The Lost Tribes of Israel

What ever happened to the lost tribes of Israel—and why has the search for them captivated cultures across the world for centuries?

The tradition of the twelve tribes of Israel is the true centerpiece of biblical visions of both Israelite history and identity. From the birth of the tribal ancestors to Jacob, Leah, Rachel, Bilhah, and Zilpah between Genesis 29 and 35 all the way through the Babylonian conquest and beyond, biblical narratives consistently present Israel as the tribes and the tribes as Israel. But, it leaves the end of the story vague and uncertain. 2 Kings 17 claims that the tribes that lived in the kingdom of Israel – but not Judah – were taken away into Assyrian Exile, never to return. These are the fabled ten lost tribes of Israel, but no biblical text tells us very much about what happens to them. Other biblical texts describe the Babylonian conquest of Judah in 586 BCE, followed by the Babylonian Exile. But none are specific about who went, and who came back.

Since then, the world has been full of stories about where Israel went, and what might have happened to it next. Even today, there are peoples who identify as Israelites all over the world, including the Mormons, the Beta Israel of Ethiopia, the Bene Israel of India, and the Black Israelites. There are traditions of Israel in Afghanistan, and Uganda. There are people who have been identified as Israelites by others, including, for quite a long time, the native Americans. Stories about how Israel changed, took on new features, received new revelations, embraced new realities are endemic to world culture, here, there, and everywhere.

This talk will examine the rise of the phenomenon of a “world full of Israels” from antiquity to the present. It will show how and why the identity traditions of the ancient Israelites were so ripe for adaptation, and how that happened even in ancient Israel and Judah themselves. It will discuss stages in the development of the idea of the lost tribes of Israel and some of the more interesting examples of Israels around the world. It will show the value of studying how visions of Israel are constructed, out of what traditions, as a way of studying different culture around the world. And it will explore why the search for Israel has endured for so long, in so many different places.

About Andrew Tobolowsky:

Andrew Tobolowsky is the Walter G. Mason Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the College of William & Mary. He is the author of four books on various subjects, including the tribes of Israel, and comparisons between biblical traditions and those of ancient Greece. His research seeks to understand why we tell stories the way we do, and what we can say through stories about the world we live in.