The Parthians descended from Israelites who, a few decades after Assyria's fall, banded together as the Scythians, a fierce and warlike people recognized by historians. Centuries later the Scythians merged with other peoples to become the Parthians, the scourge of the Roman Empire. Throughout the entire Roman period, the Parthians effectively contained the Roman armies at the Euphrates River and kept them from ever invading the rich Indus Valley on the Indian sub-continent, now Pakistan. This fits Israel's role as God's battle-ax, with which He breaks nations in pieces, destroys kingdoms, and breaks down governors and rulers (Jeremiah 51:20-23). Under the name of the Scythians, Israel's descendants were a scourge to all around them, including the Babylonians. Most Israelites, however, left the Middle East through the Caucasus passes after Assyria's fall, so the Parthians represent only one part of the scattered people.

Parthia was the distant eastern land from which the magi of Matthew 2 most likely came. The Greek phrase for "East" in Matthew 2:1, ton anatolon, denotes far-off eastern regions, so the magi did not come from Arabia, which the New Testament names explicitly elsewhere (Galatians 1:17) and which was considered south of Palestine rather than east. Nor could they have come from a nearby country, since any such country would have been named. In the first century, the Parthian Empire lay in that distant east. Though little known today, it rivaled Rome for world dominance. It included the conquered lands of Babylon, Persia, Bactria, and many other countries east of the Euphrates River. The Assyrians had exiled some of the ancient house of Israel into these lands, and many of their descendants remained there. Some ancient magi even claimed Abraham as their ancestor. Daniel had been made chief over Babylon's wise men, and many Jews, Levites, and Benjamites still lived in the region, so some may have served as magi or governors. The magi were therefore probably God-fearing descendants of exiled Israel from Parthia, who came to honor the One who could be their rightful King, rather than pagan astrologers.

The region beyond the Euphrates all the way to India and northward to the Russian steppes was the great Parthian empire. Western education ignores the Parthian empire. The Parthians were the same Parthians that sent the Magi to Bethlehem to honor the newborn King of the Jews, the King of Israel. Parthian kings up to the Sassanids were scions of Judah. They may have even been of the house of David. An entire empire that modern education ignores was mostly Israelite. They think of them as Persians or Medes or some other people. If nothing else they were ruled by Jewish monarchs.

Remnants of the lost Ten Tribes were in the Kingdom of Parthia. Parthia was in the area of northeastern Iran. Parthia and Britain were lands where the Israelites lived. The Parthian Empire had become quite large by the time of the apostles. The Parthians appear near the Caspian Sea around 700 BC as slaves of the Assyrians. The Parthians rose to power around 250 BC in lands along the southern shores of the Caspian Sea. That was the land into which a major part of Israel was exiled. Some of the lost Ten Tribes remained in the land of their captivity until AD 226 when the Persians defeated the Parthians. The Parthian Kingdom which included remnants of the Ten Tribes possessed Assyria the best of that land and Mesopotamia during most of the New Testament period. Thomas brought the gospel to Parthia. Afterwards Thomas preached the gospel to the Medes Persians Carmans Hyrcani Bactrians and the neighboring nations. Lebbaeus had part in the ministry in Syria and Mesopotamia and those are part of Parthia. Matthew went first to Parthia and having successfully planted Christianity in those parts thence traveled into Aethiopia. Dorotheus declares that Matthew was buried at Hieropolis in Parthia. Parthia was defeated by Persia in AD 226. Expelled from Parthia the Ten Tribes and the Medes moved north to the Black Sea into Scythia. From there around AD 256 the Ten Tribes migrated from Asia Minor into northwestern Europe.

Parthia figures in the downfall of Herod Antipas. In AD 35 the Roman general Vitellius, governor of Syria, made a treaty with Parthia and set off to deliver it to Tiberius. Antipas hurried to reach the emperor first with news of the treaty and took credit for its success. This stole Vitellius' glory, so that when Aretas IV invaded Perea in AD 36 to avenge the abandonment of his daughter, Vitellius was less than eager to help Antipas reclaim the region. After Tiberius died the next March, Vitellius abandoned the effort altogether, leaving Perea occupied. Parthia then served as the means of Antipas' final ruin. Agrippa, Herodias' brother and Antipas' nephew, sent a letter to the new emperor Gaius accusing Antipas of secretly plotting rebellion against Rome with the Parthians, who were long-standing enemies of Rome. Antipas and Herodias, unaware of the letter, went to Rome to ask Gaius for the title of king. Antipas approached the throne as Gaius was reading the accusation. Gaius trusted his friend and exiled Antipas to Gaul, giving Galilee and Perea to Agrippa. Antipas' grasping after credit and status, together with a false charge of Parthian collusion, ended his political life.