I have
written a bit about Ezek 37 and how it is not
a prophecy of the Book of Mormon (and the Bible). For e.g.:
The
following discussion of Ezek 37 from 3 leading LDS scholars is very well-done:
Ezekiel 37 -
Dry Bones and "Sticks"
Ezekiel 34-48 emphasizes various aspects of
the restoration of Israel. Ezekiel 37 contains two symbolic representations. In
the first one (Ezek 37:1-14), Ezekiel relates that during a vision he was set
"down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones" (Ezek 37:1),
and the Lord said to him, "Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O
ye dry bones, hear the word of the LOR" (Ezek 37:4). Probably symbolizing
a major military defeat with corpses left to rot in the field (a
"cursed" situation in the ancient Near East), all that remained were
the bones.
Ezekiel did as he was instructed, and the
bones came together, sinews were attached, skin was restored, the wind gave
these bodies breath, and they lived, "an exceeding great army" (Ezek
37:10). This scene symbolized the restoration of Israelites to the land of
Israel: "These bones are the whole house of Israel . . . Behold, O my
people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves,
and bring you into the land of Israel" (Ezek 37:11-12). This passage thus
employs resurrection imagery to depict the future restoration of Israelites to
their land (Ezekiel was in exile in Babylonia at the time). It is not a passage
about resurrection per se.
In the second portion of the chapter (Ezek
37:15-28), Ezekiel represents the restoration of Israel with an action prophecy.
He was instructed to take "one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and
for the children of Israel his companions: take then another stick, and write
upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his
companions: And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become
one in thine hand" (Ezek 37:16-17). The divine explanation of the
symbolism of two sticks in one hand is this: "I will take the children of Isreal
from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them . . . into
their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains
of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more
two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at
all" (Ezek 37:21-22). The sticks thus represent the inhabitants of the two
former Israelite kingdoms during the divided monarchy, Israel and Judah, being
restored to their land as one," and David my servant shall be king over
them" (Ezek 37:24; see also 34:23-24). This last phrase is best understood
as fulfilled in Jesus at his Second Coming.
As with the vision of dry bones rising from
the dead, the symbolism of this prophecy represents the restoration of Israel
in its land, and the restoration of one, divinely sanctioned ruler. The focus
is not on the "sticks." But what are the "sticks" on which
Ezekiel wrote? The Hebrew word translated "stick" (KJV) is 'etz, "wood, tree." Since this
"wood" was written on (Ezek 37:16, 20), commentators now usually
suggest these are Mesopotamian writing boards, thin pieces of wood or ivory,
recessed on one side to hold a layer of wax into which a scribe could impress
his stylus to write in cuneiform. A few examples of writing boards have been
discovered, and some are depicted in Mesopotamian art. They usually consisted
of two leaves hinged together, making it possible to understand two
"sticks" becoming one in a person's hand. This suggestion fits well
with Ezekiel's Babylonian context. Older commentaries suggested the sticks were
staffs, scepters, or arrows. However, writing boards are the current best
guess. (Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, Dana M. Pike, and David Rolph Seely, Jehovah and the World of the Old Testament:
An Illustrated Reference for Latter-day Saints [Salt Lake City: Deseret
Book, 2009], 346)
Unfortunately,
dogmatism seeps its ugly head with the following comment:
Latter-day Saints understand these “sticks”
as symbolizing the scriptural records that developed from the peoples of the
two Israelite kingdoms, at least after some Josephites were led to the New
World. As such, they have become one in our own hands through the Restoration
and gathering of Israel (see D&C 27:5). (Ibid.)
Sadly,
D&C 27:5 refutes, not supports,
such an interpretation. The passage refers to the Book of Mormon, not as the “stick”
but the record of the stick of
Ephraim:
Behold, this is
wisdom in me; wherefore, marvel not, for the hour cometh that I will drink of
the fruit of the vine with you on the earth, and with Moroni, whom I have sent
unto you to reveal the Book of Mormon,
containing the fulness of my everlasting gospel, to whom I have committed the
keys of the record of the stick of Ephraim
