1 Ki. 14:15, God “shall scatter” Israel “beyond the river,” not all in one place.

2 Ki. 10:32, “In those days the Lord began to cut off parts of Israel...” –before their final complete exile.

2 Ki. 17:6, The Assyrian king “captured Samaria and exiled Israel”

Deut. 29:28, “cast them into another land, as it is this day”

Isa. 5:26 “the end of the earth”

Isa. 11:11-12, “the four corners of the earth”

Isa. 27:13 (Vulgate), “those lost from the land of Assyria”

Isa. 49:9, “say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves.” An address to the lost ten tribes according to Jewish midrash “Pesikta Rabbati 31:10”

Isa. 49:21, (Ten Tribes:) “where had they been?”

Jer. 15:4, “I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth”

Hos. 2:14, “I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness,” not a return to Canaan.

Hos. 8:8, “Israel is swallowed up now among the nations”

Hos. 9:17, “wanderers among the nations”

Ezra 1:15, ONLY “Judah and Benjamin” returned; remaining ten tribes did not return

“Israel and Judah... developed more or less independent of the other, Israel in the north and Judah in the south; and only gradually did circumstances bring them together, and then came the inevitable clash of interests, religious as well as political.” –"Hebrew Origins," Theophile James Meek, 1936, p.76

“Israel as a kingdom was never restored from Assyria, as Judah was from Babylon after 70 years.” –Jamieson, Faucett, Brown Commentary, p.650

“There never was a real return from the exile, although some individuals doubtless returned...the captivity of Israel did not actually terminate at 538 [B.C.], nor, in fact, ever.” –Geo. Ricker Berry, Colgate-Rochester Divinity School, “Was Ezekiel in the Exile?” pp.89, 92 (Journal of Biblical Literature 49 (1930)

“Many of the towns in southern Judah and Simeon were not reoccupied after the exile. This process was quite as disastrous as it is portrayed in the Old Testament...” –Thos. Davis, “Shifting Sands,” Oxford Univ. Press, 2004

“That the Redeemer comes ‘from Zion’ [Isa. 59:20] for Israel implies that Israel is in exile...” –G.K. Beale and D.A. Carson, “Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament,” Baker Academic, 2007, p.674

“The exile, into all lands, among all nations, was as irrevocably decreed as was the destruction of the city.” –Charles C. Torrey, Yale University, Journal of Biblical Literature 56 (1937), p.206

“...the returnees came only from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin —the exiles in Babylon. The ten tribes did not return...the loss of the [ten] tribes marked the greatest demographic defeat inscribed in Jewish memory since Biblical times.” –Zvi Ben-Dor Benite, “The Ten Lost Tribes: A World History,” Oxford Univ. Press, 2009, pp.17, 117

“Evidently it was a token return...” –Frank Moore Cross, Harvard University, “A Reconstruction Of The Judean Restoration,” Journal of Biblical Literature 94 (1975), p.15

“The tree of Israel, grown from one root with various branches, was cut into pieces.” –John Calvin, cited in Boer, “John Calvin,” pp. 190-191

“The ten [tribes] which had previously been carried away being scattered among the Parthians, Medes, Indians, and Ethiopians never returned to their native country, and are to this day held under the sway of barbarous nations.” –Sulpitius Severus (circa. 360-420 A.D.), Severus, Sacred History, bk ii, ch. Ii, in Schaff, et al., transl. Sulpitius Severus

“Jewish people often thought that ten of the twelve tribes were lost and would be restored only in the end time.” –Craig Keener, “A Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew,” Eerdmans, 1999, p.315

The ten tribes’ not returning opened “a huge wound that does not heal.” –Talmudic Haga, Sefer Ha-Berit Ha-Hadash

"The prophecy of a restored and reunited Israel and Judah...was never actually to be fulfilled... Intransigence on the part of both...produced separate and irreconcilable societies that were never able to reunite." -Bruce Vawter, "Amos, Hosea, Micah, With An Introduction To Classical Prophecy," p.81

Reader's Questions

Please feel free to send us your questions regarding any historical or Biblical topics. See our submission page.

Question:
How could a descendant discover what tribe of Judah he/she is from? -Angela C.

Answer:
To rephrase your question, let us discuss the marks of Israel and how to discover which tribe of Israel you may be from. There were twelve tribes of Israel, of which Judah was one, and the Bible presents us with at least two sets of individual promises given to each. One set of promises was given by Jacob in Genesis chapter 49, and the other set of prophetic promises was given by Moses in Deuteronomy chapter 33. We are specifically told that these promises would be fulfilled “in the latter days” (Gen. 49:1) at the end of this age, so these tribes must be in existence somewhere in our world today as separate peoples. In addition, these tribes were prophesied to become nations (Gen. 17:5; 35:11), so we are looking for nationalities that exhibit the characteristics given in the prophecies.

Historic identification of modern nations is an interesting subject that many people wonder about, and fortunately there are some excellent clues as well as great resources available to help answer this. Our first clues are found in heraldic emblems, since these symbols are a concise synopsis or overview of the characteristics of each of the tribes. For example, Benjamin is symbolized as a wolf in Genesis 49:27: “Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.” This indicates their aggressive colonizing spirit of adventure, a good description of the Norse Vikings. Historian Rudolf Poertner wrote of “their noise, their temperament, their explosive vitality.” In addition, the word wolf itself is frequently found in names and places in Norway and Iceland. One Icelandic historian has counted “over ten percent of prominent Icelandic settlers having the name wolf, or a compound of wolf.” This and much more information is found in W.H. Bennett’s, Story Of Celto-Saxon Israel. This book traces twelve major tribes which entered Europe from the Mid-East, and gives a wonderful amount of evidence about each of them with links to Scripture.

Heraldic and cultural traditions and characteristics can be traced in a nation from generation to generation over long periods of time. This was understood by the famous 18th century Bishop Newton who stated, “It was somewhat wonderful, and not to be seen by human sagacity, that a man’s whole posterity should so nearly resemble him, and retain the same inclinations, the same habits, and the same customs, throughout all ages!” (Second Dissertation on the Prophecies, note on Gen. 16:12)

Stephen M. Collins’ book, Israel’s Tribes Today is also an excellent source book which correlates the Biblical twelve tribes and the modern nationalities that are descended from them, using Scriptural identifications and prophecies. Mr. Collins has researched this issue for many years in depth, writes in a very readable and engaging style, and he has received many letters of thanks from readers.

See a synopsis of the above books and many other excellent related resources on the Bible Blessings booksite at www.bibleblessings.net

Question:

Like your Web-site. There is one thing that I would like to point out. I checked other web-sites on this subject and they include the Germans to the story. I am sad to see, that your web site is somewhat biased - as if you do not like the idea that the Germans must be included - yet all history points to the fact, the Germans had a major part , too. Just look at the names of towns in Germany to this day. It is a bit painful to see this exclusion - but as a True German (German meaning - genuine) (Kermani! angel Saxon, Jutes , Goths, Sacae and and .......I should be well used to this by now. -S.

Answer:
Yes, we agree with you on including the Germans in our search for the lost tribes. You will want to read the book “Israel’s Tribes Today” by Steven M. Collins, which has much good material on the connection of the German people and ancient Israel, including connecting the Germans with one of the tribes of Israel. See: www.bibleblessings.net and select Hebrew Heritage books.

There is also information on the Israelite.info website on this question. See articles such as “The Old Testament Roots of Norse Mythology” for example, and other articles as well.

Question:
Did know you people existed but quite pleased to see... I have only one question for you. I reached your site after reading other material and I am very concerned if you may be linked to this belief that I read about. What is your opinion of the Jews today -- what is their role in the world? Are they of the tribe of Judah? Thank you, and looking forward to your answer.

Greetings,
We hold to the Two-House belief that despite intermarriages through the centuries, Jews can trace a physical descent from the ancient House of Judah and Western European nations are descended from the House of Israel. This is the only prophetic view that fits the fulfillment of the prophecies concerning the two branches of God's people. Many people who contact us seem to already have their minds made up on the issue and think they know all the facts. However, even the Jews themselves write articles questioning the issue of ‘who is a Jew’, so it is understandable if they are also not fully aware of the separate existence of the ten-tribe House of Israel in the world today. We suggest that you gain understanding of this prophetic issue by ordering the excellent books on this subject by Steven M. Collins and W.H. Bennett, which are available on our booksite: www.bibleblessings.net. These are the best studies available today on the subject of prophetic latter-day Israel and will answer all of your questions and concerns. There are also a number of short articles on this subject on this website.

Question:
Did God choose Judah or Ephraim?

Did God choose the ten tribes over Judah? In Psalm 78:67-68, David says that God "refused the tabernacle of Joseph" and "chose not the tribe of Ephraim" but "chose the tribe of Judah." Did God change his mind and choose the tribe of Ephraim instead? –Anon

Answer:
The birthright of Israel, which included leadership of the twelve tribes, was originally given to the Patriarch Joseph (1 Chron. 5:1-2), and then to his son Ephraim and his descendants of the Ten Tribe Northern “House of Israel.” Yet a significant temporary transfer of leadership took place during the time of King David, who was of the tribe and “House of Judah.” David and his son Solomon ruled over all twelve tribes of Israel until Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, came to the throne. Then the Ten Tribes of the House of Israel separated from Judah and chose Jeroboam of the tribe of Ephraim as their king instead. In the Hebrew text of 1 Kings, Jeroboam is referred to as “nagid,” meaning a “crown prince or designated heir.” In other words, he became the Israelite birthright holder!

Professor James Richard Linville, in his book, “Israel In The Book of Kings,” asks “…does the transfer of the nagid-ship [i.e., kingly leadership] to the North[ern Ten Tribes] reveal a loss of legitimacy or status for Judah? …granting Jeroboam the title once held by David, and then even passed it on to another Northerner.” The Bible indeed seems to be indicating that the birthright, or right to rule God’s people, was transferred back to the Joseph tribes of the House of Israel.

To summarize: Psalm 78 was written by King David at the time of the transfer of the birthright and leadership away from the House of Israel. It was because of the sins of King Saul of the tribe of Benjamin (a Joseph tribe and at that time part of the House of Israel) that leadership in Israel was transferred to King David of the tribe of Judah. That leadership over all of the twelve tribes ended later when Rehoboam came to the throne.

Question: When will be the fulfillment of Jacob's death-bed prophecy, Gen 48 and 49?

Answer:
Genesis 49:1 says, “And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.” Let us examine a few specifics of the prophecies in Genesis chapters 48 and 49.

To be continued!