Abraham's Chromosomes?

AISH ^ | Sept. 2004 | Rabbi Yaakov Kleiman

[dayton law dude]

Thanks, this was a pretty cool article.

I was a poli sci major in undergrad, but theology was my minor, and genealogy of Biblical eras is a fascination of mine.

[PetroniusMaximus]

Very cool!

The Bible's right again.

Thanks for posting.

[TASMANIANRED]

Another reason that there could be a high percentage of these markers in non Jewish middle easterners is forced conversion to Islam of Jewish women and children.

[yonif]

Ping.

[bayourod]

"He is the acknowledged father of monotheism, "

Is the author trying to say that Abraham invented God?

[TalBlack]

Is the author trying to say that Abraham invented God?


I got from it that he pointed to God for a world that had forgotten Him.

What I homed in on is the "father of Islam" thing. Abraham may have fathered the Arabs but Satan is the source of Islam.

[T-Bird45]

Is the author trying to say that Abraham invented God?

Assuming you are not poking fun at the sentence structure: No, he is recognizing Abraham as the originator of a theology, a way of thinking about God. In this case, monotheism, thinking about God as one being rather than many beings (polytheism).

I find this article to be fascinating on many levels. BTTT

[GSlob]

"...at a time that the entire world was of one opinion, he was of another..."
Some things do not change too much, do they?

[TUX]

It can be said that Abraham was, and is, "The Father Of The Faithful" for the three major religions of the world. His unshakable faith in God should be a common bound amoung these religions but sadly this is not the case.

I wish someone would create a banner, or perhaps a t-shirt with "Abraham... Father of the Faithful" in Arabic, Hebrew, and English.

[bayourod]

I'm not poking fun at anything. Too many religious scholars really aren't believers. Maybe it is a translation problem but I find it difficult to believe that anyone who believes in the Old Testament, including the great flood could write that Abraham is the father of monotheism in the sense that he invented God.

[absalom01]

Not to say that in other cases you wouldn't be right, but in this case your thesis (forced conversion to Islam of Jewish women) doesn't work:

These particular markers were discovered on the Y-Chromosome

[Elsie]

THIS is interesting.......

[American in Israel]

As Ismael had a different mother, we need the gene tracing from Sarah to match the Abraham Gene. Then we can prove who the tribes are.

Getting closer. But I wonder what this will be in the hands of the God hating world set. A death sentence?

[jettester]

The only part I might disagree with is the author's point that:

Abraham was only seven generations removed from Aaron, a matter of a few hundred years.

Abraham lived to be over a hundred years old which was more commmon than today. The author is using the typical modern formula of a generation equaling approximately 40 years to satisfy his statement. Having said all of that, the rest is very interesting and I'm glad I got to read it.

[Michael_Michaelangelo]

Very interesting indeed! There is so much work being done at this time in history. There is a steady stream of research being done that supports the historicity of Biblical events. Here's a recent one that I found fascinating: Scientists try to date the Priestly Benediction

Even the geniuses at MIT are beginning to see the connections. :)

Human populations are tightly interwoven

"Mystery person"

[mamaduck]

My Dad wonders:

Hi, [mamaduck],
< snip >
regarding the article linked below,
someone should ask in what sense Abraham can be called the "father"of Islam.
Father of Ishmael, and thus progenitor of the Arab people, to be sure, but
Islam came into objective existence hundreds of years after Abraham's death,
and with at most only a tangential connection to the beliefs and the faith
held by Abraham. Genes do not a body of religious tenets construct.
Dad

Anyone?

[Paved Paradise]

There was an excellent piece done on PBS a couple of years ago on the Kohanim tribe of Africa. It was one of the most riveting things I'd ever seen on PBS and ever since, I try to follow the latest on this so thanks for posting.

[Old Professer]

This merely underscores that fear is the fountain of hostility.