Paul has made some great arguments that, to me, prove that the modern day version of the Old Testament has been pieced together to seem like one seamless story of many chronological events. In the research he and Mauro and others share, it seems more than obvious that the stories were NOT in chronological order.

So this has me thinking: Is the meticulous Jewish tribal genealogy that modern Orthodox Jews still are passionate about what (which of the 12 tribes they belong to), is that even real? Since the books of the OT are NOT in true historical chronological order, how can be 12 Tribes of Israel be real and not some wishful fantasy based on this more modern monotheistic ideal of the Bible?

And I say this as someone who can most definitely trace my family line ALL the way back to Adam and Eve. I am not joking, not exaggerating. Adam, Seth, down to Noah, his son Ham, Ezekiel is in my line, etc, King David, all the way down Joseph (Mary's husband). [Technically, all the names mentioned in Bible genealogy are related because they are all cousins or siblings or grandchildren, etc, but that's beside the point].

I genuinely wonder if all that ancient tribal Jewish ancestry is true now knowing that the books of the Old Testament were NOT in order of actual history.

And if it is NOT true, what does that mean for modern Judaism, or anyone who works in ancestry DNA testing or whoever else is passionate about their ancestry? Orthodox Jews are are adamant about knowing (and often bragging about) which of the 12 Tribes they belong to. They can literally trace their ancestors back to the very first men of the 12 Tribes are named after. Judaism would fall apart in the worst way if this genealogy was false.

So... thoughts? Mr. Wallis, do you have any ideas on this?

Hi Karee James the Homestead Gamer,

What a fascinating question.

There is some DNA evidence of our current human population having developed for a while in 12 isolated tribal groups. This may be a coincidence and it still may be falsified. However it makes me wonder. You say that Orthodox Jews are keen on tracing their ancestors back to the 12 tribes. But I wonder how many of us outside of the Jewish community might be able to do exactly the same? The sotry of Jacob and Esau, to me reads like the memory of a time when we, homo sapiens, were seeking hegemony over territory with another earlier kind of hominid (a red hair one) as a neighbour. (Jacob is Israel;s first name.) This makes it a story of humn origins rather than a story of Jewish origins. If Sarah and Abraham (the father of many nations) are reiterations of the vedic Saraswati and Brahma (the mother and father of the many nations) then again we must see the story of Jacob and Esau as a human origins story. Jacob aka Israel then produces twelve sons, who produce twelve tribes. So I wonder if this is a reference to the twelve tribes of today's DNA research.

This aspect is easy to miss in today's redaction of the Bible because Jacob/Israel's story then doevtals with a story from more recent history, the departure of the tribes of Israel from Egypt.

The origins of the Hebrews of the Bible is still something of a mystery and there is some evidence pointing us in the direction of India - which incidentally is where Aristotle believed the Jewish people had their origins. As I mention in my Jesus in India series there is some DNA evidence pointing in that direction too.

I don't think Judaism would fall apart if the genealogies turned out to be something not to be taken at face value. I find Jewish teachers and academics to be far more aware of these questions and open to other ways of handling the sacred texts.

Interested to hear other people's thinking on this...

Health and Peace,
Paul