The phrase "Lost Ten Tribes of Israel" refers to the ancient Northern Kingdom of Israel, typically thought to be composed by the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Ephraim, and Manasseh (not including Judah, Levi, or Benjamin).
These tribes disappeared from the text of the Hebrew Scriptures after they were invaded, conquered, enslaved, and deported (numerous times) by the Neo-Assyrian Empire between 740 and 722 BCE. Several theories suggest many 10-Israelites fled voluntarily to less hostile European and African settlements before being caught and deported during the looming years of defeat.
Many Jewish groups (largely descending from the ancient Southern Kingdom of Judah) have Messianic hopes intimately woven into the continued hidden existence and future restoration of the lost ten tribes. Finding their modern descendants is a hotly debated subject, shrouded in much unnecessary mystery. Unnecessary in that there are many Biblical clues and historical way-marks which make finding the bulk of the so-called "lost" tribes a profoundly less complicated effort.
