Ancient History Reconsidered

General Notes:

The Ten Tribes were taken into captivity by Shalmaneser V king of Assyria around 715 bce and to date, they have not returned to the Promised Land. The Jews are only one tenth of the original tribe of Judah, let alone of Israel. The name Jew (Hebrew יְהוּדִי Yehudi) is a variation on the name יְהוּדָה Yehudah or Judah and refers specifically to that tribe, but also includes the tribe of Levi to whom they have remained faithful as well as part of the tribe of Benjamin.

One of the mistakes people make when studying the whereabouts of the Ten Tribes is that they look for evidence in the wrong places. In Legacy of Edom, I reveal, that when Israel was planted in the Land of the Medes, they were actually planted in land which had been conquered from the Medes by the Assyrians. Those who look at Medea to the north of Assyria for signs of the Israelite settlements are actually looking at land which had been acquired by the Medes at a relatively late date, land over which the Assyrians had no claim. The Medes were forced to migrate northwards through the Caucasus and then eastwards around the northern perimeter of the Zagros mountains by Assyrian incursions from the south. When Tiglathpileser III and Sargon II went up against ‘the mighty Medes’, their campaigns were against the lands of Urartu (i.e. Ararat) in the west! In The Forgotten Tribe of Naphtali & the Phoenicians I demonstrate that there is clear evidence of Israelite movements from these regions which once belonged to the Medes. I also demonstrate that Israel was far more populous than most people give them credit for. The Ten northern Tribes were responsible for establishing cities throughout the Mediterranean and beyond!

It is written:

“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.” (Gen. 49:10)

This passage informs us that Judah would remain faithful to the laws of God right up until the time the Moshiach (Messiah) arrives and the Kingdom of God (Shiloh) is established here on Earth. In The Forgotten Tribe of Naphtali & the Phoenicians I demonstrate that the descendants of Benjamin were responsible for dispensing judgements in legal matters and on the apportionment of land. The tribe of Judah ruled the lands whilst the tribe of Benjamin were the lawgivers who officiated “between his feet”. As for the sceptre not departing from Judah, most of the royal houses of Europe are actually descended from Judah – either from the sons of Zerach or from the line of King David. Many of the barons and overlords were also descended from Judah.

Whilst Judah would remain faithful, it was prophesied that the House of Israel would stray from the path of righteousness:

“Ephraim compasseth me about with lies, and the House of Israel with deceit: but Judah yet ruleth with God, and is faithful with the saints.” (Hos. 11:12)

Nevertheless, the Talmudists wrote of the day when the outcasts of Israel would return:

“Great will be the day when the exiles of Israel will be reassembled as the day when heaven and earth were created.”¹

The Ten Tribes, along with Judah, will be gathered from the four corners of the earth to where they have been scattered:

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.” (Isa. 11:11-13.)

The first time the LORD redeemed us was when he brought our forefathers out of Egypt with signs and wonders. The form of this second gathering promises to be along the same lines. In Deuteronomy Chapter 28:59-61, we are told that, in the end days, the LORD is going to pour out the plagues of Egypt on the Houses of Israel and Judah:

“So that the generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses which the LORD hath laid upon it; And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath: Even all nations shall say, ‘Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land? What meaneth the heat of this great anger?’” (Deut. 29:22-24.)

Before his death, Moses called the elders together to warn them that Israel would quickly go astray:

“For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.” (Deut. 31:29)

The Hebrew בְּאַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים b'acharit hayammim means literally “the end of days”. Nevertheless, if in these end days we repent and turn back to the LORD:

“And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee, And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul ; That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee...

“...And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live...

“...And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers: If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy GodD, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.” (Deut. 30:1-10)

This is that Second Exodus (which will be a repeat of the Passover event) spoken of by the prophet Yechezekel (AV Ezekiel):

“As I live, saith the LORD God, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you: And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face. Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the LORD God. And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant: And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.” (Ezek. 20:33-38.)

This is also that Great Second Exodus spoken of by Hoshea when he wrote:

“Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi [i.e. my husband]; and shalt call me no more Baali [i.e. my lord].” (Hos. 2:14-16.)

This Second Exodus is recorded in the book of Jeremiah:

“Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.” (Jer. 16:14-15.)

The latter part of this Second Exodus is recorded by Zechariah:

“And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my GOD shall come, and all the saints [i.e. קְדֹשִׁים Kedoshim or Holy Ones] with thee.” (Zech. 14:4-5.)

There are a number of places throughout the Hebrew Bible (called the Tanakh) which talks of this Exodus. The fact that it has not yet happened in itself signifies that Israel and Judah have not yet reunited. This Second Exodus is even referred to in what is known as The New Testament. (Rev. Chap. 12.) Even to this day, the House of Israel continue to walk in the sins of Yerevoam (AV Jeroboam). They are still keeping the feasts of Baal and Ashtoreth,² those feasts which the Roman Catholic church have renamed Christmas and Easter respectively. These feasts are an abomination to the LORD. The writers of the New Testament kept and taught the Gentiles to keep the Jewish festivals.

“Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover [lamb - Greek πάσχα Pascha = Pesach] is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast [i.e. the Passover], not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”(1 Corinth. 5:7-8.)

This passage shows that the New Testament writers exhorted followers of Christ to keep the Passover. The reference to leavened and unleavened make no sense whatsoever when related to the pagan feast of the goddess Easter, whose symbols of fertility (the egg, rabbit and hot cross buns) are at total enmity towards the true gospel. Note also that Pentecost (Greek πεντηκοστῆς Pentecostès) means ‘count fifty’ and occurs fifty days after Passover. Pentecost is the name of the Jewish festival known as Shavuoth or Feast of Weeks. Pentecost has absolutely no connection with the feast to the goddess Easter (variant Eoster).

“And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. (Luke 22:15-16.)

The fact that the Passover was so important to Jesus Christ as well as the fact that it will still be kept in the Kingdom of God means that we should take this festival seriously.

The two olive trees mentioned in chapter 4 of the Book of Zechariah have to prepare the Houses of Israel and Judah for this Great Final Passover. One of these olive trees will be the prophet Eliyahu (Elijah). However, just as our forefathers would not listen to the prophets of old, so this final generation will not listen to these two witnesses.

The aforesaid information has been deliberately hidden from us. As the prophet Yeshayahu (Isaiah) put it:

“Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.” (Isa. 6:10.)

Yair Davidiy (www.britam.org and hebrewnations.com) and Rabbi Avraham Feld (www.kolhator.org.il) in Jerusalem are busy getting the message out to the Ten Tribes that the time is approaching for them to return to the land of Israel. I wish to make it clear that neither they nor I are in any way affiliated with British Israel or their teachings. The LORD makes it perfectly clear that He has chosen Levi to be his ministers and there is a solemn warning in Malachi 2:4-8 concerning they who set themselves up as priests or ministers. Even Jesus Christ made it perfectly clear when he said: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works.” (Matt. 23:2-3.) Examples of these works which we are to avoid are then listed throughout the rest of chapter 23 of the Book of Matthew. Despite these faults, the rabbis should nevertheless be respected. The Apostle Paul also made it clear that the Jews were the true olive tree into which the gentiles were to be grafted, even warning the gentiles to “Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.” (Rom. 11:18.) It seems that people are keen to take branches from the true olive tree and plant it on their own wild olive tree, thereby depriving the Jew of his true inheritance and at the same time heaping up coals of fire on their own heads.

Insignia

Each of the twelve tribes had its own colours and its own insignia.

“The Midrash (Num. R. ii.) on the passage ‘Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father’s house’ (Num. ii. 2), explains that the emblems and colors corresponded to the twelve precious stones set in the breastplate worn by the high priest.”³

According to the Midrash:

“Each tribe had to have colors on its banner corresponding to the colors of the precious stones which were on Aaron’s breast-plate.” ⁴

Rabbi Louis Ginzberg also confirms this statement. Unfortunately, there is much disagreement amongst authorities either on the order of the stones on the breastplate, the stones themselves, their colours or even the colours used by each tribe on their flags.

According to the Law of Moses:

“Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.” (Exod. 13:2.)

Having compared the various sources, it can be confirmed that the order of the stones on the priestly breastplate is as stated in the Midrash, and is in the order that the wives gave birth to their firstborn, hence the six sons of Leah, who was the first to give birth, take up the first six stones. The two sons of Bilhah, who was the second person to ‘open the womb’, take the seventh and the ninth stones, then Zilpah’s two sons the eighth and the tenth stones and finally the two sons of Rachel the last two stones. The order of the tribes is therefore as shown in the chart below.

Flags

The Jewish Encyclopedia gives the following information which I have compared to that given by Ginzberg:

Tribe	Jewish Encyclopedia		Ginzberg
	Stone on Breastplate	Colour of Flag	Stone on Breastplate	Colour of Flag
Reuben	Sardius	Red	Ruby	Red
Shimon	Topaz	Green	Smaragd	Green
Levi	Carbuncle	Tricolour of white, black and red	Carbuncle	Not stated
Judah	Emerald	Sky-blue	Green emerald	Azure
Issachar	Sapphire	Black	Sapphire	Black
Zebulun	Diamond	White	White pearl	White
Dan	Ligure	Blue	Topaz	Colour of sapphire
Gad	Agate	Gray	Crystal	Not stated
Naphtali	Amethyst	Wine-colour (i.e. dull red)	Turquoise	Dull red, the colour of wine
Asher	Beryl	Pearl-colour (possibly red)	Chrysolite	Red like fire
Joseph	Onyx	Jet-black	Onyx	Black
Benjamin	Jasper	The above colours combined	Jasper	All eleven colours combined

Ginzberg goes on to inform us that:

“The different colors of the flags corresponded to the colors of the stones set in the breastplate of the high priest, on which were engraved the names of the twelve tribes. Reuben’s stone had a red color like his flag, Simeon’s flag was green like the color of his stone, and in this way with all the tribes the color of stones and of flags harmonized.”⁵

This, however, does not accord with the information provided above! Judah’s flag, for example, cannot be azure or sky blue if their stone was a green emerald. In Early Irish History Reconsidered, we demonstrate that Judah’s flag was green, which means that we cannot totally rely on rabbinical sources for accuracy.

It should be borne in mind that Israel went into captivity towards the end of the eighth century bce. By the time the Talmud was compiled, a period of around one thousand years had passed since the Twelve Tribes had disappeared from sight. As for the breastplate, this disappeared when Solomon’s temple was destroyed at the beginning of the sixth century bce.⁶ By this time the above details were but a distant memory. The Jewish sages had very little information to go on. When we realise where many of these tribes are today, however, we can start to piece together the information which the Talmudists lacked.

It cannot be overstressed the importance of these tribal symbols. There were very strict controls in place preventing the misuse of family crests and Coats of Arms. These to some extent help us to identify the various tribes. If there is a lion rampant on a Coat of Arms, then this signifies that the tribe of Judah is somehow connected to that family.

The Irish writer Geoffrey Keating informs us:

“From this example the posterity of Sru always made use of banners and coats of arms, as an honourable distinction of their families; and this account is confirmed by the annals of Leath Cuin, which is supported by the additional testimony of the book called Leabhar Leatha Cuin, in this manner. The author, treating upon this subject, gives this account of the coats of arms of the twelve tribes: the tribe of Reuben had a mandrake painted upon their banners; Simeon, a spear; Levi, the ark; Judah, a lion; Issachar, an ass; Zebulun, a ship; Naphtali, a deer; Gad, a lioness; Joseph, a bull; Benjamin, a wolf; Dan, a serpent; and Asher, a branch of a vine.”⁷

There are some interesting differences between the tribal symbols recorded by the Irish and those recorded by the Jews. (As highlighted.)

Tribe	Tribal symbol (rabbinical)	Tribal symbol (Keating)
Reuben	Mandrake	Mandrake
Shimon	City of Shechem	Spear
Levi	Urim and Thummim	The ark
Judah	Lion	Lion
Issachar	Sun and moon	An ass
Zebulun	A ship	A ship
Dan	Snake	Serpent*
Gad	Camp	A lioness
Naphtali	A hind	A deer
Asher	Female figure and olive tree	Branch of a vine
Ephraim	Egypt† or bullock	A bull
Menashe	Egypt or a unicorn	A bull

*A serpent need not necessarily be a snake. Leviathan, the seven-headed beast, was known as a “crooked serpent”. (Compare the many heads of Leviathan in Psalm 74:14 with Isa. 27:1 which talks about the demise of Leviathan in the end days.) The tribe of Dan seems to have used a gryphon for its tribal symbol. A gryphon is a mythical creature which can be loosely described as a serpent.
^†The Americans who dwell in the United States, who are predominantly from the tribe of Menashe, use a pyramid and the Egyptian eye on their dollar notes. This is what is meant by the use of Egypt as a symbol.

Keating’s information is obtained from ancient Irish records which are no longer extant. We should not be too quick to dismiss this piece of evidence which is clearly obtained from Jewish sources. There are too many ‘coincidences’ for it to be ignored. Keating informs us that the use of these Coats of Arms was enforced and regulated by Ollamh Fodhla,⁸ a person who was also responsible for the establishment of a comprehensive legal system in Ireland.

“He instituted the most useful laws for the government and the advantage of his people.”⁹

Ollamh Fodhla is artificially made the 20^th or 24^th Milesian king of Ireland by the Irish pseudo-historians. In Vol. 2 of his Chronicles of Eri, Roger O'Connor makes him the first Milesian king of Ireland.¹⁰ According to an ancient poem by Cuan O’Lochain who is said to have died in 1024 ce, Gede Ollgothach ‘son’ of Ollamh Fodhla married Queen Tea, the first Irish queen.¹¹

Basically, the Irish history is in a mess. Their historians have confused the details of two separate Milesian ‘invasions’ and have even fabricated part of their history in an attempt to fill the gaps in their knowledge. In so doing, they have succeeded in complicating matters further. A full explanation as to where it has all gone wrong including a full analysis of the Irish records is provided in Ancient Irish History Reconsidered.

1.	Babylonian Talmud, Pesachim 88a. [Return]
2.	There are various passages which mention Baal and Ashtoreth as being the downfall of Israel and Judah: “And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and the Ashtaroth.” (Judg. 2:13.). “And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him.” (Judg. 10:6.) The House of Israel was separated from Judah: “Because that they [i.e. Judah] have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his [i.e. Rehoboam’s father.” (1 Kings 11:33.) [Return]
3.	Jewish Encyclopedia, entry under Flag. [Return]
4.	Midrash, Numbers Rabba ii
5.	Legends of the Jews Vol. 3 (From the Exodus to the Death of Moses) p.238 – The Camp, Louis Ginzberg (translated from the German by Paul Radin), Philadelphia 1911. [Return]
6.	Jewish Encyclopedia, Entry under Urim and Thummim and Sub-Section “In Rabbinical Literature”. [Return]
7.	General History of Ireland, p.167, Geoffrey Keating, (translated by Dermod O’Connor), Dublin 1861. [Return]
8.	Ibid. p.163. [Return]
9.	Ibid. p.160. [Return]
10.	Chronicles of Eri Vol. 2, p.71, Roger O'Connor, Sir Richard Phillips and Company, London 1822. [Return]
11.	On the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill pp.153-4, Vol. 18 of The Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy, George Petrie, issued 1 Jan 1839. [Return]

Dated 28 Dec 2013.
^©AHR Researches.