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Book: America & Britain
Historically, numerous clans and tribes of diverse peoples converged on Europe over a period of several centuries. Those groups finally settling in northwest Europe and the British Isles appear both to be related and to have largely shared a common culture. However, what is not widely understood is the homogeneous origin of such peoples—that they were, in fact, Israelite.
But can we actually trace the migrations of the “lost” tribes of Israel to northwest Europe and the British Isles?
If historians have found no mention of the exiled tribes of Israel in ancient records, it is simply because the Assyrians and other peoples did not call them by their original, ancestral names. As we have already seen, Israel was recognized in captivity—and for over a century thereafter—as primarily Cimmerians and Saka-Scythians. Thus, it should come as no surprise that the tribes of Israel were subsequently identified in Europe by still later names—names given to them by the nations among which they sojourned. As this chapter will bring out, the Cimmerian Israelites became known largely as Celts as they moved further to the west; similarly, the Scythians became known primarily as Saxons as they too migrated to the northwest. This, of course, is a broad generalization, as other names were also assigned to migrating groups of Israelites—Gauls, Goths, Galatians, Scandinavians, Angles, Jutes, etc. Moreover, there was clearly a certain level of integration between some of these groups.
Another reason researchers have been unable to locate the so-called “lost” tribes of Israel in history is that they wrongly assume that the tribes could only exist (if at all) as small, isolated groups characterized by their observance of Jewish-like customs. But as indicated by the Abrahamic promises we have examined, the birthright nations of Israel were to grow into wealthy, powerful, well populated nations. In fact, the birthright nations of Ephraim and Manasseh would become the most powerful and influential nations in all of history. But they would in no way be “Jewish.”
As Hosea 1:10 brings out, God would greatly multiply “lost” Israel so that their population could not be measured. Indeed, the Jewish historian Josephus verifies that the tribes had, by the first century AD, grown into a multitude “not to be estimated by numbers.”1 By Jesus’ day the tribes of Israel had already begun migrating again, leaving areas around the Black Sea and moving further to the northwest. When Jesus spoke about the “lost sheep of the house of Israel,” He was speaking of lands outside of Palestine where the ten tribes had become “lost” from view while migrating through other nations. But clearly, they did exist and their whereabouts were known.
It is readily acknowledged by historians that the Celtic and Anglo-Saxon peoples in particular provided the racial stock from which several modern western nations have developed—including Great Britain and the United States. As Yair Davidy notes, “The Scyths, Goths, and Cimmerians and related groups of Scythia were all one people, from one original stock, which was Israelite. From these nations emerged those of northwest Europe [and, thus, the British Isles and America].”2 Accordingly, establishing the identity of the ancient Celtic-Saxon peoples is the key to connecting the “lost” tribes of Israel to the nations destined to inherit the birthright blessings promised to Abraham.
Israelite Cultural Developments
By the late sixth century and on through the fifth century BC, the areas of Arsareth and Scythia were well populated with Cimmerians and Saka-Scythians. It was here—along the shores of the Black Sea and in the south Russian steppes—that the Israelites’ culture rapidly developed as a part of the European middle Iron Age.3
Historians and archaeologists note that from roughly the 500s BC the region of Europe north of the Mediterranean shared two related cultures. First, spreading westward from southeast Europe along the Danube River basin existed what historians label the Hallstatt and La Tene cultures. These names are based on important archeological finds discovered at Hallstatt and La Tene, Austria. The finds are considered textbook examples of central European Celtic culture, which is generally defined by such discoveries. The Hallstatt culture developed first (c. 600-450 BC), setting the stage for the later La Tene culture (c. 450-50 BC). As the evidence indicates, Celtic culture as a whole originated with the Cimmerians who settled these areas of Europe as they moved west along the Danube from the Black Sea region.
Further east was a second, related culture—that of the Scythians. Occupying a vast area of eastern Europe and the Russian steppes, the Saka-Scythians preferred grasslands over mountains and forests. While each culture adapted to the geography of its own region, the Scythian and Celtic clans interacted like peoples sharing a common ancestry—freely conducting trade, intermarrying, and exchanging cultural ideas. Archaeologically, the two groups were almost identical, particularly in the area of burial rites (see below). As the Encyclopedia Iranica states, “the [Celtic] Cimmerians cannot be differentiated archeologically from the Scythians.”4 Back in Palestine, the tribes of Israel each exhibited distinct cultural differences within the greater culture of the kingdom. These distinctions—having survived the Assyrian captivity and subsequent migrations—help explain the cultural differences between the Celts and the Scythians as a whole, as well as the cultural variations between the clans making up these groups.5
Davidy notes these two related cultures: “After being expelled from the Middle East, the Scyths, Cimmerians, and Goths split into several bodies of which two main groups may be roughly identified. One group [the Cimmerians] went west [from the Black Sea region] at an early date and became associated with the Cimbrians, Galatians, Celts, Getae, and Dacae of Europe. Remaining in Scythia longer, the second group [the Sacae] became the Jutes, Saxons, Angles, Franks, Scandinavians, Goths” as well as others.6
The Hallstatt and La Tene archeological finds are central in defining the “heartland” or origin of the Celtic peoples. Essentially, this “heartland” appears as a broad swath across central Europe, bordering the western edge of the Cimmerian Arsareth.7 When properly interpreted, these finds help establish the fact that the Celtic peoples were actually of Cimmerian origin. As will be shown, history reveals a definite link between the Cimmerians and the Celts.8 By about the middle of the sixth century BC, steady Cimmerian growth and Scythian migration into areas west of the Black Sea caused a significant number of Cimmerians to begin moving further to the west— leaving Arsareth. Following the agriculturally rich Danube River basin, these pioneering Cimmerians eventually emerged in central Europe as a peoples the Greeks called Keltoi—Celts. This period represents the Celtic Hallstatt culture (approximately 600-450 BC).
Due to growing migratory pressure, the Celts greatly expanded their sphere of influence from the fifth century to the first century BC to become the dominant cultural force throughout central and parts of southern Europe—their La Tene period. Britannica states: “The oldest archaeological evidence of the Celts comes from Hallstatt, Austria. By the mid-5th century BC, the La Tene culture, with its distinctive art style of abstract geometric designs and stylized bird and animal forms, had begun to emerge among the Celts centered [as far as] the middle Rhine.”9
Some Celtic Israelites did migrate as far as the northwestern shores of Europe and beyond, but the Baltic areas became primarily the domain of their Scythian (Anglo-Saxon) brothers.
Celtic Expansion in Europe
By about 450 BC, most of the Cimmerian Israelites had moved up the Danube and settled as Celts in central Europe. Their La Tene culture would gradually evolve over the next few centuries. But due to migratory pressure, the Celts would again find themselves being pushed further to the west—and even to the south. Barbaric tribes invading from the Far East pushed the Scythian Israelites westward, which in turn put pressure on the Celtic Israelites. In fact, two Asiatic groups began to aggressively invade Scythia from the East—first the Sarmatians, from about 300 BC, then the Huns, beginning around 200 BC. Noted archeologist E. Raymond Capt writes: “Like a domino effect, as Sarmatian pressure forced the Scythians toward the west, the Cimmerians were forced into the more remote regions of Europe where they became known as the Celts and Gauls.”10
Over time these forced migrations would take the Celts into parts of northwestern Europe—even as far as the coastal areas of France, Belgium, and the Netherlands—and southward into northern Italy and the Iberian Peninsula (what is today Spain and Portugal). “The center of Celtic expansion … was Gaul, which lay north of the Alps in the region now within the borders of France and Belgium and part of Spain…. The earliest Celts who were major players in the classical world were the Gauls, who controlled an area extending from France to Switzerland. It was the Gauls who sacked Rome and later invaded Greece; it was also the Gauls [who] migrated to Asia Minor to found their own, independent culture there, that of the Galatians.”11 (The area known historically as Gaul is generally inclusive of modern France, Belgium, Switzerland, Holland, northwest Germany, and northern Italy. Many writers define Gaul-proper as lands extending from the Rhine and the Alps westward to the Atlantic.)
A considerable number of Celts later migrated further westward into Britain and Ireland. “By the later La Tene period … this Celtic culture had expanded over a wide range of regions, whether by diffusion [i.e., forced migration] or [voluntary] migration: to the British Isles (Insular [island] Celts), France and the Low Countries (Gauls), much of Central Europe, the Iberian Peninsula (Celtiberians, Celtici and Gallaeci), northern Italy (Gauls), and … as far east as central Anatolia [Asia Minor] (Galatians).”12
The Galatians—to whom the apostle Paul addressed his New Testament epistle by the same name—were essentially an “eastern branch” of the Celts. Concerning their connection to ancient Israel, Davidy writes: “According to conventional history, the British Isles, Gaul (France and Belgium), and the northwest European coastline in ancient times were settled by peoples of Celtic culture. A predominant element among the Celts were the Galatians [who were] ascribed Cimmerian origin by classical writers…. The Cimmerians had first appeared on the fringes of the Assyrian Empire shortly after the majority of northern Israelites had been exiled.”13
Des Thomas notes that in addition to settling the “low countries” of France, Belgium, Holland, and northwest Germany, the Celts also settled the Jutland Peninsula (primarily the mainland of Denmark). Importantly, the area was once called the Chersonesus Cimbrica, the “peninsula of the Cimbri.” Cimbri is a key name for the Celts, as it links them back to the Cimmerians. Numerous historians and early writers held that the Cimbri and the Cimmerians were the same peoples. Quoting the Greek philosopher Plutarch (46-120 AD), Thomas writes, “They [the Celts] were called at first Cimmerians and then, not inappropriately, Cimbri.” The philosopher Poseidonius (130-50 BC) also wrote that the Cimbri originated on the shores of the Black Sea where they had been known to the Greeks as the Cimmerians. As the Cimmerians moved to the northwest they became known to the Greeks as Celts, but to the Romans as Gauls. It appears that by about the first century BC, the general term Celt was used collectively for the Cimmerians (Cimbri, Cimmerii, Cymry), the Gauls, the Belgae, and other Israelite clans.14
The 1911 edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica notes that “the Cimbri [were] universally held to be Celts,” and that “ancient writers spoke of all these Gauls [the southern branch of Celts] as Cimbri, and identified them with the Cimmerians of earlier date.”15 The same encyclopedia, in its article on the Cimmerii, asserts that later writers (Strabo, Pliny, Plutarch) “identified [the Cimmerii or Cimmerians] with the Cimbri of Jutland, who were probably Teutonic Celts.”16 Historically, the Teutons were known to have inhabited Jutland (Denmark) in the fourth to second centuries BC. Apparently, the Teutons, Cimbri, and Celts are all the same peoples— Cimmerian Israelites.
It is apparent that the term Cimbri finds its roots in the ancient Assyrian name given to the Israelites, Khumri. In his book Early Celtic Britain, scholar John Rhys writes that “the Celtic Kymry were for some time indifferently called Cambria or Cumbria, the Welsh word on which [the term Kymry is] based.” Moreover, he notes that Kymry (or Cymry)—a name the Welsh commonly go by—is even today “pronounced nearly as an Englishman would treat it if spelled Kumry or Kumri.”17
As we have seen proven from ancient artifacts of the Middle East, Kumri or Khumri was the Assyrian name for the “house of Omri”—Israel— and was particularly associated with the Gimri or Cimmerians.18 Indeed, the similar spelling and almost identical pronunciation of the Israelite-Assyrian Khumri and the Celtic Kymry (Cimbri) can be no coincidence—and this connection between the ancient Hebrews and the Cimbri-Celts is too strong to be ignored.
The Celts Move into the British Isles
Throughout the development of the La Tene cultural period, the Celts’ Scythian brothers were also moving westward, pushed on by the invading Sarmatians and Huns. The primary region to which they migrated was the northwest reaches of Europe—Scandinavia and the Baltic areas. According to Davidy, many Celtic clans also found their way to the Baltic region were they “joined the Anglo-Saxon invaders of England.”19 But long before the Saxons began to show an interest in Britain, the Celts were already moving across the English Channel. As one researcher puts it: “When pressed by the Saghs [or Saks, another name for the Saka-Scythians], the Cimmerians divided into two groups—one group [went] into western Europe [as Celts] by way of the Danube basin, the other [primarily Gauls] [migrated] into Asia Minor [becoming the Galatians]. The western Cimmerians [Celts] were identified with the first race of the Kymry, and came into Britain…. They occupied northern France under the name Belgae and invaded the British Isles as the Brythons.”20
According to the Web site lost-civilizations.net, “the period of Celtic dominance in Europe began to unravel in the first centuries AD with the expansion of Rome … [and] the [ongoing] influx of an Asian immigrant population, the Huns. By the time Rome fell [in 476 AD] … the Celts had been pushed west and north to England, Wales and Ireland, and later to Scotland….”21 Similarly, the Encyclopedia Britannica notes: “The Celts moved westwards … [eventually reaching] the British Isles … [and went by the names] Brythons and the Goidels. The Brythons crossed the channel and established themselves in England and Wales, but the Goidels, probably in the fourth century BC, passed directly … to Ireland.”22 (The name Brython, an early form of Briton, is discussed in detail below.)
Quoting largely from research conducted by the renowned English physician Adam Rutherford, the Web book The Origin of Our Western Heritage summarizes the movement of the Cimmerian-Celtic Israelites from the Balkans to the British Isles. “The Cimmerii or Cymry [Cimbri] came into Britain from the area of the Black Sea after traveling toward the northwest, through the Low Countries, then across the North Sea…. The Celts who filtered into Britain from Gaul appear to have come from the area of the Danube [River basin]. The Celts and Belgae who settled in Britain were Nordic [in appearance] and their skulls scarcely differ from those of the Anglo-Saxons who [later] followed [from the east].” The book contends that “pre-Christian civilizations found in northern Gaul, Britain, and Ireland” originated with “Cimmerians from the Ukraine” (Black Sea area), and that such Celtic settlements began to be established in Britain as early as around 300 BC and continued for centuries.23 Thus, just as Cimmerian Israelites from the western region of the Black Sea moved across Europe in stages to become the Celts, so the Celts moved in stages across the English Channel to settle the British Isles. Steven Collins writes that “Israelite immigrants furnished much of the racial stock of early Celtic Briton,” and that “waves of Celtic immigrants … arrived in Briton over [a period of] several centuries.”24
As brought out in the previous chapter, large groups of the Israelite tribes of Dan and Simeon—known historically as the Danaan and the Simonii—had sought refuge in Ireland and Britain centuries earlier after abandoning their homelands in Palestine to the Assyrians. Collins writes that “many of the succeeding waves of Celtic migrations to Briton … were also Israelites in search of a permanent homeland”—that they were intent on following the paths their kinsmen had followed centuries earlier.25
Scythian Clans Pushed to the Extreme Northwest
Because of its mostly arid climate, the Russian steppes had become the desired location for numerous dispossessed peoples of central Asia— including the dominant Saka-Scythians of Israelite origin. But according to researchers, Sarmatian (and subsequent Hunnish) advances caused the Scythians to fragment into smaller sub-clans as they were pushed out of Scythia toward the northwest. Edmund Filmer, for example, writes: “At first the Scythians dominated the whole of the steppe country between the Carpathians and the Sea of Azov [in the Crimean region]…. During the [latter part of the] fourth century [BC], however, the Sarmatians began to move westwards from the Don [River] as far as the bend in the Dnieper [River]…. [Later, when] the Sarmatians subsequently advanced from the Dnieper to the Carpathians during the last two centuries before the Christian era, and finally into Hungary, the Scythians became divided [into smaller sub-clans] ….”26 The Encyclopedia Americana notes: “The Scythians … are those tribes that occupied [the] territory [north of the Black Sea] from about 700 BC, and formed a single cohesive political entity until the fourth century BC when the nation was splintered into several groups” by aggressive Sarmatian [and Hunnish] migration.27
Consequently, distinct Scythian bands migrated in numerous waves over several centuries into extreme northwest Europe. Reflecting this forced migration, the Greek historian and geographer Strabo (about 63 BC to 23 AD) wrote that the Scythians resettled in lands toward the north, near the ocean—that is, in the Baltic region, north of the encroaching Sarmatians. Pliny, the Roman scholar, mentions that the Scythians had settled on islands in the “Northern Ocean” off the coast of Europe—an obvious reference to the Scandinavian region.28
Thus, from approximately 50 BC, those Celtic Israelites who had earlier settled in the lower Baltic areas of Europe began to be overrun by Scythian newcomers such as the Saxons, Danes, Vandals, Goths, Angles, Jutes, and Franks—all of which shared a common heritage not only among themselves but also with their Celtic brothers.29 Significant areas of the British Isles had by this time been settled by peoples of Celtic origin. But many of their Scythian kinsmen, who were rapidly moving to the west, would soon be looking as well to the Isles for a permanent homeland.
According to Davidy’s extensive research, Hunnish aggression beginning around 160 BC—as well as extreme climate changes in key areas of the steppes—forced the Scythians into northwestern Europe from which they attempted to reestablish themselves in Scandinavia. “At this very same time [of the Hunnish invasion of Europe], Scandinavia received an influx of population.” This “Scandinavian repopulation” would “continue in full force for at least two hundred years,” paralleling the struggle taking place in Scythia against eastern invaders. “The evacuation of Scythia [took place] in stages and was not always in one direction, though the overwhelming tendency was westward…. [But over time,] the [Scythian] incursions into Scandinavia [proved] too great to enable stabilized settlement”—thus, “there was an almost immediate continuation westward” into the British Isles.30
While Scandinavia became a permanent homeland for many of the Scythian peoples, it was an area-of-transit for others on their way further west. Interestingly, Scandinavian tradition traces its ancestry to the Don River region—exactly where Scythians had long been settled. Davidy notes that the region “originally was named Scathanavia or Scatenauge” in honor of invading “Royal Scyths.” Echoing other researchers, he writes that “the name Scandinavia probably was originally intended to denote the ‘Land of the Scyths.’ ”31 Likewise, the online Wikipedia says the name means “island of the Scythian people.”32 Indeed, archeologists have recovered numerous cultural items from Scandinavian lands that clearly originated along the northern coast of the Black Sea—the Scythians’ earlier home.33 Davidy concludes that “Scandinavian mythology, art styles, and religion all recall their Scythian origin.”34
Archeological Evidence of Westward Movement
Scattered throughout southern Russia and parts of Europe are burial sites clearly identified as Saka-Scythian in origin. Archeologists have determined that the sites show a Scythian presence in these areas spanning several centuries. The geographical distribution of these burial sites is most revealing. As we will see, the earliest such sites are found in southern Russia and the Crimean region with subsequent sites scattered throughout the Ukraine. Even later sites have been located in central and northwestern Europe. This pattern demonstrates an unmistakable Scythian migration to the northwest.
In this part of Eurasia the dead had long been cremated, the ashes being buried in an urn. Over time, inhumation (bodily burial) became widespread; moreover, it became increasingly popular to include in the grave some of the deceased person’s most valued belongings.
Filmer notes that over time an increasing number of chieftains’ tombs began to be utilized. The striking feature of such burial sites was that the body was buried in a wooden chamber along with silver and gold ornaments—as well as various weapons. This configuration was unmistakably Scythian, as they were known for their timber tombs in which were placed a high quantity of quality weapons and personal ornaments. Archeologists are certain that these wooden tombs are evidence of the establishment of Scythians throughout the region.35
According to the online Wikipedia, the Cimmerian and Scythian societies were characterized by an advanced “timber grave culture” in which “elaborate royal kurgans” typically contained weapons, Scythian-style wild-animal art, gold, silk and even chariots—as “vehicle burials were also a distinctive trademark of the Scythian culture.”36 Collins adds that royal Scythian graves often featured horses buried along with the deceased.37
Filmer writes: “The earliest tombs in [southern] Russia, such as that at Kelermes on the northern slopes of the Caucasus, and the Litoy barrow, contained weapons and other articles decorated with gold that show a close connection not only with the earliest Scythian designs … but also with Assyrian, Median, and Urartian art.” This suggests a broad range of influences, just as we might expect of the Israelites who had been subject to these same peoples. Filmer adds that “the earliest Scythian tombs [found] in [southern] Russia have been dated to about 580 BC.”38 With similar dating, the Encyclopedia Iranica states: “It is in central Georgia that archeologists have found the greatest concentration of materials of the Scythian type … the earliest dating from about 700 BC.”39 Comparable Cimmerian tombs in Crimea, dating from 650-600 BC, help to confirm this.40 In fact, according to Thomas, thousands of tombstones have been found in Crimean graveyards bearing Hebrew inscriptions.41 These are clearly Cimmerian or Scythian in origin.
Filmer writes: “The earliest tombs in [southern] Russia, such as that at Kelermes on the northern slopes of the Caucasus, and the Litoy barrow, contained weapons and other articles decorated with gold that show a close connection not only with the earliest Scythian designs … but also with Assyrian, Median, and Urartian art.” This suggests a broad range of influences, just as we might expect of the Israelites who had been subject to these same peoples. Filmer adds that “the earliest Scythian tombs [found] in [southern] Russia have been dated to about 580 BC.”38 With similar dating, the Encyclopedia Iranica states: “It is in central Georgia that archeologists have found the greatest concentration of materials of the Scythian type … the earliest dating from about 700 BC.”39 Comparable Cimmerian tombs in Crimea, dating from 650-600 BC, help to confirm this.40 In fact, according to Thomas, thousands of tombstones have been found in Crimean graveyards bearing Hebrew inscriptions.41 These are clearly Cimmerian or Scythian in origin. By the early part of the sixth century BC, pioneering Scythians had gotten as far west as the Carpathian Mountains. Reflecting subsequent waves of migration, Scythian graves dating from the fourth century have been found on both sides of the Dnieper River as far north as Kiev (northern Ukraine). Even areas of Hungary and southern Poland feature numerous Scythian burial sites. Still later sites, however, have been found in upper northwest Europe. Filmer writes: “A significant fact, noted by Polish, Scandinavian and even German scholars, is that the chieftains’ graves in south Poland are at least a century older than the earliest ones on the Baltic coast [extreme northwest Europe]…. [In] the early centuries of the Christian era, these [Scythian] burial rites spread north into the Danish islands and Jutland [Denmark] peninsula.” Prior to 100 BC, the lands bordering the southern Baltic Sea—now Poland and the former East Germany—had been rather sparsely populated, but from that date onwards, “cemeteries increased in number with the introduction of new [Scythian] burial rites.” Filmer concludes that the chronological distribution pattern of Scythian burial sites indicates “a migration [of Scythians] from south to north.”42
Davidy’s research has led to a similar conclusion—that such burial site patterns show a definite, gradual Scythian migration from Scythia into Scandinavia and the Baltic area. He writes that wooden chamber graves found in southern Poland from before 200 BC suggest the presence of Scythian settlements and indicate a “movement of the Scythians to the north and west.” He adds: “After 100 BC the same type of grave is evident on the north Baltic coast”—and still later the same “Royal Scyth” grave “reappears in Jutland (Denmark) where it continued in use for several centuries.”43
Anglo-Saxons Dominate Baltic Region, British Isles
Although Scythian and Celtic clan designations cannot be correlated to the original Israelite tribal names, their number and variety suggest the migrating Israelites attempted to preserve at least some of their distinctions along tribal lines. The renowned British historian Sharon Turner wrote: “The different tribes of the Scythians, like those of the [Celtic] Kimmerians and Gauls, had their peculiar distinctive denominations.”44 Scythian bands migrating into northwest Europe included the Saxons, Danes, Vandals, Goths, Angles, Jutes, Alans, Lombards, Franks, etc. Many of these settled in or moved through Scandinavia and the Baltic region.
Of great importance were the Saxons and Angles. The Saxons were a powerful Scythian clan in northwest Europe. According to research by Rutherford, the geographer Ptolemy (second century AD) referred to the Sacae as Saxones, and the historian Albinus (late 700s AD) said the Saxons were descended from the ancient Sacae from Asia.45
As we saw in Chapter 7, Saxons literally means sons of Isaac. Recall that God had told Abraham, “in Isaac shall your seed be named” (Gen. 21:12; RSV and others). Turner writes: “The Saxons were a German[ic] or Teutonic, that is, a Gothic or Scythian, tribe; and of the various Scythian nations [clans] which have been recorded, the Sakai, or Sacae, are the people from whom the descent of the Saxons may be inferred…. Sakai-Suna, or the sons of the Sakai, abbreviated into Saksun, which is the same sound as Saxon, seems a reasonable etymology of the word Saxon.”46
Ptolemy also informs us that the Saxons had settled “on the neck of the Cimbric Peninsula”—or Jutland (Denmark), which had previously been occupied by Celts. Yet history records little of the Saxons until the end of the third century AD, when they were described as “pirates” infesting the coasts of Gaul and branded as enemies of Rome.47 In fact, “the nations [clans] that overthrew the Roman Empire [in 476 AD] came from central Asia [Scythia]. This mass of people included the Goths, Vandals, Angles, and Saxons….”48
According to Collins, the Saxons and other Scythian tribes jointly migrated into Europe from Asia. While “the Saxons bore the name of Isaac the Danes bore the name of the Israelite tribe of Dan.”49 By this time, however, the Romans had developed the practice of referring to Scythian tribes in general as Germanic—meaning they were genuine Scythians as opposed to Sarmatian transplants.50
Allied with the Angles (the Anglican peoples), the Saxons came to eventually dominate parts of England and Scotland. Davidy writes: “From the Saka were to emerge the Anglo-Saxon invaders of Britain.” Large formations of Saxons began arriving in northwest Europe between 200-300 AD. “The Angles … together with the Saxe-Saxons (Sakae) and Jutes (Latii) from Scythia were to be the dominant elements in the conquest of England…. From Jutland emerged many of the invaders of England.”51
From about 250 AD, Gothic bands, allied with their Celtic kinsmen, began harassing the western parts of the Roman Empire while Anglo-Saxon pirates, approaching from Scandinavia, began intermittently attacking the coasts of Britain. However, the Anglo-Saxon invasions of Britain would not commence for another 200 years due to resistance by Roman occupiers. Collins writes: “Saxons from the eastern shores of the North Sea ravaged the coasts of Britain and occasionally penetrated deep into the lowland zone. Until the end of the fourth century the [Roman] Empire was strong enough to repair the damage done by the [Anglo-Saxon] incursions.” However, Rome’s hold on Britain soon deteriorated, forcing them to abandon the Isles altogether. Ultimately, “the native British Celts … invited [the] Saxons from the European mainland to assist them as mercenaries, but the Saxons eventually occupied much of England, pushing the native Celts into Wales and Scotland.”52
In his book The Story of Celto-Saxon Israel, the late British historian and scholar W. H. Bennett writes that “the Romans invaded and occupied [only a] part of the country, but this was [strictly] a military occupation…. Few Romans settled in Britain, and all of the military forces were withdrawn [by] about 410 AD. The next permanent settlers to come into Britain were the Saxons, who began to arrive [in large numbers] from northwest Germany and southern Denmark [Jutland] and Scandinavia about the year 450 AD. They were divided into a number of tribes, one of which, the Angles, gave us the names England and English.”53
Who were the Angles? Many authorities contend that the Angles took their name from their ancestral home in Jutland, Angul (modern Angeln), which features an area shaped geographically like a hook (angul is Old English for fishhook). But according to Collins, Angle or Engle is likely based on the Hebrew word for bull—egel, pronounced ay-ghel.54 Anciently, the bullock was an identifying sign of the tribe of Ephraim (Deut. 33:17). This suggests the Angli (as the Romans called them) were a dominant part of the birthright tribe of Ephraim. At any rate, it is obvious that the name England—from the Old English Engla-land or Ængla-land—originated with the Angles.
By most accounts, the “Anglo-Saxon era” covers early medieval England from the end of Roman rule and the establishment of numerous Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the fifth century until the Norman conquest in 1066. Throughout the 600s AD, Scythian newcomers from the east continued migrating into Scandinavia; the resultant overpopulation led to the Viking overseas expeditions of the late 700s.55 Migrating through Scandinavia, the Vikings included Danes, Norwegians, and other Scythian-Scandinavian clans. As explorers, merchants and pirates, the Vikings raided and colonized wide areas of northwest Europe and the North Atlantic islands from the 8th century. This period of Viking expansion—known as the Viking Age— forms a major part of the history of Scandinavia, Great Britain, and Ireland. The Danes came about 850 AD, and the Norwegians a little later, settling in the northern and western coasts of Scotland. The Normans were the last of the Germanic types to enter England.
Thus, the entire history of northwest Europe and the British Isles from the 4th century BC to at least the 800s AD revolved around these Scythian-Israelite clans migrating in stages in a northwesterly direction from their areas of settlement around the Black Sea and in central Asia.
Linguistic Evidence
Overall, the languages now prevailing in Europe show that there were three distinct and successive waves of peoples who entered Europe from Asia. The oldest ones are found in western Europe. “The first was the Cimmerians, followed by the Scythians, and finally the Sarmatians (Slavs). These three stocks make up the source of the native populations in Europe today.” The Cimmerian group is represented by the Celtic languages (Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Irish Gaelic, Cornish, Manx, and Breton); the Scythian source is represented by English, Franco-German, Middle Gothic, Old Icelandic, Modern German, Swabian, Swiss, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Orkneyan, and Lowland Scotch; the Slavic group, stemming from the Sarmatian invasion of Europe, is represented by modern Slavonic as it appears in Russia, the Ukraine, Bulgaria, Poland, etc.56 This latter group has no connection to the tribes of Israel.
What is most interesting are the numerous commonalities between the Hebrew of ancient Israel and the languages spoken in the British Isles. Indeed, the first people to settle the Isles spoke Hebrew, a fact demonstrated by ancient Hebrew inscriptions found in many places in Britain and Ireland. Moreover, Rutherford confirmed that the early literature of Britain was largely a modified form of Hebrew.57 After all, as brought out in Chapter 9, Israelites from the tribe of Dan actually settled in Ireland prior to the fall of Samaria.
Remarkably, the Welsh language today strongly resembles Hebrew. According to Rutherford, it is difficult to find a single article or form of construction in Hebrew grammar that cannot also be found in Welsh. Many sentences of the two languages have very similar wording, and almost every page of the Welsh translation of the Old Testament contains Hebraisms in the sense and spirit of the original language. Moreover, the Welsh is so close to Hebrew that the same syntax might serve both.58
According to Bennett, the early Saxon language included hundreds of Medo-Persian words, indicating that the Scythian ancestors of the Saxons had indeed resided (as captives) in Media for some time before migrating through the Caucasus Mountains into Europe.59
In the interest of providing linguistic evidence, it is worth repeating the origin of the term Iberia. As previously brought out, portions of the “lost” tribes of Israel migrated to the north from the areas of their initial exile—settling for a time in the region north of Armenia and the Caucasus Mountains (approximately modern Georgia). They subsequently named this area Iberia. Collins writes that this region between the Black and Caspian Seas “came to be known as Iberia, confirming the presence of Hebrews from the ten tribes in that region.” Seagoing explorers from the tribe of Dan had long before given the same name to an old Phoenician-Israelite colony in Spain—hence, the Iberian Peninsula. Collins adds: “The appearance of the same Hebrew name (Iberia) in the region north of Armenia verifies that this region became an area of Israelite resettlement.”60 Iberia is clearly of Hebrew origin, being derived from the word eber, meaning “one from beyond”—or an outsider. (Eber was the ancestral patriarch of Abraham.) The word “Hebrew” itself is from the related term, Ibri. Davidy says Iberia means “land of the Hebrews.”61 Rhys notes that Ireland was once known as Iberion.62
But the most striking linguistic connection between ancient Israel and those who ultimately settled the British Isles concerns the Hebrew word for covenant. If the Celtic and Anglo-Saxon peoples of the British Isles are indeed descendants of ancient Israel, it would be most appropriate that they bear in their very name some indication of their covenant relationship to the God of Israel. In Hebrew, the word for covenant is beriyth. In Judges 8:33 and 9:4, we see that the word can also be used as a proper name—here coupled with the name Baal, a false god. It is thus rendered Baal-berith, meaning “lord of the covenant.” Since vowels were not written in ancient Hebrew, the literal spelling of beriyth would be brth. Its anglicized form preserves the y sound by adding an i—thus, brith. However, since the Hebrews did not pronounce the h sound (as many Jews today do not), beriyth would be, in its anglicized form, pronounced brit.63
Collins notes that the early Celts described themselves as Brythonic, a reference to their being the “covenant people” of God. He writes: “The fact that these ‘Brythonic Celts’ who migrated to the British Isles bore the Hebrew B-R-T root word for ‘covenant’ confirms their Israelite origin…. It is significant that large masses of Celtic people still bore in their name the Hebrew word for ‘covenant’ (the B-R-T or B-R-TH root word of Briton and Brythonic) even after the fall of Samaria.”64
J. H. Allen writes: “[The] people of Waels [Wales] [still] call themselves, in ancient Welsh, ‘Bryth y Brithan’ or ‘Briths of Briton,’ which means ‘the covenanters’ of ‘the land of the covenant.’ The first form of this phrase is almost vernacular Hebrew.”65 Collins notes that the name Briton originated “centuries before the fall of Israel” as the area had “long been a Phoenician [and Danite] colony and port-of-call” back during Solomon’s reign.66 The name Briton—“covenant land”—was obviously given to the region as a reflection of these Israelites’ renewed regard for their covenant relationship with God.
Moreover, the Hebrew word for man is iysh, or ish. In English, the ish ending (which is said to be Germanic, or Scythian, in origin) means “of, belonging to, or relating to” a specific peoples or thing. When we join these two Hebrew words, we have Brit-ish—or British—“covenant man.”
Indeed, the British (along with their Irish, Welsh, and Scottish kin) and their American brothers are the modern-day “people of the covenant”— the modern-day descendants of “lost” Israel who were destined to inherit the Abrahamic birthright blessings promised to Ephraim and Manasseh.
CHAPTER 10 NOTES
1. Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, bk. 11, ch. 5, sec. 2
2. Yair Davidy, The Tribes—The Israelite Origins of Western Peoples, p. 101. Interestingly, the Scots preserve the story of their Scythian origins in the most famous document in Scottish history, the Declaration of Arbroath. Written in 1320 AD and signed by King Robert I (the Bruce) and his nobles, the declaration states that the Scots’ ancestors “journeyed from Greater Scythia by way of the Tyrrhenian [Mediterranean] Sea … [and] came twelve hundred years after the people of Israel crossed the Red Sea [250-290 BC] to their home in the west where they still live today.” Leaving Scythia, their journey took them around (or across) the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. From there they sailed to Spain and then Scotland. The original of this ancient document is on display at the Register House in Edinburgh (www.israelite.ca/research/source_documents/arbroath.html).
Irish tradition also claims a Scythian origin. According to several ancient folklore sources, such as The Book of the Taking of Ireland, the Irish “originated in Scythia and were descendants of Fénius Farsaid, a Scythian prince who created the Ogham alphabet and who was one of the principal architects of the Gaelic language” www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scythians.
3. Characterized as the period when weapons and tools came to be made of iron, the Iron Age presumably began in the early first millennium BC.
4. Encyclopedia Iranica, http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/cimmerians-nomads
5. Anciently, the tribes of Israel were subdivided into clans and family units that tended to stay together (see Ex. 6:14-25).
6. Davidy, p. 53
7. Arsareth refers to a broad area west of the Black Sea, roughly defined today by Bulgaria, Romania, and southern Ukraine.
8. For example, as previously noted, the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica identifies the Cimmerian inhabitants of Crimea (north of the Black Sea) in the 600s BC as Celtic in culture - http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/CRE_DAH/CRIMEA_ancient_Tauris_or_Tauric.html
9. www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/101704/Celt
10. The Origin of Our Western Heritage, ch. 6: The Westward Movement; http://www.bethelcog.org/church/the-origin-of-our-western-heritage/the-westward-movement
11. www.lost-civilizations.net/celts-another-overview.html
12. www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celts
13. Davidy, p. 16
14. Des Thomas, America—the Last Frontier for Manasseh, p. 116. The Plutarch quote is from his Life of Marius. Plutarch added that “the Greeks gave them [the Cimmerians] the name Celt, [and] the Romans [gave them] the name Gauls.”
15. www.1911encyclopedia.org/Celt (No longer available)
16. www.1911encyclopedia.org/Cimmerii (No longer available)
18. As brought out in Chapter 7, “Gimri comes from [the Assyrian] Khumri (out of the biblical name Omri) and goes through Gimmira and the Greek Kimmerioi to Cimmerian” www.asis.com/users/stag/behistun.html ).
19. Davidy, p. 100
20. The Origin of Our Western Heritage, ch. 6
21. www.lost-civilizations.net/celts-another-overview.html
22. The Encyclopedia Britannica, vol. 5, pp. 102-103; “Celt”
23. The Origin of Our Western Heritage, ch. 6
24. Steven Collins, The Lost Ten Tribes of Israel—Found!, p. 123
25. Collins, p. 125. Because of pioneering Danites, Israelite colonies were well established in the British Isles when the prophet Jeremiah, in about 600 BC, wrote: “Hear the Word of the LORD, O nations, and declare it in the isles afar off. And say, ‘He who [has] scattered Israel will [ultimately] gather him and keep him, as a shepherd keeps his flock’ ” (Jer. 31:10). Context-wise, Jeremiah 31 deals with the restoration of latter-day Israel to a unified kingdom at Christ’s return to usher in the age to come.
26. Edmund Filmer, “Our Scythian Ancestors”
27. The Encyclopedia Americana, vol. 24, p. 471; “Scythians”
28. The Origin of Our Western Heritage, ch. 6
29. Davidy, p. 17
30. Davidy, pp. 84-86
31. Davidy, pp. 42, 97
32. www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scandinavia
33. The Origin of Our Western Heritage, ch. 6
34. Davidy, p. 42
35. Filmer, “Our Scythian Ancestors”
36. www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scythians
37. Collins, p. 174
38. Filmer, “Our Scythian Ancestors.” Concerning Israelite-Scythian art, Filmer adds that it “in no way differs stylistically from similar Assyrian and Urartian designs.” Again, this is indicative of the influence Assyria had over captive Israel.
39. Encyclopedia Iranica, www.iranicaonline.org/articles/cimmerians-nomads
40. Filmer, “Our Scythian Ancestors”
41. Thomas, p. 111
42. Filmer, “Our Scythian Ancestors”
43. Davidy, p. 94
44. Sharon Turner, The History of the Anglo-Saxons; quoted here from www.israelite.info/research/sourcedocumentsfiles/anglosaxons.html.
45. The Origin of Our Western Heritage, ch. 6
46. Turner, www.israelite.info/research/sourcedocumentsfiles/anglosaxons.html
47. Collins; excerpt from his book Israel’s Tribes Today. See www.israelite.info/bookexcerpts/israelstribestoday.html.
48. The Origin of Our Western Heritage, ch. 6
49. Collins, www.israelite.info/bookexcerpts/israelstribestoday.html
50. According to Filmer, the Romans coined the terms Germanic or Germani in order to distinguish between the invading Sarmatians and the genuine Israelite Scythians. Thomas adds: “With the appearance of the non-Israelite Sarmatians in the region once occupied by the Scythians, the Romans deemed it necessary to introduce a new name for these [Saka] Scythians.” The change is well documented by such ancient historians as Pliny and Strabo. Strabo, for example, explains that germani was a Latin word meaning genuine or authentic in terms of race. The Romans were simply attempting to indicate that the Saka-Scythians were the genuine Scythians, not the Sarmatians. The terms should not be confused with the modern German race. See Filmer, “Our Scythian Ancestors” and Thomas, p. 117.
51. Davidy, pp. 22, 99, 87, 94. Jutland is a peninsular region that includes the mainland of modern Denmark and part of northern Germany. The Jutes, along with the Angles and the Saxons, invaded Britain from the late 4th century onwards.
52. Collins, www.israelite.info/bookexcerpts/israelstribestoday.html
53. W. H. Bennett, The Story of Celto-Saxon Israel; quoted from www.israelite.info/bookexcerpts/storyofceltosaxonisrael.html.
54. Collins; see www.israelite.info/bookexcerpts/israelstribestoday.html.
55. Davidy, p. 94
56. The Origin of Our Western Heritage, ch. 6. “Today, the term Celtic is generally used to describe the languages and respective cultures of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, and Brittany, also known as the Six Celtic Nations. These are the regions where four Celtic languages are still spoken to some extent as mother tongues: Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, and Breton—plus two recent revivals, Cornish (one of the Brythonic languages) and Manx (one of the Goidelic languages)” www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celts).
57. The Origin of Our Western Heritage, ch. 6
58. The Origin of Our Western Heritage, ch. 6. This information by Rutherford is based on Jacob Tomlin’s work, “A Comparative Vocabulary of Forty-Eight Languages, Comprising One Hundred and Forty-Six Common English Words, with Their Cognates in Other Languages Showing Their Affinities with the English and Hebrew.”
59. Bennett, www.israelite.info/bookexcerpts/storyofceltosaxonisrael.html
60. Collins, p. 129
61. Davidy, pp. 7, 25
62.http://www.israelite.ca/research/specialstudiesfiles/hebrew_celtic_connection.html
63. J. H. Allen, Judah’s Sceptre and Joseph’s Birthright, p. 275. Even today there is a Jewish fraternity named B’nai-Brith, “Sons of the Covenant.”
64. Collins, pp. 123-124
65. Allen, p. 275
66. Collins, p. 123
