The Physical Location of the Ten Tribes
The Bible Locates the Lost Ten Tribes amongst Western Nations. We have more than 120 different Proofs on this matter. For convenience sake we may classify the Evidence under different headings, Physical Location (Geography); Recognizable Symbols; National Characteristics.
To be accepted according to Biblical Criteria we expect identifications to fit or be consistent with all of the evidence. This is what we find concerning western Peoples.
The present article will give a brief outline concerning the Physical Location (Geography) of the Ten Tribes according to the Bible.
The Bible Locates the Lost Ten Tribes amongst Western Nations. Scripture says the Ten Tribes in the End Times will be at the Ends (Geographical Extremities) of the Earth, in Islands, and coastlands. They will be primarily in regions adjoining the Atlantic Ocean. They will be to the west, north, and northwest of the Land of Israel. A portion of them will also be in the south (e.g. South Africa) and in the Land of Sinim meaning Australia and New Zealand. They will emanate from the region of Zaraphath meaning France, the Netherlands, and the British Isles. A pathway of Megalithic Monuments shall delineate the route of Migration from the Holy Land to where they shall be. Such a pathway exists and Jeremiah (31:21) calls upon us to pay heed to it in order to return. The Ten Tribes will be found in several oceans: We find North America between the Atlantic and Pacific , Western Europe by the Atlantic, with Australia south of the Indian and Pacific Oceans and New Zealand in the South Pacific.
1. Ends of the Earth: Isaiah 24:16, 26:15, 41:8-9 43:6 49:6.
Isaiah 24:
15 Therefore glorify the LORD in the dawning light [Hebrew: "ba-urim", literally fires].
The name of the LORD God of Israel in the coastlands [Hebrew" Ee-ay" i.e. Isles] of the sea.
16 From the ends of the earth we have heard songs:
Glory to the righteous!...
[For Isaiah 26:15 see our corrected Translated below:
This is how the NKJV renders it:
Isaiah 26:
15 You have increased the nation, O LORD,
You have increased the nation;
You are glorified;
You have expanded all the borders of the land [Isaiah 26:15] [see corrected translation below.].
The above verses need to be RETRANSLATED! a MORE CORRECT RENDITION (Paraphrased from the Hebrew Original) is as follows:
.
isaiah 26:
15 You have increased the nation, O LORD,
You have increased the nation;
You added honor [to them].
You have stretched them out to all the ends of the earth [Isaiah 26:15].
[cf. Olam HaTanach;
8 But you, Israel, are My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
The descendants of Abraham My friend.
9 You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its farthest regions,
And said to you,
You are My servant,
I have chosen you and have not cast you away [Isaiah 41:8-9].
6 I will say to the north, Give them up!
And to the south, Do not keep them back!
Bring My sons from afar,
And My daughters from the ends of the earth [Isaiah 43:6].
It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles,
That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth [Isaiah 49:6].
For an affirmation of the pertinence of Isaiah 49 to the Ten Tribes see Talmud Yerushalmi Sanhedrin ch.17, L.6,29; Midrash (Numbers Rabah 1;6, Eichah Rabah 2;9,).
2. Isles: Isaiah 24:15 49:6 60:9 Jeremiah 31: 9-10
15 Therefore glorify the LORD in the dawning light [Hebrew: "ba-urim", literally fires].
The name of the LORD God of Israel in the coastlands [Hebrew" Ee-ay" i.e. Isles] of the sea [Isaiah 24:15].
It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles,
That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth [Isaiah 49:6].
9 Surely the coastlands [Hebrew: eyim i.e. Isles] shall wait for Me;
And the ships of Tarshish will come first,
To bring your sons from afar,
Their silver and their gold with them,
To the name of the LORD your God,
And to the Holy One of Israel,
Because He has glorified you [Isaiah 60:9].
The ships of Tarshish mean ships plying the Atlantic Ocean. Scripture tells us that the Ten Tribes will return from that area first of all. That is where they will primarily be and from there they shall return!
The Aramaic translation of Yehonathan translates "Tarshish" as "sea". Rashi (the major Talmudic Commentator) says that (the sea) Tarshish is called the Sea of Africa presumably meaning the Atlantic. In one of the Psalms, it says "The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents" (Psalm 72;10): The Aramaic Targum translates this expression to say, "The Kings of Tarsis and of the Isles in the Oceanic Sea shall bring offerings" and by Oceanic Sea (i.e."Yam Okyanus") it is understood that the Atlantic Ocean is intended as explained in the Rabbinicial Encyclopediac Work "Aruch HaShalem" (by Alexander Kohut 1842-1894), entry Okyanus.
...For I am a Father to Israel,
And Ephraim is My firstborn.
10 Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,
And declare it in the isles afar off, and say,
He who scattered Israel will gather him,
And keep him as a shepherd does his flock (Jeremiah 31: 9-10).
3. Thighs, Peninsulas, and Coasts: Jeremiah 31:8.
8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country,
And gather them from the ends [Hebrew: Yarcatei i.e. thighs or coasts] of the earth,
Among them the blind and the lame,
The woman with child
And the one who labors with child, together;
A great throng shall return there [Jeremiah 31:8].
4. Tarshish (Atlantic Ocean Area): Isaiah 60:9.
9 Surely the coastlands shall wait for Me;
And the ships of Tarshish will come first,
To bring your sons from afar,
Their silver and their gold with them,
To the name of the LORD your God,
And to the Holy One of Israel,
Because He has glorified you [Isaiah 60:9].
5. Western Location: Isaiah 24:14, Hosea 1:10. In Biblical Hebrew the word "yam" connotes both "the west" and "the sea".
14 They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing;
For the majesty of the LORD
They shall cry aloud from the sea [i.e. from the west] [Isaiah 24:14]. .
10 They shall walk after the LORD.
He will roar like a lion.
When He roars,
Then His sons shall come trembling from the west [Hosea 11:10].
6. Located to the Northwest of the Land of Israel: Isaiah 49:12
12 Surely these shall come from afar;
Look! Those from the north and the west,
And these from the land of Sinim [Isaiah 49:12].
7. In the "North" Land: Jeremiah 3:18 31: 6-10.
18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given as an inheritance to your fathers [Jeremiah 3:18].
6 For there shall be a day
When the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim,
Arise, and let us go up to Zion,
To the LORD our God.
7 For thus says the LORD:
Sing with gladness for Jacob,
And shout among the chief of the nations;
Proclaim, give praise, and say,
O LORD, save Your people,
The remnant of Israel!
8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country,
And gather them from the ends of the earth,
Among them the blind and the lame,
The woman with child
And the one who labors with child, together;
A great throng shall return there.
9 They shall come with weeping,
And with supplications I will lead them.
I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters,
In a straight way in which they shall not stumble;
For I am a Father to Israel,
And Ephraim is My firstborn.
10 Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,
And declare it in the isles afar off, and say,
He who scattered Israel will gather him,
And keep him as a shepherd does his flock [Jeremiah 31:6-10].
8. Australia ("Land of Sinim") Isaiah 49:12.
See also Brit-Am Computer Codes on Australia and New Zealand
12 Surely these shall come from afar;
Look! Those from the north and the west,
And these from the land of Sinim [Isaiah 49:12].
Sinim is translated into the Latin Vulgate as Australia meaning the South Land and the intention really is to Australia.
This has been confirmed by Computer Codes concerning Sinim, Australia, and New Zealand.
9. Best, most Noble, Places (Atziliyah): Isaiah 41: 9.
8 But you, Israel, are My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
The descendants of Abraham My friend.
9 You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its farthest regions [Hebrew: "Atsilayah" i.e. most noble portions],
And said to you,
You are My servant,
I have chosen you and have not cast you away (Isaiah 41:8-9).
10. Fires in the Isles referring (according to History) to Early Britain: Isaiah 24:15
15 Therefore glorify the LORD in the dawning light,
The name of the LORD God of Israel in the coastlands [Hebrew Eeay i.e. Isles] of the sea [Isaiah 24:15] .
11: Zarephath, meaning France, the North, and Britain, Obadiah 1:20.
20 And the captives of this host of the children of Israel
Shall possess the land of the Canaanites
As far as Zarephath.
The captives of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
Shall possess the cities of the South [Obadiah 1:20].
According to the Commentators, in the above verse Canaanites means Germany, Zarephath means France, or France and Britain, or France and the region to the north of France, or all of the said areas together. Sepharad means Spain. The verse should be rendered from the Hebrew original and in accordance with the Major Commentators as the following:
AND THIS FIRST EXILE OF THE TEN TRIBES OF ISRAEL [Rashi] WHO DWELL FROM GERMANY [=CANAANITES, Iben Ezra] AND HOLLAND [Jewish sources quoted by Calvin], EVEN UNTO FRANCE [=ZAREPHATH, Rashi, Iben Ezra, Radak, Abarbanel, Daat Sofrim] AND ENGLAND [= ZAREPHATH, Abarbanel] AND THE CAPTIVITY OF THE JEWS OF JERUSALEM IN SPAIN [=SEPHARAD, Targum Yehonatan] SHALL POSSESS THE CITIES OF THE SOUTH.
12. Dolmens showing Pathway of Migration: Jeremiah 31:21.
21 Set up signposts,
Make landmarks;
Set your heart toward the highway,
The way in which you went.
Turn back, O virgin of Israel,
Turn back to these your cities [Jeremiah 31:21].
In the light of the Classical Rabbinical Commentators this verse may be rendered from the Hebrew Original as:
"Set yourself up stone monuments [menhirs, dolmens] and high heaps of stones [cairns] [i.e. Megalithic monuments!]. Set your heart towards the prepared way: The way in which you went. Turn back o virgin of Israel, return unto these cities of yours."
13. Many Waters (Several Oceans): Numbers 24:7.
7 He shall pour water from his buckets,
And his seed shall be in many waters.
His king shall be higher than Agag,
And his kingdom shall be exalted [Numbers 24:7].