>
>(B) maybe a good close look at the Bible to see what it actually has to say
>about what happened to the "lost" tribes. Do later Biblical authors have
>theories? Did the Church fathers have theories? Does the Talmud say
anything
>on the subject? List the possibilities--they died, they assimilated, they
>went somewhere else. What are the pros and cons for each possibility? What
>would one want by way of additional evidence?
>
I don't believe there is a genuine mystery here at all. It was the custom
of the Assyrians to deport rebellious peoples, usually separating them so
that they did not simply continue to exist as a body within the empire.
Like many other peoples of the area, the ten tribes were most likely broken
up, provided with new homes where their individual trades were wanted,
provided new spouses in many cases, and assimilated into the larger
population of the near east.
Jo Ann
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