The Lost Ten Tribes in France, the North, and England
The Book of Obadiah is one of the books of the Bible. It is one of the Twelve Minor Prophets. They are called "Minor" because their books are relatively short when compared to some of the others, e.g. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel. .
The Book of Obadiah is the shortest book of the Bible and consists of one chapter. Most of the Book of Obadiah is a prophecy against Edom.
Edom was descended from Esau the twin-brother of Jacob aka Israel. Edom created a small polity to the south known as Edom or Idumea.
In addition to that, From the Edomites emerged military elites who often seized control of other countries and peoples. Nations that at some stage or other came under the control of Edom include Ancient Rome, Germany, Russia, and other places.
In Germany we find settlements of Canaanites (especially in the west), of Edomites, of descendants of Gomer son of Japheth, and descendants of Magog son of Japheth. There were also at one stage many Israelites from the Ten Tribes and from Judah in Germany. Most of them left Germany and moved to North America and other areas in the 1700s and 1800s.
The Book of Obadiah describes how Edom was a small nation that had become powerful and exalted itself as an Eagle.
In the End Times Edom will face destruction. Edom will be punished for having betrayed Israel and Judah and for having killed and exiled Israelties (Amos 1;11) and for having killed Jews from Judah (Psalms 137:7,
Ezekiel 25:12, Joel 3:19, Ezekiel 25:12-14).
Edom versus Judah:
19 BUT EGYPT WILL BE DESOLATE, EDOM A DESERT WASTE, BECAUSE OF VIOLENCE DONE TO THE PEOPLE OF JUDAH, IN WHOSE LAND THEY SHED INNOCENT BLOOD.
12 THIS IS WHAT THE SOVEREIGN LORD SAYS: BECAUSE EDOM TOOK REVENGE ON JUDAH AND BECAME VERY GUILTY BY DOING SO,
13 THEREFORE THIS IS WHAT THE SOVEREIGN LORD SAYS: I WILL STRETCH OUT MY HAND AGAINST EDOM AND KILL BOTH MAN AND BEAST. I WILL LAY IT WASTE, AND FROM TEMAN TO DEDAN THEY WILL FALL BY THE SWORD.
14 I WILL TAKE VENGEANCE ON EDOM BY THE HAND OF MY PEOPLE ISRAEL, AND THEY WILL DEAL WITH EDOM IN ACCORDANCE WITH MY ANGER AND MY WRATH; THEY WILL KNOW MY VENGEANCE, DECLARES THE SOVEREIGN LORD.
In the last verses Obadiah speaks not only of the destruction of Edom but also of the Restoration of Israel.
The second last verse of Obadiah says:
OBADIAH (KJB) 1:
20 AND THE CAPTIVITY OF THIS HOST OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL SHALL POSSESS THAT OF THE CANAANITES, EVEN UNTO ZAREPHATH; AND THE CAPTIVITY OF JERUSALEM, WHICH IS IN SEPHARAD, SHALL POSSESS THE CITIES OF THE SOUTH.
All the Christian English translations we saw more or less agree with the above Translation, except for the following:
OBADIAH (ABPE, ARAMAIC BIBLE IN PLAIN ENGLISH) 1: 20
AND THIS FIRST CAPTIVITY OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL THAT IS FROM CANAAN, AND UNTO TSAREPTA AND THE CAPTIVITY OF JERUSALEM WHO ARE IN ESPANIA, THEY SHALL INHERIT THE CITIES OF THE SOUTH.
This translatation appears more reliable on this point.
At all events instead of reading THE CAPTIVITY OF THIS HOST it should be read THIS FIRST EXILE meaning that of the Ten Tribes.
The Hebrew text as it may be understood directly from the Hebrew and in the light of the Major Rabbinical Commentators says:
OBADIAH (Davidiy) 1: 20 AND THIS FIRST EXILE THAT REACHED FROM THE CANAANITES UNTIL TSEREFAT; AND THE EXILE OF JERUSALEM WHICH IS IN SEPHARAD SHALL INHERIT THE CITIES OF THE SOUTH.
The First Exile is that of the Lost Ten Tribes (see Rashi, Malbim) since they were the first to be exiled.
The 12 Tribes in the Land of Israel had divided into 2 sections. The Ten Tribes were in the north. Judah and his company were in the south. The Ten Tribes were exiled by the Assyrians and disappeared. The remaining Kingdom of Judah was also exiled more than 100 years later by the Babylonians but they returned and after more than 400 years were exiled again by the Romans. There were therefore several Exiles. The first exile was that of the Ten Tribes. This is the first exile spoken of by Obadiah.
Obadiah also speaks of, THE EXILE OF JERUSALEM WHICH IS IN SEPHARAD. This is referring to descendants of Judah who once lived in Jerusalem. They included many of the descendants of David. They were exiled and went to Spain. From Spain they were exiled again. Many of them were scattered among North African and eastern Jewish communities while others eventually went to Eastern Europe. Many of the Ultra-Orthodox (Hareidim) today in the State of Israel in our opinion are descendants of King David. About 20% of them have red hair and red-hair was a characteristic of King David (1-Samuel 16:2, 17:42). In addition to that, many descendants of Jews may also have assimilated among people of Spanish and Italian descent.
Obadiah says that those Jews exiled from Jerusalem will inherit
THE CITIES OF THE SOUTH. This evidently means the present-day State of Israel especially the southern section.
That is the second section of the verse (0badiah 1:20); The whole of the verse said:
1: AND THIS FIRST EXILE THAT REACHED FROM THE CANAANITES UNTIL TSEREFAT; AND THE EXILE OF JERUSALEM WHICH IS IN SEPHARAD SHALL INHERIT THE CITIES OF THE SOUTH.
The first section of the verse is speaking about the Lost Ten Tribes and the second section about the Jews of Judah.
And what does the first section of the verse mean?
OBADIAH (Davidiy) 1: AND THIS FIRST EXILE THAT REACHED FROM THE CANAANITES UNTIL TSEREFAT;
Rashi (Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac, 1040-1105, Champagne, France) explained the verse to say:
"THE FIRST EXILE OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL WHO WERE EXILED FROM THE TEN TRIBES TO THE LAND OF CANAANITES UNTO TSEREFAT....
...THE EXEGETES [Commentators] SAY THAT ZAREPHATH [Tserefat] MEANS THE KINGDOM CALLED `FRANCE' IN COMMON SPEECH.."
i.e. Rashi says that the Lost Ten Tribes are in France!
RASHI (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki 1040-1105, North France).
Rashi is often considered the most important Commentator on the Bible and Talmud of all time.
Rashi is saying that the Ten Tribes were in France and that their border reached up to that of the Canaanites.
The "Canaanites" meant Germany!
Rabbi Avraham Iben Ezra (1092-1167, Spain):
" `..FROM THE CANAANITES': WE HAVE HEARD FROM GREAT MEN THAT THE LAND OF ALLEMAGNE [i.e. GERMANY] ARE THE CANAANITES WHO FLED FROM BEFORE THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL WHEN THEY CAME INTO THE LAND. SO TOO, ZERAPHATH MEANS FRANCE...",
Radak (Rabbi David Kimhi, 1160-1235, Narbonne, southern France) agrees with Iben Ezra. Both of them say that Canaanites settled in Germany. Place-names recorded by Ptolemy recalling Tsidon (i.e. "Sidon") a major Canaanite city are found in Western Germany.
Theo Venneman (b.1937, Germany) claimed that Punic, the Semitic language spoken in classical Carthage, is a superstratum (a language that influences or is influenced by another through contact) of the Germanic languages. According to Vennemann, Carthaginians colonized the North Sea region between the 500s and 200s BCE. The Carthaginians came from Carthage in Tunis, North Africa. They were partly descended from Canaanites and referred to themselves as Canaanites.
According to the Geneva Bible of Calvin (source given us by Timothy Murray) on Obadiah 1:20:
"BY THE CANAANITES, THE JEWS MEAN THE DUTCHMEN."
John Calvin (1509 - 1564) was a French theologian, pastor, and reformer in Geneva, Switzerland, during the Protestant Reformation.
Calvin wrote commentaries on most books of the Bible, and probably was familiar with Jewish sources.
At all events the simple meaning of the passage in Oabadiah according to Rashi and the others is that the Lost Ten Tribes were in France and in the areas adjoining it. In the time of Rashi Belgium woud also ahve been considered part of Tsarafat.
Ramban (Nachmanides, Rabbi Mosheh ben Nachman, 1194-1270, Spain; from "The Book of Redemption", chapter 1.):
"THE VISION OF OBADIAH ..THE HOUSE OF JOSEPH REFERS TO THE TEN TRIBES ...WHO WERE EXILED AND STILL ARE IN THEIR PLACE OF EXILE, THE EXILE OF ZAREPHATH AND CANAAN WHICH ARE IN THE FARTHEST NORTH..."
Don Isaac ben Yehudah Abarbanel (1437- 1508, Spain, a descendant of David) has a somewhat different explanation than the others. On some points his commentary is worthy of consideration in the light of the above:
"ZERAPHATH IS FRANCE AND SO TOO THE EXILE OF SEPHARAD IS SPAIN... AND LET YOU NOT ERR JUST BECAUSE ZERAPHATH [I.E. FRANCE] IS SPOKEN OF AND ANGLETERRE [i.e. ENGLAND] IS NOT RECALLED, FOR THERE TOO DID THE EXILES GO, FOR LO AND BEHOLD, THAT ISLAND IS CONSIDERED A PART OF ZAREPHATH AND IN THE BEGINNING BELONGED TO IT AND IN THEIR ANCIENT BOOKS THEY CALL IT THE ISLE OF ZAREPHATH [i.e. OF FRANCE] EVEN THOUGH IT LATER SEPARATED ITSELF FROM ZAREPHATH [FRANCE] AND BECAME A KINGDOM IN ITS OWN RIGHT.
Taking these sources as a whole we see that the Lost ten Tribes are thought to have gone to France and the north and to England.
'Tsarafat' nowadays means 'France' as an entirety but an opinion exists that in the time of Rashi it referred to only Northern France.
Taking these commentaries together we have the following:
The Lost Ten Tribes were in France (or in the North of France) and in the surrounding areas.
They were also in the Far North (Nachmanides) and in England (Abarbanel).
These sources, Rashi, Iben Ezra, Radak, Nachmanides (Ramban), Abarbanel, are all of them among the most illustrious and respected in Jewish History.
They are also easily verifiable.
The opinion of Rashi that the Ten Tribes are in France may not be widely known but it is easily verifiable.
The overwhelming majority of synagogues throughout the world will have a copy of the Whole Bible (including the Book of Obadiah) with the Commentary of Rashi.
Anyone who can read Hebrew, can cover their head, enter the synagogue and read the commentary for themselves!
This is NOT some closely guarded secret we are revealing!
The Lost Ten Tribes are among the Western Peoples as the Bible taken at its simple literal meaning tells us.
The most prominent Jewish commentators also tell us the same thing!
Tserefat Meaning France
Commentary on the book of OBADIAH by Yair Davidiy
Obadiah Prophesied that the Ten Tribes would be in Tserefat meaning specifically France but also Encompassing the West and Britain