Alexander Keith, D.D.

Alexander Keith (1792–1880) was a Church of Scotland minister, known for his writings on biblical prophecy.

He was the son of George Skene Keith of Keith-hall and Kinkell, where he was born at the manse on 13 November 1792. He graduated M.A. at Marischal College, in 1809. From 1816 to 1840 he was minister of the parish of St. Cyrus, Scotland.

At the Disruption of 1843, Keith left the established Church of Scotland with the dissenters who formed the Free Church of Scotland.

Keith is probably best remembered for his book, Evidence of the Truth of the Christian Religion Derived from the Literal Fulfillment of Prophecy, which has gone through numerous revisions and many editions. It is still in print in a 2005 edition from Kessinger Publishing.

Keith is also remembered as one of the four Church of Scotland ministers who in 1839 undertook a Mission of Inquiry to Palestine. The group traveled through France, Greece, and Egypt then overland to Gaza. The route home led through Syria, the Austrian Empire and some of the German States. The group sought Jewish communities along the route to inquire about the readiness of these communities to accept Christ and, separately, their preparedness to return to Israel as prophesied in the Bible. Keith recounts the journey in his 1844 book The Land of Israel According to the Covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. It was also in that book that Keith used the slogan that became popular with other Christian Restorationists, A land without a people for a people without a land. In 1844 he revisited Palestine with his son, Dr George Skene Keith (1819–1910), who was the first person to photograph the land.

Keith is one of a large number of Christians who campaigned for a restoration of the Jews to their ancient homeland. In 1844 he wrote: "Greece was given to the Greeks, and in seeking any government for Syria, may not a confederacy of kings - give Judea to the Jews?"

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