Genetic testing:
Israelite DNA:
We can track ancient Israelite DNA by comparing Ashkenazi with isolated Sephardi and Oriental Jewish populations and contrasting it to local non Jewish populations. We can also compare these results with other populations claiming Israelite descent, such as, Cohens, Samaritans and Bene Israel of India etc.Recent genetic studies reveal that the ancient Jewish population predominantly belonged to haplogroup subclades J2* (M172), J1 (M267) with cmh and E3b3.
In human genetics, Haplogroup J (previously known as HG9 or Eu9/Eu10) is a Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup known as the "Semitic marker". It is defined by the 12f2.1 genetic marker, or the equivalent M304 marker. …It is subdivided into two subclades: haplogroup J2, defined by the M172 marker, and haplogroup J1, defined by the M267 marker. In Jewish populations overall, J1 constitutes 19.0% of the Ashkenazim results and 11.9% of the Sephardic results (Semino et al. 2004)(Behar et al. 2004). … J2 is present in … Ashkenazi Jews (23.2%), Sephardi Jews (28.6%).
There are dna labs such as familytreedna in Houston TX, affiliated with Dr. Michael Hammer at the University of Arizona that perform dna testing to determine haplogroup subclades and haplotypes to determine ancestry:
My feeling is that some of the science is self evident, easy to understand and irrefutable (i.e. I dont expect the results to change much) while other conclusions are more educated guesses, that may or may not change with time. In the beginning I found it confusing not knowing which is which. I found the National Geographic National Genographic website very informative in this regard:
If you have any questions, please ask. One of the things I loved was comparing my results with my families' myth of tribal ancestral origins. Honestly, I was more than half expecting the results to, outright, refute the legend. However, surprizingly, the actual results suggest there may be some possible truth in it. lol.
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