Ten Lost Tribes

The scriptural basis for the idea of “10 Lost Tribes” is 2 Kings 17:6:

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.“2 Kings 17:6

Although the tribes were considered “lost” to the biblical narrative (and “Western Knowledge” whatever that may mean) 2 Kings 17 does in fact say where some of the tribes had been settled, and nation of Israel tribes have continued to exist in those regions even unto the modern day (see below, “Modern Discovery”). The prophecy of the return of the exiles then is moreso about their return to the land of Judah and acceptance of the authority of Judah (as a nation, not a tribe) and their Teshuva (repentance) and return to the proper worship of God in reparation for their earlier rejection and idolatry.

According to the Hebrew Bible, Jacob (who was later named Israel; Genesis 35:10) had 12 sons and at least one daughter (Dinah) by two wives and two concubines. The twelve sons fathered the twelve Tribes of Israel.

When the land of Israel was apportioned among the tribes in the days of Joshua, the Tribe of Levi, being chosen as priests, did not receive land (Joshua 13:33, 14:3). However, the tribe of Levi were given cities. Six cities were to be refuge cities for all men of Israel, which were to be controlled by the Levites. Three of these cities were located on each side of the Jordan River. In addition, 42 other cities (and their respective open spaces), totaling 48 cities, were given to the Tribe of Levi. (Numbers 35)

Jacob elevated the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh (the two sons of Joseph by his Egyptian wife Asenath) (Genesis 41:50) to the status of full tribes in their own right, replacing the Tribe of Joseph (Genesis 48:5). Each tribe received its own land and had its own encampment during the 40 years of wandering in the desert.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Lost_Tribes

Thus, the two divisions of the tribes are:

Levi had no territorial allotment, except a number of cities located within the territories of the other tribes (ex. Gen 35:11, the designated cities, which were administrated by priests).

On the other hand, Ephraim and Manasseh together received a double share;

14 And the tribe of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given me but one lot and one portion as an inheritance, although I am a numerous people, since hitherto the Lord has blessed me?” …

17 Then Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to E′phraim and Manas′seh, “You are a numerous people, and have great power; you shall not have one lot only,Joshua 17:14,17

This passage refers to Jacob's blesings in Genesis 48;

19 But his father refused, and said, “I know, my son, I know; he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; nevertheless his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.” 20 So he blessed them that day, saying,

“By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying,
‘God make you as E′phraim and as Manas′seh’”;

and thus he put E′phraim before Manas′seh. 21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you, and will bring you again to the land of your fathers. 22 Moreover I have given to you rather than to your brothers one mountain slope[b] which I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.”Genesis 48:19-22 (RSV)

48:22 is the allotment of the double portion; thus Ephraim and Manasseh allow the land to be split into 12 tribes even though Levi does not have a portion of land in that way.

According to the Bible, the Kingdom of Israel (or Northern Kingdom) was one of the successor states to the older United Monarchy (also called the Kingdom of Israel). The Northern Kingdom came into existence in about the 930s BCE after the northern tribes of Israel rejected Solomon's son Rehoboam as their king. Nine landed tribes formed the Northern Kingdom: the tribes of Reuben, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Ephraim, and Manasseh. In addition, some members of the Tribe of Levi, who had no land allocation, were found in the Northern Kingdom. The tribes of Judah and Benjamin remained loyal to Rehoboam, and formed the Kingdom of Judah (or the Southern Kingdom). Members of Levi and the remnant of Simeon were also found in the Southern Kingdom.

According to 2 Chronicles 15:9, members of the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon “fled” to Judah during the reign of Asa of Judah (c. 911–870 BCE). Whether these groups were absorbed into the population or remained distinct groups or returned to their tribal lands is not indicated.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Lost_Tribes

Earlier we also read that Benjamin and a remnant of Simeon remained in the southern kingdom of Judah. As it is unknown whether or not these tribes maintained cultural identity within Judah, the whole of the southern nation chose (agreed) to unite under the tribe of Judah, and henceforth they became known as the Judes – the Jews.

First invasion;

In c. 732 BCE, the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III sacked Damascus and Israel, annexing Aramea[6] and territory of the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh in Gilead including the desert outposts of Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab. People from these tribes, including the Reubenite leader, were taken captive and resettled in the region of the Khabur River system in Assyria/Mesopotamia. Tiglath-Pilesar also captured the territory of Naphtali and the city of Janoah in Ephraim, and an Assyrian governor was placed over the region of Naphtali. According to 2 Kings 16:9 and 15:29, the population of Aram and the annexed part of Israel was deported to Assyria.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Lost_Tribes

Second invasion;

Israel continued to exist within the reduced territory as an independent kingdom subject to Assyria until around 725–720 BCE, when it was again invaded by Assyria and the rest of the population deported. The Bible relates that the population of Israel was exiled, leaving only the Tribe of Judah, the Tribe of Simeon (that was “absorbed” into Judah), the Tribe of Benjamin, and the people of the Tribe of Levi who lived among them of the original Israelite tribes in the southern Kingdom of Judah.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Lost_Tribes

Assyrian Records;

Assyrian cuneiform states that 27,290 captives were taken from Samaria,[4] the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, by the hand of Sargon II.

Sargon records his first campaign on the walls of the royal palace at Dur-Sharrukin (Khorsabad):

“In my first year of reign (…) the people of Samaria (…) to the number of 27,290 … I carried away.
Fifty chariots for my royal equipment I selected. The city I rebuilt. I made it greater than it was before.
People of the lands I had conquered I settled therein. My official (Tartan) I placed over them as governor. (L.ii.4.)[4]

The description of the final defeat of the Northern Kingdom of Israel above appears to be a minor event in Sargon's legacy. Some historians attribute the ease of Israel's defeat to the previous two decades of invasions, defeats, and deportations.

Some estimates assume a captivity numbering in the hundreds of thousands, minus those who died in defense of the kingdom and minus those who fled voluntarily before and during the invasions.

However, it has also been suggested that the numbers deported by the Assyrians were rather limited and the bulk of the population remained in situ.[5] There is also evidence that significant numbers fled south to the Kingdom of Judah.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assyrian_captivity

Israel Finkelstein estimated that only a fifth of the population (about 40,000) were actually resettled out of the area during the two deportation periods under Tiglath-Pileser III, Shalmaneser V, and Sargon II.[7][page needed] Many also fled south to Jerusalem, which appears to have expanded in size fivefold during this period, requiring a new wall to be built, and a new source of water (Siloam) to be provided by King Hezekiah.[8] Furthermore, 2 Chronicles 30:1-11 explicitly mentions northern Israelites who had been spared by the Assyrians—in particular, members of Dan, Ephraim, Manasseh, Asher, and Zebulun—and how members of the latter three returned to worship at the Temple in Jerusalem at that time.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Lost_Tribes

Again, these remnants essentially lost their cultural identity and united under the banner of the nation of Judah.

The Hebrew Bible does not use the phrase “ten lost tribes”, leading some to question the number of tribes involved. 1 Kings 11:31 states that the kingdom would be taken from Solomon and ten tribes given to Jeroboam:

And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee. — 1 Kings 11:31

But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes. — 1 Kings 11:35https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Lost_Tribes

The nature of returning the children to their fathers is to reintegrate the tribes into the nation of Israel such that tribal identity (which is solely passed down through the father) can be restored.

Jeremiah 23:1-8 discusses the exile and return of exiled tribes. Jeremiah's narrative is particularly important because he prophesied the destruction of Northern Israel before the Assyrian Captivity.

1 “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord.

2 Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the Lord.

3 “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number.

4 I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.

5 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up for David[a] a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.

6 In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.

7 “So then, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’

8 but they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.” Jeremiah 23:1-8 (NIV)

3 For behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the Lord, and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.”Jeremiah 30:3 (ESV)

3 Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

4 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city […]

7 I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, and rebuild them as they were at first. 8 I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me.Jeremiah 33:3-8 (ESV) (emphasis added)

Leviticus 26 notes that after the Israelites are punished by dispersal and scattering, that the Lord will never completely abandon them, and will restore them as tribes due to the eternal nature of the covenant:

14 “‘But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands,

15 and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant,

16 then I will do this to you: I will bring on you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and sap your strength. You will plant seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it.

17 I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you. […]

25 And I will bring the sword on you to avenge the breaking of the covenant. When you withdraw into your cities, I will send a plague among you, and you will be given into enemy hands. […]

33 I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out my sword and pursue you. Your land will be laid waste, and your cities will lie in ruins. […]

38 You will perish among the nations; the land of your enemies will devour you. […]

43 For the land will be deserted by them and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them. They will pay for their sins because they rejected my laws and abhorred my decrees. 44 Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them or abhor them so as to destroy them completely, breaking my covenant with them. I am the Lord their God. 45 But for their sake I will remember the covenant with their ancestors whom I brought out of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be their God. I am the Lord.’”Leviticus 26:14-45 (NIV) (emphasis added)

5 Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger,
the staff of my fury![a]Isaiah 10:5

There is indication that the prophecy is a continuation of the one begun in chapter 7 to Ahaz. Remember that Isaiah was accompanied by his son Shear-Jashub, meaning “Remnant Shall Return.” And here we find these very words in 10:20-21.

20 In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean upon him that smote them, but will lean upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21 A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.Isaiah 10:20-21

Similarly, verse 6 contains the phrase “to seize the spoil, to take the prey,” which is reminiscent of the name of Isaiah's second son Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz” (“Quick to the Plunder, Swift to the Spoil”), introduced in chapter 8.

Assyria is used by God to punish Israel. Verse 11 states the Assyrian leader's intention to attack and plunder Jerusalem as well as Samaria. As mentioned in the comments on our previous reading, the Assyrians under the later king Sennacherib invaded Judah around 20 years after the fall of Samaria. We will soon go through this episode in detail when we come to it in our regular reading. Sennacherib is successful in destroying and plundering a major portion of Judah. He actually besieges Jerusalem, but in the end God miraculously devastates his army. Isaiah 10 certainly appears to apply to these events.

11 In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant which is left of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Ethiopia, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea.Isaiah 11:11 (RSV)

This chapter shows Israel returning from Assyrian captivity.

The places listed above seem to somewhat correspond to the places where some of the lost 10 tribes have been found (see: ten lost tribes). Ex. Pathros and Hamath (Ephraim, Manasseh and others (Reuben, Levi, Gad, etc), Ethiopians (Dan), and the coastlands of northern Africa (Tunisia and Sudan in the east).

We might ask, then, who are the Assyrians today? The ancient Israelites who were taken into Assyrian captivity eventually migrated into northwest Europe (see our booklet The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy to learn more). Likewise, the Assyrians, after their empire fell in 612 B.C., migrated into Europe behind them. The Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder located the Assyrians north of the Black Sea in his day, the first century A.D. (Natural History, Book 4, sec. 12). A few hundred years later, Jerome, one of the post-Nicene Catholic fathers, applied Psalm 83:8 to the Germanic tribes invading western Europe along the Rhine: “For Assur [the Assyrian] also is joined with them” (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Letter 123, sec. 16). And of the Germanic peoples, Smith's Classical Dictionary states: “There can be no doubt that they…migrated into Europe from the Caucasus and the countries around the Black and Caspian seas” (“Germania,” p. 361). Indeed, a significant portion of the Germanic people of Central Europe today appear to be descended from the Assyrians of old.unknown cite

Isaiah chapters 40 to 66 are in regards to the lost tribes.

“Behold, I will lift My hand in an oath to the nations, And set up My standard for the peoples; They shall bring your sons in their arms, And your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders….” (Is 49:22)

http://www.lthompsonbooks.com/blog/lost-tribes-eagles-wings/

• Deuteronomy 4:27-31
  • 27 And the Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you. … 30 When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the Lord your God and obey his voice. 31 For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.

30 If his children forsake my law and do not walk according to my rules,[e]
31 if they violate my statutes and do not keep my commandments,
32 then I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes,
33 but I will not remove from him my steadfast love or be false to my faithfulness.
34 I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
35 Once for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David.
36 His offspring shall endure forever, his throne as long as the sun before me.
37 Like the moon it shall be established forever, a faithful witness in the skies.” SelahPsalm 89:30-37 (ESV)

• Psalm 94:14
  • For the Lord will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage;
• Ezekiel 14:10-11
  • 10 And they shall bear their punishment[a]—the punishment of the prophet and the punishment of the inquirer shall be alike— 11 that the house of Israel may no more go astray from me, nor defile themselves anymore with all their transgressions, but that they may be my people and I may be their God, declares the Lord God.”

• 1 Chronicles 9 on the return after babylonian exile. Note that the 10 tribes did not return at this time. The ephraim and manasseh which remained were those that fled into Judah (to accept the right of Judah to govern under the Davidic king) prior to the assyrian captivity as described in 2 Chronicles 15:9 (see “Why Jews?” above, and quoted below for easy reference).
  • “3 And some of the people of Judah, Benjamin, E′phraim, and Manas′seh dwelt in Jerusalem;”
• 2 Chronicles 15:9
  • “9 And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those from E′phraim, Manas′seh, and Simeon who were sojourning with them, for great numbers had deserted to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.” (2 Chronicles 15:9)

Discussing the interpretation of the Malachi Prophecy (A) based on cross-reference with Deuteronomy.

Rabbi Joshua said: I have received a tradition from Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai, who heard it from his teacher, and his teacher [heard it] from his teacher, as a halakhah [given] to Moses from Sinai, that Elijah will not come to pronounce unclean or to pronounce clean, to put away or to bring near, but to put away those brought near by force and to bring near those put away by force. The family of Beth Tzriphah was on the other side of the Jordan and Ben Zion put it away by force; and yet another family was there, and Ben Zion brought it near by force. It is such as these that Elijah will come to pronounce unclean or to pronounce clean, to put away or to bring near. Rabbi Joshua says that Rabban Yohanan ben Zakai had a tradition that can be traced all the way back to Moses who received it at Sinai, that when Elijah the prophet reappears in Messianic time, he will not clarify which families are clean, meaning they have not intermarried with forbidden relationships, nor will he clarify the opposite. He will neither put away the unclean families nor draw near the clean families. All that he will do is bring near the families who were forcibly and illegitimately put away and put away the families that were forcibly and illegitimately brought near. In other words, decisions that humans had made as to which families were clean and which were not, and were made in a legal fashion without coercion, will be accepted by Elijah, even if he knows that they were wrong. However, actions which were enacted by force and not consented to by the law-abiding sections of society will be corrected. A note about “a law from Moses on Sinai”. The Rambam points out that Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai did not actually have a tradition that Moses said these very words. Rather this is how the tradition understood Deuteronomy 30:3-4, which states that if you are scattered to the four corners of the earth, God will bring you back. This is understood to mean that if a family was illegitimately not allowed to intermarry with other Jewish families, Elijah would redeem the situation. The mishnah now proceeds to mention one family that had been put away by force, meaning that this person Ben Zion, forcibly pronounced them unclean and made the rest of society abide by his will. So too, Ben Zion, forcibly pronounced another family clean, and made society abide by his will.

Rabbi Judah says: to bring near, but not to put away. Rabbi Judah claims that Elijah will bring near but he will not put away. This is probably similar to the words of the Sages at the end of the mishnah. Elijah does not come to cause pain by putting some families away. The only problem that he will rectify is families who should be brought near, not those who should be put away.

Rabbi Shimon says: to conciliate disputes. Rabbi Shimon holds that when Elijah will come he will settle all the disputes between the Rabbis.

And the Sages say: neither to put away nor to bring near, but to make peace in the world, for it is said, “Behold I send to you Elijah the prophet”, etc., “and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers” (Malachi 3:23-2. The Sages hold that when Elijah comes it will only be to bring peace to the world. However, we should notice what peace means in this mishnah: a state of familial harmony. Peace doesn’t only mean the absence of warfare, rather it is more accurately interpreted as societal well-being, a reconciliation of parents with children. The Sages’ opinion is supported by the final verses of the book of Malachi, the very verses that teach that the Messianic age will be preceded by Elijah. https://www.sefaria.org/English_Explanation_of_Mishnah_Eduyot.8.7.1?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en

According to documentaries such as at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdYbQKthqoE it is now believed that many of the lost 10 tribes have been found. Universally these tribes seem to rejoin the current population of Jews. The discovery of these tribes and their universal ancient compatability with, support, and acceptance of current Jewish culture and religion indicate strongly that the Jewish movement of today has maintained it's historical continuity (see: Kuzari Argument Analysis).

• Tribe of Dan – Confirmed. Found in Ethiopia, mass-emigrated to Israel.
  • See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribe_of_Dan
  • “Ethiopian Jews, also known as Beta Israel, claim descent from the Tribe of Dan, whose members migrated south along with members of the tribes of Gad, Asher, and Naphtali, into the Kingdom of Kush, now Ethiopia and Sudan,[15] during the destruction of the First Temple. This position is supported by former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.[16] They are said to have fought with the natives.[17] Charles Upton relates the serpent voodoo God Danbhala as derived in part from a heterodox form of Ethiopian Judaism.[18]”

• Tribe of Manasseh – Confirmed. Discovered on the northeastern Indian border and in China and in Burma
• Mass emigration in progress (3000+ of ~7000 as of 2021)
  • See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bnei_Menashe
  • See: The Jews of Kaifeng (video (above/below) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaifeng_Jews)
• Tribe of Issachar – found in Buchari, Uzbekistan
  • See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bukharan_Jews
  • “According to some ancient texts, there were Israelites that began traveling to Central Asia to work as traders during the reign of King David of Jerusalem as far back as the 10th century B.C.E.[8] When Persian King Cyrus conquered Babylon, he encouraged the Jews he liberated to settle in his empire, which included areas of Central Asia. In the Middle Ages, the largest Jewish settlement in Central Asia was in the Emirate of Bukhara.
• Tribe of Naphtali ruled in Central Asia in 5th and 6th centuries (integrated with Bukharan Jews)
  • See video (above): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdYbQKthqoE timestamp 27:30 and on.

A great video on this and the return of Manasseh as recent as 2021 is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYlnZb0xNe8 – this video says they have found Manasseh in Manipur and Mizoram in India

Brother tribe of Naphtali, see video @ 47:26 and on – Afghanistan, Pakistan and India (the Zavulah) Current community exists in Bombay and shows Jewish continuity (call themselves children of Israel)

• (see video 58:00 and on – Kings and Chronicles – shows 5 places)

The Pathans in Habor Pass near Gozan river in Pakistan/Afghanistan Fascinatingly has maintained elements of tribal identities of Reuben, Levi, Shimon and Gad by name (ex. Gadun) and Ephraim

In Djerba, Tunisia (Kohens who came in biblical times and Asherites) who show full continuity

in Somalia and Sudan (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Africa). Remnants of tribes in Assyria (video @ 1:12:55 and on).

• Pashtuns /Pathens of Afghanistan and Pakistan – suspected to be descended from israel
• The Lemba of south africa and zimbabwe – the priestly family shares the same genetic marker as kohanim, matching their claim of being descended from israel.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JlyZf5Ncf8
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZBoEjRxiek

• Points out well-known facts and histories and discovers the land of Hazara-stan (Foreign Land) and the city of Kandahar (this is the mountain) in Afghanistan.
• Points out the Chatai (my sins) jews of China/Kaifeng
• Pointing out the connections between buddhism and torah – 'bo..da e tora ti'
• Japanese history books kojiki and nihongi mention all the kings of israel, etc.
• Proves that Japanese royals are Kohanim – 30k invited to settle from korea in japan in 660bc by japanese queen
• this marks the start of japanese history and the adoption of the israel lunar calendar
• major jewish figures such as rambam discussing buddhism and shinto as derivatives
• ex. shinto holy of holies is an ark model – extreme similarities of hebrew and japanese
• Other numerous convincing photos, and videos of people in various communities

So it may in fact be that we have found communities representing all of the lost 10 tribes(!!) including those in west/east Africa. Black Hebrew Israelites (touching on the above) would then need to show continuity with the tribes above (ex. the Abudayah).

Further note that there are as many Pathans (representing Manasseh and Ephraim) as there are Judean/Benjamite “Jews” in the world, which is consistent with biblical prophecy (see video, 1:16:40 or 1:17:10 and on).

Also see Kuzari Argument Analysis. The correlation of all of these disparate communities with modern Jewry is strongly indicative of a shared and preserved tradition. All of these communities seem to have retained documents showing their continuity with the nation of Israel including migration patterns, Torah scrolls, identical types of prayer shawls (tallit), and/or a traditional form of the Hebrew language. Additionally all of them have preserved traditions and have kept forms of the Jewish law in a continuous manner throughout their history, even in isolation.

This issue may also be explored in Kuzari Argument Analysis as it is directly related to it.