Portraying the Lehites as Israelites (as opposed to Jews)

This paper by Richley Crapo is worth a look. The author discusses what threads of evidence we still have regarding two priesthoods in antiquity, and how the higher "Mushite" priesthood seems to have had more prominence in the northern kingdom of Israel prior to its destruction in 722 BC.

That discussion alone is very interesting, since we know that Lehi had to have had some type of priesthood authority in order to build altars and offer burnt offerings. Nephi must have also held the priesthood in order to build a temple in the promised land (see 2 Nephi 5:16) and consecrate his younger brothers as priests (see Jacob 1:18).

According to Crapo, the northern kingdom "Israelite" culture varied from the better known Jewish culture of the southern kingdom in a few important ways:

(1) revelation through prophetic dreams, (2) the ministry of angels, (3) imagery of the Tree of Life, and (4) a positive attitude toward the Nehushtan tradition.

That fourth one introduced a new term to me -- it refers to the story of Moses and the brazen serpent. Notice in 2 Kings 18:4 (Expanded Bible) how Hezekiah removes what he considers to be pagan elements from Judah:

4 He removed the ·places where gods were worshiped [L high places; 12:3]. He smashed the stone pillars and ·cut down [smashed; broke] the Asherah ·idols [poles; C a sacred tree or pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah; 13:6]. Also the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] had been burning incense to Nehushtan, the bronze ·snake [serpent] Moses had made [Num. 21:9]. But Hezekiah broke it into pieces.

So Hezekiah viewed both #3 and #4 from the list above as blasphemous.  This "reform" happened in the decades following the massive migration to Jerusalem of refugees from the conquered northern tribes.

Of course we see each of these elements very heavily and very clearly in the Book of Mormon, particularly in the accounts of Lehi and Nephi.

It took a long time for me to connect the dots regarding Lehi and his family as at least 2nd or 3rd-generation exiles to Jerusalem from the northern kingdom.  This is very significant to me for a few reasons:

1. This is presented subtly (not overtly) in the Book of Mormon. (Nephi speaks of "the Jews" as "those other guys," certainly not as his own beloved kin. See 2 Nephi 25:1-2 as an example.) If Joseph Smith, a relatively uneducated farm boy, was the author of the Book of Mormon -- as some critics suggest -- I cannot believe he would have been able to thread this subtlety into the text in such a definitive and yet indirect way.  I believe he would not have been able to resist at least one explication of this situation. 
2. Instead, this is written from the very real experience of Nephi, thus it seemed "normal" to the author and thereby went without ever being directly mentioned.
3. This northern "Israelite" culture is distinct from the more familiar ancient Jewish culture, which we know better by virtue of the fact that they survived longer into antiquity, but keep in mind the Israelites were every bit as much members of the House of Israel as the Judah-ites were at the time.  I would imaging Lehi and his family would have been quite-well integrated into Jerusalem culture by the 2nd/3rd generation even though it would have certainly contained aspects that seemed "off."  Imagine the debates that must have still lingered after Hezekiah purged the symbol of the tree from the temple, and how that connects to Lehi's vision.
4. I'd love for a critic to point me to a contemporary source Joseph Smith would have likely consulted to assist him in constructing this aspect of the Old World culture embedded in the books of 1 and 2 Nephi.