Jacobugath was a Nephite city inhabited by the people of king Jacob, a leader of a secret combination who was set up as king over the band after they gave their voices against the prophets who testified of Jesus (3 Nephi 7:9-10). Outnumbered by the united tribes, Jacob commanded his people to flee into the northernmost part of the land and build a kingdom there, expecting dissenters to join them (3 Nephi 7:12). This places Jacobugath in the northern reaches of Nephite territory, farther north than other cities the text locates, around A.D. 29-30.
At the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the land suffered three days of storms, earthquakes, and fire, and sixteen named cities were destroyed (3 Nephi 8-9). The Lord’s voice afterward named Jacobugath among them, saying he had caused it to be burned with fire for the people’s sins, “which was above all the wickedness of the whole earth,” because of their secret murders and combinations, and because they had destroyed the peace of his people and the government of the land (3 Nephi 9:9).