I. That the numbers of those taken away in the different captivities have been much over-estimated; for that only the principal people were taken as hostages, with the men of war and others most available as slaves.
II. That the main body of the ten tribes cannot be supposed to have been taken away, but left in their ancient possessions, when they became subjected again to the kings of Judah.
III. That the only tribes that can be supposed to have been taken away in any considerable body with regard to their relative numbers, were the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and that of Naphthali, who being located in the open plains on the north and on the east side of the Jordan, were the first and most exposed to the attacks of their enemies; while the other tribes, living in a more hilly country, were not so easily overpowered. The above-named tribes also having lived more contiguous to the heathen, probably yielded most to their customs, and thus when taken away among their conquerors, have become most absorbed amongst them.
IV. That the greater part of those who had been taken away to Babylon, or their descendants, and the greater part of the descendants of those taken away by the Assyrians returned to their ancient habitations, as it was their advantage to do so, to become free rather than remain bondsmen in a foreign country; though as it is probable that the proportion of males carried away far exceeded that of the females, the descendants of the Assyrian captives might not have amounted to so great a number as that of the captives originally.
V. That while in Babylonia, Assyria, and other countries of their conquerors, they cannot be supposed to have lived apart by their tribes, as in their native land; so that in the course of the 209 years and upwards which elapsed between their captivity and the first year of Cyrus, those taken away by the Assyrians must have lost all distinction of tribes, and become prepared to form part of that restored nation which obtained the name of Jews from the principal tribe among them.
VI. That the tribe of Judah having been the most numerous, and their city of Jerusalem the centre round which the Israelites congregated, it follows as a natural consequence, that their name became the prevailing one for their nation, though composed of different tribes; the same as the English and other nations have obtained a national appellation from that of the principal people among them, though in fact originally composed of different races.
