J is subdivided into two haplogroups, haplogroup J2, defined by the M172 marker, and haplogroup J1, defined by the M267 marker. There are also some haplogroup J Y-chromosomes that belong to neither J1 nor J2, and are said to be in paragroup J*(xJ1,J2). This means that haplogroup J* includes all of J eXcept[sic] for J1 and J2.
10 reasons why the biblical patriarch Abraham may have belonged to the Y dna J2 clan:
1. Y dna haplogroup J is the most common haplogroup in the general Jewish population.
2. Both Ashkenazim and Sephardim have dramatically lower percentages of other haplogroups.
3. Ashkenazi Cohanim possess an unusually high frequency of Y dna haplogroup J in general, reported to comprise 87% of the population. At 75%, it is also notably high among Sephardi Cohanim.
4. J2 is the only haplogroup subclade that is significantly present in all known Israelite populations, i.e. general Jewish, Samaritan, Beni Israel of India & Cohanim.
5. The general Jewish population possesses approximately twice as many J2 as J1
6. J2 is the most common haplogroup subclade among the Bene Israel population of India. In contrast, J1 is absent among the Bene Israel of India.
7. J2 is twice as common as J1 in the Samaritan population.
8. J2 is the second most common subclade among the Cohanim. J1 is more common in this group.
9. Jewish oral tradition about the sons of Esau going to Europe is consistent with significant pressence of J2 among Europe's Mediterranean/ Aegean Sea population.
10. Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions about Ishmaelites among Arabs and the lost tribes of Israel going north to Syria and later journeying to Arabia and Egypt are consistent with the pressence of J2 in these populations.
Journey of the Y-DNA J2 clan
Israel
Arabia
Italy
The J2 clan lives in significant numbers in regions of Italy, Greece, Spain, Armenia, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Arabia, North Africa, Iran and Pakistan etc. Some members of this clan claim descent from the biblical patriarch Abraham, such as hereditary Jewish priests (Cohanim), lay Israelites and Syed Sharif muslims. These people believe that their J2 ancestors were biblical prophets, including Abraham and were responsible for transmitting the scriptures of Judaism, Christiaintiy and Islam. The goal of this website is to build friendship among members of the J2 clan, honor Abraham and share beliefs in the spirit of brotherhood. I have posted my personal story on the "My story" page.
J2 clan defines a major subset of haplogroup J. (Dr. Spencer Wells, Ph.D Harvard, Director of the Genographic Project, a research partnership of National Geographic and IBM.)
The patriarch of the subclade J2 was born 15-22 k years ago.
Disclaimer:
Since, J1, the brother clade of J2, is also present in most of the same populations as J2 described above, it is not possible, at this time, to state with certainity, if Abraham belonged to haplogroup J1 or J2. Members of the J1 clan also have traditions of being descendants of the Patriarch Abraham. I think it important to realize that none of us has tested the bones of Abraham to know his haplogorup with certainty. The above is an educated guess based on the listed 9 factors. However, if someone feels that the higher frequency of J1 in Arabia and/ or among Cohens is a better indicator of the descent of Abraham then they may come to a different conclusion.
In addition, as more and more populations are tested and more subclades discovered these conclusions may change too.
