Foreword
Those who believe the Bible accept it by faith; however, there are many accounts in the Bible that are testable scientifically. One of these accounts is that of Noah having three sons, and these three sons repopulated the entire earth after the flood. This paper provides scientific evidence that all men alive today came from one of three ancient ancestors. Our findings are based on Y-chromosome analysis. The analysis is simple, straightforward, and repeatable; anyone can understand it and repeat it. The data is fully documented herein and generated from mainstream scientific community sources (Reference 1 is the browser and Reference 2 contains the sequences used).
The Bible made the following proclamation thousands of years ago, and now we have the genetic tools to test its validity:
Genesis 9:19 These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread.
Genesis 10:32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.
Background
We know that the Y-chromosome is passed from father to son, and, in general, each generation passes on a few genetic variants to the next generation. These variants provide genetic markers which are highly valuable for tracking ancestry. Geneticists sort people into groups called haplogroups because they contain like genetic markers. The haplogroups form a family tree for all humanity and allow us to trace ancestry back to our most ancient ancestors.
Former Work
We, at Genesis and Genetics, made a preliminary evaluation of Y-chromosome DNA genetic markers and discovered that all human men on earth came from one of three ancient ancestors (Reference 3). We found that any human man could trace his genetic markers back to one and only one of three ancient ancestors. Any man with a marker ‘A’ at rs9786139 is from one ancient ancestor, a marker ‘A’ at rs17306671 is from another ancient ancestor, and a marker ‘G’ at rs3900 is from the third ancient ancestor. It was easy to associate these three most ancient ancestors with Ham, Shem, and Japheth by looking at Biblical history of migration and nations. Ham had the ‘A’ at rs9786139, Shem had the ‘A’ at rs17306671, and Japheth had the ‘G’ at rs3900.
This former research was based on a study of 57 modern human men. All the men had one, and only one of the three markers stated above.
Note: We use the terms “mutations,” “variants,” and “markers” interchangeably.
Confirmation
Since our original study, we have looked at many more sequences, a total of 1233 Y-chromosome genomes, and found they all conformed to our original findings. Reference 4 documents the 1233 human genomes and which ones are from each of Noah’s three sons. All 1233 humans had one and only one of the three markers. There were no exceptions. This paper confirms our original findings and compares our Biblical ancestral family tree to that of mainline science.
Comparison to Mainline Science
In general, our analysis agreed with mainstream science concerning haplogroups. Therefore, our family tree uses the same haplogroups as our friends in mainstream science. But they are rooted differently. Here is the secular science tree followed by our family tree. There are several versions of the secular trees (called phylogenetic trees), but we, generally, used the one generated by the International Society of Genetic Genealogy, ISOGG (Reference 5).
As one can see, the two trees are similar, but the root and flow of genetic markers are different. The secular tree is rooted in haplogroup A, and the Biblical tree is rooted in Noah dividing into three separate haplogroups; one from Ham; one from Shem; and one from Japheth. We do not present Noah’s DNA, but it is simply his three sons’ DNA less their genetic markers.
Finding the Tree Root
Armed with these 1233 diverse genomes, we began our search by noticing that a few mutations/genetic markers, were common in the population; some were up to 52 percent of the population. It is quite logical to assume that the higher the mutation’s frequency, the better chance that it is at or near the root of our family tree.
For example, if a mutation is in 1/2 of the population, it probably originated when the population was approximately 2 men. If a mutation is in 1/10th of the male population, it probably originated when the male population was approximately 10. And if a mutation is in1/1,000,000), it probably originated when the world population was 1,000,000.
So, we decided that any mutation with a frequency of more than 5 percent could be one of Noah’s three sons. This assumption would allow for some genetic drift and the inability for our 1233 subjects to exactly match the whole world population distribution.
All Men came from three ancient ancestors
Next, we took each of the mutations with frequencies higher than 5 percent and used them to form genetic groups, i.e., haplogroups. Quickly, we realized that every mutation belonged to one and only one of three ancient ancestors.
It appeared that we found Shem, Ham, and Japheth. There was a Shem haplogroup, a Ham haplogroup, and a Japheth haplogroup. All 1233 genomes fit into one and only one of the three. There were no exceptions. The three root mutations had frequencies of 10%, 38%, and 52%. And, as expected, they added up to 100% of the population. Furthermore, Shem, Ham, and Japheth were associated with the three ancient ancestor mutations easily by looking at the geographical locations of each group and comparing them to Bible history. Ham went south and east; Japheth went north and east, and Shem populated the Near East and Europe.
Noah’s Y-chromosome is impossible to find directly. The reason is that he is the origin of all male humanity and he had, by definition, no genetic markers. Therefore, the way to find Noah’s Y-genome is by determining the genomes of his sons and deleting all their mutations.
The true root of humanity was Adam. Adam’s DNA went through the bottleneck of Noah. So we all came from Adam, and we all came from Noah. Adam is the root of all humanity, and Noah is the root of post-flood humanity.
Genetic Mutations/Markers Flow in One Direction
Just as water flows downstream, so do genetic markers. Genetic markers flow from most ancient ancestors to modern ancestors. For instance, your great-grandfather passed markers to your grandfather who passed additional markers to your father. Your father passed his additional markers to you. And if you are a man, you too will pass new markers to your sons. Lineage flows downstream. More and more new markers appear in offspring as the generations pass. However, the original markers of your ancestors remain in your genome. A key point here is that as the markers flow away from the root, the new markers divide the offspring into sub-haplogroups. This dividing into sub-haplogroups shows the direction of the genetic marker flow. Distant branches have only the markers close to the root but are missing many of the markers in their cousins, second cousins, etc.
Therefore, as expected, the data shows that markers flow from Noah’s three sons to their sub-haplogroups. Consider just haplogroup K. Everyone from haplogroup K has the rs3900 G marker. Likewise, the sub-haplogroups have additional markers that show they are later generations forming smaller haplogroups such as M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, and T. T must come from K, but K cannot come from T.
Since genetic mutations/markers flow downstream, it is not possible that the root of the Y-chromosome family tree is rooted in a marker with a small frequency. In order for that to happen, it would take many bottlenecks, overwrites, drift, and other genetic contortions.
Full Population Representation
The three adjacent haplogroups, IJ, IJK, and K contain 100 percent (Ham 38%, Shem 10%, and Japheth 52%) of the 1233 genomes analyzed. In other words, they are the source of all modern humans. Take any other combination of the other haplogroups and mix and match them; they do not represent all humanity; they do not add up to 100 percent. The only way you get one hundred percent is to use IJ, IJK, and K.
Biblical and Secular History
The haplogroups IJ, IJK, and K comprise people from Mid-East, West Asia, and Near East. According to the Biblical narrative, all humanity came from the Armenian mountains which are in West Asia and close to the Near East and the Mid-East. In short, these haplogroups locations fit nicely into Biblical history.
The historical age began in Mesopotamia, shortly after the flood. These earliest writings document a worldwide flood and the world populated by flood survivors. Nowhere do these legends and writings record mankind originating from other parts of the world.
Summary
The Y-chromosome DNA is the perfect vehicle for scientifically testing the portion of the Bible that says all modern human men were born of three ancient men. The Y-chromosome data of 1233 genomes corroborates the Biblical account. We now have a Biblical family tree and can trace our ancestry to the Biblical sons of Noah.
Future Work
We are in the process of identifying the DNA of Noah’s 16 grandsons in the family tree.
References:
- http://useast.ensembl.org/info/about/publications.html
- https://www.genome.gov/27528684/1000-genomes-project
- https://www.genesisandgenetics.org/2021/04/16/y-chromosome-migration-and-the-biblical-phylogenetic-tree-or-finding-ham-shem-and-japheth-via-y-chromosome/
- https://www.genesisandgenetics.org/Ancient.xlsx
- https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Y0GXjhazYa46u0EpPA9b0Y0RVWuh5lDzww_o979mbjQ/edit#gid=1904113265
- https://useast.ensembl.org/index.html
It is very interesting to focus on these three specific mutations that don’t seem to cross among the three groups, but there is one thing I am not understanding. The entire premise is that tracking these mutations on the Y chromosome allows for one to determine the male parental line. But how is there continuity from Noah to his sons?
Are you suggesting that Noah had A on rs17.. and G on rs39.. and A on rs97.. (i.e., all three of the markers on the respective SNPs), but that each of his three sons only carried one of those three markers, and neither son carried the same marker? Or are you saying that Noah likely had none of these markers, and the three unique mutations happened to each respectively in the same generation?
That would seem to be quite a leap and presumption that this all happened in one generation. Why doesn’t this data more likely imply that there are three main original human groups from which all humans came (i.e., if you were taking the data objectively without first trying to fit into the presumption that everyone on earth came from Noah based on how you are interpreting the flood to be worldwide rather than local)?
Secondly, when looking at the rs3900 SNP data today (12/13/2022), its MAF is listed as 48% (not 52%), meaning that the numbers don’t add up to 100% as stated in some of this earlier research on this site. These three markers’ MAFs only add up to 96% as of today.
You have asked some excellent questions that will be the subject of upcoming blogs. I will do my best to answer your questions briefly with our findings so far:
(1) Continuity between Noah, IJK, IJ, and K. Look at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fyWMHOYKcR-t77kV-cN79A6B5-aBpQS8Y7W5juVKLV8/edit#gid=1904113265, and you will see that K is defined by M9, IJK is defined by L15 and possibly 5 other mutations, and IJ is defined by M249 and possibly 43 other mutations. The “possibly xxx other” refers to “Next=generation sequencing. I’m not sure that these next-generation sequencing mutations are all defining. Nonetheless, if you delete the defining mutations, you have Noah. It is important to remember that Noah’s sons lived hundreds of years, so we are not sure how many mutations they would have accumulated.
(2) We are assuming that Noah carried none of the markers. According to the scriptures, all three sons were born close to one another, possibly in the same year. The markers would have been developed by the three sons in the presumed 100 years before the flood and also in the years following the flood.
(3) Yes, if you prefer the evolutionary model, it would work with the origin of the three groups, but they were very closely related and didn’t come from Africa.
(4) Yes, rs3900 is listed with an MAF of .48, but MAF means Minor Allele Frequency. One may flip them easily to make them Major Allele Frequency, particularly when they are close to 50 percent. If you look at our Excel spreadsheet, it is evident that rs3900 belongs with IJK.
You asked very good questions. We are still working on it and have found some very interesting information concerning Noah’s grandsons. We should publish something in 6 months or so. I have severe congestive heart failure, and it has slowed us down.
Thanks you for your response. I look forward to your upcoming blog entries. I’m sorry to hear of your heart issues, and you have my prayers.
To clarify, I don’t “prefer” any evolutionary model, and I don’t think the “out of Africa” model makes sense and is a speculative position based on Darwinian assumptions which I don’t accept. But having said that, I don’t know what I think about whether all humans have necessarily come from Adam and then Noah at the bottleneck or whether there is a different explanation. I used to believe strongly that all descended from Adam, but I see problems today with reconciling Genesis 1 with Genesis 2 which might imply that our Evangelical assumptions of no humans other than Adam and his line might be faulty. I am open to arguments on both sides. I just want to try to look at genetic data objectively and not with preconceived bias towards one or the other position (which is hard for us humans to do). The data could point to the three sons of Noah, or it could point to three different human groups created by Elohim/YWHW, each with a calling and purpose but possibly without a common human ancestor (and in no case arising from Darwininan gradualistic evolution). If you could address this particular debate as to two competing theories in your blog entries, that would be timely and challenging.
Sorry for the typos above. It’s hard to proofread in a little box.
In general, I don’t want our blogs to be argumentative. We aim to defend the Biblical narrative, not tear down others’ ideas.
Concerning Genesis one and two, here is our take on them:
https://www.genesisandgenetics.org/2012/02/17/62/
May God richly bless you in our pursuit of truth,
James
Let me know if I understand correctly or not. This analysis suggests a different Y chromosome haplotree than the typical diagrams such as found here: https://tickle.one-name.net/understanding-y-dna-2/. Do you have an article or blog that breaks down collections of the studied genomes into either haplogroups or ethnicities associated with the proto-Ham/Shem/Japheth markers? I.e. a list of “Ham” groups, “Shem” groups, “Japheth groups? Presumably some established ethnicities could have formed from the merging of people groups of two or all three at some point down the line from the original migrations.
The site you gave me is one that believes in the “out of Africa” theory. We reject that theory and submit the tree in our blog, which is the “out of Noah” theory. We use the same haplogroups, but root them differently as shown in our blog https://www.genesisandgenetics.org/2022/12/12/y-chromosome-validates-bible/
If we can help you further, let us know
James
I join you in rejecting the out of Africa (OOA) theory. You linked the article I was commenting on so that link doesn’t help with clarification. I think the work you’ve done is probably very useful in identifying the migration of different ethnicities but the haplogroup identifiers are kind of connected (by there letter combos) to the OOA theory. Has your work on this included any maps or ethnicity connections to the Ham/Shem/Japheth markers. I.e. something like Celts have the Japheth marker, Spaniards have the Shem Marker, etc.
Steve,
We have generating maps in our job jar. It should be quite easy, but our job jar is very full.
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