01/05/2024
Is it true that many of the European people are of the lost ten tribes of Israel?
Profile photo for Yair Davidiy
Yair Davidiy
Researcher at Brit-Am/Hebrew Awareness (1986–present)22h
The Lost Ten Tribes went to North and Western Europe. It was prophesied that they would do so and that in the End Times they would return from there.
Isaiah (NKJV) 49:
12 SURELY THESE SHALL COME FROM AFAR;
LOOK! THOSE FROM THE NORTH AND THE WEST,
AND THESE FROM THE LAND OF SINIM.
The Land of Sinim means Australia and New Zealand.
The Prophet Obadiah was one of the Ten Minor Prophets in the Bible. They are referred to as "minor" due to the relative shortness of their works and not due to any lack of importance.
Obadiah prophesied that the Lost Ten Tribes would be in France and Britain, and the North.
Obadiah (NKJV) 1:
20 AND THE CAPTIVES OF THIS HOST OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL SHALL POSSESS THE LAND OF THE CANAANITES AS FAR AS ZAREPHATH. THE CAPTIVES OF JERUSALEM WHO ARE IN SEPHARAD SHALL POSSESS THE CITIES OF THE SOUTH.
That is the NKJV translation but it does not resonate with how Rabbinical Commentators understood it. The "Aramaic Bible in Plain English" (ARPE) in this case (but not necessarily in others) captures the Hebrew Original text in the same way as it was understood by the Rabbis:
Obadiah (ARPE) 1:
20 AND THIS FIRST CAPTIVITY OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL THAT IS FROM CANAAN, AND UNTO TSAREPTA AND THE CAPTIVITY OF JERUSALEM WHO ARE IN ESPANIA, THEY SHALL INHERIT THE CITIES OF THE SOUTH.
Rashi (1040-1105):
# "THE FIRST EXILE OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL WHO WERE EXILED FROM THE TEN TRIBES TO THE LAND OF CANAANITES UNTO TSAREPHATH... THE COMMENTATORS SAY THAT "TSAREPHATH" MEANS THE KINGDOM CALLED `FRANCE' IN EVERYDAY SPEECH... #
It should be noted that according to the context Obadiah is speaking here of the End Times and of a final show-down between the arch enemy Esau and of Joseph representing the Lost Ten Tribes.
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Ramban (Nachmanides, Rabbi Mosheh ben Nachman, 1194-1270, Spain; from "The Book of Redemption", chapter 1.):
"THE VISION OF OBADIAH .… THE HOUSE OF JOSEPH REFERS TO THE TEN TRIBES …. WHO WERE EXILED AND STILL ARE IN THEIR PLACE OF EXILE, THE EXILE OF TSAREPHATH AND CANAAN WHICH ARE IN THE FARTHEST NORTH..."
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Don Isaac ben Yehudah Abarbanel, (1437-1508, Spain):
"TSARAPHATH IS FRANCE AND SO TOO THE EXILE OF SEPHARAD IS SPAIN.. AND LET YOU NOT ERR JUST BECAUSE TSARAPHATH [i.e. France] IS SPOKEN OF AND ANGLETERRE [i.e. England] IS NOT RECALLED, FOR THERE TOO DID THE EXILES GO, FOR LO AND BEHOLD, THAT ISLAND IS CONSIDERED A PART OF TSARAPHATH AND IN THE BEGINNING BELONGED TO IT AND IN THEIR ANCIENT BOOKS THEY CALL IT THE ISLE OF TSAREPHATH [i.e. France] EVEN THOUGH IT LATER SEPARATED ITSELF FROM TSAREPHATH [France] AND BECAME A KINGDOM IN ITS OWN RIGHT.
The French, British, Scandinavians, and related peoples were descended in part from Celtic and Germanic groups who at first had been in the Middle East and from there moved to the north and West of Europe. They migrated in alliance with the Ten Tribes who moved with them.
The Prophet Hosea describes this as exemplified by his own marriage with a loose woman also named Gomer and her three children who are presented as symbolizing there different divisions of the Ten Tribes in exile.
Judah (i.e. the Jews) is expressly excluded from the equation.
Hosea 1 (NLT):
7 BUT I WILL SHOW LOVE TO THE PEOPLE OF JUDAH. I WILL FREE THEM FROM THEIR ENEMIES NOT WITH WEAPONS AND ARMIES OR HORSES AND CHARIOTEERS, BUT BY MY POWER AS THE LORD THEIR GOD.
Rabbi Yisroel Alter (1895-1977) in his work "Beis Yisroel" (VeYechi, 5710 ca. 1950-51, # Breish*t 47:28) wrote that the Children of Israel, especially as associated with Joseph, were known as 'Gomer' and as 'Gomerites.' Gomer is the name given by the Assyrians to the Cimmerian Federation that rebelled against them and from whom the Celts, and Scythians, and Goths emerged, and migrated to the west. Gomer originally had been one of the sons of Japhet but they joined unto the exiled Tribes of Israel who became associated with them. The Ten Tribes became confederate with the Cimmerian Federation which was identified by the Assyrians and others as "Gomer." It was as part of this Gomerite Federation that the Ten Tribes moved to Western Europe.
The identification of the Ten Tribes with Gomer is found in the Bible in the Book of Hosea chapters 1 and 2. Hosea refers to the Lost Ten Tribes as Children of a woman named Gomer with whom he had children and each child is depicted as personifying another aspect of the Exiled Israelites.
The Ten Tribes did not keep the Torah!
Midrash Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer
# IT WAS THE CUSTOM IN ISRAEL (i.e. of both Judah and the Ten Tribes) TO CIRCUMCISE UP UNTIL THE TIME THEY DIVIDED INTO TWO KINGDOMS. THE KINGDOM OF EPHRAIM PREVENTED CIRCUMCISION.. #
Ten Tribes were Exiled but not scattered as Judah was.
Midrash
"AND YOU SHALL BE LOST [PERISH] [VA-ABADTEM] AMONG THE NATIONS" , RABBI AKIVA SAYS THESE ARE THE TEN TRIBES WHO WERE EXILED TO MEDIA. OTHERS SAY "AND BE LOST [PERISH] [VA-ABADTEM] AMONG THE NATIONS", THERE IS NO "BEING LOST", OTHER THAN EXILE. COULD IT BE THAT "AND BE LOST [PERISH] [VA-ABADTEM]" MEANS ACTUALLY PERISHING? WHEN IT SAYS , AND "THE LAND OF YOUR ENEMIES SHALL DEVOUR YOU", THEN ACTUAL LOSS [PERISHING] IS MEANT. I MAINTAIN THAT WHEN IT SAYS "YOU SHALL BE LOST AMONG THE NATIONS", BY "BE LOST" IT CAN ONLY MEAN EXILE (Midrash Sifra, Bechukotai Deuteronomy 8).
The Malbim (Rabbi Meir Leibush ben Yehiel Michel Wisser, 1809 1879, Eastern Europe) says:
# I EXPLAINED IN MY COMMENTARY ... (Isaiah 11:12) THAT THE TEN TRIBES ARE NOT SCATTERED ONLY OUTCAST [Hebrew: "NIDACH", meaning "OUTCAST" or "DRIVEN OUT]" TO WHERE WE KNOW NOT AND ONLY NEED TO BE GATHERED IN.
A great Jewish Rabbinical authority, the Hatam Sofer (1762-1839) , opined that Western Europe, and the Atlantic Ocean area including the British Isles in the future will be part of the Land of Israel.
Balaam (Numbers 22:2-25:9) prophesied concerning Israel. He foresaw the future division between Judah and the Ten Tribes (Numbers 23:7). The Israelites would be a nation counted Alone and not with other peoples. They would not be subject to the same limitations as the others are (23:9). They would be above the other peoples though bearing heavier responsibilities. They would be an innumerous people, a very great multitude (23:10). They were to receive an unconditional blessing (23:8,19-20). A portion of them would be governed by a monarch (23:21). Their symbols would include a lion (23:24 24:9) and unicorn (23:22, 24:8) like the British Coat of Arms. They were to dwell according to their Tribes (Numbers 24:2), and in fertile rich areas (24:6), to be in many waters, in every sea, and to rule the waves (24:7). They would become the most powerful national grouping in world history (24:7). They would defeat Edomite nations such as Germany and Japan (24:9). The Kenites (Rechabites) would be exiled along with the Ten Tribes and return alongside them (24:22 see Rashi).
Josephus in his paraphrase of the Prophecy of Balaam, gives the prophecy as saying:
# THE MULTITUDE OF YOUR POSTERITY ALSO SHALL LIVE AS WELL IN THE ISLANDS AS ON THE CONTINENT, AND THAT MORE IN NUMBER THAN ARE THE STARS OF HEAVEN. #
This to our mind would be a reference to the British Isles and associated peoples.
A Talmudic source (Talmud Sanhedrin 94) says the Lost Ten Tribes were exiled to Afriki. Francis Wilford (1761-1822) based on Ancient Greek sources says that the term "Afriki" could also have been applied to the West Atlantic shoreline including the British Isles and Western Europe.
Each of the Tribes had its own Individual Characteristics. These are described in Biblical and Rabbinical Sources. For instance concerning Zebulon:
Moses blessed Zebulon: that he should:
"SUCK OF THE ABUNDANCE OF THE SEAS AND OF TREASURES HID IN THE SANDS" (Deuteronomy 33:19).
Genesis 49:
13 ZEBULUN SHALL SETTLE AT THE SHORE OF THE SEA;
HE SHALL BE A HAVEN FOR SHIPS,
AND HIS BORDER SHALL BE AT SIDON.
The HEBREW original may be preferably translated as "dwell on the SHORES of the Sea" (Hebrew: "be-Hof-yamim"). The only nation in the world whose population is known for dwelling extensively on reclaimed sea-land, literally, "ON THE SHORES OF THE SEA", is Holland. This description applies in some way or other to up to two-thirds of the Dutch people.
The area of the Netherlands had been populated by peoples from Frisia who moved in and reclaimed the area from the sea. Among these peoples Ptolemy (100s CE) recorded a group named "Sabalingoi" whose name reads "People (“goi”) of Zebulon".
The border of Zebulon was to be at Sidon.
In ancient times the area of northwest Germany had been settled by Phoenicians from Sidon in what is now Lebanon. They gave rise to a sea-going Phoenician type civilization that in the Middle Ages became known as the 'Hanseatic League.'
It included the cities of Hamburg, Bremen, and Lubeck. In this region had once dwelt the 'Cannenfates' whose name implies "League of Canaanites." So too the settlement of Caudinge ("Sauding"?) gave rise to Hamburg and had probably been named after "Sidon."
Other names in the area also recall Sidon.
Theo Vennemann studied the presence of Phoenicians (derived from Sidon) and Carthaginians (of Phoenician origin) in this area.
See:
Theo Vennemann - Wikipedia
Each and every one of the Ten Tribes may be individually traced to polities in western Europe by comparing their Hebrew Names and the meanings of these names along with national characteristics as described in Scripture and by the Sages and as demonstrated concerning Zebulon and the Netherlands.
In the End Times there will arise TWO Messiahs:
Messiah ben David (MBD) according to the Malbim will lead the Jews of Judah.
Messiah ben Yoseph (MBJ) will lead the Lost Ten Tribes headed by Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh
According to the sources MBJ leads the Ten Tribes, and defeats Edom - probably European entities, He begins to lead the Ten Tribes back, initiates reconciliation with Judah, helps Judah resettle the Land and build it up, as the British and the Americans have already done, and possibly rebuilds the Temple.
MBD completes the process began by MBJ. Each and every Israelite receives confirmation of their Tribal Identity.
Maimonides:
IN THE TIME OF THE KING MESSIAH, WHEN HIS KINGDOM SHALL BE SETTLED AND ALL ISRAEL GATHERED INTO HIM, HE WILL ESTABLISH THE FAMILY RELATIONSHIP OF EVERYONE ACCORDING TO THE DIVINE SPIRIT OF INSPIRATION UPON HIM. AS IT SAYS, AND HE SHALL SIT AS A REFINER AND PURIFIER OF SILVER: AND HE BEGINS WITH THE TRIBE OF LEVI, AS IT SAYS AND HE SHALL PURIFY THE SONS OF LEVI, AND PURGE THEM [Malachi 3:3] AND HE ONLY ESTABLISHES THE FAMILY RELATIONSHIP OF ISRAEL ACCORDING TO THEIR TRIBES. HE MAKES KNOWN WHO BELONGS TO THIS TRIBE AND WHO BELONGS TO THAT ONE. Rambam: The Laws of Kings and Their Wars, chapter twelve, item 6.
According to Rabbi Mosheh David Valle (1697-1777) the task of Ephraim was to become like the Gentiles and reform them from inside.
Hosea 13:
1 WHEN EPHRAIM SPOKE, TREMBLING,
HE WAS EXALTED IN ISRAEL.
BUT HE INCURRED GUILT THROUGH BAAL WORSHIP AND HE DIED.
Ephraim is a power in the world. Rabbi Valle says that all mankind is influenced through Ephraim. When Ephraim transgresses in his deeds and opinions he engenders division and contention to themselves and to all of Israel. This is what is meant by the expression "trembling" (Hosea 13:1). In Hebrew the word is "retet." It connotes "reverberation." When Ephraim speaks or acts it has a resonating effect on the rest of Israel.
Rabbi Valle comments:
# IT IS A KNOWN MATTER THAT ISRAEL DID NOT DESCEND INTO THE REALMS OF POLLUTION OTHER THAN FOR THE NEED TO CLARIFY HIS DESTINY. HE NEEDED TO FULFILL THE WILL OF GOD AND REFORM THE WORLD THROUGH REDIRECTING ITS FORCES. WHEN THIS IS DONE, THEY SHALL RETURN TO THEIR SOURCE. THERE WILL BE NO NEED TO REMAIN IN THAT SITUATION ANY MORE. THIS IS THE MEANING OF, 'EPHRAIM SHALL SAY, 'WHAT HAVE I TO DO ANYMORE WITH IDOLS?'" (Hosea 14:8). #
Rabbi Avraham Isaac HaKohen Kook (1865-1935) expounded on these matters several times (see "Eulogy to Theodore Herzl") and associated the task of Ephraim explained above to MBJ.
The Lost Ten Tribes and especially Britain and its Empire and the USA have fulfilled some of the goals pertaining to Ephraim in general and to MBJ in particular.
