Brit-Am Research Sources (13 March 2017, 15 Adar, 5777)
Contents:
1. Another Source on the Ten Tribes Really Having Been Exiled.
Were the 'Lost Tribes' Ever Really Lost?
by James Tabor
2. Simeon and the Color Green. How did Ireland come to be called the Emerald Isle?
3. Source on Messiah ben Joseph and Criticism of that Source
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1. Another Source on the Ten Tribes Really Having Been Exiled.
Were the 'Lost Tribes' Ever Really Lost?
by James Tabor
http://www.originofnations.org/HRP_Papers/OON1.3.htm and
http://www.originofnations.org/books,%20papers/were_thetribeseverreallylost.htm
[Forwarded by Craig White]
Extracts:
The devastation of the northern kingdom of Israel came in a series of military campaigns by the Assyrians, first under Tiglath-Pileser (c. 730 BCE), and subsequently by Shalmaneser V and Sargon II (722 BCE). The Assyrian policy was to actually deport the populations of those areas they conquered, resettling the land with non-native peoples (2 Kings 15:29; 17:6, 24). These new residents of northern Israel came to be known as the Samaritans.
We should not assume that those who returned to Judea and Jerusalem were unaware of their Israelite brothers and sisters from the northern tribes. There are clear indications in the later prophetic portions of Scripture that the Judeans knew precisely where the other tribes were located. For example, the place names in Isaiah 66:19 (Lydia, Tubal, Greece) clearly show that these tribes had already migrated northwest into Asia Minor and Europe. This evidence accords precisely with what we learn from the Assyrian inscriptions, as we will see.
Jewish literature that survives from the Persian, Greek, and Roman periods unanimously testifies that the northern Ten Tribes of Israel remained in Exile far to the north, scattered among the Gentiles. There are many references but a small sample will suffice for this article. First, there are those texts which scholars know as the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, most of which were written from 300 BCE into the 1st century of our era.
The Testament of Moses says:
Then some from the tribes will go up and come to their appointed place and once again surround the place with walls [referring to the 539BCE return from Babylon]. And the two tribes will continue in the faith appointed for them.... And the ten tribes will be fruitful and increase among the Gentiles during the time of their captivity (4:7-9; cf. 2:5).
Here one sees that a clear distinction is made between the two (Judah and probably Levi) and the other ten.
2 Esdras is even more explicit, stating that those exiled by the Assyrians were taken first across the Euphrates, but subsequently migrated far beyond:
But they formed this plan for themselves, that they would leave the multitude of the nations and go to a more distant region....a journey of a year and a half; and that country is called Arzareth [meaning, Another Land] (13:39-45).
Texts such as Ben Sirach (36:11-15), the Psalms of Solomon (17:28-31), and the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs imply a similar dispersion, long after the Babylonian return. Josephus, the first century historian, records much the same:
Wherefore there are but two tribes [those known as Jews] in Asia and Europe subject to the Romans, while the ten tribes are beyond the Euphrates till now, and are an immense multitude, and not to be estimated by numbers (Antiquities 11.133).
... To apply Ezekiel 37 to any time in the past is to rob it of any sensible meaning. Isaiah 11 is perhaps the clearest single prophecy which absolutely pinpoints the time of the union of the Ten Tribes with the House of Judah. It is set at a time when the messianic Branch of David will rule the earth. At that time the LORD ... through this messianic agent, extends His hand a second time [not the Babylonian Return] to recover the exiles of both Israel and Judah (verses 10-12). These Scriptures: Jeremiah 30-31; Amos 9; Ezekiel 37; and Isaiah 11, are representative of an entire mesh of related texts, all of which correlate perfectly with one another. The Prophets offer us an incredibly vivid picture of the Last Days, and central to their vision is this coming union of the �lost� tribes of Joseph and his companions, with those we know today as the Jewish people.
.....Jeremiah 3:11-18 also adds further details regarding this coming Restoration. At that time, Jerusalem will become the center of a world government, to which all the nations will flock, precisely when 'the House of Judah will join the House of Israel and together they will come from a northern land.' This text in turn correlates with Isaiah 2:2-4, which tells of a time of universal peace with all nations coming to Jerusalem to learn the Torah Way of the LORD... Clearly then, when the Ten Tribes return, and are joined with the Jewish people, the entire world will be transformed. By no stretch of language or imagination can any of these texts be applied to the hopeful but limited return of the Jews from Babylon in 586 BCE.
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2. Simeon and the Color Green. How did Ireland come to be called the Emerald Isle?
http://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/how-did-ireland-come-to-be-called-the-emerald-isle?utm_campaign=Best+of+IrishCentral+-+2017-03-01&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=Mailjet
Sheila Langan
The first time the words ever appeared in print in reference to Ireland was in a poem [1795] by Belfast-born William Drennan, titled 'When Erin First Rose.'
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Brit-Am Comment:
We have found several Israelite Tribes in Ireland.
Amongst other tribes Simeon was significant as discussed in our work "The Tribes".
http://hebrewnations.com/publications/books/the-tribes.html
In this context it is of interest that the color of Simeon was green and Ireland has become known as the "Emerald" [i.e. Green] Isle!
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3. Source on Messiah ben Joseph and Criticism of that Source
Messiah ben Joseph
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messiah_ben_Joseph
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Brit-Am Comment:
This article seems to sum up all or most of the EARLIER sources on the subject. Its links to other sources is also of value.
It however seems to neglect or at least under-represent the large number of source (with additional insights) obtainable from Hasidic and non-Hasidic Rabbinical sources over the last few centuries.
This material can be difficult to read, it is quite intensive, and is not systematically arranged. It is therefore not surprising that mainstream researchers are not yet aware of it.
For the Brit-Am appreciation of this matter see:
MOSHIACH BEN YOSEPH
in Jewish Sources
http://britam.org/tape3b.html
Extract:
Ezekiel says: ~AND ALL THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL~, for unto him [unto Joseph] were joined all of Israel which belong to the Ten Tribes... Our Sacred Sages had a tradition that in the beginning (of the End Times) would arise a Messiah [i.e. Anointed Saviour] from the house of Joseph who will reign over the Ten Tribes. He will wage wars and all of Israel will be gathered together under his banner. [This will continue] until later on, a descendant of David will appear and he will reign over them...[over all the tribes].
The Malbim continues: "A transformation will take place. The Ten Tribes and the stick of Joseph will draw themselves closer unto the stick of Judah, and this too, will be through the agency of a Prophet and by miracles".
MBJ Queries. The Problem with Moshiach ben Yoseph
http://hebrewnations.com/articles/eph/mbj.html
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