Acts 2:9

Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, in Judaea and Cappadocia, in Pontus and Asia,

'PARTHIANS AND MEDES AND ELAMITES'-'Luke's list comprises five groupings, as he moves with his mind's eye approximately from East to West...that is peoples from the Caspian Sea westwards, many of whom will have been descended from the Jewish exiles who had been transported there in the eighth and sixth centuries B.C.' (Stott p. 63) (See. Kings chapter 17).

'These were the lands of the earliest dispersion, to which exiles from the ten northern tribes of Israel had been carried by the Assyrians. They did not lose their identity so completely as is commonly supposed...In spite of the Persian royal decrees, many of those exiles preferred to remain where they were instead of returning to Palestine...so that the number of Jews in these eastern territories ran into millions.' (Bruce pp. 61-62)

Point to Note:

Various groups put. lot of stress on 'Whatever happened to the lost 10 tribes of Israel?' This verse tells us, they were never lost! The deported Israelites didn't become Europeans, The United Kingdom (England) or the United States of America. And neither did they become the Incas, Aztecs or Mayans.

'DWELLERS IN MESOPOTAMIA'-the region lying between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. 'The language spoken here was probably Syriac (or perhaps including. mixture of the Chaldee).' (Reese p. 53)

'IN JUDEA'-'the language of Galilee was so different from that of Judea as it rendered it remarkable that the apostles could speak like. Judean (i.e. without the usual Galilean peculiarities of pronunciation.' (Reese p. 53) In this text, Judea may also include Syria.

'CAPPADOCIA, IN PONTUS AND ASIA'-'Luke refers to five areas of what we call Asia Minor or Turkey, namely Cappadocia (east), Pontus (north), Asia (west), Phrygia and Pamphylia (south).' (Stott p. 63)