Israel and Judah: How Two Peoples Became One

The greatest secret of the Bible is the fact that the ancient Hebrews, in reality, were two different tribal groups who arrived in Canaan and then left for the Nile Delta at different times. Both peoples then made their Exodus from Egypt at different centuries and reconquered their places in Canaan independently. The Israelites and Judahites properly came together for the first and last time only in the United Monarchy, and this was mainly as a result of the Philistine threat. It was then too that the authors of the Bible merged the family trees and narratives of the northern and southern tribes to create a common genealogy and history. However, the two peoples could not co-exist for long in the same harness, especially when the junior partner, Judah, was commanding the senior, Israel. Hence, the union fell apart forever. The biblical account of the deportation of the Israelites to Assyria is an extreme exaggeration of the tragedy’s scope. This has given rise to a myth regarding the loss of the ten northern tribes, whose traces are still being sought to this day from Mesopotamia to the Japanese islands. But in truth, the absolute majority of the Israelites remained where it was. And so did the Judahites; the Babylonian Exile claimed very few of them. The Israelites and Judahites eventually mixed with each other (with the exception of Samaritans) and thus two different peoples became one – the Judeans. Dr. Igor P. Lipovsky, distinguished scholar of Near Eastern History, rediscovers the true origins and history of the Israelites and Judahites.