The Saxons and the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel

The majority of Americans can trace their ancestors to the early American settlers of the 13 Colonies or to Ellis Island, New York.  It’s interesting to look at our family trees and trace our forefathers in history.  Many of us can trace our family trees back to England, Ireland and Scotland as well as Germany, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, France etc.

Let’s go back farther.  Where did the people of England, Ireland and Scotland come from?  When we look at the history of Great Britain we find that the people of the British Isles are made up of Celts, Welsh, Dannan, Irish, Picts, Scots, Jutes, Angles, Saxons, Norwegians, Danes, Swedes and Normans.  Sounds like quite a mixture doesn’t it?  These influxes of peoples in the British Isles came over many hundreds of years.

The single most important thing that ties all the above mentioned people together is that they are really all various related tribes of the “Saxons”.  The word “Saxon” is the Latin Roman version of the German word “Sachsen”.  Both words are pronounced “Sakson”.

Let’s go back even further.  Where did the Saxons, or “Saksons”, come from?  Historians tell us that the Saxons were called Scythians by the Greeks and first appeared in Europe about 650 B.C. in the land of Scythia which included the area north of the Black Sea and stretched east to the Caspian Sea and south to the Caucasus Mountains, thus the name “Caucasian”.

Again, let’s go back.  Ancient historians tell us that the Saxons first appear in history about 700 B.C. south of the Caucasus Mountains, in Armenia and in the land of the Medes.  The Medes and Persians called the Saxons the “Sak” or “Saka” and “Sakasani”.  Sakasani translated into English means “sons of Isaac”.

So the Saxons first appear in history in the land of the Medes, and at the same time, 700 B.C., another people, the House of Israel (the 10 lost tribes of Israel), disappear from history in the land of the Medes.  Is there a connection?

The 10 (12) Lost Tribes of Israel

About 931 B.C. the 12 tribe nation of Israel split into 2 separate kingdoms, Israel, the 10 northern tribes, and Judah, the 2 southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin.  The Jews of today represent the modern nation of Israel, but only represent the ancient 2 tribe Kingdom of Judah (Judah and Benjamin), thus the name Jews which is derived from Judah. 

The lost tribes of Israel, or the 10 (12) lost tribes of Israel,  have been lost to the world, to themselves and to historians since about 700 B.C.  Most scholars, historians and clergy believe that the “Lost tribes of Israel” were consumed in the land of their captivity (Assyrian Captivity) never to be found again.  If this were true, much Bible prophecy would have to be rendered as false.  If we are a Bible believing Christian we believe that God is the ultimate author of the Bible and that God tells us the truth.

So when God tells us that he has, “not cast his people away”  and “ye sons of Jacob are not consumed”,  we believe Him.

The purpose of this study is to document the existence and identity of the 10 (12) lost tribes of Israel in the Bible, in history, in ancient stone writings and with the use of linguistics.

Before starting here I would like to give an opinion.  I believe that God has intentionally kept secret, from the world and from “Lost Israel” themselves, the identity and existence of the 10 (12) Lost Tribes of Israel, not just for their punishment, but He would still use them for His purposes.  Also it is my firm belief that God will reveal this secret, or “truth”, to individuals that believe in His word and seek the truth.  Remember what Christ told us:

Matt 7: 7 Ask , and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

KJV

I think the best place to start is the beginning.

Abrahamic Covenant

 Almighty God said:

     “As for me, behold my covenant is with thee, and thou shall be a father of many nations.

     Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

     And I will make thee exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

     And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee.”

(Genesis 17: vs 4-7)

The above covenant was an everlasting binding agreement.  There were no conditions.  It didn’t matter what the people did or didn’t  do.  The covenant was unconditional.  Referencing this covenant it was said (in Hebrews, Chapter 6. vs 13 to 20) that God had promised Abraham by an oath and that the oath confirmed that the promise could not be changed.

Since this Covenant was an everlasting binding contract, which could not be changed and it is impossible for God to lie, it must still be in effect today.

Also God promised that Abraham’s seed would be a blessing to the entire world.

Gen 12:2-3

2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

The Covenant was continued through Isaac (Gen. 17: 8-24 and Romans 9: 7-9) and through Isaac’s son, Jacob, who was renamed Israel by God (Gen. 35: 10-12).

Gen 35:10-11

10 And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel.

11 And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;  KJV

The Hebrew word for nation and company of nations is  OT:1471 gowy (go'-ee); rarely (shortened) goy (go'-ee); apparently from the same root as OT:1465 (in the sense of massing); a foreign nation; hence, a Gentile.  KJV-Gentile, heathen, nation, people.

Ephraim and Manasseh Birthright Blessings

Read Genesis 48 and 49 for a complete listing of the birthright blessings given by Jacob to his 12 sons, the 12 tribes of Israel.

Chapter 48 is mostly about Jacobs’s blessings to Joseph’s 2 sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.

Gen 48:11-16

11 And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.

12 And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.

13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him.

14 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.

15 And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,

16 The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.        KJV

In verse 16 Jacob has put his name (Israel) on Joseph’s 2 sons thus creating 2 new tribes of Israel in Joseph’s place.  So along with the 11 other tribes now there are actually 13 tribes of Israel.  It’s important to note here that Jacob (Israel) also put the names of Abraham and Isaac on them (on Ephraim and Manasseh).

Another very important aspect here is that Jacob spent far more time describing the blessings for Ephraim and Manasseh than he did for the other 11 tribes.  Also, in verse 16 he foretells of Ephraim and Manasseh becoming great in population….” let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

In the next verses Jacob foretells greatness for Ephraim and Manasseh.

Gen 48:17-19

17 And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head.

18 And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.

19 And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.

KJV

It is in these previous verses that the promise is made to Ephraim of becoming “a multitude of nations” and Manasseh, “shall become a people, and he also shall be great”.

Again, these promises, to Ephraim and Manasseh, came from God Himself through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel).  There were no conditions.  It didn’t matter what the people did or did not do. Again, the Covenant was an everlasting binding contract, which means it must exist today.

So if Ephraim is a multitude of nations and Manasseh is a great nation, where and who are they?

After handing down the birthright blessings to Ephraim and Manasseh, Jacob (Israel), on his deathbed, called for the rest of his sons.

The 12 Tribes Blessings for the "Last Days"

Gen 49:1-28

49:1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.

2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.

3 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:

4 Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.

5 Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.

6 O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall.

7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.

8 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.

9 Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?

10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:

12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.

14 Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:

15 And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.

16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel

17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.

18 I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.

19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.

20 Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

21 Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.

22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:

23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:

24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)

25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:

26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

27 Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.

28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.

It’s important to note here that Jacob (Israel) called his sons together to hand down the birthright blessings and said, “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.”

Also, Joseph is blessed as being the “Shepherd” and the “Stone of Israel”.  So the two sons (2 tribes) of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, would be the leaders and the backbone of Israel.

Many years later (1491 B.C.) Moses brought the people of Israel out of Egypt, by the hand of God.  In the Sinai God gave the people the 10 Commandments, laws, ordinances, statues and judgments.  The people entered into a national covenant with God.  The people at Sinai said, ”All that the Lord hath spoken we will do” (Exodus 24: 7-8).

Blessings and Cursings

In Deut. 28 God told the people that if they obeyed Him and the conditions of this National Covenant and His laws, that they would be a blessed nation; blessed in health, in the fruit of thy ground, in the fruit of thy cattle, with flocks of sheep, in the overall economy and their enemies shall be defeated.  BUT, if they did not obey His laws and commandments, then God would send cursings on the nation.   They would be cursed in the city, in agriculture, in the economy and they would be cursed by disease.  Their enemies would defeat them and remove them from their land and scatter them.  This punishment would be for 7 times.  A time being 360 years, 7 times would be 2520 years.  (Leviticus 26: 27-46)

The Royal Throne

The nation of Israel prospered for many years, as they obeyed God.  God was their King and judges were set up to lead the nation.  Then the people wanted to be like the other nations around them and have a flesh king of their own to lead them.  Although God said that Israel having a flesh king was a rejection of Him, He gave permission to do so.  Saul was appointed the first King of Israel. (I Samuel 8: 7-22)  Later, because of Saul’s sin, Saul was replaced by David who was of the tribe of Judah.  God made an everlasting covenant with David that David’s seed would be on the throne of Israel forever (II Samuel 7: 11-17 and Psalm 89: 3-4).  (Jer. 33: 17-26) (Psalm 89: 29-37)

David was of the House of Judah. This was the fulfillment of the birthright  blessings handed down by Jacob (Israel) to his sons, the 12 tribes of Israel.

Genesis 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah….

KJV

So the Throne of the House of David of the House of Judah would be everlasting and established as a royal king line over Israel FOREVER.  This would be an unbroken line of Kings and/or Queens of the House of David.  (The sceptre shall not depart from Judah)

This means that the throne of David MUST EXIST TODAY.  Of course when Christ (who also is of the seed line of David) returns he will sit on the throne of David and rule over Israel forever.  This hasn’t happened yet and until the return of Christ, David’s lineage will be on the throne of Israel.

So where is the throne of David and who is sitting on it?  Many would say that God broke His promise when Zedekiah and his sons were removed from power and killed by Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, during the Babylonian captivity.  Also, the kings of Judah,  during Christ’s time, Herod the Great’s family, weren’t even of Judah. They were Idumeaen and appointed to the throne of Judah by Rome.  Shortly after Christ’s time the Jews were run out of Palestine by the Romans never to have a nation again until 1948. From the Babylonian captivity to this day the Jews have not had a King.  So, again, the question is, where is the throne today and who is the King or Queen?  Who, of David’s’ lineage have been on the throne?   Remember, God’s promise to Judah and David:  “the septre shall not depart from Judah” Gen. 49:10. God established the throne of David forever (II Samuel 7: 11-17 and Psalm 89: 3-4). This was an unconditional promise and was immutable.  Again, this promise was not conditioned on what David’s descendants did or did not do.  So somewhere, since the fall of Zedekiah (about 586 B.C.) the throne has existed and the seed of David has been on it. God promised this.  Since this has not been fulfilled in the Jews of today, we must look elsewhere.

Israel? Jews?

So what about the promises to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah and David?  How can the promises be fulfilled if they haven’t been fulfilled in the Jews?

Most people in the world today consider Israel as meaning the Jews,  or the Jews are all that remains of Israel.  Even scholars and clergymen try to fit all 13 tribes into one tribe, the tribe of Judah, or the Jews.  If this were true, then God’s promises to the 12 sons of Jacob (Israel), i.e. the birthright blessings given in Genesis 49, would have been broken.  The promises made in Genesis 49 were unconditional and God doesn’t break His promises.

If today’s Jews were all that was left of Israel, this would also mean that the promises to Ephraim and Manasseh of becoming a “multitude of nations” and “a great nation” would have to be fulfilled in the Jews.  This of course hasn’t happened and besides, these promises were given to Ephraim and Manasseh, not to Judah.

To understand the Bible and the prophesies concerning Israel we need to understand the history of the Jews and Israel as given in the Bible.  The word Jew in the Greek is “Ioudaios” which means “of the tribe of Judah or of the land of Judah.”

Judah was just one of the 12 tribes (13 if we count Levi) of Israel.  The Jews of today only represent a part of the tribe of Judah.  Again, to really understand this we need to review the history of Israel and Judah.

When Israel conquered the land of Canaan the land was divided up among the 12 tribes. Levi, not being numbered among the tribes was divided among the twelve tribes to take care of the priestly duties.  Israel thrived as one nation from about 1451 B.C. to about 931 B.C.  They were a blessed and prosperous nation.  They had colonies and trade as far away as Spain and the British Isles (the Isles afar off).  They had one king over them.

Israel Divided and Scattered

Solomon fell into sin and caused the 13 tribes also to fall into sin.  Because of their sin, God caused the kingdom to be divided.  About 931 B.C. the Kingdom of Israel was split into 2 kingdoms,  House of Israel and House of Judah, each having their own king.  Judah’s capitol was Jerusalem and Israel’s capital was initially Shechem, then Tirzah, during the reign of King Baasha.  About 878 B.C. King Omri built a new capitol city,  Samaria.

The 10 northern tribes under the leadership of the tribe of Ephraim, became known as Israel and also referred to as Ephraim or Samaria.  The 2 southern tribes of Benjamin and Judah became known as Judah.  They were 2 separate kingdoms and at times battled each other.  When scripture refers to the House of Judah it means Judah and Benjamin.  When scripture refers to the House of Israel it means the 10 northern tribes and sometimes all of Israel.  When scripture refers to the whole House of Israel, or sometimes as “Jacob”, it means both houses – Israel and Judah.

10 tribes of Israel (and most of Judah and Benjamin) Defeated and Removed

The people of the 10 tribes, House of Israel, fell deeper into sin and their king even had a golden calf set up for worship so the people wouldn’t have to travel to the temple in Jerusalem.  The warning that God gave them in Leviticus 26, that if they persisted in sinning he would invoke the seven times punishment (2520 years) and cause them to be removed from their land and scatter them among the heathens, was put into effect.

The Assyrians defeated the 10 northern tribes of Israel and deported them to the outlying areas of Assyria.  They were put into Halah, and in Habor, by the river Gozan and the cities of the Medes.  This occurred during 745 B.C. to 700 B.C.  On our present day map this would be in northern Iraq and northern Iran, which is just south of the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian Sea.  Israel was placed in these areas to be a buffer between the Assyrians and other nations that were enemies of Assyria.  This meant that Israel would live in these areas semi-independently and would also be required to have weapons and an army to protect the outer areas of the Assyrian empire from invasion.

2 Kings 17:6 In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

KJV

The Assyrians then restocked the cities of Israel with captive people from

other lands (II Kings 17:24). These people became know as the Samaritans.

The Samaritans were Non-Israelites.

2 Kings 17:24

24 And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof.

KJV

Most of Judah Deported by the Assyrians (about 700 BC)

The King of Assyria also went after Judah but failed to take Jerusalem.  However the Assyrians did accomplish taking MOST of Judah and Benjamin and also deported them to Assyria among the 10 tribes.

2 Kings 18:13

13 Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them.

KJV

Assyrian tablet inscriptions left by Sennacherib say that the Assyrians took 43 cities of Judah and took captive 200,150 men of Judah and deported them to the same areas of the 10 tribes. Again, Sennacherib failed to take Jerusalem and lost 185,000 troops in the process.  From this point on the Assyrians were greatly weakened and would eventually fall with the rise of Babylon.

Isa 37:35-38

35 For I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.

36 Then the angel of the LORD went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.

38 And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Armenia: and Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead.

KJV

With the decline of the Assyrians the exiled people of Israel started migrating away from Assyria to Asia Minor, through the Caucasus Mountains to the north of the black Sea and also east past the Caspian.

The Babylonian Captivity

About 150 years after Israel and a large portion of Judah were deported (Assyrian captivity), the people of Jerusalem, the remnant of Judah, fell even deeper into sin than Israel had, and the Babylonians took the remainder of Judah and Benjamin captive to Babylon.  70 years later after the Medes and Persians had defeated Babylon, the Jews (the remnant of Judah and Benjamin), from Babylon were allowed to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the city as well as the temple.  Only 42,000 returned with Ezra and Nehemiah.  

The 10 tribes (and most of Judah and Benjamin) in captivity and lost to historians

After the 12 tribes of Israel were hauled out of their land and deported to Assyria,  700 B.C.,  they are lost to historians.  These tribes never returned to Israel or Judea.  The Bible tells us that they were placed into Halah, Habor, by the river Gozan and in the Cities of the Medes.  One commonly held thought by historians is that they were absorbed into the populations of the areas they were placed into.

Did God cast away His people, Israel, or allow them to be absorbed into other populations?  Even for all their sin God promised that He would not break His covenant with them.  In Leviticus 26:44 God said that even when they were in the hands of their enemies He would NOT cast them away.  In Isaiah 41: 8-9 after all Israel had been scattered, God says He has not cast them away.  In the last book of the Old Testament Malachi 3:6, God says to Israel, “I am the Lord, I change not, therefore ye sons of Jacob are NOT consumed.”

Christ, Paul and James speak of the "Lost Tribes"

In Matt. 15:24 Christ says, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the House of Israel”.  By the time of Christ the 12 tribes of Israel (House of Israel) had been gone and lost even to themselves for over 700 years.  However, the Jews of Christ’s time were quite aware of the Lost 12 tribes of the House of Israel.  Would Christ be sent to a people that no longer existed?

Note:  Jesus told the 12 Disciples to go first to Lost Israel.

Matt 10:5-6

5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:

6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

KJV

Paul wrote in Romans 11:1-2

11:1  I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid…..

Paul answers right away.

2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew.

KJV

Also the Epistle of James is written to the “Twelve tribes scattered abroad”.

Why would Christ say that he was sent to the “Lost Sheep of the House of Israel”?  Because it was the “Lost Sheep of the House of Israel” that would become Christian and they in turn would bring Christianity to the world.

Why wouldn’t the Israelites remember their own identity?

It is very easy to see how they would forget if we just look at our  American example.  In my own example, my mother is a full Norwegian.  Both my mother’s parents were born in Norway.  From my grand parents to my children anything about Norway, i.e. the country, language or customs has been completely lost.

In the case of the Israelites, forgetting who they were was part of the punishment.  Deut 32:26

26 I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:

This prophecy can only refer to the 10 (12) tribes and not to the Jews (who returned from Babylon).  Today’s Jews represent only a part of the ancient kingdom Judah and the whole world is aware of them and remembers them.

So God promised to scatter them and caused them to lose their identity.  And in losing their identity as Israelites, they would become as “Foreign nations” or “Gentile” nations or in Hebrew, gowy Strong’s OT 1471.  Refer back to Gen. 35:11 And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;  KJV

(The Hebrew word for nation and company of nations is  OT:1471 gowy (go'-ee); rarely (shortened) goy (go'-ee); apparently from the same root as OT:1465 (in the sense of massing); a foreign nation; hence, a Gentile.  KJV-Gentile, heathen, nation, people.)

  Also Hosea prophesied to Israel just prior to the Assyrian captivity:

Hos 1:9-10

9 Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people , and I will not be your God.

10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered…..

KJV

Here God is divorcing Himself from Israel as He says, “for ye are not my people , and I will not be your God. “  Yet, God reiterates His promise that, they will still multiply their population greatly, even though He won’t be their god and they will not be His people; and they will forget who they are.

So to recap here, Israel goes deeply into sin and the punishments begin.  They are deported to a foreign country, they eventually forget their own identity and become pagans.  However, their population will be greatly increased while in captivity.  They are lost to themselves and to the world but not to God.  God knows where His sheep are.

And after they have been punished God promises in the remainder of the verse of Hosea 1:10:

10 ……….. and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.

KJV

So, at some point, God is promising that the punishment will be over and the people will again be His people and He will again be their god.

Zech 10:6

6 And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph , and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD their God, and will hear them.

KJV

Israel’s Names in Captivity

What name did the Israelites go by at the time of the Assyrian captivity?  God tells us in Amos 7, 8 and 9 that Israel will go into captivity because of their sin.   In Amos 7:16 God refers to Israel as the house of Isaac.  This is the only time in the Old Testament that God refers to Israel as the house of Isaac and it is while He is foretelling of their captivity.

We know that part of God’s punishment of Israel is that they were not to remember their identity as Israel.  So it would make sense then that they would stop calling themselves Israel and use another name.  In Amos 7:16 God uses the name “House of Isaac” as synonymous with “Israel,  so this must be a name for Israel that the people were familiar with.  Also,  “In Isaac shall thy seed be called”  Romans 9:7,  Hebrews 11:18 and Genesis 21:12;  this documents that Israel would be called by Isaac’s name.

Amos 7:8 And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more:

9 And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.

KJV

               

Note that in Amos 7:8-9 “the high places of Isaac” shows that Isaac is synonymous with Israel just as the house of Isaac is used in Amos 7:16 as synonymous with Israel.

Amos 7:16

16 Now therefore hear thou the word of the LORD: Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not thy word against the house of Isaac.

KJV

Isaac's Name

It’s important, here, to get into the Hebrew pronunciation of Isaac’s name.  Isaac is the English rendition of the Hebrew name Yishaq or “YSHK”.  From Psalm 105:9 through the rest of the Old Testament the word for Isaac is Yishaq (Strong’s 3446).  In the manuscript Yishaq is spelled Yowd (Y, often quiescent), Siyn (s), Het (h or kh gutteral sound) and Qowph (k).  Note that there were no vowels in the old Hebrew writing so the vowel sounds had to be added when spoken. The actual Hebrew spelling for Yishaq is YSHK.  The pronunciation is:  Y or Quiescent (no sound), then sak.  So “Yisak” or “Sak” would be the pronunciation of the Hebrew name, Yishaq or “YSHK”.

It is a well-known Hebraism, and for some reason it certainly was a very common custom among the Israelites, to drop the first letter of a proper name. Bible examples of this custom are: Oshea, other­wise Hoshea; Hagar, otherwise Agar; Jachan, otherwise Achan; Heber, otherwise Eber, etc. Scholars tell us, if we have caught their thought, that this Hebrew idiom is peculiar to the possessive case, and also to allow the introduction of an affix.  So the house of Yisak would be Beth-Sak.

The Hebraism of dropping the first letter of a proper name, to show the possessive, would be the reason for dropping the “Y”.

The ten tribes then would have called themselves the Beth-Sak (which means House of Yishak) or just Sak and this name would be synonymous with Israel.  And just as “Beth Sak” (house of Sak) was their name, they would also be know as the sons of Sak or Saksons.

Names Israel was called by other nations

The Assyrians referred to Israel as the “Khumri” before the captivities.  Khumri was the Assyrian name for King “Omri” of Israel.  The Hebrew spelling of Omri is:  Ayin (deep guttural sound like GH or KH), Mem (M), Resh (R), Yowd (Y).  So the Hebrew pronunciation of Omri would be Ghimri or Khimri.   After the reign of Sargon II (721-705 B.C.) that name Khumri is never mentioned again.  Then by 707 B.C. and forward, “Gimera”, is the Assyrian name for Omri or Samaria (Israel). This is recorded in ancient Assyrian tablets. The name “Gimera” is easily derived from “Ghimri” the Hebrew pronunciation of Omri.

The Greeks called the Gimera the “Kimmerioi” translated to English as “Cimmerians”.  The Medes called the Gimera the “Saka”.  The Babylonians called the Gimera the “Gimiri”  and the Persians called the Gimera the “Saka”.

The Medes and Persians lived in close proximity to the 10 tribes that called themselves Beth Sak (translated into English as House of Isaac) or just Sak (translated into English as Isaac), so it is easy to see how they would have called them “Saka”.

Rock of Behistun

The Sculptures and inscriptions on the Rock of Behistun in present day Iran, which are still there today, give us the verification of the names used by others for the Beth Sak or Sak.  Carved and engraved on the perpendicular face of a mountain, about 300 feet above the base, by the order of Darius the Great, about 515 B.C., the entire memorial is about 150 feet long by about 100 feet high.  The sculptures are of King Darius standing over nine men united by a rope around their necks and their hands tied behind their backs.  A tenth man is lying on his back with the right foot of the king on top of him.  These men are apparently the head chieftains of the 10 tribes of Israel.  Over each figure is a brief history of the man and the tribe he represents.  The Persian text of the tenth panel speaks of “Skuxa”, the Saka, who has the Hebrew form of head-dress.  The cuneiform inscriptions were in three languages,  Babylonian (Accadian),  Elamite (Susian) and Persian. The texts of the three languages are identical.  In the inscriptions the words “Scythia” (Saka), “Media” and “Armenia” occur frequently.  These are the areas that the captives in the sculpture were taken from and is the same place to which the 10 tribes of Israel had been deported by the Assyrians.

The inscriptions mention 23 nations ruled by Darius and one of them  was the “Sakas”.  The Persian and the Elamite versions both use the word “Saka”, while in the Babylonian version the same people are called Gimiri.


Photo at Behistun from article by Jona Lendering.

Behistun Inscription in the Zagros Mountains in Iran near Iraq border.

Photo at Behistun from article by Jona Lendering.

The Behistun Inscription is to Old Persian Cuneiform as the Rosetta Stone is to Egyptian Hieroglyphs.

Another trilingual inscription was found in the tomb of Darius in southwestern Persia near the ancient city of Persepolis.  In this writing Darius refers to three separate groups of Sakas,  the “Amyrgian Sakas”, the Sakas with the pointed caps and the Sakas who are beyond the sea (the Black Sea).  In this inscription, again each time the name Gimiri is used in the Babylonian text, the name, Saka, is used in the Persian text.  So Saxon = Scythian = Saka = Gimiri = Gimera = Ghimri = Khumri = Omri = Israel = Beth-Sak.

Also Cimmerian = Kimmerioi = Gimiri = Gimera = Ghimri = Khumri = Omri = Israel = Beth-Sak.

By the time of Darius the 10 (12) tribes, Saka, had had plenty of time (200 years) to multiply their population and expand their territory.  Some were still in Armenia (south of the Caucasus Mtns.),  some had gone to Asia Minor, some to Arsareth (west of the Black Sea), a large group went through the Caucasus Mountains to the north of the Black Sea and in the Crimea, while others had gone east past the Caspian even as far as India. This is confirmed by the Rock at Behistun and the tablet in King Darius’ tomb as well as other tablet writings.

In Armenia by the Aras River the Saka were also known as the Sak-Geloths.  Sak-Geloth translated into English means Captives of Isaac.

The “Cimmerians”, as the Greeks called the Gimiri, were located in Asia Minor and in Arsareth (in the area of present day Romania). The Saka north of the Black Sea (present day Ukraine and Russia) were called Scythians or Skuths by the Greeks and their land was called “Scythia” by the Greeks.

Scythians

The 1895 Encyclopedia Britannica states that the Greeks met a nomadic race on the northern coast of the Black Sea and the southern steppes of Russia about 650 B.C., whom the Greeks called Scythians. This is the first mention in history of the Scythians in Europe.

Herodotus, the famous Geek historian who lived from 484 B.C. to 425 B.C., said that the Scythians, who are called Sakai, were Aryans and, that according to the ancients, came from the land of the Medes.

 

Hippocrates (460 B.C to 360 B.C.) said of the Scythians, “their countenance was ruddy”.  Wherever the Saka lived (north of the Black Sea, south of the Caucuses Mts. in Armenia, or east of the Caspian), they were called Scythians (Sakai) by the Greeks.

Herodotus said that the Scolots, or Scoloti, were true Scythians or Royal Scythians.

Herodotus cites a Median source that the Scythians invaded and defeated the Medes and held a large portion of the Assyrian Empire for 28 years, 634 B.C. to 606 B.C.

The Scythians told Herodotus that their nation, the youngest of all nations, had been in existence for 1000 years prior to the invasion by Darius.  If we take 1000 years before the time of Darius, 515 B.C. we come to about the time of the Exodus, 1491 B.C.,  when Israel became a nation.

About 330 B.C. Alexander the Great, the Greek conqueror, came up against the Angli Scythians near the south side of the Caspian (present day Iran).  The Angli Scythians offered fierce resistance but Alexander was victorious; and the main body of the Angli escaped around the east of the Caspian, went north, and then west to Scythia where their brethren Scythians lived, north of the Black Sea and the Caucasus Mountains.

The main group of Scythians (Beth-Sak or Saksons) and the Angli (Angles)  were driven north and west out of Scythia by the Sarmatians from 300 B.C. to 100 A.D.  The Sarmatians became the new inhabitants of Scythia. While the Scythians were being pushed out of Scythia by the Sarmations, they in turn pushed out their cousins, the Cimmerians, in the Romania-Arsareth region.  So the Cimmerians went west across Europe, while the Scythians went west and north.  As the Cimmerians went west all the way to Spain they became known as Celts to the Greeks and Gauls to the Romans.  The Scythians then migrated to what would later be called Germany.  The Romans gave the Scythians the name, “Germani”  meaning the “genuine” Scythians to differentiate them from the Sarmatians.

“Pliny the Elder”, a Roman historian that lived from 23 – 79 A.D. referred to the German coast (before the name German existed) by the North Sea and Baltic Sea as the coast of Scythia.  Scythia and the Scythians were well known by the Greeks and Romans and they were well aware of the original Scythians being driven from Scythia (north of the Black Sea) by the Sarmations.  They also knew that the Scythians had gone north as far as the North Sea and Baltic Sea.  For a time the Romans referred to both areas as Scythia.

According to Pliny, in order to differentiate between the Sarmation inhabitants and the true Scythians, the Romans dropped the name Scythian and substituted Sarmatae and Germani.

According to Tacitus, b. 56 A.D. d. 117 A.D., and Ptolemy the Angles and the Saxons inhabited Germania in the region by the Elbe River and the base of the Jutland peninsula, which is by the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, the same area that Pliny (at roughly the same time) referred to as the Coast of Scythia.

Jutland Peninsula above.

The migration routes of Israel.

After Rome withdrew from Britain, 410 A.D., the Briton’s were at war with the Picts. The Britons asked the two Saxon warriors, Hengist and Horsa and their army to help the Britons drive the Picts back to Scotland. The Saxons, though, liked the land and wanted it for themselves.  They killed and/or pushed the Picts back to Scotland and then turned on the Britons.  From 449 A.D. to 557 A.D. the Saxons along with the Angles and Jutes poured into Britain killing many of the Britons and driving the rest into Wales. The land of Britain had become the land of the Angles (Engel) and this is how England got its new name.

The British historian, Nennius, in his account of the arrival of Hengist and Horsa , says that, “messengers were sent to Scythia”, for reinforcements.  To the Romans this area was called Germania.  But the British historian, Nennius, using the name “Scythia”, here being applied to northern Germany, shows that the ancient name, Scythia, persisted long in Northern Europe.

Next, let’s look at the word “Saxon”.  This word is still in use today and really identifies the people.  In English we use the Roman version of the word.  Saxon is Latin for the German word Sachsen, both words pronounced:  Sak-son.

The Angles, Jutes and Saksons were different tribes of the same people and were all Saksons.  Remember earlier in this study we saw that Ephraim was the leader of the 10 Northern tribes of Israel.  In History the primary emblem of Ephraim was the “bull” and the secondary emblem was the “unicorn”. Deut. 33:17 documents this.  The “Bull” emblem is significant.  It was Ephraim’s emblem and also the emblem of the Angles as “Engel” means “Bull” in Hebrew. “John Bull” is another name for England.

Let’s recap a little bit here.  The Israelites taken into captivity called themselves the “Beth Sak”, or House of Isaac, or just “Sak”, during and after the captivity,  and later the “Saksons” or sons of Isaac.

Other nations called the Israelites:

Khumri        -   Assyrian name for Israel, for (King) Omri of Israel, 10 tribes,before the captivity. Pronounced “Ghimri” in Hebrew.

Ghimri         -   Hebrew pronunciation of Omri                                                                                    

Gimera         -   Assyrian name for the 10 tribes during the captivity.

Gimiri          -  Babylonian name for Gimera on Behistun inscription

Saka              - Persian name for Gimiri on Behistun and other
                       inscriptions

Sakasuna         -   Persian for sons of the Saka or Saksons

Sacae               -   Latin and English for Saka

Sak-Geloths    -  Hebrew, prisoners of Isaac

Goths              -  Latin, prob. from Sak-Geloth, tribes of Scythians

Beth-Sak         -  Hebrew, House of Isaac

Scythians -     (Latin and English for the Greek words – Skuthes or       
                       Sakai)

Skuthes          - Greek (Skoo-thace) for Scythian or Saka, prob. of 
                         foreign origin

Sakai               -  Greek for the Persian word Saka

Scolots & Scoloti -  The Greeks said they were Royal Scythians
Cimmerians    -  Greek, (actually the Latin word for the Greek -               
                     Kimmerioi) derived from Ghimri (King Omri of Israel)

Celts               -  English for the Greek word – (Keltoi)

Gauls              -  Latin for Celts (Keltoi)

Germans         -  Latin for Genuine or original Scythians

Saxons            -  Latin and English for Saksons

Angli              -  Greek. A large tribe of the Saka (Ephraim)

Angles            -  English for Angli. Engel means “bull” in Hebrew.

                           The primary emblem for Ephraim was the “bull”.
Jutes               -  A Saxon tribe from Jutland (Denmark). Invaded 
                        Britain with the Angles and Saxons 449 to 557 A.D.

                                         

Again Herodotus said that the Scolots, as the Greeks called them, were true Scythians or Royal Scythians and their location was given as the Crimea and the northern coasts of the Black Sea.  It seems that Herodotus’ Scolots are the same people that we know today as the Scots of Scotland.

                                  King Robert the Bruce

In the year 1320 A.D. King Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland, sent a letter to Pope John XXII known today as the “Declaration of Arbroath” or “The Scottish Declaration of Independence”.  Kept in a glass case in the Register House of Edinbourgh, this letter is a parchment to which are attached twenty five red and green seals, the seals of twenty five Scottish nobles.  This letter gives a record of the origin of the Scottish people and also the route of their previous migrations.

The Scottish Declaration says, “…and from the chronicles and books of the ancients, we find that among other famous nations our own, the Scots, has been graced with widespread renown.”  It goes on to say that they came from Scythia and traveled through the Mediterranean Sea and through the Pillars of Hercules (Strait of Gibraltar) and settled for a long time in Spain.  They left Spain for Ireland 1200 years after the people of Israel crossed the Red Sea (about 285 B.C.)  Isn’t it interesting that the ancient Scots dated themselves from 1200 years after the Exodus.  This was also how the 10 tribes dated their tombstones in Scythia.  They dated the tombstones from so many years after the Exodus or from so many years after the Assyrian Captivity.

This letter also declares, “In their kingdom there have reigned one hundred and thirteen kings of their own royal stock, the line unbroken by a single foreigner.”

Another thing declared in the Scottish Declaration was,”…Our Lord Jesus Christ, after His Passion and Resurrection, called them, even though settled in the uttermost parts of the earth, almost the first to His holy faith.  Nor would He have them confirmed in that faith by merely anyone but by the first of His Apostles by calling – though second or third in rank – the most gentle Saint Andrew, the blessed Peter’s brother, and desired him to keep them under his protection as their patron forever.”

Again, Jesus told his apostles to first go to the “Lost sheep of the House of Israel”.  Would Jesus tell his apostles to spread Christianity to a people that didn’t exist?

So the Scots, according to the “Chronicles and Books of the ancients”, came from Scythia and dated themselves from when the people of Israel crossed the Red Sea, just as their ancestors did north of the Black Sea in Scythia..  So the Scots were also of Scythian, or Saka, origin and arrived in the British Isles some 700 years before the Angles, Jutes and Saxons.

What about the Irish and the Britons (Welsh)?  What was their origin?  Also, how about the Danes, Norwegians and Swedes?  After the invasion of Hengist and Horsa,  there were many invasions by the Danes, Norwegians and Swedes (Vikings), over a few hundred years of both Britain and Ireland.  Many of the Vikings stayed and became inhabitants.  What were the origins of the Danes, Norwegians and Swedes?  All of the above peoples make up the population of today’s British Isles.  This is another whole study but, in short, the Danes, Norwegians and Swedes (and the Normans in 1066 A.D.) were of the same stock of people, being Germanic or, “Saxon”.

The Irish and Britons were made up of a few migrations of Celtic people and earlier Israelite people.  This is another whole study that we aren’t going to do now.  However, a little should be said here.

With the split of Israel into two kingdoms, there were battles between Israel and Judah.  Eldud, a 9^th century Jewish writer, tells us:  “In Jeroboam’s time (about 931 B.C.) the tribe of Dan being unwilling to shed their brethren’s blood, took a resolve to leave the country.”  The people of Dan were well known for being a seafaring and exploring people.  Israel had traded with and had colonies in Spain and the Isles afar off, Britain and Ireland.  In the Irish Chronicles the “Tuatha de Danaan”, meaning “the tribe of Dan”, landed in Ireland and were opposed by the people already there.  A battle ensued and the Danaan were victorious.  After discovering that their opponents spoke a similar language, peace was made and it was agreed that the Danaan would occupy the northern part of the Island.

Pliny, the Roman historian b. 23 A.D d. 79A.D.  says, “The whole of the Roman Empire was supplied with metals and tin from Britannia…..Greece, too with tin and sundry metals from the same source as early as 907 B.C.”

Ptolemy, the Greek historian, concerning the British Isles says, “They were peopled by descendents of the Hebrew race, who were skilled in smelting operations and excelled in working metals.”

Hibernia, or land of the Hebrews, is the Roman Latin name for the Island of Ireland.

The ancient Welch, of Britain, called their land “Cymru” (Wales).  They called themselves “Cymry”, the same word that the Welch call themselves today, in the Welch language, and is pronounced, kim-ree.  Again, an early name for the northern 10 tribes of Israel was Gimiri, as called by the Babylonians.  The name, Gimiri, was for King Omri of Israel.  The Hebrew spelling for Omri is OMRY:  O (Ayin, GH or KH - deep gutteral sound – not as O is in English), M (Mem), R (Resh), Y (Yowd) and is pronounced Ghimri or Khimri, or for the English speaker, “kim-ree”.  Although there is some speculation no one knows when the Welch first arrived in Britain.  Certainly they were present well before the Roman occupation in 43 A.D.,

possibly as far back as the days of Omri (880 B.C.).

Language Connection

There is a connection between Hebrew and the European languages.  Many of our English and Gaelic words are directly or indirectly rooted in Hebrew. As many as 6000 English words are pure Hebrew.  While this is significant the Welsh language, of the original Britons, is extraordinarily close to the Hebrew language.  Of course the languages of the tribes, that migrated over hundreds of years through Asia and Europe, had changed greatly.  But the Welch came directly from Israel in ships so the Welsh language has a remarkably close resemblance to Hebrew.  Here are some examples:


Taken from E. Ramond Capt's book Missing Links Discovered in Assyrian Tablets.

Welsh                         English                        Hebrew

Anafu                          To wound, to cut          Anaf

Annos                          To drive                       Anas

Alaf                             Treasure                       Aluph

Bara                             Bread                           Barah

Bu                                It came to pass             Bou

Boten                           Belly                            Betten

Breg                             Breaking                      Berek

Bwth                            Booth                           Buth

Cas                               Hatred                          Cass

Cell                              A cellar                        Cele (prison)

Coler                            A collar                        Kolar

Coron                           A crown                       Keren

Dagr                             A dagger                      Daker

Badad                           A troop cometh            Bagad

Anudon                        Without God                Aen Adon

Ochoren balloddi         After I am waxed old   Acharei belothi hedenah

     hocdena                   shall I have pleasure

Angheni a gowan         Thy terrors have cut     Angini eu gouan

                                       me off

An annos                      None did compel          Aen aones

As chwimwth               An angry man              Aischemouth

Yni all sydda                I am Almighty God      Aniael saddai

Iachadd ni                     Thou hast healed me    Ichiiathni

                      

Examples of English and Hebrew words:

Taken from E. Ramond Capt's book Missing Links Discovered in Assyrian Tablets.

English                 Hebrew              Varied Meanings

Bashful, abash      Baash                   Abashed, uncomfortable, abhorred.

Rabble                   Rab                      Rabble, rout, multitude.

Cipher                   Saphar                  To count or cipher, as in arithmetic.

Sore                       Tsur                     Distress, soreness.

Sorrow                   Tsarar                  Sorrow, inflicted with trouble.

Shiver                    Sheber                 Shiver, break, shiver my timbers.

Puke                       Pook                    To puke, put out.

Rash                       Raash                   To be angry, to rage.

Ahah                      Ahah                     Ahah, an exclamation of surprise.

Bad                        Bad                       Alone, cut off from others, separate.

                                                                 bad in state.

Hollow                  Holhul                   Empty, hollow.

Cane                      Cana                      Cane, reed, coarse grass.

Direct                    Derek                     Right, straight, direct.

Call                       Kol                         Voice, shout, call.

Room                    Rum                       Make tall, a space, enlargement.

Shame                   Shamen                  Amazed, astounded, shamed

Char                      Charah                    To burn char, as in charcoal.

Suck                      Suk                         To draw out, as to suck.

Cover                    Kaphar, Kafar         To cover.

Sum                      Sum                         Total, count, as to sum.

Calamity               Kalam                     Agitation, calamity, excite.

Dumb                    Dahm, Dohm          Dumb, silent.

In                           In                            In, within, inside.

Sure                       Shur                       To see, examine, make sure, be sure.

Nod                       Nud                        To nod, to approve.

Holiday                 Hulledeth               A holiday, or birthday.

Amass                   Amas                     To amass, or increase.

No                         No                          Disallow, annul, to say no.

Horrid                   Orits, or arats         Terrify, make terrible, or horrid.

Ore                        Or                           Horizon, light, shining metal as zinc,

                                                                  ore, orange.

Ad                         Ad                           Till, until, up to, as in adjoin, attain,

                                                                  adept.                                

Soothe                   Suth                         To persuade, soothe.

Chore                    Chor                         Work, as do the chores.

Cave                      Kaph                        Hollow, as a cave.

English                 Hebrew              Varied Meanings

Oath                      Oth                           An oath, a sign, a testimony,

                                                                 An agreement.

Perish                    Parash                       Scattered, routed, lost, perished.

Broth                     Baroth                       Food, broth, or soup.

Clad                       Galad                        To cover, as clad.

Gargle                    Gargareth                  Throat, gullet, to gargle the throat.

Crash                     Garash                       To crush, or to crash.

Door                      Dor                            To swing to and fro, hence the

                                                                   thing that swings.

Thrash                   Darash                        To beat, or thrash.

Grab                      Karab                          To grab, grip, grasp.

Gnaw                     Knaw                         To bite, sting, gnaw.

Cotton                    Kuttoneth                   Cotton, flax, linen.

Some quotes by historians

Strabo (64 B.C. to 24 A.D.) – Said that the most ancient Greek historians knew the Sacae (Saka) as a people who lived beyond the Caspian Sea.

Diodorus (1^st Cent. B.C.) – “The Sacae (Saka) sprung from a people in Media who obtained a vast and glorious empire.”

Ptolemy (85 A.D. Egypt) – finds the Saxons in a race of Scythians, called Sakai (Saka), who came from Media.

Pliny (23 to 79 A.D.) –  “The Sakai were among the most distinguished people of Scythia, who settled in Armenia (south of the Caucasus Mtns,), and were called Sacae-Sani.”

Prof. Totten (1851 to 1908) says, “In most of the Eastern languages, sons of, is written “sunnia” or “sani”.  It is equivalent to the Scottish “Mac” and the English and Irish “Fitz”.  So Sacae-Sani means Sak’s sons.

Albinus (147 to 197 A.D.) – “The Saxons were descended from the ancient Sacae (Saka) of Asia.

Prideaux (1845) – Says the Cimbrians came from between the Black and Euxine (Caspian) seas, and that with them came the Angli. (Both the Cimbrians and the Angli settled in the Jutland Peninsula.)

Sharon Turner - (great Saxon historian 1768 to 1847) "The Saxons were a Scythian nation and were called Saca (Saka), Sacki, Sachsen."

Herodotus (Greek Historian 484 to 425 B.C.)  He said that the Skuthes (Scythians) were called Sakai (Greek form of the Persian Saka) by the Persians.

King James I of England was King James VI of Scotland and was the King James of the 1611 King James Bible.  In 1567 James became king of Scotland and king of England starting in 1603 with both reigns ending in 1625.  He claimed that the Lord made him King over Israel.  King James had a coin minted that was called the Jacobus. (James is another form of Jacob)  On the coin inscribed in Latin is, “I will make of them one nation.” Ezekiel 37:22,  joining of the 2 sticks, meaning the joining of Israel and Judah.

     

Ephraim and Manasseh

The blessing given to Ephraim of becoming a multitude of nations is clearly seen in Great Britain, and their commonwealth, as well as in many of the nations of northern Europe.  But what about Joseph’s older son, Manasseh, and the blessing of becoming a great nation?

In Genesis 49 the birthright blessings for Joseph included:

22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:

23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:

24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)

Of course the blessings given to Joseph would be divided between Ephraim and Manasseh.  Note that Joseph would be “the shepherd, the stone of Israel”.   We already know about Ephraim, so where is this great nation?  The primary emblem of Manasseh is the “Olive Branch”, which stands for peace.  Manasseh’s secondary emblem is the “Bundle of Arrows”, which stands for war.  It would stand to reason then that this “Great Nation” would stand for peace but would also be strong militarily and make war when necessary.  As earlier discussed, God had imposed the 7 times punishment on Israel.  Again a time is 360 years and 7 times is 2520 years.  So after going into captivity in Assyria, Manasseh would emerge 2520 years later as a nation and become a great nation.  For those of you who are into Biblical numerics 2520 is a special number and is the number of chronological perfection (7 x 360) according to E.W. Bullinger.  In addition to this it is the least common multiple of the ten digits governing all enumeration.  (This means you can divide any of the 9 digits into 2520 and not have a remainder.)  Another quite interesting feature of 2520 is that it is the product of the 4 perfection numbers, in Biblical numerics. (3,7,10,12)  I believe that God picked this number 2520 to tell us that His hand was on all of these events (concerning Israel) and that He has been in control the whole time.

The Assyrian captivities began in 745 B.C. and Manasseh, occupying the land closest to Assyria, would have been the first ones the Assyrians came up against and the first taken into captivity.  When we add 2520 years to 745 B.C. (add one year because there is no year zero) we come to the year 1776 A.D., the same year that the 13 American Colonies declared independence from Britain.  Is it merely a coincidence that the United States of America began with the 13 colonies just as Israel had 13 tribes?  Is it merely a coincidence that for the last 60 years the United States of America has been the most powerful nation, militarily and economically, the world has ever known?  Is it just a coincidence that the people of the United States of America have created the greatest industrial nation and highest standard of living the world has ever known?  Coincidence? I don’t think so.

The marks of Israel and the blessings of Manasseh are everywhere staring us straight in the face. Look at the back side of a dollar bill and what do we see?  On the right hand side we see the “Great Seal of the United States of America”.  This includes the “Eagle” which was one of  the emblems for Israel.  The eagle is holding the “Olive Branch and the Bundle of Arrows”, the emblems of Manasseh.  Above the eagle is written in Latin “E Pluribus Unum”, translated “out of many, one”.  So the eagle represents all Israel and it holds, in it’s talons, the birthright blessings handed down by Jacob to Manasseh.

Again, the purpose of this study is to document the existence and identity of the 10 lost tribes of Israel in the Bible, in history, in ancient stone writings and the use of linguistics.  I think we’ve successfully done that here, although there are mountains of even more evidence not presented here for the sake of time.  The USA, Great Britain and other northern European countries are the only nations in the world that bear the marks and names of Israel and are the only nations to fulfill all of the birthright blessings handed down by Jacob.  America bears all the marks and names of Israel.

Gen 12:2-3

2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Has the world ever known a nation that has been as much of a blessing to the rest of the world as America has been?  Has any nation ever been as blessed as America has been blessed?  Where would this world be if America had never existed?

Speaking of Israel God said through Jeremiah:

Jer 51:20

20 Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;        KJV 

This verse in Jeremiah was prophesy for the future as Israel had not performed this duty as “God’s battle axe” before the captivities.

Starting with the Scythians (Beth-Sak), God did use Israel many times throughout history as “His battle axe”.  In modern times America and Great Britain (Manasseh and Ephraim) have certainly been God’s battle axe.

Some questions asked earlier in this study have remained unanswered here, i.e. “Where is the throne of David? And who is sitting on it?”  This is another whole study and I can assure you that the answers are out there for you to find if you haven’t already studied this.

After reading this study some people may say, “If all these things about the identity of Israel are true, why don’t more people know about it?”  If you will remember, part of the punishment of Israel was to forget their identity.  Again, I believe that God will open the truth to those who have faith and today many thousands of people know the truth.  There has always been a remnant that carried the truth.  After George Washington died, Thomas Jefferson said that, “a great man in Israel had fallen”.

Some people, after reading this study, may say, “So if we are Israel, so what?  What does it matter to me?”  It mattered big time to God.  When his people Israel rejected his laws and showed indifference to their own heritage, worshipped golden calves and worshipped other gods, God followed through with his promise of the 7 times punishment.  Remember what God said to Israel just before the Assyrian captivity?

Hos 4:6

6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

KJV

Does this mean that God has still forgotten the descendants of Israel even unto today?  No, the 7 times (2520 years) punishment is over.  The people were re-covenanted as Christians even during the punishment.  However, God will curse or bless the people and their nations today based on their actions.

2 Chron 7:14

14 If my people, which are called by my name , shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

KJV

Note:  “If my people, which are called by my name….”  What name?  Christians, or people of Christ, the Christian nations.

What’s in a name?  Have you ever broken down a word or name to find the meaning behind the word or name?  Let’s take an easy one, British, and find the etymology of the name.  Brit and ish.  Bryth in Hebrew means covenant.  iysh in Hebrew means man.  So British in Hebrew literally means Covenant man.

Where did the name America come from?  In the 1961 edition of the Encyclopedia Americana in the article on “America”, the origins of the word, America, are given. The German map maker, Martin Waldseemuller, had read about Italian Amerigo Vespucci’s travels to the new world.  Waldseemuller named the new world America on his map, in honor of Amerigo, and the name stuck.  (Note:  The only country called “America” from either North America or South America is the United Sates of America.) The Italian name, Amerigo, actually comes from the old Saxon Gothic name Amelrich or Amelric.  The “L” was dropped in the Italian version because it was difficult for the Italians to pronounce the word with the L and the R together.  So America = Amerigo = Amelric.

Let’s do an etymology of Amelric:  Am - el - ric. In Hebrew “am”, Strong’s OT: 5971,  means people or nation.  In Hebrew “el”, Strong’s OT: 410, means God.  “Ric”, in the old Sachsen Gothic means “powerful” or “mighty”.  So America then would mean “the People of God Almighty”.

The people of God, or the people of the lost tribes of Israel, have been lost to the world and to themselves for a very long time.  God has always known where they were and God kept his promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and made them numerous and made them a great nation.  While most consider Israel lost in antiquity, I say that without any doubt they are found.

In closing, this study gives us a part of the “Key of David”.  What is the “Key of David”?  It’s the key to the House of David.  It’s the key that opens the doors of knowledge and unlocks the scriptures.  It’s the key to the ancestors of a people and their descendents.  It’s the key to truth.  It is not a thing of racism.  No, it is the key that opens the truth to anyone of any race if one has faith, reveres God and searches for wisdom.  That being said always remember that the truth is valuable and to guard the truth.  What did Christ say?  “Don’t cast your pearls before swine.”

Matt 7:6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

I hope you have enjoyed this study.

May God Bless all of you,

Don Heath

Sources:  KJV Bible; Interlinear Bible; Strong’s Concordance;  E. Raymond Capt books -  Missing Links Discovered in Assyrian Tablets, Abrahamic Covenant, The Scottish Declaration of Independence, Our great Seal; Joseph’s Birthright and Judah’s Sceptre, J.H. Allen; Ancient Historians – Herodotus, Pliny, Strabo, Ptolemy, Tacitus, Prideaux, Turner, Diodorus, Eldud, Nennius, Hippocrates; Stone sculptures and trilingual writings at the “Rock of Behistun”; Trilingual writings found in the tomb of Darius;  King Robert Bruce;  King James I;  Encyclopedia Britannica and Encyclopedia Americana; Photos at Behistun from article by Jona Lendering.