Two House Theology (Reality) defined and defended

What is "Two-House Theology"? It is known by several names, both positive and disparaging. It is called the "Two-House Teaching", the "Two-House Doctrine", the "Two-House Ideology", the "Two-House Movement", the "Two-House Heresy", the "Ephraimite Movement", the "Ephraimite Fallacy", and the "Ephraimite Error", but we like to consider it the Two-House Reality! And Zechariah 10:6 (see below) depicts this reality of two peoples, both "Jews" and "Joes", in a prophetic, unconditional Last-Days (End-Time) scenario. It is only one of those frequently referenced by advocates of this controversial reality (see similar verses here).

“And I shall strengthen the House of Jew-dah, and I shall save the House of Joe-seph. And I shall bring them back, because I have compassion on them. And they shall be as though I had not cast them off. For I am יהוה their Elohim, and I will answer them." - Zechariah 10:6

In English translations of the above verse, the words "Judah" and "Joseph" are used. The simple modification is made here for illustrating the reality not well-known in most circles: that the people known as the "Jews" are only part of Israel, NOT exclusively representing ALL of Israel. The Government of Israel nor the Orthodox Rabbis deny this, but actually confirm it (see 10 Reasons the Jews are from Judah).

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WHO ARE THE JEWS?

The first question we should actually ask is: where does the word "Jew" come from? It is simply an abbreviation for the word "Judah" in English. The Hebrew pronunciation of Judah is "Yehudah" and individuals of Yehudah are sometimes called "Yehudi". Most languages that attempt to designate an individual of "Judah", generally have a shortened form like "Jew", but because so few understand the Two House reality, most people think of that shortened form (Jew) as a name representative of ALL Israelites. On this website, you'll sometimes see Judah referenced as "Jewdah", "Jew-dah", or "Jew da" to help newcomers get their minds wrapped around the idea phonetically.

So who are the people known as the "Jews"? They are a people predominantly descended from the ancient Southern Israelite Kingdom of Judah (see 10 Reasons the Jews are from Judah). However, they aren't "just" the tribe of Judah. In antiquity, this Kingdom contained the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and some of Levi and Simeon (who were both scattered without land inheritance throughout both Northern and Southern Kingdoms because of a curse - see Genesis 49:7). Judah (Yehudah) was the largest and most prominent tribe in the South, thus all those within the Southern Kingdom became known as "Yehudim" over time... or "Jews" as we know them today in English. For verification, look at how the underlining Hebrew word Yehudi is translated into "Jew" in Zechariah 8:23.

Those who dispute the Two-House reality usually argue that the Ten Tribes of Israel already united with or assimilated into the Kingdom of Judah. Two Housers generally don't deny some likely did rejoin Jewdah for there is ample evidence that individuals from the Northern Kingdom escaped to the Southern Kingdom at different times and for different reasons, noting Jezebel's persecution of the righteous in the North and the later Assyrian invasions (2 Chronicles 31:6;30:6). There simply is no doubt some of them did indeed assimilate into Judah. But on the flip side, there were also Yehudim who were assimilated into the Northern Kingdom, especially noting the Judaen cities captured by the Assyrians (2 Kings 18:13) and carried captive along with the Northern Kingdom into Assyria and Media. And considering more recent centuries, many Jews have assimilated into "Joe-ish" host-nations, usually by force or voluntary conversion into Catholicism, Protestantism, and even Islam. By the way, not all Muslim nations are Arabic or Ishmaelite and there is considerable evidence that large portions of the House of Joseph now practice Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism inside their respective cultures (although the vast majority are Protestant or Catholic).

WHO ARE THE JOES?

When you think "Joes", think "Nations and Peoples"! But don't just think "Nations and Peoples", think "Multitudes of Nations and Peoples"! But truly, don't just think "Multitude of Nations and Peoples", think "Multitude of Colors, Nations, and Peoples". When you think of "Joes", you should remember the Coat of Many Colors (or Many Stripes) which Jacob gave to Joseph as a young boy (Genesis 37:3). Joseph inherited Abraham's promise of multitudes, and Jacob passed that blessing onto Ephraim in Genesis 48:19.

Joseph's sons were Ephraim and Manasseh. Ephraim became the most influential tribe in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, largely because of the ruling Ephraimite kings (for more detail, see History and Timeline of Israel and Judah). This is why the Northern Kingdom was sometimes idiomatically called Ephraim (Hosea 5:3) or the House of Joseph (Zechariah 10:6) by the Hebrew Prophets. But we sometimes simply like to call them "Joes" in English for short. They don't necessarily have to be from the tribes of Joseph (Ephraim or Manasseh). Just as a Benjamite or Levite may be called a "Jew" or a "Yehudi", so a Reubenite or Danite can be called an "Ephraimite"... or even a "Joe".

ANSWERING COMMON CRITICISMS OF THE TWO-HOUSE REALITY

1.) 10-Israel wasn't ever "lost" and they already re-joined the Jewish People after they (the Jews) returned from Babylon

This criticism is by far one of the simplest to refute. The 1st Century Historian Josephus records the ten tribes of Israel as an "immense multitude" remaining "beyond the Euphrates River" (Antiquities of the Jews - Book XI Ch. 5), which would indicate "the Jews", the two tribes in the Land of Israel controlled by the Romans in the First Century CE, were of the Kingdom/House of Judah, the House that historically returned from Babylonia (from their Babylonian Captivity). Furthermore, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Eliezer (c.117-138 C.E.) argued about the return of the ten lost tribes as though it hadn't happened yet (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 110b), indicating "the Jews" of the 2nd Century C.E. were not representative of all twelve tribes, but instead, still represented the ancient Kingdom of Judah (of course, we mentioned earlier in this article how some of the Northern Kingdom likely joined the Southern Kingdom for various reasons and vice versa).

And arguing whether or not 10-Israel was ever really "lost" is a delicate matter. Two-Housers have varied opinions, but they of course all agree that 10-Israel is no longer "lost" (at least not to the initiated). Most indicate the tribes simply became lost to "themselves" in a similar way some descendants of Judah (Jews) have experienced. Look how many Jews have been swallowed up by Catholicism and Protestantism in the last few hundred years (who no longer know they have Jewish ancestors). 10-Israel already resembled the pagans before exile and "lost" their identity as "a people" in exile. Judah on the other hand, has better controlled assimilation factors because of their affinity towards the Torah and their pervasive rabbinic-system. For more detail on the "lost" factor, read: Where the 10 Tribes of Israel ever really "LOST"?

2.) Two-House Theology = British-Israelism with a twist

Two-House theology is often equated with Replacement Theology or having stemmed from British-Israelism (BI). There is no doubt that British-Israelism had some radical replacement ideologies and there is no doubt that BI had a huge influence on making many English-speaking nations and Protestant Christian teachers aware of who 10-Tribe Israel is in the modern world. We don't deny this, but there have been many other refining and correcting influences since the 1800's, most notably non-Messianic Jewish rabbis and researchers such as Rabbi Avraham Feld, Yair Davidiy, Dennis Jones, and the late David Horowitz. Unfortunately, BI-influenced teachers have continued to identify Ephraim as only western English-speaking peoples even though their DNA very closely matches peoples still residing in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus region, Central Asia, and the Indian sub-continent. The languages (i.e Indo-European) and their DNA (i.e. Hg.R) go back to the same ancient people for good reason. They all came from the same place and 10-Israel makes up large (but not all) of their populations. Ephraim has truly become "the fullness of the peoples/nations" as Jacob prophesied he would become (see Israelite Haplogroup-DNA Hypotheses).

Note: Yair Davidiy actually believes Two House knowledge defuses replacement-type ideologies found within Christian sects. Read the article: The "Two-House Teaching" defuses Christian-based Anti-Semitism.

Ironically, even though Two-House theology is often accused of and equated with Replacement Theologies, Orthodox Christians are the ones who actually believe "they" are heirs to the promises given to Israel because of statements by the Apostle Paul. There is an interesting article concerning this called: The Hidden Irony in Christian Replacement Theology.

3.) Israel was already said to be "As Numerous as the Sand of the Sea" in Antiquity

"One-Housers" love to quote verses like 2 Chronicles 1:9, Isaiah 10:22, 1 Kings 3:8, and 1 Kings 4:20 which all reference back to the much older promises of Genesis 15:15; 22:17; 32:12. Here they are:

2 Chronicles 1:9 "Now, יהוה Elohim, let Your promise to David my father stand fast, for You have set me up to reign over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth."
Isaiah 10:22 "For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return – a decisive end, overflowing with righteousness"
1 Kings 3:8 "And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted."
1 Kings 4:20 "Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea, eating and drinking and rejoicing."

One-Housers unwittingly utilize these verses without realizing the verses actually entangle them (the critics) in something which forces them to face mathematically-fused prophecies (which have become even more magnified in modern times). These promises of numerous descendants were first given to Abraham, more than a thousand years before the time of King Solomon and Isaiah and the authors of I/II Kings and I/II Chronicles. The people of Israel had grown from just a few families to many millions of descendants within that period from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. There is much speculation about "how many" millions they had become by the time of Solomon, but there is no doubt it was considerable in comparison to their immediate neighbors and the relatively-small global population. For example, remember how the Egyptian population began to be shocked and alarmed by just how vast the Hebrew population had become... many generations after Joseph (Exodus 1:7-10). Now realistically try to consider what the Hebrew population could be in modern times (regardless if they know they are Hebrew or not).

Solomon and the prophets certainly employed hyperbole to communicate the "dust of the earth" and "sand of the sea" promises, but considering the shear volume of fighting men King David could deploy against his enemies to maintain and expand an empire against the likes of Egypt, Babylon, and Assyria... should put the suggestion of Solomon's so-called "exaggerated" or "inflated" statement (recorded in 2 Chronicles 1:9) in proper context. And when that context of three thousand years ago is moved into our modern context (three thousands years forward), what should it convey? Did the millions of ancient Israel simply disappear or stagnate, or did they continue to radically expand as they did during the thousand years between Abraham and Solomon? If Israel could become millions in one thousand years, how many more millions could Israel have become in four thousand years?

Understanding the math behind the exponential population growth curve makes it relatively simple to confirm how a small population can become enormous within a short period of time (such as a thousand years or even just a few hundred years) when there is a steady, natural birthrate (however, Ephraim's birthrate variable should be considered (at least partially) super-natural because of the promises of יהוה).

Two-Housers reference verses and historical texts like Hosea 1:8-11 and Flavius Josephus which indicate 10-Israel became even MORE numerous AFTER the Assyrians scattered and later deported them (740-722 BCE). Note: Josephus lived about two thousand years after Abraham.

~ Hanok ben-Galutyah

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