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We have now discovered that representatives of nine tribes were gathered under the
aegis of the King of Judah--Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, Manasseh, Simeon, Asher,
Zebulun, Isaachar, and Levi. The more we read, the more difficult it becomes to believe
that the ten tribes were ever lost.
Following the chronology given in the Companion Bible, we find that the ten-tribed
kingdom was established under Jeroboam in B.C.800 and carried away into captivity by
Shalmanezer in B.C.611. This would give a period of 269 years from its inception to its
disruption. If, alternatively, we adopt Ussher's chronology the period will be reduced to
254 years. We have already seen that, before this captivity, the tribes of Israel "in
abundance" went back and joined with Judah, and it therefore follows that, when the
ten-tribed kingdom was taken into captivity, representatives of all Israel must have
remained in the land as part of Judah.
In the days of Josiah (B.C.531--that is 80 years after the captivity of Israel by the
Assyrians) we read:
"And when they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that was
brought into the house of God, which the Levites that kept the doors had gathered of the
hand of Manasseh and Ephraim and of ALL THE REMNANT of Israel, and all Judah
and Benjamin" (II Chron. 34: 9).
Here we reach absolute, positive proof, that the ten tribes were never lost. Even
though those deported by the Assyrian kings never returned, this does not affect the
argument, for the "remnant of Israel" was quite sufficient to perpetuate the seed, and
preserve the continuity of the people. The kingdom of Judah went into captivity under
Nebuchadnezzar in B.C.496, which would be 115 years after the end of "Israel" under
Shalmanezer. This captivity, however, was limited to 70 years, and at the end of this
period the people returned to Jerusalem and the land. Towards the close of this captivity,
a recorded prayer of Daniel mentions "Judah" and "all Israel", including those that were
"near" and those "afar off".
This captive people are called not only "Jews" but "Israel". Ezra, in his second
chapter, gives a list of those who came back to Jerusalem at the end of the seventy years'
captivity, and he heads the list with the words: "The number of the men of the people of
Israel" (Ezra 2: 2). We are given the names of a few who "could not shew their father's
house, and their seed, whether they were of Israel" (Ezra 2: 59-63), and we therefore
infer that all the others in the list were able to establish their claim to be members of one
or other of the tribes of Israel. At the end of the list we read of that "all Israel" dwelt in
their cities; and we read of "Israel" in Ezra 7: 10, 13; 9: 1; and 10: 1, 5. The
kingdom of Judah was taken captive by the same line of kings as had taken captive the
ten-tribed kingdom, and any one of the ten tribes was as free to go back as were the
members of the tribe of Judah. This we find they did (see Ezra 7: 7).
When the returned captives assembled before the rebuilt temple on the third day of the
month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of Darius, "twelve he-goats" were offered "for