Legends of the Lost Tribes Chapter 05 - The Bedul of Petra

“Legends of the Lost Tribes” is an invitation to explore the hidden history of the Hebrew faith, to extend beyond the boundaries inherent in the concept of the “Jewish People”. The essence of the Hebrew movement, of which Judaism is only a small fragment, has touched the whole of mankind. In the beginning of the century, the Bedouin tribe “Bedul”, living in the caves of Petra, Jordan, captured the imagination of Zionist pioneers. Among them was the historian, explorer and first president of Israel, Itzhak Ben Zvi. In this chapter we follow the observations of Ben Zvi who discovered traces of ancient Hebrew customs in the lifestyles of some Palestinian villagers and Bedouin tribes. He speculated that the inhabitants on both sides of the Jordan river may be descendants of the original Hebrew population which never left the area, despite the numerous exiles. Although 100 years ago they presented themselves to the British historians as the “Sons of Israel”, the Bedul of today deny everything...