With this paper,  you can find your ancient Biblical ancestor. Is it Shem, Ham, or Japheth? At Genesis and Genetics, we have examined Y-chromosome genomes searching for Noah and his three sons. They were easy to find. According to our analysis, if you have the rs17306671 Y-chromosome mutation nucleotide A, you are from Shem. The rs9786139 Y-chromosome mutation nucleotide A means you are from Ham. And if you have the rs3900 Y-chromosome mutation nucleotide G, you are from Japheth. Of course, if you are a woman, you don’t have a Y-chromosome; so, you will have to get your father’s or brother’s DNA.

Background 

Here is some background: Y-chromosome DNA is found only in men. Consequently, men pass it down to their sons and their son’s sons, etc. The Y-chromosome has approximately 60 million base pairs, each subject to mutations. Mutations develop in the Y-chromosome, typically at the rate of 2 mutations per generation (Reference 1 and 30 years per generation). Therefore, these mutations are genetic markers that allow us to track ancestry. Our findings are consistent with the Bible and modern science raw data.

Consequently, if one man populated all the earth, all males would have his Y-chromosome. Then, if this man had two sons, one would expect that roughly half of the world would have one son’s mutations and the other half would have the other son’s mutations. Furthermore, if our original ancestor had ten grandsons, one would expect each grandson to have mutations in approximately 10 percent of the male population. Successive generations would continue to generate new mutations that would form a human family tree. Geneticists call this tree a phylogenetic tree.

Procedure – Y-chromosome Analysis

The following presents the easy-to-follow logic and analysis which anyone can repeat.

We started by looking for all Y-chromosome mutations/markers with a frequency of more than 5 percent. This was easy by taking existing phylogenetic trees and looking for which markers had a frequency of more than 5 % of the population. 

Next, we took one single human Y-chromosome genome (HG02461 a man from Gambia, Africa).  We found that he had a marker at L15, re9786139. This marker is in approximately 38 percent of the world’s male population. So, we knew our African from Gambia came from our ancient ancestor with the L15 marker.  

Then we continued to look at individual human genomes from other places in Africa, Japan, China, Europe, South America, and North America. We found that all our subjects were related to one of just three major groups. Specifically, these groups were L15/ rs9786139, M9/ rs3900, and M429/ rs17306671. The implication is that our original male ancestor had three sons. Consequently, all male humans were born from these three sons.

Data

The data used in this research came from the 1000 genomes project (Reference 2) and was retrieved using the Ensembl browser (Reference 3). The data appeared to be correct with no errors. We eliminated no data due to suspect errors, and no data was “cherry-picked” to suit any preconceived ideas. Our thanks to the great effort of those who did the sequencing and publishing of the raw data. We also greatly appreciate that it was made available to the public.

Spreadsheets – Ancient Ancestors

The spreadsheet below documents 57 Y-genomes of diverse people (Americas, East Asia, Europe, South Asia, and Africa). It provides 57 rows (individual male humans) and 30 columns (mutations over 5 percent of the population). Each column element of the matrix was color-coded to show us whether the individual had the mutation or not. We noticed patterns beginning to form (you can CLICK HERE to see the EXCEL copy.)

Next, we switched columns and rows to form groups. Then, we arranged the mutations in descending order based on MAF percentage. A clear pattern emerged, as one can see in the figure below. We see that each individual fits into just one group and has no mutations in any other group. Also, we see that every individual in each group has the mutation with the greatest MAF; this is the mutation of the most ancient ancestor of that group. Here is what the spreadsheet looks like after grouping: Note: you can CLICK HERE to see the matrix in EXCEL. This image will allow you to find your ancient Biblical ancestor: Shem, Ham, or Japheth

Looking at the matrix above, we see that each group has one maximum MAF. The yellow is .38, the red is .52, and the green is .10. They add up to 100 percent.

Biblical Narrative

Now that we have shown that our most ancient ancestor had three sons, we can state that this finding is consistent with the Bible. The three groups are compatible with the three sons of Noah: Ham, Shem, and Japheth. The Bible states that, generally, those from Ham went south to Africa and southern Asia, those from Japheth went north to northern Europe and northern Asia, and those from Shem stayed in the Caucuses, the Near East, and North Africa. Therefore, one could easily conclude that Ham is the yellow group, Shem is the green group, and Japheth is the red group. Note: We now know Noah’s Y-chromosome since it is the genome of the three sons with all mutations removed.

Bible in Genesis 10, the Table of Nations, states that all humanity came from these three sons:

Genesis 10:1  Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.

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.

Results

Therefore, we can assume that roughly 1/3 of the earth’s male population came from each son, but, since Japheth had seven sons, Ham had four sons, and Shem had five sons; therefore, the following world percentages are more applicable:

Patriarch   Number of sons    % Projected World Population        Observation

Japheth        7 sons                                              43.75                                        52

Ham                4 sons                                              25                                              38

Shem              5 sons                                              31.25                                        10

The chart above shows that the Ham and Japheth results were higher than expected, and Shem was lower than expected. However, the following explains the differences:

(1) The Ham and Japheth offspring are in the world’s heavily populated areas, namely South and East Asia.

(2) The Thousand Genomes Project did not provide representatives of the Near East, the Mid-East, or Northern Africa, all of which would increase the Shem percentage, thereby decreasing Ham and Japheth’s percentages.

The above two issues are not meant as criticism but offered as an explanation.

Historical Evidence

Our findings are consistent with the Bible, ancient secular history, and genetic diversity:

1. The Bible documents Noah and his family as the only ones spared from the deluge that flooded the entire earth, and  Noah’s three sons repopulated the world.
2. The historical period began when the Sumerians began writing cuneiform tablets. These early writings documented the kings before and after the flood. Also, the Sumerian legends are consistent with three sons repopulating the world. These three sons were t
3. According to the Bible and Sumerian history, all humanity came from one family. As they migrated throughout the world, those separated into satellite groups lost their genetic diversity; therefore, the most genetic diversity should be where Noah’s family settled, the Near East. Those who migrated to the Americas, Australia, and southern Africa lost genetic diversity. We can consider two levels of observing genetic diversity, first, what we see and, second, what DNA tells us. We can easily see eye color, skin color, and hair color. Looking at a globe, it is apparent that those with the most visual diversity meet in the Near East, the place of disembarkation from Noah’s Ark. From a DNA standpoint, one can look at the diversity of haplogroups, both Y-chromosomal and mitochondrial. The extremities are South Africa, Australia, and the Americas, with only a few haplogroups. The location with the most haplogroups is in the Near East.

Summary

(1) Anyone can trace their ancient ancestry back to Shem, Ham, or Japheth by using our method. Women will need DNA from a father, brother, or some other male relative.

(2) From a Y-chromosome perspective, it appears that all humanity came from three male humans.

(3) Item (1) is not proof of the Biblical narrative concerning Noah’s three sons, but it is consistent with it. To prove it, one would have to sequence every human male ever born and analyze his genome.

(4) We can now project Noah’s DNA; it is that of his three sons with no mutations.

(5) Our findings are consistent with the Bible, Sumerian history, and our current state of human diversity.

Future analysis It is now possible to know the Y-chromosome DNA of Noah’s grandchildren. 

References:

1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2748900/#:~:text=The%20chromosomes%20were%20separated%20by,7.0%20%C3%97%2010%E2%88%928).

2 https://www.internationalgenome.org/

3 https://useast.ensembl.org/index.html

Appendix A

If you want to repeat this analysis or add to it, you may use our step-by-step procedure.

Let’s start by taking someone from, perhaps, Peru and find out to which group he belongs. Did he come from Shem, Ham, or Japheth?

(1) We open Ensembl (https://useast.ensembl.org/index.html ). Leave everything default and enter rs9786139 in the upper right-hand box—hit enter.

(2) You should get a new window with the following “rs9786139 (Human Variant).” Click on it. Notice that the MAF is .38.

(3) Click on the ICON that says, “population genetics.” Scroll down to find “AMR” and the subgroup “PEL.” Click on the “PEL.” You can see that 95 percent of this group has a “G,” and 5 percent of the population have an “A.” Next, go to the far right of the “PEL” row and click on “show.” Each of the rows of this screen is an actual human being. You will notice that most of this group has a “G,” but a few have an “A.”

(4) Looking at the population genetics of those from PEL, Peru, you can see that a few Peruvians are from Ham, but most are from someone else. You can find out who by entering the defining mutations for Shem and Japheth. If you enter all the mutations and analyze the same Peruvian, you will see all his mutations fall into one group. If you look at rs3900, you will see that most Peruvians are from Japheth.

(5) continue entering the mutations one by one, and you will see that our Peruvian is only from one group and has no mutations from any other group. If you do a significant number of individuals, please send them to us.

In addition:

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