Jan Safford

Jan Safford is a PhD candidate at the Hebrew University whose research topic is evidence for 'the 10 Lost Tribes of Israel' in documents in cuneiform script from the Neo-Assyria exile.  He is one of the leading scholars studying the Al-Yahudu archives from the time of the Babylonian exile. Safford's research extends from the establishment of the first Judean and Israelite exilic communities outside of the Land of Israel down to and beyond the time of the return that we learn about from Ezra and Nehemiah.

Did Jonah find a Minyan in Nineveh?

It is common knowledge that the "Lost Tribes of Israel" disappeared when they were exiled to Assyria precisely because they were scattered and did not have communities. In this presentation Jan presents evidence that this is not the case, but rather, the Israelites had communities in exile and preserved their identities. Jan uses Nineveh as a case example to demonstrate that should Jonah have found himself in Nineveh he most certainly would have encountered more than enough Israelites to form a minyan and community.