It will be shown how the Jewish Biblical commentator RASHI (on The

Book of Obadiah) believed that the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel migrated into

Zarephath which he identified with the land of France while Don Isaac

Abarbanel equated "Zarephath" with both France and England together.  

It is implied  that Nachmanides (in "The Book of Redemption") considered

the term "Zarephath" to encompass all of the Northwest European region. (29)

"Zarephath" is mentioned in the Book of Obadiah (1;20) in connection with

the exile of the children of Israel:
 
         "The  captivity of this host of the children of
        Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites
        unto Zarepath.."

According to a composite explanation based on Rabbinical Commentators

the above verse may actually be understood to say:

            "This first exile [of the Lost Ten Tribes] who
            reach from the Land of Canaanites [i.e.
            Germany] to Zeraphath [France and Britain].."

The Hebrew word ("Chail") translated in the KJ as "host" can also mean"first"

and most Jewish Commentators seem to have understood the verse to refer

to the first exile which was that of the Lost Ten Tribes.  They also tended to

understand the place-name "Zarephath" (in this case) as referring to France

and its area or to France and England together and thus either expressly or 

by implication to link the Lost Ten Tribes with these western regions.

Classical Jewish Traditional Commentators interpreted the Hebrew passage

of the first part of the above excerpt as saying:
 
         "And this first exile of the children of Israel
        who are (positioned) from the Canaanites   to
        Zarephath..."*o

The words of the traditional Jewish Rabbinical Commentators on this verse

will now be quoted with a bare minimum of explanation.  Suffice it to say

that their opinions are based on substance and confirmed from other sources: 

Rashi (Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac, 1040-1105, Champagne, France):

        "The first exile of the children of Israel who
        were exiled from the Ten Tribes to the land
        of Canaanites unto Zarephath...The exegetes
        say that Zarephath means  the Kingdom
        called 'France' in common language.."

i.e. Rashi says that the Lost Ten Tribes are in France! Iben Ezra, Abraham

(1092-1167, Spain):        

        " `..from the Canaanites': We have heard 

         from great men that the land of Allemagne
        [i.e.Germany] are the Canaanites who fled
        from before the children of Israel  when they
        came into the land. So too, Zeraphath means
        France...",

This means according to Rabbinical Commentators (such as Eben Ezra, Radak,                         

Rashi, Abarbanel) areas  extending from the borders of Germany and including

France.  Don Isaac Abarbanel (in two different places: on the Book of Kings and

on Obadiah) emphasised his opinion that the term "Zarephath" includes the

Isle of Britain as well as France.  

The above Commentators did not necessarily in every case comprehend the

significance of their own interpretations.  They simply interpreted  the Biblical

verses according to what they perceived as the  straight-forward meaning in

the light of their own knowledge.  It is not (at present) fully certain whether

they themselves actually consciously realised that the LOST TEN TRIBES were

amongst the Gentiles in the above areas. - Nevertheless, these Commentaries

taken at face value most easily do lend themselves to a "Lost Ten Tribes In

Western Europe" interpretation. 

The Interpreters quoted above are considered in some degree to have been

inspired and therefore were capable of insights whose import they were not

necessarily fully aware of. 

 Abarbanel, Don Isaac (1437-1509).  A descendant of David.  Born in Lisbon,

he became treasurer to the king of Portugal but was forced to flee to Spain

which he left when the Jews were expelled in 1492.  He entered the service

of the king of Naples, Italy, then moved to Corfu, then Apulia, and later to

Venice.  Everywhere he went he served as an advisor to the heads of state. 

He wrote a copious Commentary on most books of the Bible.  He seems to

have read every book (christian and Jewish) ever written on the Bible and

related matters that were extant in his day. He gives the impression in his

works of having been pro-English, which was unusual for a man of his

background.

The Talmud (Megilla 6) infers that Edom went to Germany and Roman Italy.  

The Talmud (Baba Batra 123;b) also says that only the descendants of Joseph

are capable of conclusively defeating Edom and that the Prophecy of Obadiah

refers to such an event.  Historical evidence shows the Israelite Tribes of

Joseph (Ephraim and Menasseh) to have ultimately converged in the British

Isles and North America.  The above explanation of Joseph versus Edom as

depicted in the Book of Obadiah actually describes the result of future conflict

between JOSEPH (PRIMARILY Britain and the U.S.A) and the Lost Ten Tribes

in Zarephath (France and the north) on one side against the forces of Edom

(Romanised Europe) led by Germany on the other!             

Not only does Scripture and its connected tradition identify modern nations

with their ancestral counterparts, the Bible also indicates the final outcome

of ancestral struggles that were begun long ago.  If the claims made in this

work are true (and the evidence does point in that direction) then they will

be able to stand up to examination.  The implications are important enough

to warrant confirmation!