The scattering of Israel shown using DNA sequencing
What is the number of the "sands of the sea"
Among secular archaeologist there is still debate on the existence of a robust 12 tribes of Israel as we are taught in church today. Christians believe the biblical account of the 12 tribes of Israel and their scattering and gathering. If we focus on one tribe–the tribe of Judah–we can find exactly how influential these people were on human existence. But first, we need a little context.
Who is Abraham?
The patriarch Abraham is a consequential figure in Islam, Judaism and Christianity . He plays an important role in the formation of western civilization and religion. His story begins in the city of Ur which is believed to be in modern day Iraq. He was surrounded by false idols and incorrect forms of worship and at the age of 75, God called him to leave the city of Ur for a better land. With that call came a promise,
“And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.”1 .
“And it was in the night time when the Lord spake these words unto me: I will multiply thee, and thy seed after thee, like unto these; and if thou canst count the number of sands, so shall be the number of thy seeds.”2
At the age of 75, Abraham didn’t have any children. After migration to Canaan, Abraham had his first son with Hagar, his wife’s maidservant. Then, at 100 years old, the lord blessed Abraham and Sarah with a son Isaac. Its quite unfathomable that a 100 year old woman (Sarah) could bear a child but thats not the focus of this article. Fast forward years and years and Isaac has a son Jacob (Israel) who has 12 sons which become tribes with land inheritances. (see diagram below).
The scattering of Israel
As mentioned above, the accuracy of the 12 tribes of Israel is debated among scholars and archaeologists, but in the Biblical account these tribes are subject to multiple captures by surrounding nations. You can see from the picture below that the 12 tribes are believed to have inhabited land that was inherited from their father Israel.
At one point, this plot of land turns into 2 kingdoms, the northern kingdom and southern kingdom. The northern kingdom included Samaria while the southern kingdom included Judah. In 587 B.C., The southern kingdom was conquered by Babylon and the tribe of Judah was scattered. The diagram below shows some of the migrations Jews took from Jerusalem.
We all know someone who’s ancestry DNA results came back with 1% Ashkenazi Jewish–maybe that person is you. The jews, who migrated from the middle east, were segregated from native populations in Europe and retained a genetic signature that can be found today. This is why you can be German with “Ashkenazi Jewish” DNA. Although the science isn’t settled, it is believed that the Ashkenazi Jewish population primarily came from the tribe of Judah and possibly Levi (Levi didn’t have a plot of land inherited because they held the priesthood and populated within all the tribes). When widely available sequencing of human DNA started to occur in the 2010s, scientists started to see a trend; Ashkenazi DNA was EVERYWHERE. It was found in nearly every continent on the Earth; the Jews were truly scattered.
Recent findings published in Nature communications shows that up to 25% of Latin Americans have a significant amount (>5%) of Jewish DNA;3. As the Spanish moved further west during the Spanish inquisition they brought with them jews who were forced to convert to christianity. They lost their jewish traditions and worship but their DNA finger print is still around. After finding their genetic results, many are converting back to Judaism. This is not Ashkenazi specific DNA but instead sephardic.
In Hungary, only .49% of the population identifies as Jewish, but after a genetic study on the population scientists found that 12.5% of Hungarians have more than 10% Ashkenazi DNA. They also found that 4.7% of the population had over 50% of Ashkenazi DNA4. This makes Hungary the highest proportion of Jewish ancestry outside of Israel.
When Abraham was on the earth, it’s estimated that somewhere around 27 million people were living5. In the image below you can see the populations with Ashkenazi Jewish DNA by state. The United States is completely filled with people who have Jewish ancestry from the tribe of Judah or Levi.
Certainly, we will find in the near future, that Jewish DNA–even from one tribe–truly numbers the sands of the seas. How many of us have direct ancestry from 10 of the lost tribes of Israel? It’s not hard to think that we all have genetic ancestry linked to the Father Abraham. I’m sure, at the age of 75, it was hard for Abraham to believe the promise that he and his wife would be responsible for populating the earth. You may be wondering how or when the Lord will keep His promises with you. He may have promised you something so inconceivable that you are left in Abraham’s position–at the age of 75, childless but promised seed that numbers the sands of the sea. The Lord truly works in mysterious ways and while the historicity is debated among scholars, we believe the Lord keeps his promises with his covenant people. You are one of His covenant people. He hears you.
Conspiracies
It sickens me that I have to include this data. Ashkenazi Jews are genetically distinct from European Caucasians. I must mention this because there are theories that Ashkenazi Jews are colonialists masquerading as jews so they can colonize Israel. These conspiracies have been completely debunked by molecular genetics. (see diagram below6). This is just one study of many.
Genesis 12:6 KJV
Abraham 3:14 Pearl of Great Price
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-07748-z
https://blog.myheritage.com/2019/08/hungarys-secret-new-study-by-myheritage/
https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/international-programs/historical-est-worldpop.html
https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pgen.1002559