{{short description|Israeli historian of ancient Jewish history}} {{Multiple issues| {{Tone|date=May 2026}} {{More citations needed|date=May 2026}} {{Fanpov|date=May 2026}} }} {{Infobox person | name = Joseph Eidelberg | native_name = יוסף אידלברג | native_name_lang = he | image = Karaj, Iran.png | image_size = 250px | caption = Joseph Eidelberg in 1964 | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1916|2|8}} | birth_place = Odessa, Russian Empire (now Ukraine) | death_date = {{death date and age|1985|8|21|1916|2|8}} | death_place = | occupation = Military commander, plant manager, linguistics researcher, historian, author | known_for = * Research on the Exodus and the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel | awards = }}
'''Joseph Eidelberg''' ({{Langx|he|יוסף אידלברג}}; February 8, 1916 – August 21, 1985) was an Israeli military commander and a plant manager of large Israeli corporations. During his career he developed a hobby of exploring religions’ roots and languages. He became a linguistics researcher, a scholar speaking seven languages, an Historian explorer, and an author of three books. His research work focused on the two most puzzling mysteries in Jewish history: The Exodus, a 40-year desert travel of the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan, and the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, which were never found. A summary in his memory was written by his friend Colonel (ret.) Meir Pa'il (Hebrew: מאיר פעיל).<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=zQnoho4VsM0C&q=joseph+eidelberg&pg=PR11|title= The Biblical Hebrew Origin of the Japanese People(p.xvii) |last= Pa'il|first=Meir |date= 2005|publisher=Gefen Publishing House |isbn= 9789652293398 |quote=In Loving Memory of Joseph Eidelberg}}</ref> A professional opinion on Eidelberg's work was detailed by Harold Goldmeier, a former Research and Teaching Fellow at Harvard University.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/15867 |title= Jewish Geography and the Japanese|last=Goldmeier |first=Harold |date= 24 October 2014|publisher=Arutz Seva 7 |quote=Eidelberg is the kind of man with whom I would have liked to share a lengthy dinner}}</ref> His research claimed to show evidence that the Exodus journey took place in North Africa including Nigeria, the land of Igbo Jews, and to have found evidence supporting the Japanese-Jewish common ancestry theory. Publications of work by Eidelberg, from 1972 to 2015, amount to "15 works, in 35 publications, in 3 languages and 153 library holdings".<ref>{{cite web |url= http://worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n81116819/|title= Eidelberg, J. History, 15 works in 35 publications in 3 languages and 153 library holdings|author=<!--Not stated--> |date=1972–2015 |publisher= WorldCat Identities|quote= 15 works in 35 publications in 3 languages and 153 library holdings}}</ref>
==Early life== Eidelberg was born to Haim and Clara in Odessa. At the age of 7, his family moved to Mandatory Palestine (now Israel), where they lived in Jerusalem and in Haifa. At age 22, he went to England to pursue engineering. Shortly after, before World War II, he returned to Palestine and volunteered for the British Army as a special security officer of the Notrim. He later joined the Haganah served as the communication officer of the Haifa district, joined "Am Lohem" (Hebrew: "עם לוחם"), (Fighting Nation) <ref>{{cite web |url= https://palmach.org.il/history/database/?itemId=6022|title= היוזמה והקמת ארגון עם לוחם|author=<!--Not stated--> |publisher= עמותת דור הפלמ֞ח֞|quote=אנשי הפלמ"ח הצטרפו ל'עם לוחם' בתיווכו של יוסף איידלברג}}</ref> and in 1943 he headed "Am Lohem" organization.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A2%D7%9D_%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%97%D7%9D |title= עם לוחם|author=<!--Not stated--> |publisher= Wikipedia|quote=הגוף החדש נקרא בשם "עם לוחם", בראשו עמד יוסף אידלברג }}</ref>{{Circular reference|date=March 2021}} He fought in the 1947–1949 Palestine war in 1948 and continued serving as a Major in the Israeli Defense Forces for five more years.<sup>[1]</sup>
==Engineering Management Career== During his military service in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) (1948-1953) Eidelberg served as the Engineering Corps (Hebrew: חיל הנדסה) Base Commander in Sarafand (Tzrifin). He completed paratrooper training and graduated from the Battalion Commanders' College of the IDF with Meir Pa'il <sup>[1]</sup> . During his military service, he initiated a process of rapid clay housing construction and pre-military vocational training for young adults. After his discharge from the IDF in 1953, he went to the US to finish his Mechanical Engineering studies at Tri State College (Trine University) in Angola, Indiana. Eidelberg completed his engineering studies in 1955.
As described in Pa'il's memorial note <sup>[1]</sup>, Eidelberg managed two of the largest companies in Israel at that time. In 1958, Eidelberg became the General Manager of the Dead Sea Works until 1961, reporting to the Director General Mordechai Maklef (Hebrew: מרדכי מקלף), who was a retired Chief of staff of the IDF. From 1961 to 1964, he served as the General Manager of the Israel Shipyards. Between 1964 and 1968 he became the Branch Manager of Tahal, Iran, where he started exploring the mystery of the Ten Lost Tribes. He later became the manager of the Tahal branch in the Ivory Coast (1968-1972), where he explored the mystery of Exodus. From the mid-1960s until his death in 1985, Eidelberg continued exploring and writing books about The Exodus and the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.<sup>[1]</sup>
== Historian of Ancient Hebrew Mysteries == === Exodus Through North African Desert === thumb|The original Exodus map by Eidelberg In 1969, while working in the Ivory Coast, Eidelberg claimed to have found that a tribe in Mali, named Bambara, that, according to him, spoke ancient Hebrew and ate Manna daily. His research, which followed, was detailed in his Hebrew book, “Bambara, A new Approach for solving the puzzle of Exodus and the mystery of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel” (Hebrew: במברה גישה חדשה לפענוח חידת יציאת מצרים ותעלומת עשרת השבטים). The first edition of ''Bambara'' was published by Eidelberg in 1972 with publishing house Hamatmid.<ref>{{cite book |last= אידלברג|first= יוסף|date= 1972|title=במברה גישה חדשה לפענוח חידת יציאת מצרים ותעלומת עשרת השבטים |url= https://www.bookgallery.co.il/content/hebrew/bookpageschema.asp?BookPageID=145473|publisher=הוצאת המתמיד |page= 182}}</ref> The linguistics foundation of his theories was written in 1977 in a short print, "BAMBARA (A PROTO-HEBREW LANGUAGE?)".<ref>{{cite web |url= https://josepheidelberg.com/blog/ |title= BAMBARA (A PROTO-HEBREW LANGUAGE?) |last= Eidelberg|first=Joseph |date= 1977 |website= |publisher= Joseph Eidelberg Legacy Site|access-date= |quote=The purpose of this work is to bring to the attention of linguists the Syllabological approach to the diachronic study of languages}}</ref> Forty-two years later, in 2014, a second edition was published with Gefen Publishing House. The book title of the second edition included ''In Footsteps towards the Pillar of Fire'' (Hebrew: בעקבות עמוד האש).<ref>{{cite book |last= אידלברג|first=יוסף |date=2014 |title= במברה - בעקבות עמוד האש : גישה חדשה לפענוח חידת יציאת מצרים ותעלומת עשרת השבטים |url= https://www.nli.org.il/he/books/NNL_ALEPH003678246/NLI|publisher= גפן בית הוצאה לאור|page= 182|isbn=9789652296580}}</ref> The title change highlights one of Eidelberg's theories, that Mount Sinai is Emi Koussi, an active volcano in North Africa, which created a Pillar of Fire (Hebrew: עמוד האש). The Pillar of Fire, according to the Biblical story, led the Israelites, with its fire during the night and its smoke during daylight, to the place where Moses gave them the Ten Commandments from God. In 2021 the Hebrew book Bambara was translated to English and published by BookBaby under the title "BAMBARA Uncovering The Hidden Footsteps From the Pillar of Fire to the Rising Sun".<ref>{{cite book| last1 = Eidelberg| first1 = Joseph| last2 = Eidelberg | first2 = Boaz | title = BAMBARA Uncovering The Hidden Footsteps From the Pillar of Fire to the Rising Sun| location = USA| publisher = BookBaby| pages = 192| date = 2021| isbn = 9781638774341}}</ref> Eidelberg's theories, as presented in Bambara, were referenced in work of Aria Nasi Research.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://nasiresearch.com/2015/02/14/the-bantu-branch-of-africans-are-hebrew-israelites-part-ii-of-ii/| title = The Bantu Branch of 'Africans' are Hebrew Israelites PART II of II| last = | first = | date = 14 February 2015| website = Gravatar| publisher = Aria Nasi Research| access-date =| quote = Joseph Eidelberg, in his book Bambara, highlighted the presence of Israelite descendants migrating into West Africa during the Exodus}}</ref>
[[File:Chapter 33.png|thumb|Sefer Bamidbar [ סֵפֶר בְּמִדְבַּר ], The Book of Numbers, Chapter 33 (פרק לייג) with 20 underlined location, along the Exodus route, which Eidelberg correlated to existing locations in North Africa]] thumb|Comparison between Japanese and Hebrew letters thumb|Eidelberg's theory shown in a Japanese TV Series, August 2011
===The Japanese and the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel=== In 1980, after spending a year in a Shinto Shrine, Eidelberg published his second history book “The Japanese and the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel”, by the publisher Zur-Ot. The book expanded his theory of the route, which the exiled Lost Tribes of Israel took from Samaria, though Asia and which ended up, according to his theory, in Japan. The theory also includes additional similarities in traditions, mythological stories, writings, and rituals, as well as hundreds of Japanese words and symbols whose genesis were narrated from ancient Hebrew. The book was translated into Japanese by Kazuo Nakagawa and sold at an estimated 40,000 copies.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Eidelberg|first1=Joseph |last2=Nakagawa |first2=Kazuo |date= 1984|title= Yamato minzoku wa Yudayajin datta: Shutsu Ejiputo kara Nihon e no mich|trans-title= Japanease and the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.|language= ja|publisher=Shohan |isbn= 9784884811273|oclc=39031678 }}</ref> Its 2nd edition was published 24 years later, in 2014, by his son with Gefen Publishing House.<ref>{{cite book |last=Eidelberg |first= Joseph|date= 2014|title= The Japanese and the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel|url= https://www.gefenpublishing.com/product.asp?productid=1178|publisher= Gefen Publishing House|page=168 |isbn=9789652296597}}</ref> A similar theory was presented in 2003 by Avigdor Shachan in chapter 14 of his Hebrew book, “Towards the Sambation: a Journey following the footsteps of the 10 Tribes” (Hebrew: אל עבר הסמבטיון מסע בעקבות עשרת השבטים) .<ref>{{cite book |last1= שחן|first1= אביגדור|date= 2011|title= אל עבר הסמבטיון מסע בעקבות עשרת השבטים|trans-title= Towards the Sambation a Journey following the footsteps of the 10 Tribes |url=https://www.nli.org.il/en/books/NNL_ALEPH002336720/NLI |language= he|publisher=הקיבוץ המאוחד}}</ref> Shachan's book was translated into English in 2007 with the title ''In the Footsteps of the Lost Ten Tribes''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Shachan |first=Avigdor|date= 2007|title=In the Footsteps of the Ten Lost Tribes|url=https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/book/in-the-footsteps-of-the-lost-ten-tribes |publisher= Devora Publishing Company|page=480 }}</ref> Both of these books by Shachan have considerable reference to Eidelberg's related discoveries as well as other educational organizations.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mayer |first= Jean-Francois |date= 1985|title= Mais Ou Sont Donc Passees Les Tribus Perdves D'Israel/"But where are the Lost Tribes of Israel"| url=https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1400&context=horizons_chretiens|publisher= Historia No. 457 |page= 25}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| last = Babasiewicz | first = Olga| title = Jews in Japan until 1945. A Case Study of Eidelberg and Shillony's Research on Setsuzo Kotsuji| journal = Hemispheres. Studies on Cultures and Societies| issue = 28 | pages = 87–103| publisher = Instytut Kultur Śródziemnomorskich i Orientalnych PAN | location = Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw| date = 2013| language = English| url = http://cejsh.icm.edu.pl/cejsh/element/bwmeta1.element.desklight-61b364f0-bdad-4727-be38-1684e42318f1}}</ref> Other academic institutes raised doubts about Eidelberg's findings saying that "some of his much too far fetched, or even crude, etymological comparisons arouse doubts rather than cause convicting”.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.amazon.co.uk/Debates-Jewish-question-Japan-Massachusetts/dp/B0007B35WM | title = Debates on the Jewish question in Japan: Based on a lecture co-sponsored by the Department of Asian Studies and the Judaic Studies Program, University of Massachusetts at Amherst| last = Kohno | first = Tetsu | date = 1982| website = | publisher = s.n | access-date = | quote = some of his much too far fetched, or even crude, etymological comparisons arouse doubts rather than cause convicting}}</ref> A similar view is shown in the following academic publication. "In 1980, an Israeli researcher and writer, Joseph Eidelberg, published a book called The Japanese and the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, in which he examined most of the Japanese publications on this subject and proposed the existence of a Japan-Jewish connection dating to the seventh century. In it, he claims that the word Yamato, the center of ancient Japan, is similar to Yehoamato—the people of God. He argues that the ancient Japanese began their journey in history in a year called Kinoye Tora, which he connected with the Hebrew words Kenei Torah (Torah reeds). The title “Agata Noshi,” awarded by a Japanese emperor to his nobles, was identified by Eidelberg as close to “Aguda Nassi,” or “Nessi Aguda” (meaning “chairman of the association”). All this sounds far-fetched and not plausible, although it is certainly interesting."<ref>{{cite book| last = Medzini| first = Meron | title = Under the Shadow of the Rising Sun: Japan and the Jews during the Holocaust Era| publisher = Academic Studies Press| series = Jewish Identities in Post-Modern Society| volume = | edition = | date = 2016 | location = Ch' 3, p. 14-15| pages = 224 | language = English| url = https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv2175qvh.7| doi = | jstor = j.ctv2175qvh.7 | id = | isbn = | mr = | zbl = | jfm =}}</ref>
===The Biblical Hebrew Origin of the Japanese People=== Following the publication of his second book, Eidelberg deepened his research about the relationship between the Japanese and the ancient Hebrews, in his third book, “The Biblical Hebrew Origin of the Japanese People”. In this last book, he tabulated hundreds of words in Japanese with similar sounds and meanings to Hebrew. His research ended shortly before his death in 1985. After his death, the manuscript of the book was organized by his sister and published in 2005 by his son with Gefen Publishing House.<ref>{{cite book |last=Eidelberg |first=Joseph |date=2005 |title= The Biblical Hebrew Origin of the Japanese People| url=https://www.gefenpublishing.com/product.asp?productid=651|publisher= Gefen Publishing House |page=144 }}</ref> The book was translated into Japanese by Arimasa Kubo in 2012.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Eidelberg|first1= Joseph |last2=Kubo |first2=Arimasa |date=2005 |title= Nihon shoki to nihongo no yudaya kigen (Japonés) Tankobon |publisher= 徳間書店 |isbn= 4198621101 |trans-title= The Biblical Hebrew Origin of the Japanese People|language=ja}}</ref> Eidelberg's theories were cited in book publications which followed, such as "Jesus From India to Japan".,<ref>{{cite book| last = Abdelbaset| first = Yusuf, M.D.| title = Jesus From India to Japan| publisher = Dorrance Publishing Co.| date = 2017| location = | page = 51| language = English | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=rbo0DgAAQBAJ&dq=%22Joseph+Eidelberg%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA51| isbn = 9781480933323}}</ref> and theological organizations such as "The Christian Bushido" <ref>{{Citation| last = Wordpress| author-link = | title = Japanese & Hebrew similarities – language| publisher = thechristianbushido -the way of the faithful servant-| date = 6 October 2017| url = https://thechristianbushido.wordpress.com/japanese-hebrew-similarities-language/}}</ref> His theory about the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel was also presented in a series of seven episodes by a Japanese TV broadcasting station <ref>{{cite AV media| title = The Roots of Japan Were Ancient Israel!? - Part 1of7| medium = Youtube| publisher = iSkysoft| location = Japan| date =Aug 21, 2011 | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLc30VSPdgY}}</ref> , and in Japanese Youtube videos.<ref>{{cite AV media| people = Hiroshi Hayashi| title = The Lost 10 Tribes of Israel+Japanイスラエルの失われた１０部族と日本＋ヨーロッパ文明・日本起源説| medium = Youtube| publisher = | location = Japan| date =Jul 10, 2019 | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A493nqP6HqM}}</ref>
==Reaction== The mysteries about Exodus and the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel led to many theories about where it took place and where they ended up. It is therefore expected, that Joseph Eidelberg's theories about these mysteries, will create mixed reactions, where historians, writers and editors may support, doubt, dispute, question or combine it with other theories, as shown in the following examples.
=== Historians === * Doubt: "The author's thesis does need more investigation in order to substantiate a majority off his claim"<ref>{{cite web |url= https://granovitch.blogspot.com/2010/01/biblical-hebrew-origin-of-japanese.html|title=The Biblical Hebrew Origin of the Japanese People |last= The |first= Granovitch|date= January 3, 2010|publisher=DARK IMPULSES |quote=The author's thesis does need more investigation in order to substantiate a majority off his claim}}</ref> * Dispute: "The Japanese are not Hebrews!"<ref>{{cite web |url= https://britam.org/Questions/QuesJapan.html|title= The Japanese are not Hebrews!|publisher= Brit-Am |quote=Eidelberg suggests (p.68) that "Ise" is a form of "Jebus" meaning Jerusalem...}}</ref> * Combine: "Eiji Kawamorita, a hebraic scholar took a view that was a combination of Kubo and Eidelberg"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thedailybeagle.net/2013/03/24/the-lost-tribes-nestorians-and-christ-in-japan/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728021141/http://thedailybeagle.net/2013/03/24/the-lost-tribes-nestorians-and-christ-in-japan/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=July 28, 2014 |title= THE LOST TRIBES, NESTORIANS AND CHRIST IN JAPAN|last= yamatosaxon|date= March 24, 2013|publisher= The Daily Beagle|quote= Eidelberg's book goes on to list thousands of words that he claims are rooted in Hebrew. Some of these seem quite stretched but others do have a similarity}}</ref> * Support: "Paying thanks to the engineer, researcher, Joseph Eidelberg whose books "Bambara", and "The Japanese and the Ten Lost tribes of Israel", lightened my way for forty years until I wrote this book".<ref>{{cite book |last= Shahan|first= Avigdor |date= 2012|title= זה סיני!:ההר והמדבר שבו נדדו בני ישראל ביבשת אפריקה |trans-title= This is Sini! The mountain and the desert in which the Israelites wandered in the African continent |url= https://www.nli.org.il/en/books/NNL_ALEPH990032410700205171/NLI|language= he|location= p. 15|publisher= Dani sefarim|isbn=}}</ref>
=== Articles and Editorials === *BOOK COMMENT - The Biblical Hebrew Origin of the Japanese People<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Berg |first1= Irwin |date= Autumn 2007 |title=BOOK COMMENT THE BIBLICAL HEBREW ORIGIN OF THE JAPANESE PEOPLE By Joseph Eidelberg (Gefen 2005) |url=http://www.kulanu.org/wp-content/uploads/magazines/2007-fall.pdf |journal=KULANU |volume= 14|issue= page 9|pages=14 }}</ref> * Words, words, Words<ref>{{cite news |last= RONNEN|first= MEIR |date= November 14, 2005 |title= Words, words, words |url= https://www.jpost.com/arts-and-culture/books/words-words-words}}</ref> * Priests in Japan from the Ten tribes?<ref>{{cite news |last= טוכפלד | first=מיכאל |date=June 26, 2015 |title= קופסה על הראש וציצית: נזירים ביפן מעשרת השבטים?|trans-title= Box on the head and tassel: Priests in Japan from the Ten tribes?|url=https://www.makorrishon.co.il/nrg/online/1/ART2/704/681.html |language= he}}</ref> * The route of Exodus,- Today<ref>{{cite news|last= כ"ץ כוהן-צדק|first= אוולין|date= November 4, 2014|title= המסלול של יציאת-מצריים- כיום|trans-title= The route of Exodus- Today|url= http://www.daaton.co.il/Article.aspx?id=1668|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200810080616/http://www.daaton.co.il/Article.aspx?id=1668|url-status= dead|archive-date= August 10, 2020|language= he}}</ref> * Researcher Eidelberg view of the Bambara Tribe in Mali<ref>{{cite news |last= אשד |first=אלי |date= February 2013|title= קהילת קודש טימבוקטו |trans-title= The holy community of Timbuktu |url= https://no666.wordpress.com/2013/02/|language= he}}</ref>
==Personal life== Joseph's father, Haim Eidelberg, an industrial construction entrepreneur in Haifa Bay, was a Russian soldier, who was wounded in World War I. He immigrated to Palestine with his wife Clara, son Joseph, and daughter Dina Harris who was for many years the secretary of Yad Hanadiv. His brother, Jonah Eidelberg, was born in Mandatory Palestine (now Israel) and became a naval academy cadet and a demolition officer in the IDF. During the 1947–1949 Palestine war (Hebrew: מלחמת העצמאות), he fought in Al-Nabi Yusha'.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://palmach.org.il/history/database/?itemId=5311 |title='הכשרת דפנה 1947 גרעין צופים ה |author=<!--Not stated--> |publisher=מוזיאון הפלמ"ח |quote=אידלברג יונה (היה בגדוד "אלון" בגולני, עבר ליפתח בצריפין, כשחזר ביוני מקורס ממי'ם)}}</ref> He later went to the US to study engineering, followed by an engineering management career. Eidelberg was married to Zipora Zitrin in 1943 and was separated in 1964. His son, Boaz Eidelberg, is a mechanical engineer and a university professor.<ref>{{cite web| title = Boaz Eidelberg, Stony Brook University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Doctor of Philosophy | url = https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Boaz-Eidelberg | website = ResearchGate| date = 2019| access-date = }}</ref> His granddaughter Yael completed Law and Business schools. His grandson Tal Eidelberg is a Computer Science entrepreneur, founder, and CEO of a Healthcare scheduling company.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.stonybrook.edu/40underforty/2016/people/tal-eidelberg|title= The Honorees, Technology, Tal Eidelberg'05, BS Computer Science, CEO and Founder, Intrigma Inc|author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2016|publisher= Stony Brook University|quote=}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Eidelberg, Joseph}} Category:Ten Lost Tribes Category:Jews from Odesa Category:20th-century Israeli military personnel Category:1916 births Category:1985 deaths Category:Soviet emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Category:Israeli people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Category:Haganah members Category:Linguists from Israel Category:Israeli Japanologists Category:Immigrants of the Third Aliyah