Do Many Branches Come From One Root? What Clues Can and Can't Tell Us
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In short
The Hebrew Bible says Israel was taken into exile in Assyria. It blames the people for disobeying again and again, including idol worship and child sacrifice 4551. After that, the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon and other places to live in the cities of Samaria 4850. Only the tribe of Judah was left 50. The Samaritan Pentateuch was made around 127 BC at the latest 39. The Muratorian Fragment lists New Testament books. It rejects letters to the Laodiceans and Alexandrians as fakes written in Paul's name 1147. The Dead Sea Scrolls were found near Khirbet Qumran in 1946 29. A shepherd offered some fragments, and they were the first of the famous Dead Sea Scrolls. People doubted them at first 36. The source says the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel went through an original exile and were later scattered. It does not say where they went 44.
Exile, and Two Mountains: Gerizim and Ebal
The Hebrew Bible says that Israel was taken from its land and sent into exile in Assyria. It says this lasted up to the time it was written 45. The text says the cause was that Israel kept disobeying. This included worshiping idols, burning children as offerings, and following the ways of Jeroboam 51. The same text says the king of Assyria brought in people from Babylon, Kuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim to live in the cities of Samaria, in place of the Israelites 48. Only the tribe of Judah was left 50.
One author says the place of Abraham's offering is the natural altar on top of Mount Gerizim, not Mount Moriah in Jerusalem 60.
What the Stories Say About Abraham's Two Sons
The promise that lasts forever is made with Isaac, not Ishmael, even though Ishmael is also blessed 70. The circumcision command reaches past Abraham's own children and their children. It also covers people born in his house, or bought with money from a foreigner who is not of his family line 73. A male who is not circumcised and breaks the promise is cut off from his people 78. The prophet Jeremiah 33:26 says God will not turn away the family line of Jacob and David. God will choose rulers from them over the family line of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob 71. That verse names certain lines of Abraham's family as the ones God will bring back. It does not mention other peoples or circumcision 71.
Rashi explains Rabbi Akiva's ruling. The ruling applies only to the people who were sent away from the land. Their children and later descendants do get a share of the land 46. The Noahide laws are taught as the first agreement God made with people. God gave them to Noah and his children after the Flood 79. God-fearers follow some Jewish practices. They have not fully become Jews through circumcision 80.
Samaritan Holy Books and an Old Scroll People Still Argue About
The Samaritan Pentateuch was made at the latest around 127 BC, says the document that gives this date 39. The Samaritans claim the Abisha Scroll was written by Abishua, great-grandson of Aaron, about thirteen years after Joshua led the entry into the land of Israel 41. This is a tradition, not a dating result 38.
Lists of Holy Books and a Missing Letter
The Muratorian Fragment, also called the Canon Muratori, is a list of New Testament books. It is in an old book from the 700s, or possibly the 600s 11. Ludovico Antonio Muratori found it in the Ambrosian Library at Milan 11. The book first belonged to Columban's Monastery at Bobbio 12. One paper argues that the fragment tried to give a later view an old, respected start in the second century 3. Its summary does not name the books it accepts or rejects 3. The list mentions letters to the Laodiceans and to the Alexandrians 7. It says both are fake letters written in Paul's name, so it rejects them 47. The letter to the Alexandrians is lost and cannot be found 10.
The Muratorian Fragment on the Canon talks about the Shepherd. But the text stops before it says how the fragment treats it 9.
Scrolls Found in Caves, 1946 to 1952
The Dead Sea Scrolls were found near Khirbet Qumran in 1946 29. Muhammed edh-Dhib quietly slipped away from his cousins, who were still asleep near the animals, and climbed toward the cave 31. He took writings from the cave that morning 28. Scholars still do not know for sure when the first scrolls were found, as John Trever's 1961 article shows 37.
In 1947, a shepherd from the hills north of the Dead Sea offered some pieces of writing to a dealer in Bethlehem 32. The dealer was from the Syriac community. He was not sure how much the pieces were worth. He began asking questions that followed Syriac Orthodox religious and learning networks 34. Even though people first doubted them, these pieces turned out to be the first of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which are now famous all over the world 36. Father Sowmy showed one of the scrolls to the American School of Oriental Research. It had been unwrapped from newspapers. Later, it proved to be part of the Sectarian Document 35.
In September 1952, people without permission dug up Qumran Cave 4. They also mixed up broken pieces from what had been two caves 27. A team led by Roland De Vaux then began careful digging. The goal was to stop more harmful digging 30. About 600 old writings from Cave 4 were named 4Q manuscripts. About 150 of them came from careful digging 33. The writings that survive include Isaiah's message that all flesh will come to bow down before the LORD every Sabbath 24. Another piece from Jeremiah talks about Jerusalem and the cities of Judah being left empty 25. One law says that a person who is not circumcised may not eat the Passover 72. A Passover piece adds that a foreigner who stays and keeps it must first have all his males circumcised. After that, he is treated like a native 7477. A servant bought with money may eat the Passover only after he is circumcised 75.
Blood Clues: Did the Lemba Come From Israel?
Later work changed the picture. About 73.7% of the South African Lemba's Y chromosomes were non-African. For the Zimbabwean Remba, it was 79.6% 65. The extended Cohen modal haplotype was found in only one South African Jewish person. It was not found at all in the Lemba, when a more detailed test was used 68. Earlier, in the mid-1990s, Spurdle and Jenkins found a general Semitic genetic part in the Lemba. They could not tell if it was Jewish 69. A later look says the Cohen Modal Haplotype is one step away from the modal haplotype of Muslim Kurds. That modal haplotype belongs to haplogroup Eu9 (J2-M172) 67.
Still unknown
Whether the Samaritan reading of Gerizim in Deuteronomy 27 and Joshua 8 preserves an original text, or reflects a later sectarian change, is not settled by the checked evidence.
Whether the Lemba's Semitic Y-chromosome component reflects Jewish ancestry or a wider Middle Eastern origin is still unresolved after the 2013 and 2014 studies.
Whether any modern community, such as the Bnei Menashe or the Afghan Bani Israil, descends from the ten lost tribes has no checked evidence that answers it.
The checked evidence does not yet cover Israelite origins in Canaan, the Yahweh-El-Asherah question, Quranic Abraham, or comparative 'one God' traditions, so the common-source thesis is not tested for those branches.
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Sources
"Otherwise, it is only mentioned in the stichometry of Nicephorus among the Old Testament Apocrypha"The Septuagint as Christian scripture, page 186
"The canon list known as the Stichometry of Nicephorus (ca. A.D. 850) lists it among"A history of early Christian literature., page 350
"This paper argues that the Fragment represents an attempt to provide a venerable second-century precedent for a later position on canon."The Muratorian Fragment as Roman Fake (2018)
"[and] another to the Alexandrians, [both] forged in Paul’s"Book, page 346
"reference in the Muratorian Fragment to the epistles to the Laodiceans and the Alexandrians"Pseudonymity, the New Testament, and Deception, page 314
"to the Laodiceans, [and] another to the Alexan"Pseudonymity, the New Testament, and Deception, page 314
"letter to the Alexandrians, which is mentioned, along with Laodiceans, in the Muratorian Canon"Book, page 182
"Most likely, the reference to Laodiceans in the Muratorian Fragment is to an apocryphal"Pseudonymity, the New Testament, and Deception, page 314
"From the Muratorian Fragment on the Canon! we learn that the Shepherd ..."The early Christian fathers., page 234
"that Alexandrians is irretrievable"Book, page 182
"As everyone knows, Canon Muratori is a list of New Testament books that was found by Ludovico Antonio Muratori (1672–1750) in the Ambrosian Library at Milan, and is contained in a codex dating from the eighth or possibly the seventh century"Canon Muratori: A Fourth–Century List (1973)
"which belonged originally to Columban's Monastery at Bobbio"Canon Muratori: A Fourth–Century List (1973)
"stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia (v. 25)"Galatians, page 230
"Paul identifies Sarah with the „Jerusalem above“ (4:26): she is the mother of the free descendants of Abraham."The interpretation of the Sarah-Hagar-stories in rabbinic and patristic literature. Sarah and Hagar as female representations of identity and difference (2025)
"Ismael von der Sklavin Hagar, Isaak von der Freien Sara."
"Paul appears to be connecting Hagar with Mount Sinai on the basis"Galatians, page 230
"On the other hand, he relates Hagar to the Sinai-covenant and the present Jerusalem (4:25): she is the mother of the unfree descendants of Abraham."The interpretation of the Sarah-Hagar-stories in rabbinic and patristic literature. Sarah and Hagar as female representations of identity and difference (2025)
"Thus Hagar represents Mount Sinai because Mount Sinai is in Arabia"Abraham in Galatians, page 338
"But it has to be stressed that Paul is not speaking of Christianity and Judaism, as some contemporary interpreters still claim,3 but of the Galatian community"The interpretation of the Sarah-Hagar-stories in rabbinic and patristic literature. Sarah and Hagar as female representations of identity and difference (2025)
"Die Version des Paulus stellt eine Abwertung des jetzigen Jerusalems dar"
"Paul also appears to defend his Hagar-Mount Sinai equation"Abraham in Galatians, page 338
"Paulus setzt sie aber nur zu den Glaubenden in Beziehung."
"But whereas Paul leaves some possibilities for interpretation open, Tertullian explicitly does not."The interpretation of the Sarah-Hagar-stories in rabbinic and patristic literature. Sarah and Hagar as female representations of identity and difference (2025)
"ומדי שבת בשבת׳ה יבוא כול הבשר להשתחות לפנ׳י אמר יהוה"
"ואת ערי יהודה אתן שממה מבלי יושב"
"three Bedouin shepherds happened upon a cave secluded among the"The untold story of Qumran, page 242
"In fact, in September 1952, Qumran cave 4 was discovered and excavated by unauthorized people, who, incidentally, confused the fragments coming from what had originally been two caves (caves 4a and 4b)."The Excavated Fragments from Qumran: Steps Toward A Reappraisal (2019)
"scripts were taken by edh-Dhib from the cave that morning."The untold story of Qumran, page 242
"and of the Dead Sea Scrolls near Khirbet Qumran in 1946 are commonly reckoned as the most important archaeological finds of the twentieth century for the study of early Christianity and ancient Judaism."The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi Codices (2022)
"To avoid further illegal and potentially damaging excavations, a team lead by Roland De Vaux went to the site to begin controlled operations."The Excavated Fragments from Qumran: Steps Toward A Reappraisal (2019)
"Muhammed edh-Dhib quietly slipped away and climbed the"The untold story of Qumran, page 242
"In 1947, a shepherd in the hills north of the Dead Sea visited a contact in Bethlehem, a dealer of antiquities to foreign visitors, offering fragments of written material."Palestine’s Syriac Orthodox community and the Dead Sea scrolls (2021)
"About 600 manuscripts were identified as 4Q manuscripts, and about 150 of them were identified as coming from controlled excavations."The Excavated Fragments from Qumran: Steps Toward A Reappraisal (2019)
"The dealer, from the Syriac community, was unsure of the items’ value and began enquiries which followed Syriac Orthodox religious and intellectual networks."Palestine’s Syriac Orthodox community and the Dead Sea scrolls (2021)
"Carefully they unwrapped one of the smaller ones, which has since proved to be a part of the Sectarian Document."The Excavated Fragments from Qumran: Steps Toward A Reappraisal (2019)
"Despite initial scepticism, the fragments were the first of the now globally famous Dead Sea Scrolls, and ever since have been surrounded by rumours and controversy."Palestine’s Syriac Orthodox community and the Dead Sea scrolls (2021)
"In other words, it indicates that we do not know for certain when the first Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered"The Excavated Fragments from Qumran: Steps Toward A Reappraisal (2019)
"It was written, they say, by Abisha"The Abisha Scroll—3,000 Years Old? - The BAS Library
"This version was created at the latest 127"Samaritan Pentateuch
"though the majority of the Abisha scroll is no younger than the fourteenth century, there is a section which has been determined by Alan David Crown to have been written “within a short time after 1150.”"(#1) Samaritan Torah Scroll (Aktaba Kadisha), Land of Israel [ca. 1166, Scribe: Shalmah ben Abraham bar Yosef of Sarepta]
"The Samaritans claim it was penned by Abishua"Samaritan Pentateuch
"The tashkil of that scroll indicates that it was written by Shalmah ben Abraham in 1166 CE."(#1) Samaritan Torah Scroll (Aktaba Kadisha), Land of Israel [ca. 1166, Scribe: Shalmah ben Abraham bar Yosef of Sarepta]
"But modern scholars have observed that the scroll appears to include work by different scribes from different centuries, with the oldest texts dating to the 12th century A.D."Samaritan Pentateuch
"It con- tains the original exile of the tribes, their dispersal to ..."To the ends of the earth, page 238
"וַיִּ֨גֶל יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ מֵעַ֤ל אַדְמָתוֹ֙ אַשּׁ֔וּרָה עַ֖ד הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃"II Kings 17:19-24 [Hebrew Bible (Masoretic text, Sefaria)]
"Their children and their coming generations, by contrast, merit a portion in the land, and convey that right [to their descendants]."The Third Beit HaMikdash, Concluding Statements 5 [The Third Beis HaMikdash, trans. by Rabbi Eliyahu Touger, Moznaim Pub Corp. 2016]
"They call themselves "Bani Israil," and trace their descent from King Saul (Malik Taliit)"The races of Afghanistan, page 140
"וַיָּבֵ֣א מֶֽלֶךְ־אַשּׁ֡וּר מִבָּבֶ֡ל וּ֠מִכּ֠וּתָה וּמֵעַוָּ֤א וּמֵֽחֲמָת֙ וּסְפַרְוַ֔יִם וַיֹּ֙שֶׁב֙ בְּעָרֵ֣י שֹֽׁמְר֔וֹן תַּ֖חַת בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל"II Kings 17:19-24 [Hebrew Bible (Masoretic text, Sefaria)]
"According to the cabinet resolution approved at today’s government meeting, 1,200 members of the community will immigrate by the end of 2026"Government approves plan to bring all Bnei Menashe Jews from India to Israel by 2030
"לֹ֣א נִשְׁאַ֔ר רַ֛ק שֵׁ֥בֶט יְהוּדָ֖ה לְבַדּֽוֹ׃"II Kings 17:19-24 [Hebrew Bible (Masoretic text, Sefaria)]
"וַיֵּֽלְכוּ֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל בְּכׇל־חַטֹּ֥אות יָרׇבְעָ֖ם אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֑ה לֹא־סָ֖רוּ מִמֶּֽנָּה׃"II Kings 17:19-24 [Hebrew Bible (Masoretic text, Sefaria)]
"These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are passed over the Jordan"Deuteronomy 27:13-18 [Hebrew Bible (JPS 1917 English, Sefaria)]
"that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaster them with plaster."Deuteronomy 27:1-6 [Hebrew Bible (JPS 1917 English, Sefaria)]
"and these shall stand upon mount Ebal for the curse"Deuteronomy 27:13-18 [Hebrew Bible (JPS 1917 English, Sefaria)]
"they have undoubtedly changed the original Gerizim, which still stands in the Samaritan copies of the Pentateuch, into /bal"Book, page 326
"These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are passed over the Jordan"Deuteronomy 27:1-6 [Hebrew Bible (JPS 1917 English, Sefaria)]
"And there shalt thou build an altar unto the LORD thy God, an altar of stones; thou shalt lift up no iron tool upon them."Deuteronomy 27:1-6 [Hebrew Bible (JPS 1917 English, Sefaria)]
"montem Ebal contra plané aridum et sterilem esse"Book, page 326
"The present Hebrew text tells us in Mount Ebal, but the Samaritan text reads Mount Gerizim."Three months' residence at Nablus, page 362
"Rather we must look to that ancient Sanctuary of which I have already spoken, the natural altar on the summit of Mount Gerizim."Book, page 326
"There is no certainty about the exact"Book, page 84
"The books approved by use in the churches were then approved by the judgment of the scholars."The birth of the Bible, page 206
"which analysed 399 Y chromosomes for 6 microsatellites and 6 biallelic markers in 6 populations including the Lemba, Bantu, Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews"The Lemba tests: media and responses (2006)
"The study discovered that Lemba Y chromosomes were divided into Semitic and Bantu clades"The Lemba tests: media and responses (2006)
"The non-African component in the Lemba and Remba was estimated to be 73.7% and 79.6%, respectively."Lemba origins revisited: Tracing the ancestry of Y chromosomes in South African and Zimbabwean Lemba (2013)
"the allegedly most senior and allegedly most important for ritual purposes Lemba clan, the Buba, carried the Cohen Modal Haplotype at a high frequency"The Lemba tests: media and responses (2006)
"one step away from the paraphyletic modal haplotype of"Mitochondrial and Y chromosome haplotype motifs as diagnostic markers of Jewish ancestry: a reconsideration (2014)
"and not at all in the Lemba"Lemba origins revisited: Tracing the ancestry of Y chromosomes in South African and Zimbabwean Lemba (2013)
"Such markers were found and indicated that there was a general Semitic contribution to the Lemba gene pool; however it was not possible to say whether this contribution could be Jewish"The Lemba tests: media and responses (2006)
"But My covenant will I establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year."Genesis 17:13-18 [Hebrew Bible (JPS 1917 English, Sefaria)]
"גַּם־זֶ֣רַע יַעֲקוֹב֩ וְדָוִ֨ד עַבְדִּ֜י אֶמְאַ֗ס מִקַּ֤חַת מִזַּרְעוֹ֙ מֹֽשְׁלִ֔ים אֶל־זֶ֥רַע אַבְרָהָ֖ם יִשְׂחָ֣ק וְיַעֲקֹ֑ב"
"וכל ערל לא יאכל ב׳ו ׃ תורה אחת יהיה לאזרח ולגר הגר"
"he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any foreigner, that is not of thy seed."Genesis 17:13-18 [Hebrew Bible (JPS 1917 English, Sefaria)]
"וכי יגור את׳ך גר ועשה פסח ליהוה המול ל׳וא כול זכר ואז יקרב לעשות׳ו והיה כאזרח"
"וכל עבד איש מקנת כסף ומלתה את׳ו"
"He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised; and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant."Genesis 17:13-18 [Hebrew Bible (JPS 1917 English, Sefaria)]
"הארץ וכל ערל לא יאכל ב׳ו ׃ תורה אחת תהיה להאזרח ולהגר הגר בתוכ׳כמה"
"And the uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken My covenant."Genesis 17:13-18 [Hebrew Bible (JPS 1917 English, Sefaria)]
"After the Flood they were given over to Noah and his descendants, and are therefore known by his name."Resident Proselytes, god-fearers and the Noahide laws. Making a case for an identification between the ger toshav in traditional Judaism and the sebomenos ton theon in Hellenistic literature (2013)
"they observe some Jewish practices, but they have not moved to full conversion to Judaism through circumcision."Resident Proselytes, god-fearers and the Noahide laws. Making a case for an identification between the ger toshav in traditional Judaism and the sebomenos ton theon in Hellenistic literature (2013)