A Historical Research of The Ten Tribes of ISRAEL Scattered Into The Nations • Part 2

A Historical Research of the
Ten Tribes Scattered
Into the Nations
Part 2
Judah and Ephraim Nations’ Divine Purpose,
their Violation of Torah and Covenant of
Mercy, the Kinsman Redeemer’s Role, and
Movement of the Ten Tribes Out of the Land
Israel Into a Further Northern Country
PROFESSOR WA LIEBENBERG

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A Historical Research of the Ten Tribes
Scattered Into the Nations
Part 2
by
By Prof (Dr) WA Liebenberg
Academic Proofread by: Ed Garner BTh. MSc.
The 1998 Scriptures Bible has been used as basis unless
otherwise referenced
All internet sites retrieved during March 2016
Distributed by:
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Email: products@hrti.co.za
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Acknowledgement
A special thank you to all who contributed to make this concise exposition of
A Historical Research of the Ten Tribes Scattered Into the Nations a reality. I
have cited you in the footnotes and salute you for your exceptional research
work, without your great insight this booklet would not be a reality. It is my
prayer that the citations will lead the readers to your individual work. This
series is written in such a way that it is easily understandable, yet
academically sound.
Special Thanks to These Expert Consultants
Disclaimer
1. This is an academic research and does not represent any specific religion.
2. Re-unification of the Two-Houses of Israel without proselytizing: The publishers of this series recognize
the extensive damage done to the Jewish people over the centuries by Christian attempts to convert them
to Christianity. We do not support any of these missionary activities, either historically or currently. If you
are Jewish, we, the researchers, do not wish to proselytize, to persuade you to accept any other beliefs, or
to influence you to abandon your historic and correct faith. Rather, we strive to influence non-Jews to
return to the Hebraic Roots of the Original One True Faith, to Jewish Halachah, to Rabbinic authority and
to Torah.
3. This research reflects the opinions of the following consultants listed below and they may not necessary
agree with the entire content of this research series.
Rabbi Avraham Feld. Founder of the Kol haTor Project: The Biblical
Prophetical Promise of the Restoration of the House of Israel:
http://www.kolhator.org.il/ He graduated at the Yeshiva College with
studies in Jewish philosophy and psychology, earning his Rabbinic
degree in 1983. His activities include extensive research projects for
politicians and commentators on several topics. He maintains serious
projects of rescue, in which field he holds world-wide reputation. He is
author and co-author of several religious research publications on
Biblical topics. (Israel)
Prof Lela Tsitsuashvili. PhD Art History, Curator, Head of Temporary
Exhibitions Department, Georgian National Museum, Tbilisi 0105,
Georgia. 3 Purtseladze Street, University of Georgia. 77a Kostava
Street, www.museum.ge
(Georgian Jew)

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Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum. Founded the Azamra Institute in 1986:
http://www.azamra.org/ He is an internationally-known Torah teacher,
author of over twenty-five books, gained his MA in classics and social
sciences at Cambridge University. As a Harkness Fellow he studied at
Harvard and Columbia, after which he spent four years as a BBC Radio
news commentator and producer. (Israel)
Yair Davidiy. Founder of the The Brit-Am / Hebrew Nations, Lost Ten
Tribes of Israel Movement: http://www.britam.org/ as well as Hebrew
Nations: Lost Ten Tribes of Israel: Research, Representation, and
Reconciliation: http://hebrewnations.com/about-us.html Brit-Am /
Hebrew Nations works to Research the Whereabouts of the Ten Tribes;
to Reveal (and Represent) the Findings and Implications of this
Research; and to bring about a Reconciliation between the present-day
Jews of Judah and the Ten Tribes in Western Nations. (Israel)
Inna Ruchyova: Investigative and Critical Analytical Journalist. Faculty
of Journalism, Social Psychology, Specific Methods of Sociological
Research, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University,
http://www.kaznu.kz/en/ (Russian Jew)
OvadYah Avrahami. co-Founder of the Kol haTor Project: Biblical
Prophetical Promise of the Restoration of the House of Israel:
http://www.kolhator.org.il/ OvadYah Avrahami is an independent
research scholar. His publications have been circulated internationally
since the early sixties and have affected the thinking and Scriptural
interpretation of non-Jewish Bible scholars on all levels - from novice
right through to academically qualified teachers world-wide. (Israel)
David Ben Melekh (David Jirkvalidze). Scientist, Researcher of the
Israelite Tribes and Genetic Linages through DNA Genetic Inheritance
Structures (J2 Haplogroup frequencies), and author of the "Book of
Books". Citizen of Georgia. (Georgian Jew)

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Judah and Ephraim Sent Out of the Land of Israel…
Introduction
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The history of the disappearance of the Ten Tribes of Israel is one of the
most mysterious topics for both the Jew and the Gentile. It is the story of
a spiritual resistance imbedded deep in the Jewish people, their
continuous courageous idealism driven by uncompromising faith for the
victory of good over evil.
Their forceful expulsion from their beloved land triggered them for a
desperate longing to the possibility of happiness and peace on earth
amongst the harsh Gentile nations, and the predestined history of the
long journey home.
You are about to embark on a journey to learn about the biggest love
story in human history.
In this part we have a holistic overview at the movement of the Tribes,
out of the Land of Israel after the Twelve-Tribe Kingdom was split into
two nations, unto a "new country".
Overview of the Divine Purpose of the Judah and Ephraim Nations
The Southern Nation, which consisted of the two tribes of Judah and
Benjamin, was known as "Judah," "The House of Judah" or "The Jews."
The capital of the Southern Nation was Jerusalem. The Northern Nation
consisted of ten tribes and was known as "Ephraim," "Yosef," "Israel,"
"House of Israel," "Israelites," "Lost Sheep of the House of Israel" and
the "Ten Israel."
This division of the Tribes of Israel into two nations was:
 Divinely Predetermined,
 Divinely Predicted,
 Divinely Emphasized,
 Divinely Maintained,
 Divinely Accomplished,
 Divinely Explained,
 Divinely Approved.
1
Kol HaTor: Leadership & Advisory Board consist of Rabbi Avraham Feld, Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum,
OvadYah Avrahami http://www.kolhator.org.il/ and Brit Am: Leadership Yair Davidiy
http://www.britam.org/ are experts in the scattering and regathering of the Ten Tribes. Much of their
work will be used during this research series. Please visit their Websites for additional information.

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The Scriptures show that this division into Two Kingdoms had behind it
and controlling it the fore-ordaining eternal councils of HaShem; and it
took place for great, beneficent, well-defined and Divine reasons.
Overview of Ephraim Violating Torah
In the Book of Hosea, HaShem's judgment upon the Northern Nation for
forsaking the Torah and the covenant that He made with Abraham was
cutting them off from His covenant and showing them "no mercy"
because they would be called "not my people".
2
Therefore, the judgment upon the Northern Nation of Israel/Ephraim
(who is prophetic Christianity) is summarized by the following
characteristics:
1) Being taken captive by the kingdom of Assyria (2 Kings 17:7-
23). Prophetically, because HaShem's people have forsaken
His Torah, HaShem's people would live in a worldly system
known as Egypt or Babylonian, and is based on a political,
economic and religious system that would be contrary to
HaShem's Word.
2) HaShem also declared that His judgement would be the
removal of her feast days, new moons, and Sabbaths
because Ephraim had worshiped idols (Hos 2:11, 4:17, 5:1-
2). Historically, HaShem removed the celebration of the
Sabbath and Biblical feast days from Christianity because she
forsook the Torah of HaShem after the days of the first
century church.
3) They would be dispersed, HaShem would show no mercy
toward them, and they would not be called His people.
However, later HaShem would show mercy upon His people
and redeem them (Hos 1:2-4, 6-10).
4) By rejecting HaShem's Torah, HaShem’s people would perish
for a lack of knowledge of His Word and therefore not be
kings and priests before HaShem (Hos 4:6). Obedience to
Torah was a condition for HaShem making His people kings
and priests before Him (Exod 19:5-6).
2
From the Book "Who is the Bride of Christ?" by Eddie Chumney
http://www.hebroots.org/hebrootsarchive/9904/9904_i.html

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The details of this divorce and the scattering of the Northern
Nation/Ten Israel are listed further below.
Overview of Judah Violating Torah
In the year 3327 Nebuchadnezzar, the mighty King of Babylon, besieged
Jerusalem with a huge army. King Jehoiachin (the second last King of
Judah), who had ascended the throne of Judea only 100 days earlier,
now surrendered, in order to avoid the destruction of the Holy City
Jerusalem.
Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin captive, together with his mother and
other members of the royal family. He also rounded up leading figures in
the land of Judea, including many scholars and elders, and led them all
to Babylon. Altogether some 10,000 captives were taken in this exile to
Babylon. In addition, the Babylonian king ransacked the royal treasury
as well as that of the Temple and took the spoils with him.
3
Before returning to his country, Nebuchadnezzar placed Zedekiah (the
last King of Judah), the uncle of the deposed king and youngest son of
the late King Josiah, on the throne of Judea, after taking an oath of
loyalty to his Babylonian overlord.
The new king, however, had no intention of remaining the obedient
servant of his Babylonian master, and secretly looked for a way of
throwing off the Babylonian yoke. With his chief officers and leaders of
his army gone, and the country greatly impoverished, Zedekiah knew
that he could not achieve independence without outside help. He turned
to Egypt for help, since the ever growing power of Babylon was a threat
to Egypt too. And he looked around for help also from neighbouring
kingdoms. The only real and sure help that was his for the asking - the
help of HaShem, the King recklessly ignored.
The prophet Jeremiah was the messenger from HaShem during that
time to warn the people of the mortal danger hanging over their heads.
Jeremiah did not cease calling on the Judah King and the people to
mend their ways and return to HaShem. He informed them that only
wholehearted repentance from violating Torah and a complete break
with the way of idolatry, injustice and immorality, could save the people
from doom. Jeremiah tried to convince the King that it was useless to
depend on false hopes of freeing himself from the Babylonian yoke with
3
Jeremiah's Message To The Exiles:
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/112493/jewish/Jeremiahs-Message-To-The-Exiles.htm

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the help of Egypt. The prophet sternly warned him to follow a peaceful
path with the mighty Babylonian, who was HaShem's rod to punish the
Jewish people if they persisted in their faithlessness.
The memory of the destruction and exile of the Northern Nation/Ten
Tribes by King Shalmaneser of Assyria (further below) more than a
century earlier (in 3205) had faded. The fall of Jehoiachin and the first
Babylonian captivity should have shaken up the people and the King to
heed to the warnings of the prophet Jeremiah, but it did not.
The king and the people were more inclined to listen to the false, self-
appointed "prophets," who misled them by their predictions of glorious
days ahead. These false prophets made them believe that the rise of
Babylon's power was only temporary, and that in a couple of years it
would break down. The people were inclined to follow the false prophets
because this did not call for them to alter their way of living and begin to
live the holy and moral life which HaShem's Torah and Mitzvos
4
demanded.
Jeremiah, on his part, appealed ever more strongly to the Jews, urging
them not to be misled by the false prophets. He also kept in touch with
the exiles in Babylon, encouraging them to hold on to their Jewish faith.
Indeed, having been driven from their land and forced to live among
non-Jews in a foreign land, it was more important than ever that they
should keep faith with HaShem and the Torah, till the time of salvation,
when HaShem would return them to their land.
According to the Book of Ezra, the Persian Cyrus the Great ended the
exile in 538 BCE
5
, the year after he captured Babylon
6
. The exile ended
with the return under Zerubbabel the Prince (so-called because he was a
descendant of the royal line of David) and Joshua the Priest (a
descendant of the line of the former High Priests of the Temple) and
their construction of the Second Temple in the period 521–516 BCE.
Jeremiah the prophet clearly says that Judah was never divorced and
therefore would eventually return to the Promised Land after her
repentance:
4
Commandments.
5
"Second Temple Period (538 BCE. to 70 CE) Persian Rule".
http://www.biu.ac.il/js/rennert/history_4.html Biu.ac.il. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
6
Harper's Bible Dictionary, ed. by Achtemeier, etc., Harper & Row, San Francisco, 1985, p.103.

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And I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Yisra’El
had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a
certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Yehudah did not
fear, but went and committed whoring too. (Jer 3:8)
The verse separates clearly between Israel and Judah, referring to the
Northern and Southern Nations.
So "Yisra’El" (Ephraim) ends up with a divorce. The exile of the Northern
Nation had no return and they were taken into the northern geographical
nations and eventually scattered into all the nations of the world. But
Judah "did not fear", and "committed whoring too," but the verse speaks
nothing of a firm divorce as with Ephraim.
Understanding HaShem's Covenant of Mercy with David
Even
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though both the Northern Nation and the Southern Nation forsook
HaShem's Torah and the covenant that HaShem made with Abraham,
HaShem allowed the tribe of Judah to remain because of HaShem's
promise of mercy given to David. In 1 Kings 11:31-32, 34-36, it is written:
31 and said to Yarob’am, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus
said HaShem, the Elohim of Yisra’El, ‘See, I am tearing the reign
out of the hand of Shelomoh and shall give ten tribes to you, 32
but he shall have one tribe for the sake of My servant Dawid,
and for the sake of Yerushalayim, the city which I have chosen
out of all the tribes of Yisra’El. ‘But I do not take all the reign out
of his hand, because I have made him ruler all the days of his life
for the sake of My servant Dawid, whom I chose because he
guarded My commands and My laws. 35 ‘And I shall take the
reign out of his son’s hand and give it to you, the ten tribes. 36
‘And to his son I give one tribe, so that My servant Dawid shall
always have a lamp before Me in Yerushalayim, the city which I
have chosen for Myself, to put My Name there.
HaShem's covenant of mercy with David is found in Psalm 89:1-4 as it
is written:
1 I sing of the kindnesses of HaShem forever; With my mouth I
make known Your trustworthiness To all generations. 2 For I
said, “Kindness is built up forever; You establish Your
trustworthiness in the heavens.” 3 You said, “I have made a
7
Thank you to Eddie Chumney for his insight on the article "Covenant of Mercy with David".

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covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to My servant
Dawid: 4 ‘I establish your seed forever, And shall build up your
throne to all generations.’” Selah.
HaShem’s covenant of mercy to David is an everlasting covenant. In
Isaiah 55:1-3 it is written:
1 Oh everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. And you who
have no silver, come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk
without silver and without price. 2 Why do you weigh out silver
for what is not bread, and your labour for what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to Me, and eat what is good, and let your being
delight itself in fatness. 3 Incline your ear, and come to Me.
Hear, so that your being lives. And let Me make an everlasting
covenant with you, the trustworthy kindnesses of Dawid.
HaShem made an everlasting promise of mercy to David and his
descendants so that HaShem could fulfill His covenant with Abraham. In
Psalm 89:28-37 it is written:
28 I guard My kindness for him forever, And My covenant is
steadfast with him. 29 And I shall establish his seed forever,
And his throne as the days of the heavens. 30 If his sons forsake
My Torah And do not walk in My right-rulings, 31 If they profane
My laws And do not guard My commands, 32 Then I shall visit
their transgression with the rod, And their crookedness with
flogging. 33 But My kindness I do not take away from him,
Nor be false to My trustworthiness. 34 I shall not profane My
covenant, Neither would I change what has gone out from
My lips. 35 Once I have sworn by My set-apartness, I do not
lie to Dawid: 36 His seed shall be forever, And his throne as the
sun before Me; 37 Like the moon, it is established forever, And
the witness in the heaven is steadfast. Selah.
HaShem promised David that even though HaShem's people would
break His Torah, HaShem would extend His mercy to them forever.
HaShem promised that one from the seed of David would sit on the
throne of David forever. This would be fulfilled through the Moshiach.
HaShem chose to show mercy upon the house of David and the tribe of
Judah because David kept the Commandments (Torah) of HaShem (1
Kings 11:32, 34). HaShem did this for the sake of the city of Jerusalem
(1 Kings 11:32). Therefore, HaShem’s promise of mercy to David was
given as an extension of HaShem's covenant with Abraham so that
HaShem could fulfill His covenant that He made with Abraham.

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The Role of The Kinsman Redeemer to Save HaShem's People For
Violating Torah
Because HaShem had cut off His covenant relationship with the
Northern Nation of Israel, HaShem made a provision in the Torah that a
near Kinsman could redeem His brothers if their covenant was cut off
from HaShem. In Lev 25:25 it is written:
When your brother becomes poor, and has sold some of his
possession, and his redeemer, a close relative comes to
redeem it, then he shall redeem what his brother sold.
Since the Northern Nation had sold their covenant inheritance with
HaShem by committing spiritual whoredom and forsaking the Torah and
worshiping other gods, HaShem made provision in the Torah that one of
his brothers (a member of the Southern Nation, the house of Judah, the
Jewish people) could redeem her. Therefore, Moshiach, a Jew from the
seed of David, needed to redeem the Northern Nation who was cut off
from their covenant relationship with HaShem. In doing this, this
covenant would be restored, which is also Torah based. In Jer 31:33 it is
written:
“See, the days are coming,” declares HaShem, “when I shall
make a new covenant with the house of Yisra’El and with the
house of Yehudah.
Now that we have the overview of the reasons and dispersions of the
Northern and Southern Nations as well as the covenantal requirements
and expectations, we need to research the details on how the Northern
Ten-Tribe Nation was taken into the nations north of Israel…
The Movement of the Ten Tribes Out of the Land of Israel
Into a Further Northern Country
Introduction
The dispersion of the Israelites happened basically over a period of eight
hundred years. During this period there were three migrations that took
place with other smaller ones. For the purpose of this research the author
will only focus on the main migration of the Ten Tribes (Migration 1 below)
which happened before the Babylonian migration (Migration 2 below) of the
Southern Two Tribes (Southern Nation):

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Migration 1: Northern Ten Tribes into Assyria/Mede then further north –
the purpose of this research.
Migration 2: Southern Two Tribes into Babylon – will be discussed
holistically but will not be focused on.
Migration 3: Last migration during the destruction of the Temple during
70 CE – will not be discussed or be focused on.
References could be made to this for informative reasons.
Suggested Dates of the Various Migrations
Migration 1: Northern Ten Tribes into Assyria/Mede then further north.
Dates according to Chabad.org: In the year 3154 after
creation, one hundred and ninety years after the two
kingdoms had split, the Assyrians invaded the land of
Israel. It was in the year 3187 that the first of the Ten
Tribes of the Northern Nation were exiled. It was in the year
3205 that the rest of the Ten Tribes were exiled
8
.
Dates according to Wikipedia: The captivities began in
approximately 740 BCE. In 722 BCE, nearly twenty years
after the initial deportations, the ruling city of the Northern
Nation of Israel, Samaria, was finally taken by Sargon II,
ruler of the Assyrian Empire, after a three-year siege
started by Shalmaneser V, king of Assyria.
9
Dates according to The Books of Kings and
Chronicles: The captivities began in 733/2 BCE.
10
Dates according to The History of the Georgian Jews:
In 745-727 BCE the Assyrian king Tiglath-pilesar III took
Galilee and in 722 BCE took Samaria and most were taken
captive
11
.
Migration 2: Southern Two Tribes into Babylon.
The Assyrian Empire was conquered by Babylon and the
Southern Nation’s Two Tribes were taken to Babylon.
8
The Exile of the Ten Lost Tribes, Chabad:
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1679684/jewish/The-Exile-of-the-Ten-Lost-Tribes.htm
9
Assyrian captivity, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assyrian_captivity#cite_ref-
ReferenceA_1-0
10
The Books of Kings and Chronicles modern view by Umberto Cassuto and Elia Samuele Artom (1981)
11
Prof Elder Mamistvalishvili (2014), The History of the Georgian Jews. Georgian Academic Book. P. 21.
ISBN 978-9941-9372-7-9.
Dunn, James G.; Rogerston, John William (2003). Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. Wm. B.
Eerdmans Publishing. p. 545. ISBN 978-0-8028-3711-0.

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Dates according to Chabad.org: The First Temple’s
destruction in the year 3338 (from creation) and the
Babylonian exile until the construction of the Second
Temple in year 3408
12
.
Dates according to Wikipedia: In 605 BCE,
Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, besieged Jerusalem
The first deportations started in 597 BCE
13
.
Dates according to Eerdmans Commentary on the
Bible: The first deportations started in 587/586 BCE, and
582/581 BCE
14
.
Dates according to The History of the Georgian Jews:
In 597 BCE Nebuchadnezzar II king of Babylon fought
against Jerusalem and took the Jews to Babylon. By 586
BCE he took most of the Jews into captivity
15
.
Migration 3: Last migration during the destruction of the Temple during
70 CE: All credible sources agree on 70 CE.
The Apocryphal Writings Concerning Migration 1
The Scriptures of the TaNaCh
16
are not sufficiently detailed and therefore
we will look at other records, for example the Apocryphal
17
writings. The
Apocryphal writings in conjunction with the TaNaCh present a more
complete record of the dispersion of the Northern Ten Tribes. Thus, the
12
Babylonian Exile, Chabad: http://www.chabad.org/search/keyword_cdo/kid/18084/jewish/Browse-
by-Subject.htm
13
Babylonian captivity, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonian_captivity#cite_ref-3
14
15
Prof Elder Mamistvalishvili (2014), The History of the Georgian Jews. Georgian Academic Book. P. 21.
ISBN 978-9941-9372-7-9.
16
Hebrew Bible, what Christians call the "Old Testament".
17
Meaning secret or hidden. By this word is generally meant those sacred books of the Jewish people
that were not included in the Hebrew Bible. They are valuable as forming a link connecting the Old and
New Covenants and are regarded as useful reading, although not all the books are of equal value. In
the first book, Esdras 3:1–5:6, is a story that tells how Zerubbabel by his wisdom as page of Darius won
the king’s favour and obtained permission to restore the captive Jews to their own country. This
section is entirely independent of the canonical Scriptures. Of the date of the compilation of the book
we know nothing save that its contents were known to Josephus (born CE 38). The second book of
Esdras contains seven visions or revelations made to Ezra, who is represented as grieving over the
afflictions of his people and perplexed at the triumph of gentile sinners. The book is marked by a tone
of deep sadness. The only note of consolation is presented in the thought of the retribution that is to
fall upon the heads of the gentiles who have crushed the Jews. The references to the Moshiach (7:28–
29; 12:32; 13:32, 37, 52) deserve special notice. Many scholars agree the book was composed in the
1st century CE.

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historical accuracy by the prophet Ezra is better understood when the
details of the 1st and 2nd Esdras are referenced, since this is where a more
complete history of the dispersion of the Northern Kingdom’s Tribes is
seen:
29 Behold, the days come, when the most High will begin to
deliver them that are upon the earth.
30 And he shall come to the astonishment of them that dwell on
the earth.
31 And one shall undertake to fight against another, one city
against another, one place against another, one people against
another, and one realm against another.
32 And the time shall be when these things shall come to pass,
and the signs shall happen which I shewed thee before, and
then shall my Son be declared, whom thou sawest as a man
ascending.
33 And when all the people hear his voice, every man shall in their
own land leave the battle they have one against another.
34 And an innumerable multitude shall be gathered together,
as thou sawest them, willing to come, and to overcome him by
fighting.
35 But he shall stand upon the top of the mount Sion.
36 And Sion shall come, and shall be shewed to all men, being
prepared and builded, like as thou sawest the hill graven without
hands.
37 And this my Son shall rebuke the wicked inventions of those
nations, which for their wicked life are fallen into the tempest;
38 And shall lay before them their evil thoughts, and the torments
wherewith they shall begin to be tormented, which are like unto a
flame: and he shall destroy them without labour by the law
which is like unto me.
39 And whereas thou sawest that he gathered another peaceable
multitude unto him;
40 Those are the ten tribes, which were carried away prisoners out
of their own land in the time of Osea
18
the king, whom
Salmanasar
19
the king of Assyria led away captive, and he carried
them over the waters, and so came they into another land.
41 But they took this counsel among themselves, that they would
leave the multitude of the heathen, and go forth into a further
country, where never mankind dwelt,
18
King Hoshea, the last king of the Northern Nation (2 Kings 15:30).
19
Shalmaneser V was king of Assyria from 726 to 722 BCE. He first appears as governor of Zimirra in
Phoenicia in the reign of his father, Tiglath-Pileser III. Evidence pertaining to his reign is scarce.

14
42 That they might there keep their statutes, which they never kept
in their own land.
43 And they entered into Euphrates by the narrow places of
the river.
44 For the most High then shewed signs for them, and held still the
flood, till they were passed over.
45 For through that country there was a great way to go,
namely, of a year and a half: and the same region is called
Arsareth.
46 Then dwelt they there until the latter time; and now when they
shall begin to come,
47 The Highest shall stay the springs of the stream again, that they
may go through: therefore sawest thou the multitude with peace.
48 But those that be left behind of thy people are they that are
found within my borders. (2 Esdras 13:29–48, emphases those of
the author)
20
Facts derived from 2 Esdras chapter 13:
1) the Most High will begin to deliver them,
2) one shall undertake to fight against another (it will be during a
time of conflict),
3) signs shall happen which I shewed thee before,
4) then shall My Son be declared (Moshiach),
5) innumerable multitude shall be gathered together, willing to
come and to overcome Him (Moshiach) by fighting,
6) He (Moshiach) shall stand upon the top of the mount Sion,
7) He (Moshiach) shall destroy them without labour by the law
8) (Moshiach) will gather another peaceable multitude unto him
9) those are the Ten Tribes,
10) who were carried over the waters,
11) into another land,
12) then they counsel among themselves that they would leave
the multitude of the heathen (now in Assyria/Mede)
13) into a further country, where never mankind dwelt,
14) then they entered into Euphrates by the narrow places of the
river,
15) that country there was a great way to go, namely, of a year
and a half: and the same region is called Arsareth, and
16) they were there until the latter time.
20
2 Esdras chapter 13, King James Version:
http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/book.php?book=2+Esdras&chapter=13&verse=40

15
The TaNaCh, the Apocryphal writing Esdras, Jewish literature and historical
writings, as well as non-Jewish literature and historical writings must
therefore all be in agreement to give us the full picture of the details of the
migration of the Northern Nation’s Ten Tribes to "this further land in the
north".
Issues in the Land of Israel Before Leaving
In the year 3154
21
, one hundred and ninety years after the two kingdoms
had split, Menahem ben Gadi
22
seized the throne by assassinating
Shallum
23
—who had ruled for a mere month—and became the sixteenth
king of Israel (Ten Israel). It was during his reign that the Assyrians
invaded the land of Israel. King Menahem, a brutal monarch who at the
slightest hint of rebellion would destroy entire cities, had to contend both
with his rapidly decreasing popularity and with the Assyrian invasion. As
such, rather than resist the invaders, he preferred to levy a heavy tax on
his subjects in order to pay tribute to the Assyrians in exchange for a
promise to support his rule.
24
The weight of Assyria’s dominion over the land of Israel began to bear
down more heavily. King Pekah
25
seized the throne after assassinating
King Pekahiah
26
, Menahem’s son. Seeing that there was no escape from
complete subjugation by Assyria, he joined the revolt which King Rezin
of Syria
27
had organized against Assyria, in the hope of enlisting Egypt
in an effort to stem the tide of the Assyrian conquest.
After King Jotham (and later his son King Ahaz) of Judea refused to join
the revolt against the Assyrians, Pekah and Rezin invaded Judea, killing
scores of its inhabitants. King Achaz then appealed to King Tiglath-
Pileser of Assyria to come to his rescue. King Tiglath-Pileser jumped at
the opportunity and marched into Syria, defeated King Rezin and
annexed his land, making it one of Assyria’s provinces. He then turned
against Israel and annexed part of the land, taking the tribes of
21
The Exile of the Ten Lost Tribes, Chabad:
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1679684/jewish/The-Exile-of-the-Ten-Lost-Tribes.htm
22
2 Kings 15:14.
23
2 Kings 15:10.
24
2 Kings 15:17–23.
25
2 Kings 15:25.
26
2 Kings 15:22.
27
Ruled from Damascus during the 8th century BCE. During his reign, he was a tributary of King
Tiglath-pileser III of Assyria. The last of the kings of Syria who reigned in Damascus (2 Kings 15:37;
16:5-10; Isaiah 7:1; 8:4-7). Along with Pekah, the son of Remaliah, who reigned 20 years over Israel in
Samaria, he joined in the Syro-Ephraimitic war against Ahaz, the king of Judah. Together they laid siege
to Jerusalem, but were unsuccessful in the effort to take it (2 Kings 16:5; Isaiah 7:1).

16
Naphtali
28
and Zebulun
29
captive. Thus it was, in the year 3,187, that the
first of the Ten Tribes of the northern kingdom were exiled.
30
That very same year, the Assyrian king organized a revolt against King
Pekah under the leadership of Hoshea son of Elah, who assassinated
the king and was then appointed as a vassal
31
of Assyria.
It was in the year 3195, the eighth year of Hoshea’s service as a vassal
to Assyria, that the Assyrians captured the Reubenites, the Gadites, and
half the tribe of Manasseh
32
, and exiled them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and
the Gozan River as the first deportation. They took with them the idol
that King Jeroboam had set up in Bethel to replace the Holy Temple.
33
Seeing this, Hoshea rebelled against the Assyrians and sent
messengers to the king of Egypt for support. He then appointed himself
as an independent king over the remnants of the northern kingdom
34
.
Additionally, he removed the blockade which had stood for hundreds of
years on the road to Jerusalem, finally giving the Israelites the choice of
either serving HaShem in the Holy Temple or continuing to practise
idolatry
35
. This is the meaning of what the verse describes with regards
to Hoshea:
And he did what was evil in the eyes of HaShem, though not like
the kings of Israel who had preceded him. (2 Kings 17:2)
28
2 Kings 15:29.
29
Isaiah 9:1
30
According to Tana D’vei Eliyahu Zuta 17; Talmud, Pesachim 87b, the tribes of Reuben and Gad were
exiled earlier.
31
A person granted the use of land, in return for rendering homage, fealty, and usually military service
or its equivalent to a lord or other superior
32
1 Chronicles 5:26. See also Rashi to II Kings 17:1 and 1 Chron 26:32. The verse in Chronicles 5
mentions both Kings Pul and Tillegath-Pilneser as having exiled the tribes of Reuben, Gad and
Manasseh. Some commentators (see Malbim to Chronicles ibid.) reconcile this discrepancy by
explaining that King Pul exiled only part of those tribes; the rest of them were exiled at a later date.
33
See commentary of Rashi to 2 Kings 17:2, and Seder Olam Rabbah 2. The one that Jeroboam had
placed in Dan was taken into exile earlier, with the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was a
fulfillment of the prophesy in Hosea 10:5–6: “Because of the calves of Beth-aven, the neighbors in
Samaria shall be frightened, for its people shall mourn over it, and its priests would rejoice over it,
because of its glory, for it has been exiled from it. That too shall be carried off to Assyria, a gift to King
Yareb; Ephraim shall take shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his counsel.”
34
See commentary of Metzudat David to II Kings 17:1.
35
Talmud, Taanit 30b–31a and Gittin 88a.

17
Nevertheless, although the sentries were removed, the Jews continued
in their idolatrous ways and did not go up to the Holy Temple in
Jerusalem
36
.
When Shalmaneser, who had succeeded Tiglath-Pileser as king of
Assyria, heard of Hoshea’s rebellion, he ravaged what was left of the
land of Israel and laid siege to the capital city of Samaria. After three
years, the city finally fell, and they razed the city to the ground, not even
leaving any of its foundations standing
37
. They then took all of its
inhabitants, including the remaining inhabitants of the northern kingdom
and their king, as captives
38
.
Thus it was in the year 3205, at the end of the reign of King Hoshea, the
nineteenth king of the northern tribes—coinciding with the sixth year of
the reign of King Hezekiah of Judea—that the northern kingdom fell and
the rest of the Ten Tribes were exiled.
The First Tribes to Leave the Land
According to some opinions
39
, it was during his reign that the Assyrians,
under the leadership of King Pul, captured the Reubenites, the Gadites,
and half the Tribe of Manasseh, and exiled them to Halah, Habor, Hara,
and the Gozan River.
36
The sages tell us that it was King Hoshea’s removal of the blockade that brought the final
dismantling of the remainder of the northern kingdom. For as long as it was the king’s guards who
prevented the Jews from going up to the Holy Temple, the Jews were held only partially responsible.
However, once the guards were removed but the Jews nevertheless did not go to serve G‑d in His Holy
Temple, the fate of the remnants of the northern kingdom was sealed. Thus the prophet Hosea says
(Hosea 5:3): “I knew Ephraim, and Israel was not hidden from Me, for now you have committed
harlotry, O Ephraim; Israel was defiled.” In other words, it is only now that their idolatry is compared
to harlotry (see Talmud, Gittin 88a). See also Jerusalem Talmud, Taanit 4:7, and Tana D’vei Eliyahu Zuta
9:4, which explain that until now the blame and punishment was on the individual, namely the king,
but now he had taken the blame off himself and placed it upon the public. The sages thus say
regarding one who starts a good deed but does not finish it, that he is held accountable for the lives of
his family. For if King Hoshea would have just taken things a step further and removed the idols and
compelled the Jews to go up to Jerusalem, this final exile could have been avoided.
37
Micah 1:6.
38
Subsequently, the Assyrians resettled the northern kingdom with foreigners. This was in keeping
with the Assyrian policy of relocating their captives, in order to strengthen their hand and erase any
strong feelings their subjects may have for the land. These new inhabitants are variously called
Cutheans and Samaritans (see II Kings 17:24).
39
See 1 Chron 5:26. See commentaries of Rabbi Elijah of Vilna and Rabbi Meir Leibush ben Yechiel
Michel (Malbim).

18
The Midrash
40
records a dispute as to which Tribes were exiled first.
Rabbi Elazar is of the opinion that the Tribes of Reuben and Gad were
exiled first, and Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman is of the opinion that the
Tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali were exiled first. This disagreement
stems from the fact that the account in Kings (as opposed to the one in
Chronicles) makes no mention of King Pul taking the Tribes of Reuben
and Gad captive.
Those who are of the opinion that the Rebunites and Gadites were
exiled first are in keeping with the Midrash
41
, which states that the Tribes
of Reuben and Gad were the first to be exiled, as punishment for not
wanting to take a portion in the land of Israel proper, and instead settling
on "the other side" of the Jordan River.
In order to simplify matters, this research follows the opinion of Rabbi
Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi) in his commentaries on 2 Kings 17:1 and the
simple literal reading of Kings, which mentions first the exile of the Tribe
of Naphtali during the reign of King Pekah.
The Immediate Areas of Deportation
The verses describing the exile of the Ten Tribes by the Assyrians
comprise only a few short passages in 2 Kings and 1 Chronicles. The
text mentions some of the places the tribes were sent: Halah, Habor,
Hara, the Gozan River and the cities of Media.
42
The sages of the
Talmud place some of these locations in what are now Iraq, Iran and
Syria.
The five regions of deportation were:
1) Halah,
2) Habor or Lahlah
3) Hara,
4) River Gozan, and
5) the cities of Media
40
Lamentations Rabbah, Introduction 5.
41
Numbers Rabbah 22:7.
42
2 Kings 17:6, 18:11 and 1 Chron 5:26.

19
According to Jewish resources
43
these areas are:
Halah is Halazon (1): According to the commentary of Rashi on
Kiddushin 72a, Halazon is the name of a river. According to
Rabbi Nathan ben Jehiel of Rome (Aruch), the text should read
"Halwan," which was a locality of Media about forty parasangs
(an ancient Persian measurement) from Baghdad.
Habor is Hadayeb (2): It is usually identified with the ancient
kingdom known as Adiabene, a region between the rivers
Caprus and Lycus in Assyria, southeast of Lake Van in what is
today northern Iraq.
Hara is Haran (3): The area north west of Habor. It is situated
between the Gozan River and the Euphrates River in today’s
Syria.
The river of Gozan is Ginzak (4): Variously identified with
Ganzak, the capital of Media Atropatene (south of Tabriz in
present-day north-western Iran), or an area in northeastern Syria
on the Khabur River.
The cities of Media are Hamadan and its neighboring towns (5):
Hamadan is the capital of ancient Media which is in western Iran
today. Some say the cities of Media are Nihar. In Kiddushin the
reading is "Nihavand," a city south of Hamadan, and its
neighbouring towns which are Kerech, Mushchei, Hidki and
Dumakaya.
Please see the following map.
43
Chabad.org: Where Are the Ten Lost Tribes?
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2500863/jewish/footnoteRef1a2500863

20
Prophecy has it that the Ten Tribes MUST return. HaShem bellows out:
 He WILL raise the Tribes and restore them,
 the Tribes have been given as a light to the NATIONS of the
world,
 so that salvation can reach all the nations at the ENDS of the
earth, the uttermost parts,
 they will come from FAR AWAY,
 from the NORTH of Israel,
 from the WEST of Israel, and
 from the land of SINIM.
5 And now HaShem says, who formed me in the womb to be his
servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be
gathered to him, for I am honoured in the sight of Adonai, and
my Elohim has become my strength, 6 he says, 'It is too light a
thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of
Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you
as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the
ends of the earth.'… 12 See, these come from far away, and
Map of the Assyrian empire. At its peak, the Assyrian empire stretched from Cyprus in the
Mediterranean Sea to Persia, and from the Caucasus Mountains to the Arabian Peninsula and
Egypt: http://visualunit.me/2010/05/19/assyrian-empire/
12
3 4
5

21
see, those from the north and the west, and these from the
land of Sinim. (Isaiah 49:5-6, 12)
As we analyze the
following text we derive the
facts that the wanderings
of the Lost tribes initially
moved northwards into the
Assyrian Empire, and later
from there into the various
directions unto the farthest
parts of the landmass
areas. Into all of these
nations the Lost Tribes left
their proof, offspring, and
their spiritual traditions
behind.
The land of Sinim according Isaiah 49:12 is widely accepted by leading
Jewish scholars, as a land south and south-east of Israel in the farthest
most corners of the earth, which makes it South Africa, Australia and
New Zealand.
44
Meaning the Ten Tribers WILL also return to Israel from
these areas in the last days!
Let’s now have a look at the details of 2 Esdras chapter 13 again…
Crossing Over the Waters
The chronological facts derived from this passage in 2 Esdras chapter
13 are as follow. Please see the list on page 14. Please also note the
fixed order of the deportation, starting with point 9, which is of vital
importance:
10) who were carried over the waters (fact 1 – which waters?),
11) into another land (fact 2 – we have established that it is
Assyria and Mede, then from there to the north, west and
Sinim),
12) they counselled among themselves (first) that they would
leave the multitude of the heathen (in Assyria and Mede)
(fact 3 – after arriving in Assyria and Mede, then they
44
Yair Davidiy, Australia and the Ten Tribes: http://hebrewnations.com/articles/biblical-
proof/geo/australia1.html#a5
Map curtesy of Britam:
http://www.britam.org/River.html

22
counselled amongst these heathens to leave them for a better
place),
13) to go in a further country, where never mankind dwelt (fact
4 – they went further from Assyria and Mede into "another
country" and where they settled in a new area where nobody
dwelled and where they will not be oppressed. Which
country’s geographical area was this?),
14) then they returned to the Euphrates and entered into it by
the narrow places of the river (fact 5 – they then actioned this
plan and crossed the Euphrates River and the narrow areas),
and a half: and the same region is called Arsareth (fact 6 –
this area of settlement took a tribe 1,5 years by foot to reach,
which area was this that was called "Arsareth"?), and
16) they were there until the latter time (fact 7 – the tribes must
still be heavily present in this geographical area and must
remain there till the latter times).
The Assyrians began invading the
Northern Ten Tribe Kingdom on the
western side of the Galilee and took
the tribe of Naphtali first. Naphtali’s
area of settlement was on the western
side of the Upper and part of the Lower
Jordan River and Naphtali people
therefore were "carried over the
waters", meaning over the two parts of
the Jordan River.
Crossing the waters happened first
when they left the land of Israel. There
was then (and is even today) only one
prominent river which separated Israel
from Assyria, and it is the Jordan River.
This then means that the tribes had to
cross the two parts of Jordan River
(waters) first before they reached
Assyria.
Life in Assyria
The ancient Assyrian Empire was the most horrendous, dreadful and
hideous of all ancient warrior kingdoms. This was the devastating fate
Upper and
Lower Jordan

23
awaiting the rebellious Israelites of the Northern Kingdom
45
. The
Scripture hints to their inhuman cruelty:
And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out
the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass,
and carried him to Babylon. (2 Kings 25:7 KJV)
Historians through the ages have been researching the most extreme
forms of torture in the ancient world. Julius Caesar reckoned that he had
1,192,000 enemies killed during his reign. Meanwhile the Emperor
Tiberius would have young men's urethras laced shut before force-
feeding them wine. It sounds bad, but were these the cruelest of them
all?
46
There are many examples revealing Assyrian ruthlessness. HaShem
allowed the ruthless Assyrians to capture the Northern Kingdom of Israel
because of their rebellion against Him – their blatant refusal to have faith
in Him only and to uphold His Torah Commandments!
The Assyrians seem to have been the masters of brutality. They were
the most extreme about the grisly ends they wreaked upon their
enemies. "I will hack up the flesh and then carry it with me, to show off in
other countries," bellowed out by Ashurbanipal, an Assyrian king who
reigned from 668 to 627 BCE. And his heir liked to cut open the bellies
of his opponents "as though they were young rams." In his book "The
king was the deadliest," explains Prof. Dr. Andreas Fuchs, a specialist in
the study of the Assyrians
47
, "It was he alone who decided what would
happen to the victims. The ability to make those decisions was the very
essence of personal, royal power."
During the Assyrian reign a captured king was taken to the capital and
compelled to pull the royal chariot of triumph. Rings were put through
their lips or noses and sometimes hands, feet, noses and ears were cut
off, they were blinded and their tongues were torn from their mouths,
from hence the verse:
45
Ancient Torture: http://www.bible-history.com/sketches/assyria/torturing-prisoners.html
46
The Worst Ways to Die: Torture Practices of the Ancient World by Matthias Schulz:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/the-worst-ways-to-die-torture-practices-of-the-ancient-
world-a-625172.html
47
Prof. Dr. Andreas Fuchs’s work is also referred by The Oxford Handbook of Cuneiform Culture.
Profile of Prof. Fuchs’: http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/fakultaeten/philosophische-
fakultaet/fachbereiche/altertums-und-kunstwissenschaften/ianes/mitarbeiterinnen/altorientalische-
philologie/fuchs-andreas-apl-prof-dr.html

24
Because your rage against Me and your pride have come up to
My ears, I shall put My hook in your nose and My bridle in
your lips, and I shall turn you back by the way which you came.
(Isaiah 37:29)
The judges of Assyria were outright barbaric. The cutting off of feet, lips
and noses, blinding, gutting and the tearing out of the heart were all
standard punishments in this corner of the ancient world whilst the
person was still alive.
Next is a short overview regarding what inhuman torture techniques the
Ten Tribers were confronted with upon their arrival in the Assyrian
Empire…
Crucifixion:
Crucifixion
48
was among the most gruesome and painful of
ancient execution methods and was practised from about the 6th
century BCE until the 4th century CE, mainly among the
Seleucids, Carthaginians, Persians and Romans. The
condemned person was tied (or nailed) to a large wooden cross
and left to hang till dead. Their dead body was then left on
display as a warning. Sometimes, the victim was ordered to carry
their own crossbeam – which weighed about 35-60 kg (75-125
pounds) – on their shoulders to the place of execution. This was
done to humiliate them, and, to this end they were also ordered
to be hung up naked.
The Ashes:
Researchers have also exposed the generally mild-mannered
Persian Empire (Medo cites the Ten Tribers being taken there
also). There was a Persian practice often mentioned that had
always puzzled researchers. Now, together with experts in
forensic medicine from Cologne, the Basel-based historian Prof
Bruno Jacobs
49 50
has managed to solve this mystery. The
sentence, "throw them into the ashes" meant that the candidate
would have to stand for days in a room filled with ash nearly to
the roof. At some stage the person would collapse from fatigue,
at which point they would breathe the ash in. Even if they
48
10 Most Brutal Execution Methods of Ancient Civilization: http://scribol.com/anthropology-and-
history/history/10-most-brutal-execution-methods-of-ancient-civilization
49
Profile of Prof. Bruno Jacobs: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruno_Jacobs
50
Work of Dr Bruno Jacobs: http://unibas.academia.edu/BrunoJacobs/Followers

25
managed to pick themselves up, their lungs would fill up with
grey flakes sooner or later. This would cause a slow and
agonizing suffocation death.
The Tub:
The punishment of "sitting in the tub" saw the convicted person
placed in a wooden tub with only their head sticking out. The
executioner would then paint the victim's face with milk and
honey. Flies would begin to swarm around the victim's nose and
eyelids. The victim was also fed regularly and fairly soon, they
would virtually be swimming in their own excrement. At which
stage maggots and worms would devour their body whilst
decaying alive.
51
Scaphism:
This is an ancient Persian method that involves a lot of sick
activities. The victim was stripped naked and well tied to tree
trunks or boats. The executioner forced the victim to ingest milk
and honey until they developed severe diarrhoeia. Also, because
that was not enough, they also rubbed some of the honey on the
body for the insects; after that he was just left in the sun. Apart
from attracting a lot of flies and mosquitoes that would bite your
skin because you were covered in honey, they would also leave
their eggs on the victim’s body and the person who was torturing
the victim would come back every day and give him some more
honey. This would last for a very long time, days at an end.
Death was usually caused by dehydration, starvation or festering
shock. However, if the victim was fortunate, they would develop
delirium early on, but that usually took a few days. Some records
of this method state that people survived even 17 days before
dying.
Staking/Impalement:
Staking involved the executioner hammering a stake through the
victim's lubricated anus, vagina through the side or even through
the mouth, causing deep bleeding and painful wounds. The goal
was to place the rounded, wooden stake so carefully that it only
just pushed the internal organs aside. Many victims lived for
51
Extreme Formen von Gewalt in Bild und Text des Altertums (Extreme Violence in the Visuals and Texts
of Antiquity) by Martin Zimmerman, a professor of ancient history in Munich.

26
days skewered like this. This was among the most revolting of
punishments ever imagined. Though rarely practised,
impalement was truly horrifying. They were then dropped into
their own grave. The victim endured a long period of continued
suffering before their death. Sometimes, before execution, the
victim was asked to dig their own grave too.
Flaying:
Flaying was an ancient practice, inflicted on criminals, captured
soldiers or even their own corrupted official. Flaying actually
means skinning. This was one of the most uncivilized methods of
torture and punishment ever practised. Brutal to the bone, it
involved removing the skin from the body of a still living prisoner.
The victim was flayed alive as part of a public execution, after
which the skin was nailed to the wall as a warning, so that
others, would heed the lesson and never ever dare to defy the
law of the land. Their skins were also hung near enemy city
gates in order to enforce acknowledgment of rule. Most of the
time these bloody and brutal pieces of drama were played out on
the home turf of the conquered enemy. Artists immortalized the
gruesome sights and these terrifying pictures served as
educational material to the masses. After victims were skinned
alive they were then set on fire. Apparently Assyrians were even
more inventive and they captured the children of their enemies
which were flayed before the eyes of their
parents. Very popular too, flaying was
used to remove the skin from the face as
well. Practising Torah-observance was
absolutely forbidden amongst the Ten
Tribers in this foreign empire, and those
doing so would face this horrific death.
Sawing:
You can grasp what this execution
procedure was about by its name. It
involved hanging the helpless condemned
person upside down and then slicing them
down the middle, starting at the groin. It
was a gross procedure to say the least…
Bleeding severely but still alive and
conscious – the thought alone is enough
to make you throw up. As the condemned

27
was hanged upside down, their brain received enough blood
supply, so they remained alive in spite of the pain and severe
bleeding. According to some religious histories, the prophet
Isaiah was executed in this manner.
In the Ancient Near Eastern cultures, where there were large states
peopled by many different ethnicities, leaders demonstrated their might
by inventing ingenious new tortures and agonizing methods of execution,
as a way to keep the population obedient. Would you as a Ten Triber
remain in conditions like this or try to relocate to a better place?
Forced Northward
Assyria, named for the god Ashur (the highest in the pantheon of
Assyrian gods), was located in the Mesopotamian plain
52
. It was
bordered on the west by the Syrian Desert, on the south by Babylonia,
and on the north and east by the Persian and Urarthian hills
53
. This area
today is primarily the nation of Iraq.
Assyria’s ascent as a formidable power in the Near East was due in large
measure to strong and ferocious kings who increased her borders and
subjected other nations as tributaries. Assyria first became an
independent nation between 1813 and 1781 BCE under Shamshi-Adad
54
.
Other powerful kings who left their mark on Assyrian history included:
 Tiglath-pileser I (1115–1077 BCE),
 Ashurnasirpal II (883–859 BCE),
 Shalmaneser III (858–824 BCE),
 Shamshi-Adad V (824–811 BCE),
 Tiglath-pileser III (744–727 BCE),
 Shalmaneser V (726–722 BCE) (Ten Tribers’ deportation to
Assyria started during this reign),
 Sargon II (721–705 BCE),
 Sennacherib (704–681 BCE),
 Esarhaddon (680–669 BCE), and
 Ashurbanipal (668–627 BCE)
55
.
52
The Assyrian Conquest and the Lost Tribes: https://www.lds.org/manual/old-testament-student-
manual-kings-malachi/enrichment-d?lang=eng
53
J. D. Douglas, ed., The Illustrated Bible Dictionary, s.v. “Assyria,” 1:137.
54
LaMar C. Berrett, Discovering the World of the Bible, p. 180.
55
LaMar C. Berrett, World of the Bible, p. 180; see also Douglas, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, s.v.
“Assyria,” 1:139.

28
Under these kings Assyria reached its greatest apex of power, controlling
the area that included not only Assyria but also Babylonia, Egypt, Media,
Judea, Syria, Phoenicia, Sumeria, Elam, and Armenia, but not the area
north of Armenia which we know today as Georgia – the old
Colchis/Iberia area. This Assyrian Empire "was without doubt the most
extensive administrative organization yet seen in the Mediterranean or
Near Eastern world; only Hammurabi and Thutmose III had approached
it, and Persia alone would equal it before the coming of Alexander."
56
The most vital part of the Assyrian Empire was its brutal army. Warfare
was a science to the leaders of Assyria. Infantry, chariots, sappers,
armour made from iron, siege machines, and battering rams were all
developed or perfected by the Assyrians. With this, a cavalry horse
regiment to aid the infantry and chariots, was introduced by
Ashurnasirpal. Strategy and tactics were also well understood by the
Assyrian officers.
57
But it was not just Assyrian effectiveness in warfare that struck terror to
the hearts of the Near Eastern world. As said, they were savage and
brutal as well, and the Ten Tribers had to get out of its territory with
unrestrained effort, venturing into a new land not controlled by these
monstrous kings.
"In all departments of Assyrian life we meet with a patriarchal
sternness natural to a people that lived by conquest, and in
every sense on the border of barbarism. Just as the Romans
took thousands of prisoners into lifelong slavery after their
victories, and dragged others to the Circus Maximus to be torn to
pieces by starving animals, so the Assyrians seemed to find
satisfaction—or a necessary tutelage for their sons—in torturing
captives, blinding children before the eyes of their parents,
flaying men alive, roasting them in kilns, chaining them in cages
for the amusement of the populace, and then sending the
survivors off to execution. Ashurnasirpal tells how ‘all the chiefs
who had revolted I flayed, with their skins I covered the pillar,
some in the midst I walled up, others on stakes I impaled, still
others I arranged around the pillar on stakes. … As for the
chieftains and royal officers who had rebelled, I cut off their
members.’ Ashurbanipal boasts that ‘I burned three thousand
captives with fire, I left not a single one among them alive to
serve as a hostage.’ Another of his inscriptions reads: ‘These
56
Durant, Our Oriental Heritage, 1:270.
57
Ibid., 1:270–71.

29
warriors who had sinned against Ashur (their pagan god) and
had plotted evil against me … from their hostile mouths have I
torn their tongues, and I have compassed their destruction. As
for the others who remained alive, I offered them as a funerary
sacrifice; … their lacerated members have I given unto the dogs,
the swine, the wolves. … By accomplishing these deeds I have
rejoiced the heart of the great gods.’ Another monarch instructs
his artisans to engrave upon the bricks these claims on the
admiration of posterity: ‘My war chariots crush men and beasts.
… The monuments which I erect are made of human corpses
from which I have cut the head and limbs. I cut off the hands of
all those whom I capture alive.’ Reliefs at Nineveh show men
being impaled or flayed, or having their tongues torn out; one
shows a king gouging out the eyes of prisoners with a lance
while he holds their heads conveniently in place with a cord
passed through their lips.”
58
The prophet Isaiah warned Israel that if they did not repent, HaShem would
use Assyria as "the rod of mine anger" (Isaiah 10:5). Assyria was at the
height of its power, and its reputation for terror and brutality should have
been sufficient to turn Israel back to their Elohim, but they would not heed.
Nineveh, the city in which Jonah had to preach repentance to the Ten
Tribers convincing them to turn back to Torah and HaShem’s ways (even
under these horrendous conditions), was the last capital of the Assyrian
Empire (Ashur and Calah were the first two capitals). Sennacherib
59
rebuilt
the city, strengthened its walls, and built a canal system to bring water into
it. But Zephaniah and Nahum both prophesied that Nineveh would be
destroyed
60
. The destruction of Nineveh in 612 BCE fulfilled the words of
these two prophets.
Eventually the Assyrian Empire, too, was conquered by an even stronger
empire, the Babylonian Empire. Babylon became the world empire that all
countries in the Near East feared and paid tribute to.
How long Israel remained in Assyria after they had been carried away
captive by Tiglath-Pileser III, Shalmaneser V, and finally Sargon II is not
known. It is likely that some accepted the life and culture of their captors
and lost their identity, thus becoming like Yosef in Egypt, whilst others
decided to move on and refused to live under these conditions.
58
Durant, Our Oriental Heritage, 1:271, 275–76.
59
King of Assyria 705 BCE–681 BCE, is remembered for his military campaigns against Babylon and
Judah and for his building programs, notably at his capital, Nineveh.
60
Zeph 2:13–15; Nahum 3.

30
They had gone into captivity because of their extreme wickedness whilst
they were in Israel, so it would not be surprising to find them accepting the
pagan culture of the Assyrians to escape the torment for refusing to
worship Ashur. The Apocrypha book Esdras, however, records that one
group of the captives saw that their captivity was the result of their own
wickedness and sought HaShem in repentance:
But they took this counsel among themselves, that they would
leave the multitude of the heathen, and go forth into a further
country, where never mankind dwelt, that they might there
keep their statutes, which they never kept in their own land. And
they entered into Euphrates by the narrow passages of the river.
For the most High then shewed signs for them, and held still the
flood, till they were passed over. For through that country there
was a great way to go, namely, of a year and a half: and the
same region is called Arsareth. Then dwelt they there until the
latter time. (2 Esdras 13:41–46.)
HaShem heeded their cries and led them away into the north countries.
They determined to go to a country "where never man dwelt," that they
might be free from all contaminating influences. That country could only be
found in the north. Southern Asia was already the seat of a comparatively
ancient civilization; Egypt flourished in northern Africa; and southern
Europe was rapidly filling with the future rulers of the world. They had
therefore no choice but to turn their faces northward.
As already pointed out, the first portion of their journey was not north;
according to the account of Esdras, they appear to have at first moved in
the direction of their old home after they took counsel amongst the
"multitude of the heathen." It is possible that they originally started with the
intention of returning thereto; or probably, in order to deceive the Assyrians,
they started as if to return to the land of Israel, and when they crossed the
Euphrates and were out of danger from the hosts of Assyrians/Medes, then
they turned their journeying feet toward the north (the polar star)
61
.
Route Northwards Towards Colchis/Iberia (Modern Georgia)
The period from the middle of the 2nd millennium BCE to the beginning
of the Common Era saw societies in Western Asia, the Mediterranean,
61
Numerous prophecies indicate that when the Ten Tribes return, they will come out of the north, the
reverse order of the deportation: Jer 3:18; 16:15; 31:8. Where they went is not known, and this fact
has led to much speculation about their present whereabouts.

31
China and the Indian subcontinent develop major transportation networks
for trade.
62
One of the vital instruments which facilitated long distance trade was
portage and the domestication of beasts of burden (draft animals).
Organized caravans, visible by the 2nd millennium BCE, could carry
goods across a large distance as food was mostly available along the
way. The domestication of camels allowed Arabian nomads to control the
long distance trade in spices and silk from the Far East to the Arabian
Peninsula. Caravans were useful in long-distance trade largely for
carrying luxury goods, the transportation of cheaper goods across large
distances was not profitable for caravan operators. With productive
developments in iron and bronze technologies, newer trade routes—
dispensing innovations of civilizations—began to rise.
The peninsula of Anatolia in Asia Minor (in modern Turkey) lay on the
commercial land routes to Europe from Asia as well as the sea route
from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea. Records from the 19th century
BCE attest to the existence of an Assyrian merchant colony at Kanesh in
Cappadocia (in modern Turkey). Trading networks of the Old World
included the Grand Trunk Road of India
and the Incense Road of Arabia. A
transportation network consisting of
hard-surfaced highways, using
concrete made from volcanic ash and
lime, was built by the Romans as early
as 312 BCE, during the times of the
Censor Appius Claudius Caecus. Parts
of the Mediterranean world, Roman
Britain, Tigris-Euphrates river system
and North Africa fell under the reach of
this network at some point of their
history.
63
According to Robert Allen Denemark (2000):
"The spread of urban trading networks, and their extension along
the Persian Gulf and eastern Mediterranean, created a complex
molecular structure of regional foci so that as well as the
zonation of core and periphery (originally created around
Mesopotamia) there was a series of interacting civilizations:
62
Trade Route, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_route
63
Roman road system (Encyclopædia Britannica 2002).
Researcher standing on the Grand
Trunk Road in India - 2001

32
Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley; then also Syria, central
Anatolia (Hittites) and the Aegean (Minoans and Mycenaeans).
Beyond this was a margin which included not only temperate
areas such as Europe, but the dry steppe corridor of central
Asia. This was truly a world system, even though it occupied
only a restricted portion of the western Old World. Whilst each
civilization emphasized its ideological autonomy, all were
identifiably part of a common world of interacting components."
These routes - spreading religion, trade and technology - have
historically been vital to the growth of urban civilization, and it was on
these "ancient superhighways" that the Ten Tribers travelled.
The famous Silk Road was one of the first trade routes to join the
Eastern and the Western worlds. According to Vadime Elisseeff (2000):
"Along the Silk Roads, technology traveled, ideas were
exchanged, and friendship and understanding between East and
West were experienced for the first time on a large scale.
Easterners were exposed to Western ideas and life-styles, and
Westerners too, learned about Eastern culture and its spirituality-
oriented cosmology. Buddhism as an Eastern religion received
international attention through the Silk Roads."
Cultural interactions
supported often by powerful
emperors led to development
of new ideas and a variety of
influences. The world trade
route from India joined the
Silk Road and ran through
Media and the Ararat plain up
north to Colchis/Iberia.
64 65
These roads were established
well before Common Era.
The major transit route of
Roman times (100 BCE – 400
CE) "ran from Southern
64
Ia. A. Manandian, O torgovle i gorodakh Armenii v sviazi s mirovoi torgovlei drevnikh vremen
(Erevan, 1945). References are to the English translation by Nina Garsoian: H. A. Manandian, The Trade
and Cities of Armenia in Relation to Ancient World Trade (Lisbon, 1965), pp. 29, 38-39.
65
Ronald Grigor Suny, Formation of The Georgian Nation:
http://www.conflicts.rem33.com/images/Georgia/Suny%203_19.htm
A
B

33
Russia along the eastern shore of the Black Sea through Colchis and
Artaxata-Artasat to Media and thence to the East."
66
(A in map.)
Another vital route was to Mtskheta
67
region in Iberia which was also
known as "Kartli" which was at the confluence of the Kura River
68
, and
the Aragvi River. (B in map.)
Kartli - Iberia took
advantage of transit
commerce and developed
an interest in trade that
probably motivated
efforts to control the
routes to the south,
across Armenia. In Kartli
the major trading artery
was the Kura River, and it
is noteworthy that the
military-administrative center of eastern Georgia, Mtskheta (pointed out
by researcher in picture), was situated at the confluence of the Kura and
the Aragvi River.
Other towns—Kaspi, Uplistsikhe, Irbnisi, Odzrakhe, and Nekresi—were
also centers for artisans and merchants, as well as governmental
officials and the military.
69
These trade routes were also the main source for spreading information
of the "worst" and "best" places in the "known world of that time" to stay.
Assyria was the worst at the time and the Ten Tribers most certainly
made use of the intelligence and moved northwards to be located outside
the borders and rule of the Assyrian and later the Medo-Persian Empire.
Freedom and a worthier life for them caused them to head northwards to
the geographical area called Colchis/Iberia, which is what we call
Georgia today.
Journey to Georgia
The distance and timespan for the journey to this new settlement in a
peaceful land are summarized by the guidelines from this passage in 2
66
Manandian, Trade and Cities, p. 73.
67
In eastern Georgia.
68
Also known as the Mtkvari River.
69
Melikishvili, K istorii drevnei Gruzii, 439-40, 443-44. Vajari is an Iranian loanword from the Persian
vazar (bazaar).
Aragvi

34
Esdras chapter 13. The chronological facts derived for the fixed order of
the deportation are as follow, starting with point 9 again:
10) who were carried over the waters (fact 1 – we established it
is the Jordan Upper and Lower Rivers),
11) into another land (fact 2 – we have established that it is
Assyria and Mede {then later from here to the north, west and
Sinim}),
12) they counselled among themselves (first) that they would
leave the multitude of the heathen (in Assyria and Mede)
(fact 3 – only after arriving in Assyria and Mede then they
counselled amongst these heathens to leave for a better
place),
13) to go in a further country, where never mankind dwelt
(fact 4 – they went further from Assyria and Mede into
"another country" and where they settled in a new area where
nobody dwelled and where they will not be oppressed. Which
country’s geographical area was this?),
14) then they returned to the Euphrates and entered into it by
the narrow places of the river (fact 5 – they first actioned this
plan to leave and then crossed the Euphrates River again by
its narrow areas),
and a half: and the same region is called Arsareth (fact 6 –
this new country of settlement took a tribe 1,5 years by foot to
reach. Which area was this that was called "Arsareth"?), and
16) they were there until the latter time (fact 7 – the tribes in the
form of Yosef, must still be heavily present in this
geographical area and will remain here till the latter times).
In other words the Ten Tribes were deported to Assyria and even further
to Mede (in Iran) – Phase 1 on map below. They did not like it there and
they counselled amongst each other to move to another land where they
could study Torah in peace. Then they returned over the Euphrates
River. From there they turned north to this new country – Phase 2 on
map below.
The entire journey from Samaria in Israel to this new further country via
Assyria/Mede took them a total of 1,5 years by foot (Phase 1 plus Phase
2).
For that we need to do a calculation of the distance and the time using
the information above and a route as indicated by the map below.

35
The common way of estimating distances in the Ancient Near East is by
hours and days (see Exod 3:18). This is natural in a country where roads
are mere bridle paths or non-existent, as in the desert. The distance
traveled must of course differ largely according to the difficulties of the
way, and it is more important to know where night will overtake the
traveler than the actual distance accomplished.
A day's journey is now commonly reckoned at about 5 km
70
per hour, the
distance usually covered by a loaded mule, the number of travelling
hours being about 8 hours per day. Hence, a day's journey is about 40
km
71
, and this may be taken as a fair estimate for an individual or a small
group of travellers for Bible times. The average distance in Biblical time a
single person would normally travel in one day is calculated between 30
to 50 km
72 73 74
, but when travelling with women and children, only about
15 km
75
.
70
3 miles.
71
24 miles
72
20 to 30 miles.
MEDES
COLCHIS / IBERIA

36
Company Travelling
Time per
Day
Travel
Distance
per day
Travelling Time
per Year
Travel
Distance
per year
Travelling
Distance
for 1,5
Years
Individual 8 hrs 30-50 km 6 days per week
(no travel on
Shabbat or Holidays
High Holidays (7) or
general festive/fasts
days (23)) = 335
days maximum for
travelling
30 km x 335
days
= 10,050 km
15,075 km
A small
Group
including
children
and
women
8 hrs 15 km 6 days per week
(no travel on
Shabbat or Holidays
days (23)) = 335
days maximum for
travelling
15 km x 335
days
= 5025 km
7,538 km
The
Tribers
(including
children
and
women)
would
have
moved in
medium
size
groups
for
protection
but also
mobility
and not
attracting
attention
of a mass
exodus.
8 hrs 10 km 6 days per week
(no travel on
Shabbat or Holidays
days (23)) = 335
days maximum for
travelling
10 km x 335
days
= 3,350 km
5,025 km
Distance from:
 Samaria over the Jordan Rivers to the Euphrates River,
 the Euphrates River along the fertile crescent to Nineveh where
Jonah was supposed to go and preach to the tribes in Assyria,
 Nineveh along the fertile crescent to the Mede cities,
73
Day's Journey: http://www.biblestudytools.com/encyclopedias/isbe/days-journey.html
74
Bible Measurements: http://www.middletownbiblechurch.org/bofbooks/booksch9.htm
75
10 miles.

37
 the Mede cities all along the fertile resent back to the narrow place
of the Euphrates River,
 the Euphrates River up north through Assyria, through Turkey,
Armenia all along the various rivers heading north towards to
Colchis/Iberia. This route is extremely mountainous. Thus the
easiest, yet longest, route is via the rivers cutting through the
contours of the endless mountains to their eventual destiny, the
new country of freedom.
In the picture is the route
the researcher used with
the help of the Google
route-distance calculator.
Note that the route was
done as directly as
possible neglecting
mountain and river
contours which the Ten
Tribers would have
taken. This shorter
(straight) distance
already calculated to a
minimum of 4500 km.
The calculation from the table on the previous page, according to 2 Esdras
13 of a year and a half’s journey, indicates that the distance to the "new
further country" outside the borders of the Assyrian Empire is undoubtedly
the geographical area of modern-day Georgia. It could not be further or
closer or else the calculations would not comply with the 2 Esdras chapter
13 distance. In addition, Georgia is also directly north of the Assyrian
Empire as the book of Esdras requires.
Conclusion
This second part of the research is to present to the reader a holistic
overview of the deportation out of the Promised Land and the geographical,
political and social settings in the Assyrian Empire the Ten Tribes had to
endure. Also, their counsel taken to leave the Assyrian Empire in the
search for a "new further country" outside the borders of this ferocious
empire, and the crossing of the Euphrates River in their journey towards
this new land.
In the next part we will focus on the "land where nobody dwelled", the area
the Ten Tribers inhabited in Colchis/Iberia, which is known as Georgia
today.

38
Commonwealth of Yisrael
(Chever HaAmim HaYisraeli)
Founded upon Ezekiel 37:15-17, bringing together organizations
internationally and in Israel which share the vision of reconciliation of the
divided Houses of Yehudah and Yoseph (10-Israel leaving spiritual Egypt) in
fulfilment of the main theme of the Biblical message and Divine intent, to
establish the Sovereign Rule of the G-d of Israel over the earth.
Watch this short 4 minute DVD: http://www.commonwealthofyisrael.com/
The Commonwealth of Yisrael project brings together organizations
internationally and in Israel which share the vision of reconciliation of the
divided Houses of Yehudah and Yoseph (10-Israel leaving spiritual Egypt) in
fulfilment of the main theme of the Biblical message and Divine intent, to
establish the Sovereign Rule of the G-d of Israel over the earth. This vision
is founded in the prophecy of Ezekiel 37:15-17 of the re-uniting of the two
sticks into one and in many prophecies of the Bible and underlies the entire
main theme of redemption as defined by the Scriptures. Both Houses of
Yisrael will be fully represented in this project in pursuance of the Biblically
mandated unification of the nation of Yisrael.
"I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be
their G-d, and they shall be My people." Jeremiah 31:33
Vision Statement
Reconciliation between the historically greatly divided 2 Houses of Yisrael
underlies the main theme of all Scripture: i.e. the Final Redemption of
Yisrael, which is now in process of fulfilment.
This vision seeks to promote repair of historical and current breaches
between the estranged 2 Houses of Yisrael (Isa. 11:12) by examining
Biblical evidence, disseminating knowledge and information about the
current developing phenomenon and uncovering areas of commonality and
correction that can bring the two divisions of the 'House of the G-d of Yisrael'
together in Peace and Covenant Torah unity to establish the re-united 12-
Tribed Kingdom of Yisrael. The reconciliation effort seeks to let the world
know that the ‘dry bones’ live, that the G-d of Yisrael is King over the Torah
obedient 12-Tribed Kingdom of Yisrael.
Take part in the beginning of possibly one of the greatest events foretold in
the Bible, register now: http://www.commonwealthofyisrael.com/#!yoseph-is-
alive-list/qr4l3

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