The Ten Tribes, Exile, and Mitsraim (5 July, 2013, Av 1, 5773)
Duration ca. 39.50 minutes
The Ten Tribes were Mostly Taken to Assyria. Some went to Egypt. Biblical verses speak of this. Part of what we call Egypt should belong to Israel and is included in the Promised Land. The history of the Israelite Exiles shortly after their Exile involved the interactions of Israelite-Scythians, Assyrians, Egyptians, and others.
Contents:
1. Question from Jacob Toaff on the Ten Tribes and Egypt
2. History of Exile
3. Bible Evidence of Exile to Egypt.
4. More History Concerning the Exiles, Judah, and Egypt
5. Egypt and Mutsri to the North of Syria
6. Assyria and the West
7. Irish and Scottish Traditions
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1. Question from Jacob Toaff on the Ten Tribes and Egypt
Jacob Toaff wrote:
Hello
I have a question regarding the Assyrian exile:
Is there any proof or opinion, secular or Biblical, that the israelites were deported at least in part to Egypt , and if the answer is yes then is there any Biblical or secular opinion or proof that they were sold there as slaves?
Thanks
Yaakov Toaff, MD
Brit-Am Reply:
It seems a small minority of Exiles from the Ten Tribes did end up in Egypt, as show below from commentaries on Biblical verses such as Hosea 9:3. There is no proof or indication that they were sold in Egypt as slaves.
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2. History of Exile
Let us refresh the background.
The Assyrians exiled the Ten Tribes in the period from ca. 730-720 BCE according to conventional reckoning. Archaeological evidence shows the Kingdom of Israel in Samaria to have had been subject to heavy Egyptian influence.
The Assyrians also exiled many from Judah who joined the Ten Tribes.
The Exiles were taken by the Assyrians mainly overland to different portions of the Assyrian Empire.
A portion of the Exiles were taken overseas by Philistines and Phoenician proxies working on behalf of Assyria. Edom (who consisted of several entities some in the Middle East and others already in Europe) also participated in the exile overseas of Israelites.
In ca. 586 BCE the Babylonians destroyed the First Temple and exiled the Jews to Babylon. They left a few behind in Judah and these fled to Egypt where they were overtaken by the Babylonians.
Later the Jews returned to the Land and rebuilt it. Eventually they were conquered by the Romans and rebelled against them. The Romans destroyed the Second Temple and exiled the Jews in three major waves, one after the fall of the Second Temple in ca. 70 CE; another following the failed rebellion under Bar Kokbha in ca. 115 CE; and again after another rebellion in 130 CE. On these last occasions the Romans did send Jews in ship as slaves to Egypt. There were so many of them that buyers were scarce as predicted in Deuteronomy 28:68.
Deuteronomy 28:
68 And the LORD will take you back to Egypt in ships, by the way of which I said to you, You shall never see it again. And there you shall be offered for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.
See: Deuteronomy: Predictions.
The Book of Lamentations was written by Jeremiah. This book refers here and there to the Exile of the Ten Tribes but concentrates mainly on the troubles of Judah.
The destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians is described though many of the passages are also descriptive of the Second Temple calamities and some pertain especially to that era.
The Ten Tribes were exiled by the Assyrian monarchs Tiglath-Pileser III (745-727 BCE), Shalmaneser V (726-723 BCE), and Sargon II (722-705 BCE).
Sennacherib (705-681 BCE) exiled many of the Jews and possibly others from the Tribe of Simeon both of which joined the Ten Tribes in their places of Exile. Sennacherib was followed by Esarhaddon.
Esarhaddon (680-669 BC) consolidated Assyrian conquests and conquered Egypt. Since by the time of Esarhaddon the Exile of Israelites had been completed the only way Israelite Exiles could have been placed in Egypt by Assyrians is as secondary exiles i.e. they were uprooted from one place of settlement and resettled in another.
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3. Bible Evidence of Exile to Egypt.
Zechariah 10:
10 I will also bring them back from the land of Egypt,
And gather them from Assyria.
I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon,
Until no more room is found for them.
This verse from its context is pertinent to the Ten Tribes.
Radak Commentary: Mitsraim (Egypt). ..Assyria. For they went there due to the troubles.
Hosea 9:
3 They shall not dwell in the LORD's land,
But Ephraim shall return to Egypt,
And shall eat unclean things in Assyria.
Commentary of the Radak. But Ephraim shall return to Egypt. Scripture said, "For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever" (Exodus 14:13). So too, in the Biblical curses, And the LORD will take you back to Egypt in ships, by the way of which I said to you, You shall never see it again. And there you shall be offered for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you (Deuteronomy 28:68). Even though the Kingdom of Ephraim was exiled by Assyria many of them before the Exile returned to Egypt due to the famine and troubles that were overtaking them in their own land. Also there were survivors from Ephraim together with those of the remnant of Judah and Benjamin [after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians] who went to Egypt despite having been warned in the name of the Almighty not to do so by Jeremiah.Commentary of Abarbanel repeats the words of the Radak and adds:
# So some of Ephraim went back to Egypt the land of their enemies to their great shame and sorrow. Most however were exiled to Assyria and in Assyria ate impure foods in their place of exile under hard masters....#
Isaiah 27:
13 So it shall be in that day:
The great trumpet will be blown;
They will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria,
And they who are outcasts in the land of Egypt,
And shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem.
Radak Assyria - Ten Tribes; Egypt - Judah.
Hosea 7:
11 Ephraim also is like a silly dove, without sense
They call to Egypt, They go to Assyria.
12 Wherever they go, I will spread My net on them;
I will bring them down like birds of the air;
I will chastise them
According to what their congregation has heard.
Isaiah 11:
11 It shall come to pass in that day
That the Lord shall set His hand again the second time
To recover the remnant of His people who are left,
From Assyria and Egypt,
From Pathros and Cush,
From Elam and Shinar,
From Hamath and the islands of the sea.
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4. More History Concerning the Exiles, Judah, and Egypt
Following Essarhaddon, Ashurbanipal (669-627 BC) completed the conquest of Egypt and fought against numerous others. He made an alliance with the Scythians. Towards the end of his life the Scythians had begun to take effective control of the Assyrian Empire. They attempted to re-unite with Judah which was then ruled by Josiah son of Amon (649-609 BCE) of the House of David. After about 28 years their hold on the Assyrian Empire, which had always been a factual rather than a formal matter, weakened.
In Assyria there were three rival kings, Ashur-etil-ilani, Sin-shumu-lishir and Sin-shar-ishkun.
Babylon rebelled and together with the Medes attacked Assyria.
By 620 BC, the Chaldean Nabopolassar had taken control of Babylon. The Medes headed a coalition including Cimmerians, Persian, Elamites, and others.
The Babylonians and Medes attacked Assyria in 616 BCE. The Scythians changed sides. Most cities of Assyria were destroyed by the coalitions in 616-608 BCE with the Scythians playing a major role. The Scythians in this case were mainly Israelites from the Ten Tribes. Micah chapter five describes the Israelite role in the downfall of Assyria.
See:
The Lions of Judah and Ephraim. Micah chapters 5 & 6.
A remnant of Assyrians continued to resist in Harran in northern Syria until 608. Meanwhile the Egyptians had asserted their independence from Assyria and attempted to help the remnants of Assyria. Pharoah Necho II marched northwards. King Josiah of Judah attempted to stop the Egyptians but was defeated and killed at Megiddo in north-central Israel.
Before Josiah went to fight the Egyptians he had received a message.
2-Chronicles 35:
20 After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Carchemish by the Euphrates; and Josiah went out against him. 21 But he sent messengers to him, saying, 'What have I to do with you, king of Judah? I have not come against you this day, but against the house with which I have war; for God commanded me to make haste. Refrain from meddling with God, who is with me, lest He destroy you.' 22 Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself so that he might fight with him, and did not heed the words of Necho from the mouth of God. So he came to fight in the Valley of Megiddo.
Pharaoh said he had not come to fight against Judah, "but against the house with which I have war" (2-Chronicles 35:21). Pharoah was fighting against the Scythians and their allies. The expression he used was a warning "from the mouth of God". The People of Israel were divided into two houses, the House of Judah and the House of Israel meaning the Ten Tribes. In the expression "the house with which I have war" lies a recognition that the house in question was also that of Israel.
There are indications that Scythian colonies had been established in Egypt. There were, at the least, Israelites amongst the Scythians forces and it may be that in this way as well more Israelites found their way to Egypt. The border of the Land of Israel according to the Bible begins at the Nile River. The Nile flows down from Ethiopia in Africa until it reaches the Mediterranean Sea where it splits up into different sections forming the tongues of an estuary. According to one opinion (quoted by the Rabbi of Lubavitch) the border of Israel should begin opposite Alexandria which is the westernmost branch of the Nile River. At all events over the centuries this area was on occasion possessed by Israelites and Israelites had settled in it. From an Archaeological point of view the region east of the Nile is often considered a Canaanite or Middle Eastern area rather than an Egyptian one.
After defeating King Josiah, Necho of Egypt continued northward and joined what remained of the Assyrians. They then lost a battle at Harran to the Babylonians, Medes and Scythians.
In 605 BCE, the Babylonians and Medes defeated the Egyptians and Assyrians at Carchemish.
At some stage the Medes invited the Scythians leaders to a celebration and when they were drunk massacred them.
The Medes and Babylonians divided the Assyrian Empire between them though large sections for a time still remained under Cimmerian and Scythian (i.e. Israelite in part) control.
Nabopolassar was followed by his son Nebuchadnezzar II (605 - 562 BCE). The Babylonians and Medes began to push the remaining Cimmerians and Scythians to the north, into southern Russia and eastern Europe.whence they were to move westward. Nebuchadnezzar conquered Judah, destroyed the Temple and in stages exiled the population to Babylon. He also conquered Egypt. Before the Assyrians conquered Egypt a small band from Judah had attempted to flee to it. This is described in the Books of Kings and Jeremiah.
Eventually the Persians replaced the Medes as the dominant force in the east. Cyrus of Persia conquered Babylon in 539 BCE. Cyrus allowed the Jews to return and rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple.
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5. Egypt and Mutsri to the North of Syria
There was a region (or several of them) in northern Syria and to the east of it known as Mutsri or something similar. This in the languages of the time was another term for Egypt. There were ancient traditions that colonies of Egyptians had once settled in the said areas (cf. Herodotus 2.106 on Colchis). Whatever the case the areas in question came to have an importance of their own. At least one of them was a region in which Israelites we settled. it may be that Biblical references linking the Israelite Exiles with Egypt may refer to one of these areas.
We have discussed this possibility in the article.
The Return of Ephraim
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6. Assyria and the West
The above historical outlines may have shown Assyria as less powerful than it really was. Assyria in many ways was parallel to the Roman Empire that came after it.
Wars on the homefront could be lost while victories and progress was being made thousands of miles away.
The Assyrians, exploiting Phoenicians and Philistine maritime acheivements, attempted to control international production and trade in minerals. Silver was mined in Spain, tin in British Cornwall, gold in Ireland, and so on. The period was that of the Bronze Age. Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin. The Great Orme Copper Mine in north Wales is believed to have produced enough copper to manufacture the equivalent of 10 million (sic!) bronze heads!
Archaeological findings show cultural links between Ancient Scandinavia, the British Isles, Egypt, and the Middle East in general.
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7. Irish and Scottish Traditions
Some of the Irish and Scottish had traditions that their ancestors were Israelites and/or Scythians and that they had once sojourned in Egypt. We have shown elsewhere that the Scythians, or at least a portion of them, were from the Ten Tribes of Israel.
We have also shown how the Ten Tribes split into numerous subgroups that in the end all moved westwards and re-coalesced into national grouping recalled their original Tribal formations.
It may be that some of the Israelites had ended up in Egypt and moved westwards from there just as most of the Ten Tribes also headed west but along a more northerly pathway.