The ten lost tribes were the Jewish tribes who vanished from history after the Assyrian conquest in 722 BC. According to 2 Kings 17:6, 18:11 all Jewish tribes with the exception of Judah and Benjamin were exiled to Halah and Habor by the river Gozan. The belief in the continued existence of the tribes persisted, Josephus, in the first century AD, maintained that “the ten tribes are beyond the Euphrates now.” The rabbis believed they were in exile beyond the river Sambaryon. Throughout history various identification of and with these tribes have been proclaimed. A.G.H.
Bowker, John, The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, New York, Oxford University Press, 1997, p. 964