Pensée juive sur Rois 2 21:1

One should not interpret the Talmud as posing a question from the prophecy of Yirmeyahu – who preceded Yechezkel – because Yirmehahu’s prophecy was directed to the members of the Ten Tribes who themselves were exiled from the land. However, that is impossible, for Yirmeyahu did not begin his prophecy until many years after the generation that had been exiled passed on. To explain: The Ten Tribes were exiled in the sixth year of King Chizkiyahu’s reign.¹¹See II Melachim 18:10. King Chizkiyahu’s reign continued for 23 years after the Ten Tribes were exiled.¹²This can be deduced from II Melachim 18:13. Menashe, Chizkiyahu’s son, ruled for 52 years.¹³II Melachim 21:1. Menashe’s son, Amon, ruled for 2 years.¹⁴Ibid.:19. Amon was succeeded by his son, Yoshiyahu. Yirmeyahu’s prophecy began in the 13th year of King Yoshiyahu’s reign.¹⁵See Yirmeyahu 1:2. Thus, there were 90 years between the time the Ten Tribes were exiled and Yirmeyahu’s prophecy. Since, “the days of our lifespan are 70 years,”¹⁶Tehillim 90:10. it can be assumed that the members of the Ten Tribes who were themselves exiled had already passed on. Moreover, certainly only those members of the Ten Tribes who had reached the age for which they would be considered liable for punishment before they were exiled would not be included in the Resurrection of the Dead. Thus, the Talmud is not using chronological evidence as its argument. Rather, by basing its statement on the phrase, “Return, O straying Israel,” the Talmud is inferring that even the wayward and wicked among the Jews will return and, hence, is questioning Rabbi Akiva’s statement.