The Ten Lost Tribes

Synopsis

Somewhere in the confines of the earth, at a place traditionally associated with the land of the north, the lost tribes of Israel exist as a nation. They are very possibly not intermingled among the different countries of the world, as some might suppose, but are living as a separate group of people at an undisclosed location.

Unlike in times past, little is said about them anymore, and on occasion when the subject of their return is mentioned, it is almost regarded as fiction. Yet in the future when the rumor comes that crumbling rock and ice have opened up the passageway in the north countries and a mysterious highway has appeared, then people will know that the ten tribes are finally on their way!

Summary of Main Ideas

1. Originally there were thirteen tribes in the House of Israel, including Levi which had a special religious calling and was not regarded as the same type of tribe as the others.
2. Following the death of Solomon, all of the tribes rebelled except Judah and one-half of Benjamin, reducing the original total to 11 1/2 in number.
3. Levi and a sprinkling of others eventually returned to the first group, leaving a final total of 10 1/2 rebelling tribes. These are the ones known as the ten tribes of Israel.
4. It was these tribes that were conquered by the Assyrians in the 8th Century B.C., approximately one-half of whom were deported to various parts of the Assyrian Empire.
5. Those remaining behind in Palestine were joined by foreign colonists and eventually dispersed throughout the nations.
6. The Bible makes it clear that not all of the ten tribes were taken captive but that there was a considerable number of remnants left in Palestine.
7. The so-called "ten lost tribes" of Israel appear to have been a relatively small group among the captives in Assyria that banded together and migrated into the north country.
8. The whereabouts of these people, who disappeared about the time that the Assyrian Empire ended in the late 7th Century B.C., is one of the unsolved mysteries in biblical history.
9. Whereas it has previously been assumed that an account of Israelite captivity in Assyria is mainly nonexistent, new evidence and information has proven otherwise.
10. The Assyrians traditionally were known for their warlike nature and barbarism, for example, but the evidence now suggests that there was also another aspect of their militarism, namely the humane treatment of prisoners after conquests and a policy of incorporating them into Assyrian society for the benefit of the Empire.
11. The six kings of Assyria beginning with Tiglath Pileser III were able administrators and the most outstanding rulers of the Empire, the last being Ashurbanipal whose reign might well have been just prior to the departure of the lost tribes.
12. Biblical scripture, except for that known as the Apocrypha, says nothing about the lost tribes, but an account in modem scripture gives important information concerning their future return which will be characterized by highly unusual circumstances.
13. When the time comes for their reentry into regular society, the scripture states that rocks will crumble and ice will fall, and a mysterious highway or pathway will "be cast up in the midst of the great deep," some large expanse of water pertaining to a sea or ocean.

Chapter 6 - Concept of the Tribes

The idea that at least part of the ten tribes are currently dispersed among the nations is actually a true concept. More than half of the original group, in fact, are very probably intermixed not only with people in northern areas but throughout all parts of the world. Yet the important thing is that the other portion, the one that is scheduled to reappear someday in a miraculous manner, is currently residing at a different location. Justification for this view, at least in part, can be found in the conquest and deportation policy of the ancient Assyrian Empire.

It was Assyrian custom, for example, upon conquering a particular area, to deport approximately half of the population and leave the other half where they were, at the same time bringing in colonists from different parts of the empire to take their place. By using such a method the invaders weakened the existing political and social structure of an area and were able to maintain stronger control. An acceptance of this fact is extremely important in understanding the present situation of the ten tribes.

Whereas it is often suggested that the tribes generally were taken en masse into captivity, the more accurate number of captives might have been not even one half but very possibly less. Moreover, it was not a matter of removing whole segments of population without regard to economic, social, or political standing, but rather taking prisoners that might be a threat if left behind, as well as those in the military and the upper classes who could be of more benefit to the empire. As things turned out, it was usually the poorer or lower classes that stayed in the original homeland, people who again were less apt to make trouble politically or who were less skilled in the occupations.

When the ten tribes are viewed in this way, the statement that those who remained in the south were part of the group that later was scattered and dispersed throughout different countries is a valid one. The same might even be true of some who were taken captive. But an additional viewpoint, and one that is especially important, is that at least some of those deported to the north eventually left their places of captivity in Assyria and disappeared somewhere further into the north country, later to be referred to as the lost tribes of Israel. It is these people, according to religious prophecy, who are waiting for a signal that someday will prompt their return to present-day society. These are the ones spoken of in scripture who will exit through some type of passageway amid falling rock and ice and traverse an improvised highway over an expanse of water. As in times of old when Moses led the children of Israel across the Red Sea, their experience will likewise be a miraculous one involving divine intervention and the supernatural.

All of this, of course, suggests an unusual setting for those who traveled further to the north and entered a place of concealment that would hold them for more than twenty-five centuries. There is definitely an implication of some exotic place or destination. Yet the immediate question, and one that precedes all others, is not so much where these people are presently located but whether or not they are a separate group, distinct and apart from those dispersed among the nations. It is the specific question of existence and correct identity. And once again, the final answer and solution might well be found in the deportation policy of the Assyrian Empire.

If only a certain portion of the tribes was taken into captivity in other words, serving some unknown purpose as far as biblical history is concerned, it implies very strongly that the people were to remain isolated and apart. It was apparently not meant for them to be involved in any universal dispersion, nor is it likely that they became a hybrid group like those remaining in Palestine. Instead they became part of a dual phenomenon, as it were, consisting of a future gathering of Israel on the one hand and the restoration of the ten tribes on the other.

In regard to the phenomenon known as the gathering, at least according to one belief, this currently consists of people in many different countries of the world assembling in designated areas and subscribing to the idea that important truths have been restored and a modern Israel is now coming into being. Separate from the Israeli situation in Palestine, the movement comprises a worldwide missionary and training program for the living and a genealogical program for those who are dead. Together these two components constitute much of the latter-day gathering of Israel, the sponsoring institution in this case being the organization known as the Mormon Church.

Also as it turns out, those participating in the movement almost exclusively claim to be related to the tribe of Ephraim. Other Israelite backgrounds are undoubtedly involved, since people from all of the original tribes have been scattered and sifted throughout the nations, but there is still a definite emphasis on this one particular tribe. Even though a person's pedigree might contain lineages from several different groups, along with those that are non-Israelite, it is nevertheless Ephraim that is said to be predominant.

In ancient times this was an important tribe, often asserting itself beyond the authority of the others, and it was a common occurrence for the Kingdom of Israel as a nation to be called by their name. Consequently, it is not surprising that the descendants of this tribe today are primarily the ones involved in the modern gathering, including not only the membership in general but in particular the leadership.

And the same might also apply to the second part of the dual phenomenon, the return or restoration of the ten tribes. If Ephraim was important anciently, for example, as it is now during the present gathering, it is possible that it will likewise have an important influence among the tribes who are lost, wherever they happen to be located and at what point in time they might return. This would especially be true of the prophets who are leading them.

"And they who are in the north countries," the scripture says, "shall come in remembrance before the Lord; and their prophets shall hear his voice, and shall no longe stay themselves; and they shall smite the rocks, and the ice shall flow down at their presence. And an highway shall be cast up in the midst of the great deep."

Certainly it is logical that the leadership of the lost tribes, those who will be guiding the people back to the mainstream of society, could also be descendants of Ephraim. Again this is the tribe that has been an acknowledged and recognized group from the beginning. Originally it was Ephraim who was set apart and given preferential status by his grandfather Jacob and who ultimately received the main part of the Israelite birthright, and when the tribes return from their long stay of seclusion, it is not inconsistent to believe that some of his descendants at that time will be those who are in authority leading the way.

Much of the gathering, therefore, especially the prominence of Ephraim and the return of the lost tribes, has a direct relationship to the past and to the ancient conquests of Assyria. The latter in particular forms an important episode in the affairs of the House of Israel. The invasions which took place in Transjordan and Palestine toward the end of the eighth century B.C. were devastating and disruptive, yet at the same time instrumental in preparing the way for an extraordinary period of history. For those who resided in the northern kingdom, it was the beginning of an entirely new era. Not only were people scattered and dispersed in many different directions, but a small and significant part of them was destined eventually to disappear from society completely and for the next twenty-five hundred years remain a strange enigma and mystery!