1) Those among the Israelites who had believed the false prophets, or who had strayed after idolatry, finally saw the truth (unfortunately, for some it was too late). So we can correctly postulate that the Assyrians” conquest of the Ten Tribes brought a wave of fear of God upon the people of Judea.
2) The Ten Tribes themselves, who were exiled by the Assyrians, continued their downhill tumble into assimilation; so much so that within 200 years the sages of Judea declared that the Ten Tribes were (for purposes of Jewish law) to be considered the same as their idolatrous host-countries (Talmud, Yevamot 17a).
2) The Ten Tribes themselves, who were exiled by the Assyrians, continued their downhill tumble into assimilation; so much so that within 200 years the sages of Judea declared that the Ten Tribes were (for purposes of Jewish law) to be considered the same as their idolatrous host-countries (Talmud, Yevamot 17a).
