39. "And whereas thou sawest that He gathered another peaceable people unto Him. 40. "Those are the Ten Tribes which were carried away captives out of their own land in the time of Oseas the king whom Salmanaser the king of the Assyrians took captive, and crossed them beyond the river; so were they brought into another land. 41. "But they took this counsel to themselves, that they would leave the multitude of the heathen, and go forth unto a further country where never man dwelt, 42. "That they might there keep their statutes which they never kept in their own land. 43. "And they entered in at the narrow passages of the River Euphrates. 44. "For the Most High then showed them signs, and stayed the springs of the flood till they were passed over. 45. "For through the country there was great journey, even of a year and a half, and the same region is called Arsareth (or Ararath). 46. "Then dwelt they there until the latter time, and when they come forth again, 47. "The Most High shall hold still the springs of the river again that they may go through; therefore sawest thou the multitude peaceable." The statements of Esdras throw considerable light upon the reasons why the captives in Media preferred not to return to their ancient home in Canaan; supposing always that that privilege had been accorded to them as well as to the captives of the house of Judah. In their home of promise they had seldom kept the counsels and commandments of God and if they returned it was probable they would not do any better, especially as the Assyrians had filled their land with heathen colonists whose influence would not assist them to carry out their new resolutions. Hence they determined to go to a country "where never man dwelt," that they might be free from all contaminating influences. That country could only be found in the north. Southern Asia was already the seat of a comparatively ancient civilization. Egypt flourished in Northern Africa and Southern Europe was rapidly filling with the future rulers of the world. They had, therefore, no choice but to turn their faces northward. The first portion of their journey was not however north; according to the account of Esdras, they appear to have at first moved in the direction of their old homes, and it is possible that they originally started with the intention of returning thereto, or probably in order to deceive the Assyrians they started as if to return to Canaan, and when they had crossed the Euphrates, and were out of danger from the hosts of the Medes and Persians, then they turned their journeying feet toward the polar star. Esdras states that they entered in at the narrow passage of the river Euphrates, the Lord staying the "springs of the flood until they were passed over." The point on the River Euphrates at which they crossed would necessarily be in its upper portion, as lower down would be too far south for their purpose.