The Ephraimite Jeroboam led a successful tax-revolt against Solomon's son, Rehoboam, resulting in the division of Solomon's kingdom into two nations. The ten tribes situated north of Judah formed the Kingdom of Israel under Jeroboam's rule. In an effort to strengthen his control over these northern tribes, Jeroboam instituted religious changes that became a sin for Israel. He established a priesthood loyal to the government, and this act was the sin of the house of Jeroboam, leading to its destruction from the face of the earth. Because of his refusal to obey God, Jeroboam never realized the conditional promise God made to him to build an enduring house. Jeroboam's apostasy had lasting consequences for the northern tribes, as the children of Israel continued in all the sins of Jeroboam and did not depart from them. Subsequent kings of the northern kingdom never corrected his errors, and therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them from His sight. The Kingdom of Israel set the pace into idolatry, influencing even Judah to stumble in their iniquity alongside them.

Assyria conquered the ten-tribed Kingdom of Israel in 718 BC, carrying them away to what is now northern Iran, just south of the Caspian Sea. The siege of Samaria, Israel's capital, lasted three years, and though Assyria overextended herself in the effort, she began her decline almost immediately after the conquest. By 650 BC, Assyria was in an advanced state of decline, which allowed some Israelites to become aggressive, mounting guerilla warfare against their captors and weakening Assyria further. This contributed to the fall of Nineveh, Assyria's capital, to a confederation of Babylonians and Medes in 612 BC. A few decades later, some Israelites banded together to become the Scythians, a fierce and warlike people, who centuries later merged with others to form the Parthians, effectively containing Roman armies at the Euphrates River. However, the majority of Israelites left the Middle East in the decades following Assyria's fall, escaping through passes over the Caucasus Mountains, one of which was known as the Pass of Israel. God, as described by the prophet Amos, sifts the house of Israel among all nations like grain in a sieve, scattering them while keeping track of every individual. God's Word indicates where to look for Israel, pointing to migrations north and west into distant islands, and also specifies areas from where He will gather Israel in the last days, principally to the north and west of Jerusalem and in far-off isles.