Question
Dear Gramps,
I understand that some of the tribes of Israel that were lost, went north. Over 30 years ago I worked in the northernmost part of Norway for several years. Once when a friend of mine, who was in the insurance business, and I went to a Sami village, he asked me to go with him to see the midwife. There I was shown a book written by a Sami man, who apparently had done some research on the origin of the Sami people. It was his opinion that they had traveled north from the Middle East, all the way up to Northern Europe, where they met the forefathers of the Finnish people. He pointed out some important differences in appearance between the two tribes, and as far as I can remember, he had a theory that somehow the Israelites lost their own language, and developed a new one very similar to Finnish. As years went by, they also lost their knowledge of their origin, and ended up as the Samis, and because of the language and their new habitat, it was supposed that they and the Finns originated from the same people. I have never been able to have this man’s theory confirmed. Do you know of any evidence that could substantiate it? I would appreciate your answer very much.
Josstein
Answer
Dear Josstein,
As the lost ten tribes migrated to the north and were lost they undoubtedly mixed with many people. However, there is no historical evidence of their interaction with any specific people. Perhaps the best indication of an Israelitish connection would be through the tribe of Israel from which one is descended, as declared in patriarchal blessings. For instance, in patriarchal blessings given to members of the Mormon Church in Mongolia, it is my understanding that all of the twelve tribes are mentioned.
The actual history of the Sami people appears to have been researched no earlier than the 15th century, so linguistic similarities may be the best clue to other cultures with whom they may have been related. I understand that the Sami (Lapp) language has some similarities to both Estonian and Finnish, as well as Hungarian. Their language has been classified as part of the Finno-Ugric family of languages. The Ugric sub-branch appears to be traceable to the regions near the Ural mountains. The Finnish people, on the other hand, have been genetically connected to the Germans.
Gramps
