A: As the term is used today, a Jew is any descendant of Israel (Jacob). the New Testament it seems to refer principally to  the inhabitants of the Roman province of Judea, which corresponded more or less to the ancient kingdom of Judah.  The Kingdom of Judah incorporated the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and was separated from the Northern Kingdom of Israel (the other ten tribes) in the rebellion of Jeroboam, around 936 BC.  (1 Kings 11) The northern kingdom, with its capital in Samaria, was destroyed and its people taken into captivity in (721 BC). Eventually, around 605 BC, Judah also fell and the people were taken into captivity.  Judah was restored about 70 years later (See Ezra and Nehemiah), but the northern kingdom never was. This is what is meant by "The Ten Lost Tribes." We know from archeology, however, that the deportations were not total, so those tribes were not entirely :" lost" A remnant of Israel was left in the northern territories, among them the Samaritans. Other descendants of the ten tribes may have been among those who returned to Judah.

The New Testament acknowledges that all 12 tribes continue to exist. Paul mentions the twelve tribes in Acts 26:6, and James address his epistle to "the twelve tribes scattered abroad" (James 1:1) According to Matthew 19:28 and Luke 22:30, when Jesus returns to reign, his disciples will rule over the twelve tribes, so evidently all the tribes will be represented in the Millennial Kingdom. This is consistent with the prophecy of a reunited kingdom in Ezekiel 16:53-55 and 37:16.  In the "Great Commission" (Acts 1:8) , Jesus instructed his disciples to be his witnesses in Judea, and in Samaria, and to the ends of the Earth.  The fact that Samaria is mentioned distinctly may be taken as a gesture of reconciliation to the rebel kingdom. The Good News was to be preached to all of Israel before going on to the rest of the world.

David Brown 
AMF International 
http://www.amfi.org

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