The Origin of Freemasonry and Knights Templar ... - Lodge Prudentia

1'RKKAIASOXRYAND KNIGHTS TK.Ml'LAKcaused the downfall of the kingdom of Israel.Hoshea, its sovereign, was thrown into prison, thegreater part of the inhabitants carried away captiveinto the far East, the mountainous regions ofMedia, and their place supplied by Assyrian colonistsbrought from Babylon, Persia, Shushan, Elam,and other places. These colonists brought withthem the idolatrous creed and practices of the regionfrom which they emigrated. They mingledwith the remnant of the Israelites, intermarried andformed the mixed people called Samaritans.* TheIsraelites who had been exiled never returned, andwhat became of them has always been, and we presumewill always remain, matter of vaguest speculation.