Nadene Goldfoot
Jacob was the father of 12 tribes of which 10 of them had settled in the northern part of Israel. 2 of them were in the southern part; Judah, which was the largest with a population of 76,500 during the 2nd and last census going into Canaan, and Benjamin, the smallest with 45,600.
The Assyrians attacked in 721 BCE and took away several thousand of the best of the 10 northern tribal members. According to Assyrian records, 27,290 Hebrews were taken into that captivity. Judeans never heard from them again. They've been referred to as the 10 Lost Tribes. What was Judah doing at the time? About the only way of communication was runners, or sounding of the Shofar. What had been going on?
We know that in 921 BCE King Solomon of the tribe of Judah had died, and his son, Rehoboam took the throne in 933 BCE. He was not popular as he continued the taxes his father had issued, and there was a rebellion with something like a Civil War. The North had separated from the South, and Judah was separated from the North, who kept the name, Israel.
The North commenced to elect their king as Jeroboam, who was from the tribe of Ephraim and had been the superintendent of forced labor during the reign of Solomon. Later, he led the revolt against the burden imposed on the people, the taxes, by the monarchy. When Solomon died, he led a delegation representing the northern Israelite tribes which met Rehoboam of Judah at Shechem, demanding changes in the system of taxation and forced labor. The request was refused and their independence was declared and Jeroboam had become the king.
200 years later, the Assyrians attacked. Ahaz, son of Jotham, was still king of Judah, having served from 735 BCE. His kingdom was attacked by Israel and Syria, while the Edomites and Philistines harried his southern territory. Despite the opposition of the prophet, Isaiah, Ahaz asked for aid from Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria, who of course, invaded Syria and Israel in 733 BCE. Judah, however, became an Assyrian vassal and was also subjected by Assyria to Assyrian idolatry. By 721 BCE, the Assyrians had taken away the 10 northern Tribes. 720 BCE Ahaz had died.
Most of the world's 2-4 million Assyrians live around their traditional homeland, which comprises parts of northern Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran. In recent years, many have fled to neighboring countries to escape persecution from both Sunni and Shiite militias during the Iraq War and, most recently, by ISIS.
King Hezekiah was just the prince in 721 BCE when Assyria took his cousins. He was the replacement of his father, Ahaz in 720 BCE. He aimed to break the country's dependence on Assyria. To this end, he freed religious worship from Assyrian influence, purged the palace and Temple of images and pagan altars, and renewed the pure monotheistic religion. These reforms were supported by the prophets, especially Isaiah who wielded great influence in affairs of state.
Hezekiah allied himself with neighboring rulers, fortified Jerusalem, and constructed the SILOAM tunnel to improve is water supply.
Hezekiah faced Assyria's army in 701 BCE when King Sennacherib and his army invaded Judah, calling on Hezekiah to surrender. The Egyptians challenged his rear. Assyria invaded but did not occupy Jerusalem. Instead, Hezekiah was forced to pay a large indemnity and cede 43 cities. After Sennacherib returned home, Hezekiah recaptured these towns from the Philistines to whom they had been consigned. Hezekiah was king until 692 BCE. According to Kings 19:35-37, Sennacherib attacked Judah a 2nd time, but then had to leave because of a plague in his camp.
The Babylonians took over the Assyrian baton and land and people 104 years later in 597 BCE and again 11 years later in 586 BCE and took away many of the Judeans to Babylonia. It has been estimated that some 70,000 Jews were taken to Babylon during these campaigns (and this doubtless included some of those of the northern kingdom who had remained in Canaan). They were held for 70 years until told they could return to Judah.
Perhaps the lesson here is that the separation of the tribes was the kiss of Israel becoming weaker, weak enough for larger empires to overtake them. Strength comes with unity.
There is a tradition among the Pashtuns of being descended from the exiled lost tribes of Israel. This tradition was referenced in 19th-century Western scholarship and was also incorporated in the "Lost Tribes" literature popular at the time (notably George Moore's The Lost Tribes of 1861). Recently (2000s), interest in the topic has been revived by Jerusalem anthropologist Shalva Weil, who was quoted in the popular press to the effect that "Taliban may be descended from Jews".
The traditions surrounding the Pashtuns being remote descendants of the "Lost Tribes of Israel" is to be distinguished from the historical presence of the Jewish community in eastern Afghanistan which flourished from about the 7th century to the early 20th century, but has essentially disappeared due to its emigration to Israel since the 1950s.
The Taliban or Taleban, who refer to themselves as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamist movement and military organization in Afghanistan, currently waging war within the country. Since 2016, the Taliban's leader has been Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada.
Resource;
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assyrian_captivity
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-11451718
https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/1322-what-happened-to-the-ten-lost-tribes
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