Did Only Judah Return?

Knowledge Mainly from Ezra and Nehemiah

Most people will probably answer the question at the top of this article with a “yes.” The reason for this is as understandable as it is incorrect. Virtually all the information that Scripture provides about the return from exile concerns those who returned from Babylon. The extensive lists of names we encounter in Ezra and Nehemiah focus entirely on them. For example, Ezra 2:1 begins by saying:

“Now these are the sons of the province who are going up from the captivity of the exiled whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had exiled to Babylon, and who are returning to Jerusalem and Judah…”
(see also Neh.7:6)

It is self-evident that in such registers we find only the tribal names of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi, and not those of the other ten tribes. After all, these tribes had been deported earlier to Assyria.

Reunification Under Cyrus

Although we are informed primarily about the fate of those who returned from Babylon, Scripture leaves no doubt that Cyrus’ call to return to the land was directed to ALL Israel.

“Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth has Yahweh, the Elohim of the heavens, given to me. And He Himself has appointed me to build for Him a House in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all His people—his Elohim shall come to be with him—then he shall go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and let him build the House of Yahweh, the Elohim of Israel (He is the Elohim Who is in Jerusalem).”
– Ezra 1:2-3

As the world ruler of Persia, Cyrus intended to bring back the whole people (= all twelve tribes) to the land. This call was nothing less than an act of reunification of the previously divided kingdoms of Judah and Israel.

Adorned with the Name Israel

The returned people are referred to by the name Israel (Ezra 6:17; 9:1,2; 10:5, etc.). This name was originally the name of the entire people (the twelve tribes), and later, after the division, the name was associated with the ten tribes. The two tribes continued under the name Judah.

If the returned exiles had come only from the former two-tribe kingdom, they would, of course, have simply continued to be called Judah. However, the fact that the people are adorned with the name Israel indicates that the other ten tribes are also being included.

Offering “According to the Number of the Tribes of Israel”

On the occasion of the dedication of the temple, we read that Israel…

“…offered at the dedication of this House of Elohim a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs; and a sin offering for ALL ISRAEL, TWELVE he-goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.”
– Ezra 6:17 (see also 8:35)

First of all, we see that “all Israel” stands for the twelve tribes. So when we read elsewhere in Ezra or Nehemiah about “all Israel” (Ezra 10:5; Neh.12:47), we know that it refers to all twelve tribes. Furthermore, these twelve sacrificial animals clearly indicate that not two but twelve tribes were considered present. Not a part, but the whole.

The First to Return Were (Ordinary) Israelites

Because Ezra and Nehemiah primarily speak about the return from Babylon, we know virtually nothing about those who returned from Assyria. We can only speculate about their number. What we do know is that the first to return were (ordinary) Israelites.

“And the FIRST dwellers who are coming back into their freehold in their cities are ISRAELITES, the priests, the Levites and the temple servants.”
– 1 Chron. 9:2

And in Nehemiah 11:20 we read:

“The remainder of Israel, the priests and the Levites, are in all the cities of Judah, each man in his allotment.”

The Heart of the King of Assyria Turned

After the return, Israel celebrates, for…

“…YHWH had made them rejoice. He had turned the heart of the king of ASSYRIA to them to brace them in the work on the House of Elohim, the Elohim of Israel.”
– Ezra 6:22

Cyrus was a Persian king, yet here he is nevertheless called “the king of Assyria.” Rightly so, for to him had been given “all the kingdoms of the earth,” including Assyria—that is, the land to which the ten tribes had been deported.

The Israelites (not: Judeans; 6:21) rejoice because God had turned the heart of the king of ASSYRIA to them, in order to build a House for God, the God of Israel (not: the God of Judah).

Delen: