The exile of the ten lost tribes of Israel and their unexplained disappearance is a story shrouded in mystery, not to mention historical significance. Until recent times, the history of the Jewish people was by and large a tale of wandering and displacement. Exiled from one land or driven by famine or persecution from another, the Jews became a diasporic nation, settling in lands throughout the world but with a steady, vigilant eye cast toward Zion. Such an uprooted culture finds great solace in stories- especially those that feature redemption, reunification, and a return to its ancestral homeland.
The legend of the ten lost tribes is perhaps the most poignant of these stories, a tale of the loss of more than three quarter of the Jewish people and of the hope that someday they will be found. In fact, the story is based more on this hoe than on any historical truth. The ten tries of Israel were indeed ‘lost’ but the secret of their disappearance is much more mundane than the fantastic tales traditionally associate with them.
The story begins with the reign of King Solomon and of his prodigal son Rehoboam, whose rule was so odious that is split Israel into two hostile kingdoms. Ten of the original twelve tribes descendants of Jacob’s sons, moved north, while the remaining two, Benjamin and Judah, established the southern kingdom of Judah. For the next 200 years, the two kingdoms squabbled and fought each other, paving the way for an enterprising king to conquer the region.
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