The Unknown Exile

Israel in exile was a vast multitude “as the sand of the sea,” certainly indicating that most of God’s people were exiled from the land, and only a few -- “a remnant” -- would return. Some of the House of Israel that had escaped the Assyrian conquest of 722 B.C. had resettled in the cities of Judah, and most of these individuals were exiled later during Sennacherib’s invasion of Judah.

This article concerns a little-known major exile of God's people at the beginning of the eighth century B.C.. Many Christians may have heard of the Babylonian exile of the House of Judah, as well as the Assyrian exile of the House of Israel, but few know anything about the Assyrian exile of Judah that occurred in 701 B.C. under Sennacherib. Did a large segment of Judah go into the Assyrian captivity? What became of them? The answer supports Anglo-Israel and British-Israel teaching.

Mainline Christians generally know something about the Old Testament fall of Jerusalem and Babylonian exile of the House of Judah, but there was another exile of Judah that is almost universally ignored, even by many Biblical scholars. We read about this “unknown exile” in the book of Second Kings 18:13:

Historians date this event to 701 B.C., which is about two decades after the fall of the House of Israel and its capital, Samaria. The Scriptural account tells us that all of Judah’s cities except for Jerusalem itself fell to the Assyrians, with the exile of most of the conquered citizens.

As the Assyrian army prepared to attack Jerusalem itself, Sennacherib sent a pompous letter to Jerusalem’s officials, declaring, “Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?” (Isaiah 10:11) The inspiring story of Jerusalem’s deliverance is told in 2 Kings:

God answered Hezekiah’s prayer and promised to deliver Jerusalem from the Assyrian army. “Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.” (2 Kings 19:20) Even though God spared Jerusalem, the capital of Judah, all of the other cities of Judah were conquered and their people exiled.

A remnant who escaped the Assyrian conquest of the cities of Judah would continue a small presence in the land.

The prophet Isaiah also recorded these momentous events. God declared, “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.” (Isaiah 10:20)

Notice that this verse refers to two sections of Israel. First, “the remnant” includes those few who had escaped the Assyrian conquest and exile, including the elderly and others too weak to travel. The fact that they are a “remnant” indicates that these individuals were not a majority of the population. Second, “such as are escaped,” would include an additional unknown number who may have taken to the hills and hid out from the enemy, as well as those safe in the city of Jerusalem.

In spite of the clear account given in Scripture, some Bible commentaries want to promote an entirely different view of events, and deny the exile of any Israelites at all. The popular Jamieson, Faucett and Brown Commentary says this concerning the events of Isaiah 10: “…the Assyrians in Sennacherib’s reign did not carry off Judah captive…” This would lead a reader to suppose that there were absolutely no Israelites of the House of Judah taken into exile by Sennacherib, when the Bible instead labels those few who remained, “a remnant.” One wonders if the reason for this false history is to dispel any ideas of exiled Israel becoming “lost tribes.”

Just as unsound is the same commentary’s interpretation of a following verse in Isaiah, which states:

Here we are told that Israel in exile was a vast multitude “as the sand of the sea,” certainly indicating that most of God’s people were exiled from the land, and only a few -- “a remnant” -- would return. Not only does the commentary’s view above contradict this Scripture, but they then also follow with an even more surprising error of interpretation:

Nowhere in the text does the prophet tell us, “The great majority of Israel shall perish.” Quite the opposite! Nowhere, in fact, does Scripture overturn the Abrahamic Covenant’s promise of great multiplicity of seed. If that were the case, then Israel would not have been as numerous as the sand of the sea! The Bible instead is telling us that there was a great diminishing of the number of Israel in Palestine due to the great numbers exiled.

The Preacher’s Commentary of Isaiah 10:6 states, “Isaiah tells us that God gave Assyria the charge to attack His people, seize their wealth, march them into exile, and trample through their streets. (Isa. 10:15-16) As total as the destruction was to be, the charge was still limited to Judah and within the sovereignty of God.”

This does reveal the truth that Assyria took Judah into exile, which few commentaries seem to admit. However, it incorrectly claims that this exile “was still limited to Judah.” Instead, some of the House of Israel that had escaped the Assyrian conquest of 722 B.C. had resettled in the cities of Judah and faced exile by Sennacherib.

Anti-British-Israel/Anti-Anglo-Israel writers often will claim that all or most of the House of Israel escaped exile in 722 B.C. by fleeing to Judah where they resettled. If so, most of these individuals were exiled later during Sennacherib’s invasion of Judah.

The combination of misguided commentaries and even difficult to understand Hebrew expressions sometimes provide a roadblock to the average person coming into an understanding of Anglo-Israel or British-Israel truth on their own. For example, in Isaiah 10:13 we read,

Although it may not be clear to us in English, the phrase, “removed the bounds of the people,” is an idiom indicating exile beyond the borders of Israel. In addition, the Hebrew expression translated, “put down the inhabitants,” is also an indication of exile and removal from the land (as confirmed correctly by the Jamieson, Faucett and Brown Commentary on this verse).

This may be part of the reason that the Apostle Paul advised, “…how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14) It is important for each of us to be witnesses to others in order to overcome such obstacles and help them better understand Biblical truths!

The recent special exhibition, “Magnificent Maps,” at the famed British Library in London, England, featured dozens of beautiful large, rare maps dating from as early as the Middle Ages. Some of these maps in earlier times had resided in palaces, audience chambers, and even royal bedchambers. There were a total of eight exhibition rooms full of these venerable works of art, and some of the maps were quite large, measuring eight feet or more in diameter. Most of the maps were quite detailed, and often were meticulously hand-painted in beautiful rich coloring by their creators.

Some of the maps depicted either Europe or the whole world, while others were of early North America, and still others displayed the farms and fields of rich lords.

Looking over these masterpieces, I noticed that the detail on some of these maps included Israel-related place names. In fact, a knowledgeable viewer could actually follow the path of Israel’s tribes into Europe, with place names that could not have been mere accidental resemblances.

One of the first examples to greet the visitor in the entrance-way was a large wall map designed by Gerard Valk of Amsterdam, dated 1680. In the Caucasus Mountains was a region marked, “Iveria,” which is usually spelled, “Iberia” on more modern maps. This term means, “Eber’s land,” and refers to the patriarch Eber whose name is the source of the word, “Hebrew.” Spain was also known in ancient times as the Iberian Peninsula due to Hebrew sea voyages there.

Proceeding through the Caucasus and following around the north and west side of the Black Sea is a River Sereth in Moldavia (modern Rumania), and another place name north of the Black Sea is labeled “Azara.” These landmarks remind us of an important passage in the book of Esdras in the apocrypha, concerning the lost tribes of Israel:

The exiled Israelites resolved to “go forth into a further country, where never mankind dwelt...And they entered into Euphrates by the narrow passages of the river...For through that country there was a great way to go, namely of a year and a half; and the same region is called Arsareth.” (see 2 Esdras 13:40-46)

Some believe that the word, Arsareth, is a corruption of the Hebrew word, Aretz, which appears in Isaiah 5:26 in a prophecy of the place of Israel’s exile: “mi-ketse ha-Aretz,” meaning, “end of the earth.” The lost tribes indeed went to the end of the earth! (Deuteronomy 33:17) If so, it is a good description of Western Europe and its border with the Atlantic Ocean.

Further north on the Gerard Valk map, the visitor sees the North Sea labeled, “Danicarum Mare,” or “Sea of the tribe of Dan.” Similarly, the modern state of Denmark is here labeled, “Danos,” yet another reference to the Biblical tribe of Dan. The late great antiquarian scholar, Dr. Cyrus Gordon, wrote of the migrations of this tribe in his study, “The Mediterranean Factor In The Old Testament.” He wrote,

Cilicia is located in southeast Asia Minor, south of the Black Sea.

For further evidence, we review another map in the British Library collection which is replete with historical evidence of Israel’s migration into Europe, including place-names associated with the tribe of Dan. This map was published by Justus Perthes of Gotha, Sweden, in 1865. Five major rivers supplying the Black Sea all have reference to the tribe of Dan. These are the Danube, Dniestr, Dnieper, Donets, and Don. Each has a story to tell.

Flowing into the western end of the Black Sea is the Danube (German: Donau) River, and inland a few miles from its outlet to the sea are three towns: Isaktscha (Isaac’s town), Ibrahil (Eber-?-), and Galatz(compare Gaul and Galatia). A 450 mile-long tributary of this river is still known as the Sereth (see above); a town by this name was also established in the 18th century and still exists here in modern Romania. Nearby is the location of the University of Danubius (Danube).

North of the Danube River is the Dniester River, which flows southeast from the region of Galicia into the northwest side of the Black Sea. In ancient times it was known as the Danastus or Danastris, again showing the presence of the Biblical tribe of Dan. A separate report on the Hebrew connection with Galicia/Bohemia may be read on the “Bible Question Box” page of the Israelite.ca website. Professor Zvi Ben-Dor Benite stated, “Some Jews believe that the Dniester River was in fact the Sabatyon,” the river the lost tribes of Israel crossed in their exile from Canaan according to Jewish legend. This would again place lost Israel in Europe. (See the prophecy in 1 Kings 14:15)

Flowing into the north end of the Black Sea is the Dnieper River, known anciently as the Danapris; it flows roughly north to south, passing through Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. Some historians believe that the early hero, Odin, established a city here in ancient times. We do know that the Goths for a time established their capital city at Arheimar on the Dnieper, according to the Hervarar Saga.

Flowing into the Sea of Azov north of the Black Sea are the Donets and Don Rivers. Also notable is the Russian town of Donetsk located along the Donets River. Some mainstream writers believe that this “Dan” or “Don” appellation is derived from the Persian word for a stream or river, danu, but how can this be since they claim that the Anglo-Saxons originated in Scandinavia or Central Asia, not Medo-Persia? And why apply a Persian word for river to cities, towns, and other regions? As Dr. Cyrus Gordon indicated above, it is much more probable that the tribe of Dan, or tuatha de Danaan, named these locations after themselves since they actually traversed and colonized these areas. The tribe was known for applying their “Dan” place-name while on their journeys.

In Joshua 19:47 the Danites traveled to an area of northern Canaan, “…and dwelt therein, and called Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their father.” This Danite naming custom is also mentioned twice in the book of Judges (18:12, 29). It is significant that while traveling in the territory of the tribe of Judah they named the place of their camp “Kirjathjearim” (Camp of Dan), a name that Scripture tells us remained at that location “unto this day.”

Scholars who previously doubted the “early Israel connection” with Europe are beginning to reconsider. Noted Biblical historian, Johannes C. DeMoor, writing in “Ugarit and Israelite Origins” (Brill, 1995) says, “The theses of C. H. Gordon, M. C. Astour, and Y. Yadin with regard to a possible connection between the Sea People called Danites and the Israelite tribe of Dan have been all but abandoned…[but] the situation may have been more complicated than we had anticipated…the whole matter should perhaps be re-evaluated.” (p. 222)

Flowing into the north end of the Caspian Sea is the Volga River, with its tributaries the Jeruslan River and Samara River. The near identity of these terms with “Jerusalem” and “Samaria” is obvious. Just to the east is the Ural River, with a town called “Sacharnaia,” the “land of the Saka” or Saxons.

The Caucasus Mountain region is another gateway to Europe from the Mid-east, and Israel place-names are found there, too, in such names as Sakartvelo and Sachkhere. W. H. Bennett’s, “Story Of Celto-Saxon Israel” gives evidence that the Saka were Israelite "Isaac-sons" and that the ancient Armenian and Georgian Chronicles speak of Israelite “captives” arriving in the 6th century, B.C. It is also interesting to note that the central pass through the Caucasus at Anatoriss is located near Mount Gimarai, five miles west of Kasbek; the Israelites were called Gimirri by the Babylonians.

Author Steven M. Collins has written on the origin of the word, German, in the Medo-Persian-Parthian district called Carmania, one of the places to which Israelites were exiled by Assyria. (Israel’s Tribes Today, p. 10) The Gerard Valk map discussed above also labels an area of south-central Asia Minor (modern Turkey) as “Caramania,” showing an important migration route from the Mid-east through the Bosporus Strait and into Europe. Just south of the Bosporus is the Dardanelles, again showing the presence of the tribe of Dan in early times.

Many of these place-names are marked on the adjoining map, and present clear evidence of Israel’s ancient migration routes to Europe.

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Hope of Israel Ministries
P.O. Box 853
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www.hope-of-israel.org

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