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When people refer to the "lost tribes of Israel," they usually have in mind the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom that fell to Assyria about 722 BC. These tribes are Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Dan, Nap...
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According to a little historical research I have done over the last few years, the first wave of Israelites who left the main group and moved to Africa was immediately after the Exodus during the troubles they encountered in the wilderness. The second wave consisting of the 10 Lost Tribes (excluding Judah and Benjamin) joined them much later during the battles between Solomon's son Rehoboam and Jeroboam. The next waves of scattering of the kingdom to all parts of the world (Africa, Asia and Europe) was during the Babylonian and Assyrian incursions. Another wave of Jews moved south as recently as circa 300BC under Ptolemy (Alexander the Great's successor). There was also another wave of exile to all parts of the world by all tribes during the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Romans in 70AD. For example, there are Jewish Chinese people whose genetic markers are identical to current Jews, whose earliest recorded presence in China is 700AD yet they look completely Chinese in physical appearance. There are Indian Jews who look completely Indian. We have European Jews who are white in appearance and we don't question their Jewish identity but don't always know how they ended up in Europe (Germany, Poland etc). Ethiopian Jews claim several waves of Jewish heritage from the Exodus, the exiles and even as direct descendants of Solomon through Solomon and the Queen of Sheba's son Menelik. This is how they believed the Ark of the Covenant ended up in Ethiopia. South African Jews (the Lemba and the Varemba in Zimbabwe who possess relics thousands of years old and claimed to be Levites used to have their claims rubbished even by historians, but when they had genetic tests done a few years ago, it was found that as many as 30% of those tested had clear indisputable genetic markers of the Levites (Ashkenazi) priestly lineage identical to Jewish Priests living in Israel today. Yet they look like the ordinary black people in Africa, they speak local languages and have been there for longer than African history has been recorded. The only difference with the locals in their circumcision, dietary laws (pork, blood etc) and celebration of Jewish feasts. Eldad ha-Dani, (Google him) a learned black Jew wrote extensively in 900AD about the origins of Jewish tribes living in Africa and Europe, primarily those from Dan, Asher, Gad and Naphtali from the Exodus up until the splitting of Judah (2 tribes) and Israel (10 tribes) around 930BC. When Jewish authorities met him around 900AD they were shocked to see that he had a codified Jewish law and customs up until Joshua, which means that his people were separated from the main body of tribes sometime during or immediately after Joshua's leadership. Respected Jewish Rabbis (such as Ovadiah Yare and David Ben Zimra) as early as 900 AD and as late as 1488 confirmed the presence of Black African Jews from the Lost tribes living all over the world. Apparently after genetic tests, the current Israeli government agreed that Ethiopian Jews were from the Lost tribes and they airlifted thousands of black Jews from Ethiopia under the Law of Return in Operation Moses and Operation Solomon with the help of the US government as recently as the 1990s. Acts 2 and Acts 8 says that there were devout Jews from "every nation under heaven" celebrating Passover in Jerusalem, including a high ranking official of an African monarchy. So by the time of Jesus we had scattered Jews coming from all over the world to visit Jerusalem.
God does not lose anything, Mix,Mingle and Migrate, history teaches us that after the captivity alot of people went north over the Caucaus Mountians and settled in central Europe,eventually settling all of Europe and on to the Americas. Saxons..I.Saxons.. Isaacs Sons..the sons of Isaac King James the writer of the King James Bible is a direct descendant of the so called lost tribe. Gods in control He did'nt lose anything!!!
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