Complex sentence: Early secular scholars saw the Beta Israel to be the direct descendant of Jews who lived in ancient Ethiopia, whether they were the descendants of an Israelite tribe, or converted by Jews living in Yemen, or by the Jewish community in southern Egypt at Elephantine.
Split into simpler sentences: Early secular scholars saw the Beta Israel to be the direct descendant of Jews who lived in ancient Ethiopia. Whether they were the descendants of an Israelite tribe, or converted by Jews living in Yemen, or by the Jewish community in southern Egypt at Elephantine.