In the 700s and 600s B.C., the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were invaded by the Assyrian and Babylonian kingdoms and ultimately conquered. Much of their population was deported to Mesopotamia, which was not an uncommon action for the Assyrians and Babylonians to take. When Cyrus the Great of Persia defeated and annexed the Babylonians, he allowed the Jews to return back to their homeland. This period away from the Holy Land is known as the Babylonian captivity. It's an important moment in Jewish history because not only does it provide the materials from the prophets, but also solidified the Jewish mentality on worshiping one god: Until that point, many had ignored that rule and sacrificed to other deities. Perceiving the Babylonian captivity as punishment for their lack of faith, upon their return the Jews decided they were going to do things right this time and cast off the other gods.

Supposedly the identities of the twelve tribes were lost during this period because no one could remember who belonged to which family anymore by the time of their return. And this is where I get pissed off. The kingdom of Israel fell in 722 B.C. and Judah in 601 B.C. According to the Bible itself, the captivity ended in 538 B.C. They can't fucking remember for about a century or even seventy years in the case of Judah what your fucking family is? Jews are all over the fucking world, some groups haven't even entered Israel for over a millennium, but they still remember their goddamned name. Are you seriously telling me the Jews lived in Egypt, became their slaves, wandered in the desert for forty years, and after all that remembered which tribe is which, but give them a century in Babylon and they forget everything?