A vision of the future reveals a dramatic transition period marked by deep suffering, which ultimately paves the way for complete redemption and the healing of a fractured nation. The primary approach among commentators is that God will hand the Israelites over to their enemies, plunging them into a time of profound distress and shock. This period is compared to the intense agony of a woman in labor, with Zion herself pictured as the mother experiencing these birth pangs [רש״י, רד״ק, אבן עזרא, אברבנאל, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Building on this imagery, a tradition from the sages suggests that these messianic birth pangs will take the form of a wicked empire dominating the entire world for exactly nine months, mirroring the length of a human pregnancy [רש״י, רד״ק, אברבנאל].
However, other perspectives exist regarding this time. Some suggest that it actually represents a period when God will simply leave the nation to rest [אבן עזרא בשם יפת]. Conversely, another view shifts the focus of the suffering entirely, explaining that it is the Messiah who will inflict unbearable, labor-like agony upon the invading armies of Gog and Magog [מצודת דוד].
Following this turmoil, a great reunification is set to occur. The primary approach among commentators is that the remaining brothers of the Messiah—specifically the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, who survived the earlier exile—will return to their homeland alongside the other ten tribes of Israel. This joint return will mend a deep historical divide, forging them back into a single, united kingdom [רש״י, רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ].
Yet, others view this joining differently. One perspective interprets it as a tragic reunion, where Judah and Benjamin are forced to share in the punishment of exile alongside the other ten tribes [אברבנאל]. Another approach focuses on the military campaigns that will take place before the exiles are gathered. In this scenario, the ten tribes, led by a Messiah from the lineage of Joseph, will serve as the primary fighting force against the nations of the world. During this time, the tribe of Judah will be subordinate to them, and only later will all the tribes unite under a Messiah from the line of David [מלבי״ם, אברבנאל]. Finally, following the view that the earlier suffering was directed at the armies of Gog and Magog, the returning group is understood to be the surviving remnants of those enemy forces. They will come back to the Israelites only to completely surrender and submit to them [מצודת דוד].