Talk:Ten Lost Tribes

10 tribes or 9?

You include Simeon amongst the Northern tribes. However, as the map shows, Simeon was included within the boundaries of Judah in the South. It could not, therefore, have been part of the 9 (!) Northern tribes deported by the Assyrians. Please, explain or address! Mwidunn (talk) 01:12, 18 December 2024 (UTC)

As other commenters have pointed out, this is correct. Simeon was part of the Southern tribes.

In all, there were 14 different named tribes of Israel:

Joseph, Ephraim, Manasseh, Zebulun, Naphtali, Issachar, Gad, Dan, Asher, Reuben, Benjamin, Levi, Judah, and Simeon.

This is because of the 12 sons of Jacob/Israel, Joseph's tribe was split into two half tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim. They are counted as whole tribes later in the history.

This is also because Levi did not receive a territory inheritance, so they are often not counted among the Tribes due to the total being 13.

In reality due to the events of 2 Chronicles 11, the Southern Kingdom of Judah was composed of the TERRITORY of Benjamin and Judah, but the people groups contained there in were from Judah, Benjamin, Levi, and Simeon, and were thereafter carried into exile by Babylon.

In terms of Territories for the Northern Kingdom, it's unclear how to arrive at the 10 Tribes number given in 1 Kings 11, because it's true that Simeon did not have territory in the North.

One theory could be that East and West Manasseh were counted as separate territories. It was the only trans-Jordan tribe with territory on both sides of the river. ~2026-32660-23 (talk) 17:12, 10 June 2026 (UTC)

More authors on Japan

"The Biblical Hebrew Origin of the Japanese People Hardcover" by Jewish author Joseph Eidelberg. This discusses some of his ideas, as well as lists possible similarities in alphabets

https://thechristianbushido.wordpress.com/hebrew-japanese-similarities-language/

Also, Tudor Parfitt's claim that its a "feature of the Western colonial enterprise" contradicts the point that many such claims are from Jewish authors.

Engelbert Kaempfer - German doctor visiting Japan in 1690-1693 C.E.

Also lists several other regions of the world as possible Lost Tribes

https://thechristianbushido.wordpress.com/exploring-the-biblical-roots-of-shinto/#list-2

Speculation

We should not look as though we endorse the speculation used in the article. --Comment by Selfie City (talk about my contributions) 22:20, 26 June 2019 (UTC)

The concept of the "ten lost tribes" looks particularly problematic in the case of the tribe of Simeon, since by some maps and accounts they occupied an area in the south, in an enclave surrounded by the tribe of Judah. PatGallacher (talk) 00:50, 13 July 2020 (UTC)

I realise that I could be straying into original research. However the concept of "ten lost tribes" looks particularly schematic, since I am unable to find any ancient source which actually lists these ten tribes. The nearest we have is Josephus, who mentions that Judah and Benjamin remained left, so presumably by default the ten lost tribes were the others. PatGallacher (talk) 17:13, 15 July 2020 (UTC)

These texts indicate that 10 tribes broke away from king Rehoboam of Judah and that Simeon was one of the tribes that broke away:

About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country, and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and give you ten tribes. But for the sake of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe (1 Kings 11:29-32 NIV).

When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king:

“What share do we have in David, what part in Jesse’s son? To your tents, Israel! Look after your own house, David!” So the Israelites went home. But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them (1 Kings 12:16-17 NIV).

[King Asa] assembled all Judah and Benjamin and the people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who had settled among them, for large numbers had come over to him from Israel (2 Chron. 15:9 NIV). RobbieMorley (talk) 19:39, 19 April 2024 (UTC)

False Statement

I am going to remove the statement claiming that "there is no evidence that foreigners from Assyria or other places settled the area", because it is entirely false.

See for example:

Na'aman, N. and Zadok, R. 1988. Sargon II's Deportations to Israel and Philistia (716-708 B.C.). JCS 40: 36-46.

Na'aman, N. and Zadok, R. 2000. Assyrian Deportations to the Province of Samerina in the Light of Two Cuneiform Tablets from Tel Hadid, TA 27: 159-188.

Younger, K.L. 2004. The Repopulation of Samaria (2 Kings 17:24, 27-31) in Light of Recent Study. In Hoffmeier, J. and Millard, A., eds. The Future of Biblical Archaeology: Reassessing Methodologies and Assumptions. Grand Rapids.

RasakiA (talk) 06:02, 17 October 2022 (UTC)

Kurdish Jews

This claim is not mentioned in History of the Jews in Kurdistan. User:Sm8900 I'm not sure that including it the way you have is satisfactory. as it only shows one pov. Doug Weller talk 17:55, 8 May 2025 (UTC)

the information that I added is fully cited; and furthermore, i consider these sources to be sufficient basis to add it to the article on Kurdish Jews. i appreciate your thoughtful note on this, but i feel this information is entirely reliable, notable, and well-sourced. Sm8900 (talk) 20:52, 8 May 2025 (UTC)

And none of that trumps NPOV. Doug Weller talk 09:06, 9 May 2025 (UTC)

@Doug Weller it is entirely NPOV. Sorry, i do not understand your point on this. all of these are reliable mainstream sources. Sm8900 (talk) 15:26, 9 May 2025 (UTC)

You did have one source that was ok, the other wssnt.. NPOV requires all views, and I think that includes the lack of physical evidence, see History of the Jews in Kurdistan Doug Weller talk 18:13, 9 May 2025 (UTC)

most of the claims on similar topics are based on historical research, not phyiscal evidence. and no, we depend on what the published sources say, not upon what evidence we feel is persuasive, as you know. Sm8900 (talk) 18:16, 9 May 2025 (UTC)

Sure, historical evidence, not sure why I said physical, I’m just saying that should be mentioned. I planned to add it today but a trip to Costco took twice as long as I expected. Doug Weller talk 19:00, 9 May 2025 (UTC)

ok that's fair enough.l appreciate your help on that. thanks!! Sm8900 (talk) 16:08, 12 May 2025 (UTC)