אבן עזרא, מצודת דוד]. Similarly, Zarephath is unanimously identified by the commentators as modern-day France.
The prophecy also addresses the exiled communities of Jerusalem, specifically the tribes of Judah and Benjamin [רש״י, רד״ק, מלבי״ם]. Although the name Sepharad originally belonged to a city in Asia Minor [שטיינזלץ], the commentators universally rely on ancient translations to identify Sepharad as Spain.
Ultimately, these widespread diasporas will return to their homeland and take possession of the southern cities of the Negev. Because the southern region was the historical territory of the Tribe of Judah, the exiles of Jerusalem will naturally return to their original ancestral inheritance [רד״ק, מלבי״ם]. When they arrive, they will find that these southern cities are not densely populated. The current inhabitants will have spread outward toward the mountain of Esau, leaving the land open for the returning exiles to easily reclaim their rightful home [שטיינזלץ].