Thursday, October 12, 2023

2 Nephi 27:28 and Lebanon being "turned into a fruitful field"

In 2 Nephi 27:28, speaking of the conditions that would be contemporary with the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, Nephi prophesied that:

 

But behold saith the Lord of Hosts: I will show unto the children of men that it is yet a very little while and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field; and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest.

 

While “Lebanon” could be metaphorical, It is interesting to note that Lebanon itself did prosper economically in the 19th century. As we read on Wikipedia:

 

During the nineteenth century the town of Beirut became the most important port of the region, supplanting Acre further to the south. This was mostly because Mount Lebanon became a centre of silk production for export to Europe. This industry made the region wealthy, but also dependent on links to Europe. Since most of the silk went to Marseille, the French began to have a great impact in the region. ("History of Lebanon," Wikipedia, accessed October 12, 2023)

 

This was noted by scholars in the early 20th century. In the 1911 Encyclopedia Brittanica entry for “Lebanon,” we read that:

 

The mixed population, as a whole, displays the usual characteristics of mountaineers, fine physique and vigorous independent spirit; but its ancient truculence has given away before strong government action since the 19th century and the great increase of agricultural pursuits, to which the purely pastoral are now secondary. The culture of the mulberry and silk, of tobacco, of the olive and vine, of many kinds of fruits and cereals, has expanded enormously, and Lebanon is now probably the most productive region in Asiatic Turkey in proportion to its area. ("Lebanon," in The Encyclopedia Brittanica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature, and General Information [11th ed.; New York: The Encyclopedia Britannica Company, 1911] 16:348)

 

While the entire article should be read, scholar Kais Firro noted that:

 

The production of silk on Mount Lebanon dates back to the time of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian. From his reign in the 7th century until the 19th century, despite fluctuations in the production of silk, Mount Lebanon and parts of the Beckaa valley continued to produce "Syrian silk." In the latter part of the 19th century, silk production on Mount Lebanon and elsewhere even expanded as new areas for growing mulberry trees were added along the coast from Antioch to Sidon. The silk-growing area eventually reached the Golan and Hawran. . . .

 

After 1860, silk on Mount Lebanon had become a monoculture. Close to 80 percent of the cultivable land of Mount Lebanon was covered with mulberry trees, as was a large part of the Beckaa and the coastal area. . . .

 

Mount Lebanon was more affected by this trend toward agricultural mono-culture than were other cash-crop areas. It comprised 320,000 hectares of land, of which 17000 to 20,000 hectares (6.25 percent) were under cultivation by 1914. Most of the cultivated area (14,000 hectares, or 70-80 percent) was devoted to growing mulberry trees, and most of the rural population was employed in tending them. (Kais Firro, "Silk and Agrarian Changes in Lebanon, 1860-1914," International Journal of Middle East Studies 22, no. 2 [May 1990]: 151, 152)

 

This is another example of a prophecy in the Book of Mormon being fulfilled post-1830, showing that the “prophetic horizon” of the text does not cease c. 1827-1830.

 

Further Reading:

 

Resources on Joseph Smith’s Prophecies