Author: damndope
Date: 02-16-04 01:28
From David Stewart on the ZLMB:
In the article "Lamanite Genesis, Genealogy, and Genetics" by Tom Murphy on the website at mormonscripturestudies.co...amgen.asp, he writes:
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Molecular anthropologists Neil Bradman and Mark Thomas have used the distinctive Cohen modal haplotype to link ancient Hebrews to the modern population of the Lemba. The Lemba, a black southern African Bantu-speaking population, draw upon their oral traditions to assert a Jewish ancestry...The BoMor claims of an Israelite ancestry for Native Americans would certainly fit into this phenomenon but DNA tests of claims by the Lemba yielded a strikingly different outcome than we have seen with Mormon claims about Native Americans. Two studies have now demonstrated that one of the Lemba clans carries a high frequency of "a particular Y-chromosome termed the 'Cohen modal haplotype,' which is known to be characteristic of the paternally inherited Jewish priesthood and is thought, more generally, to be a potential signature haplotype of Judaic origin."[72] If the BoMor documented actual Israelite migrations to the New World, then one would expect to find similar evidence to that found in a Lemba clan in one or more Native American populations. Such evidence, however, has not been forthcoming.
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Tom Murphy suggests that the Cohen modal haplotype is "a potential signature haplotype of Judaic origin" and expresses a belief that the negative tests for this among Mesoamerican people, compared to positive tests among the Lemba of Zimbabwe (and, I would add, the Bnei Menashe of India), discredit Book of Mormon claims for any Israelite origin to Mesoamericans ("yielded a strikingly different outcome").
In his efforts to discredit the LDS faith, Tom Murphy mentions "Lemba" ten times in the text of his article. In fact, it is the ONLY example he provides of an ostensibly non-Jewish group "decisively confirmed" to have at least some Israelite roots by modern genetics.
Studies do suggest that the Cohen modal haplotype back approximately 3000 year ago, compatible with the possibility that it may have been on the Y chromosome of the biblical Aaron.
What Murphy fails to note is that according to non-LDS genetic researcher Ken Jacobs, the ONLY markers that show any real homogeneity among modern Jewish groups from around the world are the Cohen markers, and even this is present in only a tiny fraction of today's Jews:
"The only Jewish subgroup that does show some homogeneity -- descendants of the Cohanim, or priestly class -- makes up only about 2 percent of the Jewish population. Even within the Cohanim, and certainly within the rest of the Jewish people, there's a vast amount of genetic variation..." (Ortega, Tony. "Witness for the Persecution." New Times Los Angeles, April 20-26, 2000.)
Should we expect this marker to be present in presumptive Lehite descendants? Lehi was a descendant of Joseph (1 Nephi 5:14). Mulek, son of Zedekiah, was presumably a descendant of Judah. As for others (Ishmael and servants of Mulek), there exists no evidence of any kind that Cohen priests were present among the ancient Lehites/Mulekites. However, there are at least three items suggesting that the presence of Cohens among the ancient Lehites is at best extremely unlikely.
First, Cohens represented only a tiny fraction of the Israelite population, and the probability that Cohens would have been present in the small migrations described in the Book of Mormon seems slim.
Second, had Cohens been present, it seems unlikely that Lehi and other non-Cohens could have officiated in ordinances like sacrifice described in the Book of Mormon.
Third, Cohens were specifically forbidden to intermarry even with other Israelites, accounting for their relative homogeneity in today's Jewish Cohens and presence in only a tiny fraction of non-Cohen Jews. It seems extremely unlikely that specific non-Levites in ancient Israel such as Lehi or Mulek would have carried the "Cohen modal haplotype," or that Ishmael's family would have intermarried with Lehi's had Ishmael been a Cohens.
At the risk of pointing out the obvious, although this point appears to have escaped Mr. Murphy,
"No Cohens = No Cohen DNA"
We would expect that diaspora groups founded from larger numbers of pre-dispersion Israelites would have had at least SOME Cohens DNA, as Levite cities were scattered throughout all Israel, and some Levites would have gone with the Ten Tribes into captivity while some remained in Judah. We would also expect that small groups that left Israel without any Cohens among them would not have any detectable levels of the "Cohen modal haplotype."
The presence of the Cohen Modal Haplotype among Lemba and Bnei Menashe, and its absence among Mesoamericans, does not appear to be a discordant piece of "evidence" discrediting the Book of Mormon, but an expected finding fully consistent with the Book of Mormon story.
My questions to you are:
1. Have you, or Tom Murphy, had a revelation that Levite priests were in fact present in the Book of Mormon population (suggesting that we should expect the "Cohen modal haplotype" to be present among Lehite descendants), and if so could you produce documentation supporting this?
2. If not, could you please suggest another genetic marker with high homogeneity among modern Jewish populations from around the world (and largely absent from non-Jewish populations, with a presumptive origin specific to ancient Israel) that is we can reliably use to evaluate claims to Israelite descent of Israelite diaspora groups without Levite priests.
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