Ten Lost Tribes information

The Ten Lost Tribes were the ten of the Twelve Tribes of Israel that were said to have been exiled from the Kingdom of Israel after its conquest by the Neo-Assyrian Empire c. 722 BCE.^[1]^[2] These are the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Manasseh, and Ephraim---all but Judah, Benjamin, and some members of the priestly Tribe of Levi, which did not have its own territory. However, since the tribe of Simeon lived well within the territory of Judah, it is not clear why this tribe was never included in this list. Also, the tribes of Asher and Reuben were never mentioned as participating in anything after the conquest, living in either Phoenician (Asher) or Moabite (Reuben) controlled territory. By the middle 9th century BCE the territory of Gad was also (re)taken by the Moabites (see Mesha Stele), so the Assyrians could at most have removed the other six tribes. Thus, the "10 tribes" appears to be a misnomer, meaning all of the Israelites that were living outside the Kingdom of Judah. The Jewish historian Josephus (37–100 CE) wrote that "there are but two tribes in Asia and Europe subject to the Romans, while the ten tribes are beyond Euphrates till now, and are an immense multitude, and not to be estimated by numbers".^[3]

These texts indicate that 10 tribes broke away from king Rehoboam of Judah and that Simeon was one of the tribes that broke away:

About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country, and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and give you ten tribes. But for the sake of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe (1 Kings 11:29-32 NIV).

When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What share do we have in David, what part in Jesse’s son? To your tents, Israel! Look after your own house, David!” So the Israelites went home. But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them (1 Kings 12:16-17 NIV).

[King Asa] assembled all Judah and Benjamin and the people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who had settled among them, for large numbers had come over to him from Israel (2 Chron. 15:9 NIV).

In the 7th and 8th centuries CE, the return of the lost tribes was associated with the concept of the coming of the messiah.^[4]^: 58–62 Claims of descent from the "lost tribes" have been proposed in relation to many groups,^[5] and some religions espouse a messianic view that the tribes will return.

According to contemporary research, the Transjordan and the Galilee did witness large-scale deportations, and entire tribes were lost. Historians have generally concluded that the deported tribes assimilated into the local population. In Samaria, on the other hand, many Israelites survived the Assyrian onslaught and remained in the land, eventually forming the Samaritan community.^[6]^[7] However, this has not stopped various religions from asserting that some survived as distinct entities. Zvi Ben-Dor Benite, a professor of Middle Eastern history, states: "The fascination with the tribes has generated, alongside ostensibly nonfictional scholarly studies, a massive body of fictional literature and folktale."^[4]^: 11 Anthropologist Shalva Weil has documented various differing tribes and peoples claiming affiliation to the Lost Tribes throughout the world.^[8]

^ Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews, Book 11 chapter 1
^ 2 Esdras 13:39–45
^ Josephus, Flavius. Antiquites. p. 11:133.
^ ^a ^b Benite, Zvi Ben-Dor (2009). The Ten Lost Tribes: A World History. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 9780195307337.
^ Weil, Shalva (2015). "Tribes, Ten Lost". In Patai, Raphael; Bar -Itzhak, Haya (eds.). Encyclopedia of Jewish Folklore and Traditions. Vol. 2. Routledge. pp. 542–543. ISBN 9781317471714.
^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Knoppers, Gary (2013). "The Fall of the Northern Kingdom and the Ten Lost Tribes: A Reevaluation". Jews and Samaritans: The Origins and History of Their Early Relations. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 42–44. ISBN 978-0-19-006879-0. What one finds in the Samarian hills is not the wholesale replacement of one local population by a foreign population, but rather the diminution of the local population. Widespread abandonment does not occur as in parts of Galilee and Gilead, but significant depopulation does occur. Among the causes of such a decline one may list death by war, disease, and starvation; forced deportations to other lands; and migrations to other areas, including south to Judah. [...] This brings us back to the question with which we began: What happened to the "ten lost tribes?" A significant portion of the "ten lost tribes" was never lost. In the region of Samaria, most of the indigenous Israelite population—those who survived the Assyrian onslaughts—remained in the land.
^ Weil, S. 1991 Beyond the Sambatyon: the Myth of the Ten Lost Tribes. Tel-Aviv: Beth Hatefutsoth, the Nahum Goldman Museum of the Jewish Diaspora.

[1] Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews, Book 11 chapter 1

[2] 2 Esdras 13:39–45

[3] Josephus, Flavius. Antiquites. p. 11:133.

[Benite-4] Benite, Zvi Ben-Dor (2009). The Ten Lost Tribes: A World History. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 9780195307337.

[WeilEJFT-ten-5] Weil, Shalva (2015). "Tribes, Ten Lost". In Patai, Raphael; Bar -Itzhak, Haya (eds.). Encyclopedia of Jewish Folklore and Traditions. Vol. 2. Routledge. pp. 542–543. ISBN 9781317471714.

[:0-6] Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[:5-7] Knoppers, Gary (2013). "The Fall of the Northern Kingdom and the Ten Lost Tribes: A Reevaluation". Jews and Samaritans: The Origins and History of Their Early Relations. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 42–44. ISBN 978-0-19-006879-0. What one finds in the Samarian hills is not the wholesale replacement of one local population by a foreign population, but rather the diminution of the local population. Widespread abandonment does not occur as in parts of Galilee and Gilead, but significant depopulation does occur. Among the causes of such a decline one may list death by war, disease, and starvation; forced deportations to other lands; and migrations to other areas, including south to Judah. [...] This brings us back to the question with which we began: What happened to the "ten lost tribes?" A significant portion of the "ten lost tribes" was never lost. In the region of Samaria, most of the indigenous Israelite population—those who survived the Assyrian onslaughts—remained in the land.

[8] Weil, S. 1991 Beyond the Sambatyon: the Myth of the Ten Lost Tribes. Tel-Aviv: Beth Hatefutsoth, the Nahum Goldman Museum of the Jewish Diaspora.

Ten Lost Tribes information

and 28 Related for: Ten Lost Tribes information

Ten Lost Tribes

Twelve Tribes of Israel

Theory of Kashmiri descent from lost tribes of Israel

Tribe of Ephraim

Tribe of Manasseh

Lost tribe

Tribe of Issachar

Tribe of Asher

Tribe of Gad

British Israelism

Tribe of Dan

Tribe of Naphtali

Shalva Weil

Groups claiming affiliation with Israelites

Messiah ben Joseph

Tribe of Simeon

Nordic Israelism

Uncontacted peoples

Theories of Pashtun origin

Tribe of Judah

Tribe of Joseph

Assyrian captivity

Jewish Indian theory

Sambation

Tribe of Benjamin

French Israelism

Red Jews

View of the Hebrews