Alexander
Fraser wrote an interesting book in 1802, A
Key to the Prophecies of the Old and New Testament, discussing various prophecies
in the Bible. Interestingly, he would appeal to a common “proof-text” many
Latter-day Saints use, so some readers of this blog might be interested in how 19th-century theologians approached the text. After quoting Ezek
37:15-19, 21-22, Fraser wrote:
In order to fulfil this prophecy, it is not
necessary to suppose, with some visionary men, that the ten tribes carried away
captive by Salmeneser are still preserved a separate people in some unknown
country. There is not much reason to doubt that all of those carried away by
him, are blended with the other nations of the world, and lost as a separate
people. But several individuals of the ten tribes deserted the land of Israel,
when the calves were set up in Dan and Bethel, and lived with their brethren,
voluntary exiles in the land of Judah, out of regard to the ordinances of
religion (See 2 Chron. xi. 13.—18. 2 Chron. xxxi. 6, 7). After the great body
of the nation of Israel was carried away captive, many families remained in the
land, others took refuge in the land of Judah, as appears from their attending
the Passovers of Hezekiah and Josiah (see 2 Chron. xxx. 11. 2 Chron. xxxv. 17),
after the captivity. The posterity of these were all along, and still are
blended with their brethren, under the common name of Jews. It is an easy matter
for the Almighty to make them a very numerous people, by the time they go down
to Armageddon. (Alexander Fraser, A Key
to the Prophecies of the Old and New Testaments, Which are Not Yet
Accomplished: Containing, I. Rules For their Arrangement. II. Observations On
their Dates. III. A General View of the Events Foretold in Them [Philadelphia:
D. Hogan, 1802], 366-67)
While many Latter-day Saints appeal to Ezek 37 as a prophecy of the Book of Mormon, in reality, it is about the unification of the northern and southern kingdoms in context. For a discussion, see:
