Their descendants are known as Sephardi or Sephardic Jews (Hebrew Sephardim), from Sepharad, the Hebrew name for Spain. The word occurs once in the Bible (Obadiah 1:20), referring to an unidentified place to which captives from Jerusalem were exiled. It is possibly to be identified with Sardis, the capital of Lydia in Asia Minor. The Aramaic Targum of Jonathan (a paraphrase of the Old Testament Hebrew text) identified Sepharad as Spain.
"The exiles of this fortress of the people of Israel will take possession of what belongs to the people of Canaan, as far as Zarephath, and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad will take possession of the towns of the Negev." (Obadiah 1:20)
In any case, the biblical text speaks of a return of exiles to the Negev, in the south of Israel.
Some of the Sephardi Jews eventually ended up in Israel, while others settled in Holland, Italy, Greece, Turkey and North Africa, where they maintained their Spanish speech, which became known as Ladino (i.e. Latin).
Yehudah Halevi, (Judah Ha-Levi) was a Jewish physician, poet and philosopher. He was born in Toledo in Spain c. 1085 and died c. 1141. He expressed the longing of the Spanish Jews to return to the land of Israel.
My heart is in the East
My heart is in the East, and I am at the ends of the West;
How can I taste what I eat and how could it be pleasing to me?
How shall I render my vows and my bonds, while yet
Zion lies beneath the fetter of Edom, and I am in the chains of Arabia?
It would be easy for me to leave all the bounty of Spain --
As it is precious for me to behold the dust of the desolate sanctuary.
A Ladino Song
Cuando el Rey Nimrod al campo salía
miraba en el cielo y en la estrellería
vido una luz santa en la judería
que había de nacer Abraham Avinu.
Abraham Avinu, Padre querido
Padre bendijo a la luz de Israel.
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