How did the Lost Tribes of Israel become lost?

Question

I read a lot about the Lost Tribes of Israel, but I have no idea who they are. Are they Israelites that were taken away capitve by the Assyrias?

How come people say they ended up in Britain, India, Japan, and even North America?

Thanks all in advance.

Answer 1

I don't know the answer, but if you really want to know the answer and don't get satisfactory answers, put the question  under society-culture/ religion - spirituality, there are jewish people who can answer you.

Answer 2

When Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem in the 6th century BC, some of the people DID escape and scattered to the 4 winds - provbably separating according to tribal affiliations.

The prophet Jeremiah was supposed to have fled to safety with one of the Israelite king's daughters to "an island in the north" - where the jewish princess married into the royal family there, and Jeremiah established a priesthood based on the laws of Moses.  There are some interesting indicators that this "island in the north" was Ireland   (It is an interesting "coincidence" that Irish legend has a wise stranger arriving with a princess from a foreign land who marries into the local royal lineage at about that same point in history.)

The "Book of Mormon" is based on the idea that some of these ancient Jewish refugees came to the Americas and established a colony there, but later destroyed themselves in an internal power struggle that ended in a sort of mini-civil-war that pretty much wiped them all out.

There is a tribe down in Southern Africa that has many Jewish customs ingrained in it's tribal practices and overtly claims to be of Jewish descent.  Even though they look like typical black-skinned African natives, they supposedly do have some specific DNA markers in common with one ancient Israeli tribe.  They have a sacred ancient artifact that one European scientist really believes is the fabled "Ark of the Covenant" stripped of its gold-leaf covering, but I think that is stretching credibility a bit TOOOOO far!

There are a lot of stories like this, and any number of them could be true or none of them might be true - no one today knows.  Contemporary written records from that time and place in history are all but non-existant!  Today, we have to rely on stories and legends passed verbally from generation to generation and maybe written down a few hundred years ago and then translated and re-translated....etc.

Who knows what might have been lost in all those tellings, re-tellings, translations and re-translations?