Part Six
HEBREW - ISRAELITE ORIGINS OF PARTHIA
Parthia was a vast ancient empire, which ruled in Asia at the same time that the Roman Empire ruled over the Mediterranean region. Although Rome launched many wars of imperial aggression against Parthia, none succeeded in their aim to subjugate the Parthians. Parthia administered many crushing defeats to Roman armies as these two “superpowers” opposed each other for centuries. In spite of all this Parthia is virtually ignored in our history books! The result is that we have a distorted view and understanding of world history--and as Christians--the way God has moved in the affairs of man in the world. (Parthia was located in the area of today's Iraq and Iran.)The lack of information on Parthia results from the fact that history has been taught almost exclusively from an ethnocentric, Greco-Roman perspective. This preoccupation with Greco-Roman history has led to major misunderstandings about the realities of the ancient world and Jewish-Israelite history. We learned when studying the Scythian-Sacae civilization that their power was so great they devastated the Assyrian Empire and twice defeated the Persians. Yet we read almost nothing about them in history books either.
There is no record of the Parthians in Asia until the Persians refer to then in the 6th century BC and there is no mention of them in the Old Testament. The Persians called them the “Parthva” and named them as a subject people involved in a revolt in 521 BC. Herodotus mentions that the Parthians were subjects of King Darius and that they lived in an adjoining province to some of the Sacae (Scythians who were named after Isaac).
The Parthians are clearly identified by historians as having a common origin with the Scythians. The Scythic character of the Parthians is asserted in the strongest terms by the ancient historians/writers. The Parthians, in fact, sought the aid of the Scythians in various wars and often sought refuge there in time of defeat.
It was also believed that the name Parthian meant “exile”. Therefore it was necessary to suppose they had migrated into their country from some portion of Scythia. We know that the Assyrians exiled two waves of Israelite captives into Asia, and that some of them went to the cities of the Medes. 2 Kings 17:6 The fact that the Parthians language was half Median indicates that they lived among the Medes for some length of time.
Since we know that the Scythians were relocated members of the ten tribes of Israel, and that ancient historians affirm the Parthians were kinsmen of the Scythians, and because there is no record of any Parthians being in Asia until after the Israelites were placed there, it is evident the Parthians are also part of the ten tribes of Israel.
Diodorus, a Greek historian, recorded that the Parthians revolted from the Medes and placed themselves under Scythian protection.
The Encyclopedia Britannica records that: “The alphabets in use in Persia, at least from the time of the Arsacid dynasty onwards, are based upon Aramaic…The earliest records of Aramaic go back to about 800 BC and were found in northern Syria….Other developments of Aramaic are modern square Hebrew…”
The Arsacid dynasty refers to the Parthian kings. That the Parthians used an Aramaic alphabet-- a Semitic alphabet related to Hebrew--confirms they originated in the region of Syria and Palestine where Aramaic developed. This also reinforces that the Scythians were of Semitic origin.
The Parthian word for city was karta or kerta. The original Semitic name of Carthage was Kirjath-Hadeschath. The Semitic name of Carthage is also Kart Hadasht, meaning “new city“. Both the Carthaginians and Parthians used the word kart for city. That common origin was in the old Kingdom of Israel, called “Phoenician” by the Greeks.
Parthians used the Aramaic alphabet for writing…another example is the Aramaic word for king of kings is MLKYN MLK. The Parthian word for king MLK is also the Hebrew word for king, which appears in the Bible 2,500 times.
After Persia fell to Alexander the Great, the Parthians were ruled by the Greeks. When Alexander’s kingdom was divided after his early death the Parthians were placed in the Seleucid Greek Empire. This was the fulfillment of an obscure prophecy about the House of Israel in Ezekiel 4:3-5: Moreover take for yourself an iron plate, and set it as an iron wall between you and the city. Set your face against it, and it shall be besieged, and you shall lay siege against it. This will be a sign to the house of Israel. “Lie also on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it. According to the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their iniquity. For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days; so you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.
For centuries the Parthians had been captives of the Assyrians, Medes, and Persians. The Israelite kingdom ended when Samaria fell in 721 BC. If a 390 year punishment began at the fall of Samaria, an event should occur in the year 331 BC. (721 BC - 390 yrs =331 BC) In that year Alexander the Great liberated the Parthian-Israelites from captivity. Alexander was seen as a liberator by many of the nations freed from Persian rule.
In 256 BC Parthia and Bactria revolted from the Seleucid Greeks and declared their independence. Numbers 26:35-36 records that three clans of the tribe of Ephraim were named the Bachrites, the Eranites (Iranian), and the Tahanites. The Seleucid province which rebelled with Parthia, bore the name of a clan of Ephraim in its Hellenized form. Historians also confirm the population of Bactria was largely Scythian.
Numbers 26:36 notes a clan of the tribe of Ephraim was known as Eranites. Another group of people known as Eranians was present in the region of ancient Persia and Parthia. In some historical accounts, the Dahanites, another Scythian clan, had a role in the founding of Parthia. They are possibly the Tahanites, a third clan of Ephraim mentioned in Numbers 26:35. These multiple Hebrew connections add further weight to the conclusion that these names had Israelite origins. The subsequent stability of the coming Parthian Empire is understandable if the above clans were all part of the tribe of Ephraim.
This also would confirm the birthright promises of Genesis 48 on Ephraim and Manasseh that included national greatness. These tribes were part of the composition of both Scythia and Parthia. This would be why Scythia and Parthia were historically close allies. God was also keeping His word in Hosea 1:10 of multiplying the ten tribes after exile.
God gave the Tribe of Judah the “scepter” promise in Genesis 49:10 and David was promised that his descendants would always rule over the House of Israel in Jeremiah 33:17. Since Jeremiah’s prophesy was made when Israel was captive in Asia, we should expect to see descendants of David ruling over the ten tribes in Asia.
Parthian emperors had names indicating that they were also members of the Davidic line of Judah. Some of their names include the key consonants of PH-R-S in the Hellenized (Greek) forms of their Parthian names. These Parthian kings had names such as Phraates, Phraotes, and Phraataces. God remembered His promise to David by guiding world events to ensure David’s royal line ruled over many Israelite nations in Asia after their exile. )Remember: no vowels in early Semitic language.)
How did God do this? I’m so glad you asked. In 2 Kings 24:8-15 we read that one of the last kings of Judah, Jehoiachin, and his wives were carried captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. 2 Kings 25:27-30 shows that after 37 years of captivity a later Babylonian king released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. He spoke kindly to him, and gave him a more prominent seat than those of the kings who were with him in Babylon.
The king of Babylon was served by many subordinate rulers who were vassal kings over assigned areas. These verses indicate that Jehoiachin was made a vassal king over part of the Babylonian Empire. Being set above the other kings meant that this royal descendant of David was given a prominent rulership position in the empire. It is likely that Jehoiachin was made a ruler over Israelites within the Babylonian Empire. He was descended from both David and Phares, and his sons would perpetuate a dynasty who ruled as vassal kings and later as kings of independent nations.
1 Chronicles 3:16-24 confirms Jehoiachin fathered many sons and that the house of David did not die out after the fall of Jerusalem!
Parthian kings were all from the same dynasty during the 400 years of that empire. They did have death by violence and murder (2 Samuel 12:10), but were always ruled by the same family. 2 Samuel 7:8-16
ROYAL LINE OF KING DAVID
ISRAEL/JUDAH = JUDAH = PHARES = DAVID
IBERIA/SCYTHIA = KING PHARESMENES
PARTHIAN/SAKA (INDIA) = KING GONDOPHARES PARTHIA/SACAE = KINGS PHRAATES, PHRAOTES, PHRAATACES
YESHUA’S LINAGE = PHARES = DAVID = YESHUA
The fact that Iberia’s rulers included the name of Phares argues that this migrating body of Israel’s ten tribes picked a “prince” of David’s royal line as their new leader. They migrated in 724-721 B.C., and by 653 B.C. a leader of the Scythian-Cimmerian-Median alliance against Assyria was led by a person named Phraotes. The name Phraortes includes the root word PH-R-S, indicating a link to David’s royal line of Phares. There is much more that can be said, but this evidence confirms that after Judah fell, there was never a time when David did not have descendants ruling over some portion of the ten tribes of Israel. This confirms that God guided the destinies of the ten tribes of Israel even after they were taken out of Palestine. His hand is always in human events!
Some other interesting word facts:
Hebrew consonantal word for “covenant” - BRT, pronounced BeRiTH
Hebrew word for man - ISH = British = Covenant Man!
Steven Collins comments: “The Bible records that the tribes of Israel, under Moses, made a “covenant” with God. The Israelites retained the unique awareness that they were the “covenant” people as an enduring part of their culture. The Hebrew word for “covenant” (B-R-T) was placed on people, places, and Phoenician-Carthaginian coins. The presence of the Hebrew word for covenant on ancient people or places is a strong identifier for locating where the ten tribes of Israel migrated after leaving the Mideast.”
This kind of information is very interesting as we research the history of nations and where they originated!
Tomorrow: Pt 7 The Roman Parthian Wars
Sources: These two are 100% Jewish rabbinical sites: They are researching the lost tribes!
http://www.britam.org/
http://www.kolhator.org.il/
Parthia: The Forgotten Ancient Superpower and Its Role in Biblical History by Steven Collins
www.bibleblessing.net
Universal Jewish Encyclopedia
The Jewish Study Bible, Oxford Press
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