Dispersed when their kingdom was invaded, the ancient Jewish Tribes of Israel scattered throughout the world, and their history as a nation was lost. What became of the Lost Tribes of Israel?
When Assyria conquered ancient Israel and, centuries later, Babylon invaded Judah, Jewish people dispersed into foreign lands. Many of them never returned but instead settled in diverse places. Their history as nations, particularly the 10 northern Tribes of Israel, ceased, and they became known as the Lost Tribes of Israel. What became of these Lost Tribes of Israel?
Still Jewish
These Jewish people appeared lost to the world through assimilation into the cultures and nations to which they fled to avoid captivity by their conquerors. However, throughout the thousands of years since, and regardless of where they settled, they have maintained their distinctly Jewish identity as a people from elsewhere. Down through the ages, some were forced to outwardly convert to other religions to avoid persecution, violence or death. However, they continued their Jewish faith in their hearts and often secretly in their homes.
Today, descendants of those first scattered people of Israel and Judah live in the same lands where their ancestors migrated. They often endure prejudice and persecution to this day. They are frequently rejected and treated with suspicion as the subject of superstitions. They are often driven out of centralized populations to live outside cities in remote areas where resources are scarce and poverty is abundant.
What Became of the Lost Tribes of Israel?
The early scatterings of the Lost Tribes of Israel led the Jewish people mainly east and south of Israel. Many followed the ancient Silk Route, a well-traveled 4,000-mile trade route connecting China and the Middle East and settled in southern China and northern India. Others went south into Egypt and Yemen, continuing their migrations over the centuries into Africa. Today, Jewish people reside throughout the world, including in communities within South America, several African nations, China, India, and the Pacific Islands.
Jewish People of Ethiopia
Ethiopia is home to many Jewish communities throughout the country, where they go by different names. These groups, many of whom are believed to be from the Tribe of Dan, have lived in Ethiopia for centuries. However, even today, they are often called Falasha, a derogatory term meaning "outcast" or "stranger."
Beta Israel
The Beta Israel represent the largest Jewish people group in Ethiopia. They reside in many northern areas of the country, with a particular concentration in the city of Gondar. In the 1980s and '90s, northern Jewish people heard of the opportunity to escape the dangers of Ethiopia’s civil war and immigrate to Israel if they could get to Gondar. Tens of thousands left their homes and villages, flocking to the city to wait for Israel-sponsored airlifts, taking with them only what they could carry. When they arrived in Gondar, they lived in crowded, impoverished conditions as they waited. Thousands were flown to Israel, but, as the Ethiopian aliyah (immigration to Israel) program has stopped and restarted several times over the years, many Jews still wait in Gondar.
Beta Abraham
The Beta Abraham people are found primarily in central Ethiopia, in the capital city of Addis Ababa and nearby cities. The Beta Abraham originated from the Beta Israel people group. Eventually, after migrating to the capital from the north, they came to call themselves the Beta Abraham. In Addis Ababa, though Jewish people live throughout the overcrowded capital city, there is a large concentration in the Kechene neighborhood. Many Beta Abraham make their living by handmaking ceramics and dyeing and weaving fabrics.
Gefat
The Gefat of Southern Ethiopia descended from the Beta Israel, migrating south from Addis Ababa nearly 800 years ago. They live as an impoverished and rejected people in a lush but remote setting. Their oral history suggests their ancestors accompanied the Ark of the Covenant to its protected place, long believed to be in Ethiopia, and blew the shofar along its sacred route. Over time, indigenous people around them turned the Gefat’s rich heritage as blowers of the shofar into the offensive term “Fuga,” conveying a desire that they would “blow away” and be gone. Today, the Gefat continue to endure the prejudice of those among whom they live.
The Yibir
The name Yibir means “Hebrews.” These Jewish people live as outcasts at the edges of predominantly Muslim communities in the regions of eastern Ethiopia, Somalia, and Somaliland. Their neighbors consider them “an accursed people.” In the last decade, around 7,000 Yibir were banished from a local Ethiopian city and consigned to live four hours away in a desolate area – because the town’s leadership didn’t want to even see them. The Yibir often dress as Muslims to avoid persecution. The Yibir struggle to live by farming lifeless soil and relying on contaminated water sources. Deprived of the help available to others, they have tremendous health issues.
The Lemba of Southern Africa
The Lemba’s oral history names them as sons of Aaron from the tribe of priests or cohanim. A large portion of the Lemba has tested to possess Cohanim DNA, clearly affirming their ties to the ancient people of Israel, particularly the priestly Tribe of Levi. The Lemba's oral history explains that their ancestors returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian captivity, but when Ezra and Nehemiah insisted that they forsake their foreign wives and family, they could not. Instead, they migrated south to Yemen, eventually settling in the southern regions of Africa. Today, Lemba people live in Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa and other countries. Many Lemba have come to believe in Jesus as the Messiah while still maintaining their Jewish identity and traditions.
The Bnei Menashe of India
The Bnei Menashe are descendants of the tribe of Manasseh, residing in two states in northeastern India. When the Bnei Menashe of India were “found,” they called themselves Israelites rather than Jews. Some believe their ancestors traveled the ancient Silk Route east to central Asia, settled in China, and eventually migrated south to India. Much of the Bnei Menashe population has “made aliyah” (immigrated) to Israel, but many still live in Manipur and Mizoram in the northern regions of India.
Lost?
The Lost Tribes of Israel were never truly lost; they were merely unidentified until fairly recently in world history. They are a remarkable testimony to the strength and resilience of the Jewish people, whom the Bible says God selected as His Chosen People. The faithfulness of these Lost Tribes to their Jewish identity has stayed strong throughout millennia of living in other lands. Regardless of where they live in the world, they have never forgotten that they are the people of Israel.
