Dr. Paul Manuel—Revised November 2003
The Bible traces the history of Israel's descendants from their beginnings as a loose tribal confederation to their formation as a cohesive nation, from their division into two kingdoms to their eventual fall and exile, and to a partial restoration of the people in their land. The post-exilic authors write from the perspective of the returnees, the members of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi, who constituted the Southern Kingdom. What became of the other tribes? Their almost total absence from post-exilic literature is not simply the result of writer bias; something happened to wipe them from the pages of history.
The Assyrian exile was certainly a contributing factor in the disappearance of the northern tribes, but the exile was not solely responsible for their demise, because the southern tribes also went into exile yet managed to return, at least in part. What other factors led to the decline of the northern tribes, did they vanish completely and, if not, what was their part in the return? Although the Bible does not record a detailed history of each tribe, it does include a number of incidents for several of them that may suggest an answer to these questions.
I. Causes of the northern tribes' decline
Simeon's relatively small size may have been the deciding factor in its settling "within the territory of Judah."
Jehu's coup, which ended the Omride Dynasty, led to a severe political decline in Israel that included the loss of the Transjordan to Aram (c. 840).
In addition to a military threat by the surrounding peoples, they also posed a more insidious, religious threat, tempting the Israelites to adopt their pagan forms of worship. The Chronicler gives the tribe of Manasseh special mention in this regard.
The tolerance of pagan elements increased the threat of assimilation, especially through intermarriage.
Often one kingdom would ally with or submit to one of those enemies in order to strengthen its position against the other kingdom. King Asa of Judah (905-874) paid Aram to break its treaty with Israel, and the northern tribes suffered as a result.
II. Evidence for the northern tribes' continuation
Despite the finality of Samaria's fall, the Chronicler indicates that deportation was not the last word on the northern tribes. The exile did not include all of Israel.
III. Deficit in the northern tribes' return
Despite evidence for the continued existence of the northern tribes, the only tribes that appear in the lists of those who returned after the Babylonian exile are Judah, Benjamin, and Levi.1
The present location of the northern tribes is unknown, nor is it known if any tribal units still exist intact.3 Regardless of their present status, God will restore all the tribes, as many eschatological passages indicate.4
The Assyrian exile was certainly a contributing factor in the disappearance of the northern tribes, but the exile was not solely responsible for their demise, because the southern tribes also went into exile yet managed to return, at least in part. What other factors led to the decline of the northern tribes, did they vanish completely and, if not, what was their part in the return? Although the Bible does not record a detailed history of each tribe, it does include a number of incidents for several of them that may suggest an answer to these questions.
I. Causes of the northern tribes' decline
A. Poor decisionsThe first possible reason for the loss of the northern tribes is that they made poor decisions, resulting in a reduction of their number. Although not necessarily true of all tribes, Simeon, Dan, and the transjordanian tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh made choices early in their history that weakened them and that exacerbated the effect of the exile.
The tribe of Simeon may have led a pro-assimilation faction at Peor and, consequently, suffered more in the ensuing plague than did the other tribes.1. Simeon
Num 25:14 The name of the Israelite who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family.A comparison of the census figures before and after that incident shows a decline in their number of over fifty percent (from 59,300 in Num 1:23 to 22,100 in 26:14), far more than any other tribe. (Ephraim, the next largest tribe so affected, was down twenty percent, from 40,500 to 32,500.)
| Tribe | Num1 | Num 26 | Gain/Loss |
| Reuben Simeon Gad Judah Issachar Zebulun Ephraim Manasseh Benjamin Dan Asher Naphtali | 46,500 59,300 45,650 74,600 54,400 57,400 40,500 32,200 35,400 62,700 41,500 53,400 | 43,730 22,200 40,500 76,500 64,300 60,500 32,500 52,700 45,600 64,400 53,400 45,400 | -2,770 -37,100 -5,150 +1,900 +9,900 +3,100 -8,000 +20,500 +10,100 +1,700 +1,900 -8,000 |
| Total | 603,550 | 601,730 | -1,820 |
| Levi (1 mo. old) | 22,000 | 23,000 | +1,000 |
Simeon's relatively small size may have been the deciding factor in its settling "within the territory of Judah."
Josh 19:1 The second lot came out for the tribe of Simeon, clan by clan. Their inheritance lay within the territory of Judah.... 9 The inheritance of the Simeonites was taken from the share of Judah, because Judah's portion was more than they needed. So the Simeonites received their inheritance within the territory of Judah.The absence of any mention of Simeon in the books of Samuel and Kings suggests that some of the people simply blended into Judah. Others migrated elsewhere in Judah, perhaps even north to Ephraim and Manasseh.
1 Chr 4:42 And five hundred of these Simeonites...invaded the hilt country of Seir.... 43b and they have lived there to this day.
2 Chr 15:9 Then [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 when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.The last historical mention of Simeon is in 627, during the reign of Josiah (see below).
2 Chr 34:6 In the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins around them, 7a [Josiah] tore down the altars and the Asherah poles and crushed the idols to powder and cut to pieces all the incense altars throughout Israel.
The military superiority of the Amorites and the Philistines prevented Dan from conquering its allotment along the western coast.2. Dan
Judg 1:34 The Amorites confined the Danites to the hill country, not allowing them to come down into the plain.
Judg 13:2 ...Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife.... 3 The angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, "You...are going to conceive and have a son.... 5c and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines."The Danites chose not to press their claim, despite the success of other tribes over similar obstacles (e.g., Naphtali and Zebulun in Judg 4), and many of the Danites sought accommodations elsewhere. A group migrated north to what they thought was an isolated and, therefore, secure area.
Judg 18:1 ...in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking a place of their own where they might settle, because they had not yet come into an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. 2a So the Danites sent five warriors from Zorah and Eshtaol to spy out the land and explore it.... 7 So the five men left and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living in safety, like the Sidonians, unsuspecting and secure. And since their land lacked nothing, they were prosperous. Also, they lived a long way from the Sidonians and had no relationship with anyone else.The site of their new home was the entry point for Israel's northern enemies, such as Aram and Assyria, making Danites the first to suffer loss in an invasion.
1 Kgs 15:20 [= 2 Chr 16:4] Ben-Hadad...sent the commanders of his forces against the towns of Israel. He conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maacah and all Kinnereth in addition to Naphtali.
Jer 8:16 The snorting of the enemy's horses is heard from Dan.... They have come to devour the land and everything in it, the city [of Jerusalem l and all who live there.
Just before the conquest of Canaan, the transjordanian (eastern) tribes (Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh), separated from the main body of Israel. The area they chose placed them in close proximity to a number of hostile forces that repeatedly threatened their security (e.g., Ammonites in Judg 10-11 and 1 Sam 11). Consequently, their presence in the region was more tenuous than that of their cisjordanian (western) brethren, as the governance of their area frequently changed hands.3. Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh
Jehu's coup, which ended the Omride Dynasty, led to a severe political decline in Israel that included the loss of the Transjordan to Aram (c. 840).
2 Kgs 10:32 In those days the LORD began to reduce the size of Israel. Hazael overpowered the Israelites throughout their territory 33 east of the Jordan in all the land of Gilead (the region of Gad, Reuben and Manasseh), from Aroer by the Arnon Gorge through Gilead to Bashan.At the end of the reign of Jehoahaz, Israel regained control of the region, perhaps following the western campaign of Adad-nirari III (796), to whom Damascus submitted.
2 Kgs 13:5 The LORD provided a deliverer for Israel, and they escaped from the power of Aram. So the Israelites lived in their own homes as they had before.... 25 Then Jehoash son of Jehoahaz recaptured from Ben-Hadad son of Hazael the towns he had taken in battle from his father Jehoahaz. Three times Jehoash defeated him, and so he recovered the Israelite towns.Jeroboam II (785-745) managed to recover more Israelite land, perhaps also the rest of the Transjordan.
Amos 6:13 [Y]ou...rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar and say, "Did we not take Karnaim by our own strength?" 14 For the LORD God Almighty declares, "I will stir up a nation against you, O house of Israel, that will oppress you all the way from Lebo Hamath to the valley of the Arabah."He even extended the Northern Kingdom's influence into Lebanon and Aram.
2 Kgs 14:25a He was the one who restored the boundaries of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Sea of the Arabah.... 28b [and] he recovered for Israel both Damascus and Hamath, which had belonged to Yaudi.These gains were short-lived, however, as Assyria again asserted its dominance over the region, exacting tribute from all the local governments, including Israel (see the Rimah Stela of Adad-nirari III).
In addition to a military threat by the surrounding peoples, they also posed a more insidious, religious threat, tempting the Israelites to adopt their pagan forms of worship. The Chronicler gives the tribe of Manasseh special mention in this regard.
1 Chr 5:23a The people of the half-tribe of Manasseh.... 25 ...were unfaithful to the God of their fathers and prostituted themselves to the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.The political (and religious) instability that characterized this period was not conducive to the prosperity of the transjordanian tribes and probably only weakened their presence in the region. In any case, they were among the first to experience Assyria's resettlement policy (see below).
2 Kgs 15:29 In the time of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh and Hazor. He took Gilead and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and deported the people to Assyria.
Most of the northern cisjordanian tribes (Manasseh, Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher, and Naphtali) did not expel the Canaanites from their respective regions but, choosing instead to use them as a source of cheap labor, settled among the pagan population.4. Manasseh, Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali, and Issachar
Judg 1:27 ...Manasseh did not drive out the people of Beth Shan or Taanach or Dor or Ibleam or Megiddo and their surrounding settlements, for the Canaanites were determined to live in that land. 28 When Israel became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor but never drove them out completely. 29 Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer, but the Canaanites continued to live there among them. 30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the Canaanites living in Kitron or Nahalol, who remained among them; but they did subject them to forced labor. 3 1 Nor did Asher drive out those living in Acco or Sidon or Ahlab or Aczib or Helbah or Aphek or Rehob, 32 and because of this the people of Asher lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land. 33 Neither did Naphtali drive out those living in Beth Shemesh or Beth Anath; but the Naphtalites too lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, and those living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath became forced laborers for them.The omission of Issachar from this list may indicate a negligible Canaanite presence in that tribe's allotment.
The tolerance of pagan elements increased the threat of assimilation, especially through intermarriage.
Judg 3:5 The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 6 They took their daughters in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.For the members of Asher, the most isolated northern tribe, their assimilation may have contributed to Solomon's willingness to cede some of their cities to Hiram of Tyre.
1 Kgs 9:11 King Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, because Hiram had supplied him with all the cedar and pine and gold he wanted.The decisions of the transjordanian tribes and of these cisjordanian tribes illustrate what may have happened among others as well. Such choices were not the sole determinant of any one northern tribe's demise, merely contributing factors. Benjamin, a southern tribe, made a similarly detrimental move and yet survived.
During the settlement period, Benjamin chose to protect a band of criminals, despite a unified call from the other tribes for their extradition.5. Benjamin
Judg 20:12 The tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, "What about this awful crime that was committed among you? 13 Now surrender those wicked men of Gibeah so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel." But the Benjamites would not listen to their fellow Israelites. 14 From their towns they came together at Gibeah to fight against the Israelites.The ensuing civil war almost destroyed the tribe of Benjamin.
Judg 20:46 On that day twenty-five thousand Benjamite swordsmen fell, all of them valiant fighters. 47 But six hundred men turned and fled into the desert to the rock of Rimmon, where they stayed four months. 48 The men of Israel went back to Benjamin and put all the towns to the sword, including the animals and everything else they found. All the towns they came across they set on fire.Only some ingenious solutions prevented the tribe from total annihilation.
Judg 21:8b They discovered that no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the camp for the assembly.... 10 So the assembly sent twelve thousand fighting men with instructions.... 11b "Kill every male and every woman who is not a virgin." 12 They found among the people living in Jabesh Gilead four hundred young women who had never slept with a man.... 14 So the Benjamites. . . were given the women of Jabesh Gilead who had been spared. But there were not enough for all of them.
Judg 21:20a So they instructed the Benjamites, saying.... 21c "...each of you seize a wife from the girls of Shiloh and go to the land of Benjamin."22 When their fathers or brothers complain to us, we will say to them, 'Do us a kindness by helping them, because we did not get wives for them during the war, and you are innocent, since you did not give your daughters to them." 23 So that is what the Benjamites did.... Then they returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the towns and settled in them.Benjamin eventually recovered some, but probably not all, of its former strength. (The next recorded census, in 2 Sam 24 and 1 Chr 21, excludes Benjamin.)
B. Severed tiesThe second possible reason for the loss of the northern tribes is that they separated from their southern brethren. Under Jeroboam (924-903), Israel seceded from the Davidic monarchy, reinforcing the political break by severing its tie to the sanctuary in Jerusalem.
Jeroboam set up rival sanctuaries, appointed a rival priesthood, and established rival holidays for the northern tribes.1. Religious
1 Kgs 12:26 Jeroboam thought to himself, "The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. 27 If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam." 28 After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt." 29 One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. 30 And this thing became a sin; the people went even as far as Dan to worship the one there. 31 Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. 32 He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high places he had made. 33 On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, he offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel. So he instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to make offerings.Apostasy blurred the religious line separating Israel from its pagan neighbors, especially as the Northern Kingdom adopted Baal worship.
1 Kgs 16:30 Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him. 31 He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. 32 He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. 33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him.
Although the two kingdoms occasionally cooperated—as in the abortive attempt by Ahab and Jehoshaphat to recover the some of transjordanian Manasseh from Aram (1 Kgs 22)—they were usually at odds, which weakened them individually and prevented them from presenting a united front against their common enemies.2. Political
Often one kingdom would ally with or submit to one of those enemies in order to strengthen its position against the other kingdom. King Asa of Judah (905-874) paid Aram to break its treaty with Israel, and the northern tribes suffered as a result.
1 Kgs 15:20 Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa and sent the commanders of his forces against the towns of Israel. He conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maacah and all Kinnereth in addition to Naphtali.When a coup brought Pekah to the Israelite throne (735), the new administration made an alliance with Aram against Assyria and attempted to force Judah 's cooperation.
Isa 7:1 When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it.King Ahaz of Judah appealed directly to the Assyrian king, who retaliated by seizing the northern-most regions and their inhabitants on both sides of the Jordan.
2 Kgs 15:29 In the time of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh and Hazor. He took Gilead and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and deported the people to Assyria.In 727, Shalmaneser V invaded Israel to suppress yet another uprising, a task his successor, Sargon II, completed in 722 by crushing the rebellion and deporting the populace.
2 Kgs 17:3 Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up to attack Hoshea, who had been Shalmaneser's vassal and had paid him tribute. 4 But the king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was a traitor, for he had sent envoys to So [= Osorkon?] king of Egypt, and he no longer paid tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore Shalmaneser seized him and put him in prison. 5 The king of Assyria invaded the entire land, marched against Samaria and laid siege to it for three years. 6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in the towns of the Medes.The separation of the northern tribes from those in the south led to a weakening of both groups. The effect, however, was far greater on Israel, which lacked both a stable dynastic house and an abiding commitment to God. Still, the Southern Kingdom had its own problems with religious apostasy (from the start) and with political instability (primarily over the reign of Joash).
1 Kgs 14:22 Judah did evil in the eyes of the LORD.... 23 They also set up for themselves high places, sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. 24 There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.
2 Kgs 11:1 When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family. 2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes, who were about to be murdered...so he was not killed. 3 He remained hidden with his nurse at the temple of the LORD for six years while Athaliah ruled the land.
2 Kgs 12:20 His officials conspired against him and assassinated him at Beth Millo....Government transitions in the south, however, were usually smooth, and occasional reforms revived the people's religious commitment. Nevertheless, even the estrangement of Israel from Judah did not necessarily spell the end, for several people renewed their political and religious ties to the southern tribes after the Assyrian invasion.
II. Evidence for the northern tribes' continuation
Despite the finality of Samaria's fall, the Chronicler indicates that deportation was not the last word on the northern tribes. The exile did not include all of Israel.
A. EmigrantsSome members of the northern tribes were not living in Israel during the Assyrian invasion. They had remained loyal to the LORD and had moved south during Asa's reform (890), apparently settling in Judah.
2 Chr 15:9 [H]e 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 when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.
B. EscapeesOthers, though living in the north, escaped the deportation and remained behind. The Chronicler records two covenant renewal ceremonies in which many of the escapees participated. Hezekiah's reform, soon after the fall of Samaria, attracted a broad representation from remnants of the northern tribes, although most of those visiting from the north returned there after the celebration.
2 Chr 30:1 Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, inviting them to come to the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel.... 10 The couriers went from town to town in Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun, but the people scorned and ridiculed them. 11 Nevertheless, some men of Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun humbled themselves and went to Jerusalem.... 18a ...many people...came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun....
2 Chr 31:1 When all this had ended, the Israelites who were there....destroyed the high places and the altars throughout Judah and Benjamin and in Ephraim and Manasseh. After they had destroyed all of them, the Israelites returned to their own towns and to their own property.Some of the descendants of these escapees participated in Josiah's reform (621), perhaps again settling in Judah.
2 Chr 34:3b In his twelfth year.... 6 In the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins around them, 7 he tore down the altars and the Asherah poles and crushed the idols to powder and cut to pieces all the incense altars throughout Israel.
2 Chr 34:8a In the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign....9 [officials] went to Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the money that had been brought into the temple of God, which the Levites who were the doorkeepers had collected from the people of Manasseh, Ephraim and the entire remnant of Israel and from all the people of Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
C. ExilesEven those whom Assyria did deport did not then vanish. The transjordanian tribes, at least, maintained sufficient contact with their southern brethren so that the Chronicler, writing in the Persian period, was familiar with their status at that time.
I Chr 5:26 So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria), who took the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. He took them to Halah, Habor, Hara and the river of Gozan, where they are to this day.In the New Testament, Paul hints at the continued existence of the northern tribes within the larger framework of the nation.
Acts 26:7a This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night.Other late Second Temple Period documents indicate that they are still in exile, identifiable and in significant numbers.
Jms 1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.
1 Pet 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect...scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia,
Ant 11.133b . . . the ten tribes are beyond Euphrates till now, and are an immense multitude, and not to be estimated by numbers.These last passages support the apparent lack of participation by the northern tribes in the return from exile that Ezra and Nehemiah record.
III. Deficit in the northern tribes' return
Despite evidence for the continued existence of the northern tribes, the only tribes that appear in the lists of those who returned after the Babylonian exile are Judah, Benjamin, and Levi.1
Ezra 1:5 ...the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites—everyone whose heart God had moved—prepared to go up and build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem.
Neh 11:3 These are the provincial leaders who settled in Jerusalem (now some Israelites, priests, Levites, temple servants and descendants of Solomon's servants lived in the towns of Judah, each on his own property in the various towns, 4 while other people from both Judah and Benjamin lived in Jerusalem): From the descendants of Judah....7 From the descendants of Benjamin.... 15 From the Levites.... 20 The rest of the Israelites, with the priests and Levites, were in all the towns of Judah, each on his ancestral property.Doubtless, representatives of other tribes did filter back to the land, such as the woman who met Jesus' parents at the temple.
Luke 2:36a There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.Jesus lived for a while in Zebulun and Naphtali, although the writer may simply be referring to the traditional tribal regions without implying that its current inhabitants were actually members of those tribes.
Matt 4:13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum., which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali—14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: 15 "Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—16 the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." [= Isa 9:1-2]Only members of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi receive specific mention.
Heb 7:14a For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah...
Rev 5:5b See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed.
Rom 11:1 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.
Phil 3:4b If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5a circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin...
Luke 10:32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
Acts 4:36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet.By the end of the first century C.E., the northern tribes had not returned from exile, at least not in significant number. For the most part, they remained in the Diaspora.2
The present location of the northern tribes is unknown, nor is it known if any tribal units still exist intact.3 Regardless of their present status, God will restore all the tribes, as many eschatological passages indicate.4
Jer 3:18 In those days the house of Judah will join the house of Israel, and together they will come from a northern land to the land I gave your forefathers as an inheritance.
Jer 33:7 I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before.
Ezek 47:13b These are the boundaries by which you are to divide the land for an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel, with two portions for Joseph.
Ezek 48:1a "These are the tribes, listed by name: At the northern frontier, Dan will have one portion.... 2a Asher will have one portion.... 3a Naphtali will have one portion.... 4a Manasseh will have one portion.... 5a Ephraim will have one portion.... 6a Reuben will have one portion.... 7a Judah will have one portion.... 22a ...the property of the Levites and the property of the city will lie in the center of the area that belongs to the prince.... 23b Benjamin will have one portion.... 24a Simeon will have one portion.... 25a Issachar will have one portion.... 26a Zebulun will have one portion.... 27a Gad will have one portion.... 29 This is the land you are to allot as an inheritance to the tribes of Israel, and these will be their portions," declares the Sovereign LORD.
Ezek 48:31 [T]he gates of the city will be named after the tribes of Israel. The three gates on the north side will be the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah and the gate of Levi. 32 On the east side. . .will be three gates: the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin and the gate of Dan. 33 On the south side... will be three gates: the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar and the gate of Zebulun. 34 On the west side...will be three gates: the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher and the gate of Naphtali.
Hos 1:11 The people of Judah and the people of Israel will be reunited, and they will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel.
Zech 8:13a As you have been an object of cursing among the nations, O Judah and Israel, so will I save you, and you will be a blessing.
Matt 19:28 [= Luke 22:30] Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."
Rev 7:4 Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. 5 From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000, 6 from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000, 7 from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar 12,000, 8 from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.God does not explain how He will accomplish such a task, only that He will gather them from the remotest part of the earth and settle them in the land again.
Isa 11:11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the sea.
Jer 31:8 See, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor; a great throng will return. 9 They will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble, because I am Israel's father, and Ephraim is my firstborn son.
Ezek 37:16 "Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, 'Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.' Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, 'Ephraim's stick, belonging to Joseph and all the house of Israel associated with him.' 17 Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand. 18 When your countrymen ask you, 'Won't you tell us what you mean by this?' 19 say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph—which is in Ephraim's hand—and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah's stick, making them a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand.' 20 Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on 21 and say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. 22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms. 23 They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God."Therefore, even if the northern tribes are presently "lost," their condition is temporary. God can find them and will restore them.
For the Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.
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Jim Skaggs