We have seen that when the people returned during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, although not every single member of the nation returned to the land, representatives from all twelve tribes did. In this context, the part represents the whole and is reckoned as all of Israel. In a sense, this is comparable to the current situation, where more Jews live outside the state of Israel than within it.
Assimilation
However, the vast majority of the ten tribes did not return from the Assyrian exile. They were scattered among the peoples, intermingled with the nations, and gradually lost their Israelite identity. In that sense, they became what Scripture calls “Gentiles”: no longer distinguished as Israel. Consequently, there is no such thing as “the lost ten tribes of Israel.”
Clues in names?
Proponents of the view that these ten tribes settled in Western Europe, amongst other places, point to alleged evidence in place names and ethnic names. For instance, names such as Danmark, Aberdeen, Scandinavia, the Don, and the Danube are said to trace back to the tribe of Dan. Hibernia and the Iberian Peninsula are thought to recall the Hebrews. The Saxons are said to actually be “Isaac’s sons,” and Britain is claimed to be derived from *berit am*, meaning “covenant people.”
Such phonetic similarities can indeed evoke associations with Israel and the Hebrews. Yet, no linguistic or historical connection has been proven. In almost all cases, the origins of these names can be readily explained by local languages and cultures, such as Germanic and Celtic languages. These are merely similarities in sound, not evidence of a demonstrable relationship.
only Dan
It is striking that within these theories, the tribe of Dan is identified almost exclusively through name associations, while all traces of the other tribes are missing. This renders the reasoning selective: it is not the entirety of Israel that is recognized, but merely a single name that happens to lend itself easily to connections with existing place names. After all, if this approach were correct, one would expect to find traces of all the tribes, not just Dan.
not just Europe
Such name associations are not limited to Europe; they can just as easily be identified in other parts of the world, such as the Americas. Place names like Danville, Danbury, or the Dan River demonstrate how easily such connections can be made. This very fact highlights the arbitrary nature of this approach: something that can be found everywhere can hardly serve as specific evidence.
examples outside Europe
Phonetic similarities to the name “Dan” can also be found outside Europe and America, for instance, in Danang (Vietnam), Dandong (China), Danlí (Honduras), and Maidan Shar (Afghanistan; where “-dan” appears in the middle of the name).
This demonstrates that such sounds are widespread across diverse languages and cultures and, therefore, do not constitute reliable evidence of a historical migration by a specific tribe.
Consequently, the ten tribes cannot be identified as a distinct people; instead, they have been absorbed into other nations. Place names and ethnonyms therefore offer no basis for locating them.