Pashtun Descent from Israel?

There is a persistent legend that the Islamic Pashtun tribe of Afghanistan and Pakistan is descended from the Lost Tribes of Israel.  Actual historical research on the subject began in the 19th Century.  No definitive proofs of the theory have ever been found but there are vague hints throughout history: the Rig Veda (before 1200 BCE) mentions the Paktha tribe; Herodotus (ca. 450 BCE) mentions the Pashtuns as the Paktyaki.   There is no mention of an Israelite connection before the Islamic conquest of the area.

Modern Jews are descended from the tribes of Benjamin and Judah.  Other people who claim Israelite descent:

1. Samaritans: aka: Bene-Yisrael (Children of Israel), Shamerim (Observant Ones). Descendants of the Biblical Samaritan tribe, cousins of the Israelites.  Modern Samaritans still live in the same place as their fathers, speak Arabic, and pray in Hebrew.  They recognize only the Pentateuch as Scripture.

2. Saccans: A Central Asian ethic group.

3. House of Israel: This group in Ghana claims Israelite descent.

4. Efik Tribe: This Nigerian tribe traditionally claims to have migrated from Palestine to the Sahara to the Sudan and, finally, to Nigeria.

4. Bene Ephraim: A Telugu speaking group in Southeast India.

6. Bene Menashe: The group in Northeast India claims descent from Manasseh.  A Rabbinical court in Jerusalem has accepted the claim.

7. Falasha: aka. Beta Israel, Buda, Tebiban, Habashim.  This Ethiopian group is recognized as legitimate by the majority of world Jewry.  They claim descent from Menelik, son of David and the Queen of Sheba.

8. Beit Avraham: aka: Falasha Mura.  This Christian group broke from the Falasha.

9. Bnai' Ephraim: This group in Southwest Nigeria claims to be Jewish.  They speak a mixture of Yoruba, Arabic, and Aramaic.  They say they originated as Jews expelled from Morocco about 1492. 

10. Mizoram:  This primarily Christian group in Hindustan numbers about 800,000.  They claim descent from Manasseh.

11. Black Jews of Rusape, Zimbabwe.

12. Dimonas/Black Hebrews: This is a polygamous vegan African-American sect.  They are not recognized by the State of Israel.

13. Lemba Tribe: This predominately Christian African tribe shows DNA linkage to the ancient Israelites.  This means that they share genetic material with modern Jews.

14. Cimmerians: This Indo-European/Iranian/Thracian group was a nomadic equestrian tribe in central Asia.  Herodotus said that they arrived from Russia and the Ukraine in the 7th or 6th centuries BCE.  They were expelled by the Scythians.

15. Igbo Tribe:  This Nigerian tribe numbers about 30,000,000.  They say they came to Nigeria about 740 CE from Syria, Portugal, and Libya and claim descent from the tribes of Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Zebulon, and Judah.

16. British Israelites:  Followers of this belief claim that Britain, the United States, and other English speaking peoples are descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.  One such group is the Worldwide Church of God.

17. Mormons:  Traditional Mormon doctrine claims that the American Indians and Polynesian peoples are descended from the Lost Tribes of Israel.

British Israelism

I realized after I posted yesterday that some may not know what "British Israelism" is. The doctrine, also known as Anglo-Israelism, holds that persons of Western European ancestry are direct lineal descendents of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. Many British Israelists also believe that the British Royal Family is lineally descended from King David. As with Mormonism, the genetic, historical, and linguistic evidence just does not add up.

The doctrine existed earlier but was first clearly expounded in the late 18th Century. The most prominent proponents of the doctrine have been Princess Alice, the Countess of Athlone; Roger Rusk, a university professor and brother of United States Secretary of State Dean Rusk; William Massey, Prime Minister of New Zealand; and Herbert W. Armstrong, the founder of the Worldwide Church of God. Armstrong even declared that he was called by God to explain and prophesy about the doctrine.

Groups which have expounded the doctrine (or still do) are The Shepherd's Chapel, the Bible-Pattern Church Fellowship, the Orange Street Congregational Church, the Christian Revival Crusade, Brit-Am, the Revival Centres International, the Worldwide Church of God, and the Churches of God in Ireland. The Christian Identity Movement adds a racist angle to the doctrine. In a modified form, traces of the doctrine can be seen in the teachings of Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon (LDS) Church.

The main Bible verses on which the British Israel doctrine is based are Genesis 12:2-3, 17:4, 18:18, 27:29, 35:11, 48:14-20, 49:22; Exodus 31:13; Deuteronomy 2:25, 4:7-8, 15:6, 28:10; 1 Chronicles 5:1-2; Isaiah 24:15, 42:19, 49:6, 49:12, 66:19; and Hosea 1:9. This is clearly an example of eisogesis at it's worst; assembling random bits and pieces of scripture together to prove a point one has already accepted.

Eisogesis (Greek "eis" = "into") is the practice of taking an idea "into" the scriptures and trying to find "proof texts" to confirm one's thesis. Exegesis (Greek "ek" = "out") works in the opposite direction, seeking to derive doctrines from the scriptures which are internally consistent with the entire Bible.