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Thursday, September 10, 2020

Ur: City of Our Fathers' Fathers

Nadene Goldfoot
                                                                           
Abraham was the father of the Jews and the Arabs. He was a Semite.  Jews and Arabs are Semites. 
 Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples were Western Asian people who lived throughout the ancient Near East, including the Levant, Mesopotamia, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Horn of Africa from the third millennium BC until the end of antiquity.
Speakers of East Semitic (one of 3 types)  include the people of the Akkadian EmpireAssyria and Babylonia. Central Semitic combines the Northwest Semitic languages and Arabic. Speakers of Northwest Semitic were the Canaanites (including the Phoenicians and the Hebrews) and the Arameans. South Semitic peoples include the speakers of Modern South Arabian languages and Ethiopian Semitic languages. 
We first learn that Abram was from the East of the city of Ur in the Torah (Old Testament.   Genesis 11:28 tells us that Abram's father was Terah, and Abram's 2 brothers were Nahor and Haran.  "Haran died in the lifetime of Terah his father, in his native land, in Ur Kasdim."
They are looking at the Euphrates River and plan on following it northward and then will follow the sun, westward.  
                                               
In the distance can be seen the ziggurat.
The Ziggurat of Ur is a Neo-Sumerian ziggurat or step pyramid in what was the city of Ur near Nasiriyah, in present-day Dhi Qar Province, Iraq. The structure was built during the Early Bronze Age but had crumbled to ruins by the 6th century BCE of the Neo-Babylonian period, when it was restored by King Nabonidus. 

                                                                 
UR is in Iraq
Abraham migrated from Ur to Canaan-a few city-states,
 (Israel)  but more desolate.  The few pitched their tents.
G-d directed him to this area.  
The ziggurat was a piece in a temple complex that served as an
 administrative center for the city, and which was a shrine of the 
moon god Nanna, the patron deity of Ur.

The construction of the ziggurat was finished in the 21st century 
BCE by King Shulgi, who, in order to win the allegiance of cities,
proclaimed himself a god. During his 48-year reign, the city of Ur 
grew to be the capital of a state controlling much of Mesopotamia
Many ziggurats were made by stacking mud-bricks up and using 
mud to seal them together.
                                                    
According to our history, Terah was an idol-maker.  
He left his shop one day with Abram in charge.  Abram had an accident of
 knocking over one of the idols which broke to pieces on the floor.
  When his father returned, he saw the mess on the floor and asked 
what had happened.  Abram said that one of the idols had pushed 
that one over and it crumbled.  
     His father said, "But Abraham, you know they're just clay.  They can't push each other over!"  
     Abram answered, "Of course, father, I know that, and glad you do, too!"
    They decided to leave such a community who believed in such things.
Another version:  Terah was an idol manufacturer who once went away and left Abraham in charge of the store. A man walked in and wished to buy an idol. Abraham asked him how old he was and the man responded “50 years old.” Abraham then said, “You are 50 years old and would worship a day old statue!” At this point the man left, ashamed.
Later, a woman walked into the store and wanted to make an offering to the idols. So Abraham took a stick, smashed the idols and placed the stick in the hand of the largest idol. When Terah returned, he asked Abraham what happened to all the idols. Abraham told him that a woman came in to make an offering to the idols. The idols argued about which one should eat the offering first, then the largest idol took the stick and smashed all the other idols. Terah responded by saying that they are only statues and have no knowledge. Whereupon Abraham responded by saying that you deny their knowledge, yet you worship them! 

Abraham
 and the Idol Shop appears in Genesis Rabbah chapter 38 
 and is a biblical commentary on the early life of Abraham
The commentary explains what happened to Abraham when he 
was a young boy working in his father's idol shop. The story has
 been used as a way to discuss monotheism and faith in general.
Ur is possibly the  city of Ur Kasdim mentioned in the Book of Genesis as the birthplace  of  the JewishChristian and Muslim 
patriarch Abra-ham (Ibrahim  in Arabic), traditionally believed to have lived some time in the 2nd millennium BCE. or about 1948 BCE.   There are however conflicting traditions and scholarly opinions identifying Ur Kasdim with the sites of SanliurfaUrkeshUrartu or Kutha.
                                                


The biblical Ur is mentioned four times in the Torah or Old Testament, with the distinction "of the Kasdim/Kasdin"—traditionally rendered in English as "Ur of the Chaldees". The Chaldeans were a Semitic tribe that migrated to S Babylonia and adopted the ancient Babylonian culture.  (They gradually had power over the native people and named  the entire area with their name.  The Chaldeans had settled in the vicinity by around 850 BCE, but were not extant anywhere in Mesopotamia during the 2nd millennium BCE period when Abraham is traditionally held to have lived). The Chaldean dynasty did not rule Babylonia (and thus become the rulers of Ur) until the late 7th century BC, and held power only until the mid 6th century BC. The name is found in Genesis 11:28Genesis 11:31, and Genesis 15:7. In Nehemiah 9:7, a single passage mentioning Ur is a paraphrase of Genesis.
                                           

Ur was an important Sumerian city-state in ancient Mesopotamia.  It was located at the site of a modern Tel in Iraq.  Once, Ur was a coastal city near the mouth of the Euphrates River on the Persian Gulf, but the coastline has shifted and the city now lies inland on the south bank of the Euphrates, 9.9 miles from Nasiriyah in modern-day Iraq.  

Sumeria was a region of Southern Babylonia named after a people who were not Semites but who had migrated there in prehistoric times and founded a series of city-states.  Its culture was the basis of the Babylonian civilization and influenced the Semitic inhabitants of Accad to their ways.  Sumeria is not specifically mentioned in the bible but some early names, like Nimrod and Cush are connected with Sumerian tradition.  Nimrod was of Cushite origin (Black) and the mighty hunter and strong ruler whose kingdom was Babylon, Erech, Accd, etc. Cush was the son of Ham, son of Noah.  His descendants are Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia, etc.   This is found in the clay tablets of Gilgamesh and the Assyrian war god, Ninurata.  
                                                                             
Moon-god Nanna visits the ziggaret
"The city dates from the Ubaid period circa 3800 BCE, and is recorded in written history as a city-state from the 26th century BCE, its first recorded king being Mesannepada. The city's patron deity was Nanna (in AkkadianSin), the Sumerian and Akkadian (Assyrian-Babylonianmoon god, and the name of the city is in origin derived from the god's name. UNUGKI, literally "the abode (UNUG) of Nanna"."
"The site is marked by the partially restored ruins of the Ziggurat of Ur, which contained the shrine of Nanna, excavated in the 1930s. The temple was built in the 21st century BCE (short chronology), during the reign of Ur-Nammu and was reconstructed in the 6th century BCE by Nabonidus, the last king of Babylon. The ruins cover an area of 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) northwest to southeast by 800 metres (2,600 ft) northeast to southwest and rise up to about 20 metres (66 ft) above the present plain level."


"For millennia, the southern part of the Mesopotamia has been a wetland region generated by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers before flowing into the Gulf. This area has been occupied by human communities since ancient times and the present-day inhabitants, the Marsh Arabs, are considered the population with the strongest link to ancient Sumerians. Popular tradition, however, considers the Marsh Arabs as a foreign group, of unknown origin, which arrived in the marshlands when the rearing of water buffalo was introduced to the region.

Results of DNA test (Y haplogroup) of only men testing their line) 

To shed some light on the paternal and maternal origin of this population, Y chromosome and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation was surveyed in 143 Marsh Arabs and in a large sample of Iraqi controls. Analyses of the haplogroups and sub-haplogroups observed in the Marsh Arabs revealed a prevalent autochthonous Middle Eastern component for both male and female gene pools, with weak South-West Asian and African contributions, more evident in mtDNA. A higher male than female homogeneity is characteristic of the Marsh Arab gene pool, likely due to a strong male genetic drift determined by socio-cultural factors (patrilocality, polygamy, unequal male and female migration rates).

Conclusions


Evidence of genetic stratification ascribable to the Sumerian development was provided by the Y-chromosome data where the J1-Page08 branch reveals a local expansion, almost contemporary with the Sumerian City State period that characterized Southern Mesopotamia. On the other hand, a more ancient background shared with Northern Mesopotamia is revealed by the less represented Y-chromosome lineage J1-M267*. "  This is the Cohen line of male Jewish men from Aaron, brother of Moses to this day.  It's also, of course, found in many Arab men.  Our history does relate that Abram begat Ishmael by Hagar, his wife/niece Sarai's maid; and Isaac's twin, Esau,  who was left by Isaac for 20 years, who became hostile with each other.  Esau became one with the Edomites in Gen.36:1) when Jacob's name was changed to Israel.  
Overall our results indicate that the introduction of water buffalo breeding and rice farming, most likely from the Indian sub-continent, only marginally affected the gene pool of autochthonous people of the region. Furthermore, a prevalent Middle Eastern ancestry of the modern population of the marshes of southern Iraq implies that if the Marsh Arabs are descendants of the ancient Sumerians, also the Sumerians were most likely autochthonous and not of Indian or South Asian ancestry."
Conversely:
 In genetic genealogy and human genetics, Y DNA haplogroup J-M267, also commonly known as haplogroup J1, is a subclade (branch) of Y-DNA haplogroup J-P209 (commonly known as haplogroup J) along with its sibling clade Y DNA haplogroup J-M172 (commonly known as haplogroup J2). 
Men from this lineage share a common paternal ancestor, which is demonstrated and defined by the presence of the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) mutation referred to as M267, which was announced in (Cinnioğlu 2004). This haplogroup is found today in significant frequencies in many areas in or near the Arabian Peninsula and Western Asia. Out of its native Asian Continent, it's found at very high frequencies in Sudan. It's also found at lesser extent in parts of the CaucasusEthiopia and parts of North Africa and amongst Jewish groups, especially those with Cohen surnames. It can also be found much less commonly, but still occasionally in significant amounts, in parts of southern Europe and as far east as Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. Jews do live in Europe, and India.  Central Asian countries also 
have Jewish populations such as in:   
  • Kazakhstan.
  • Kyrgyzstan.
  • Tajikistan.
  • Turkmenistan.
  • Uzbekistan.
  • Yes, our Cohens have come from Ur according to Bible information as well as DNA proof.  They left Ur because of the idol worshipping there, only to also find it in Canaan and along the way.  Idol worship often included human sacrificing.  Their people had made a covenant with G-d to worship only One G-d, and to be the teachers of a new way of life.  It looks like Iraq was as far East as we have to look for our origins, though we are a people, endogamous people who have intermarried often with our Cohen mishpukha, carry a few different Y haplotypes such as E and Q and R.  and I.  You should find that the surname of Cohen is the most common found on our autosomal DNA testing, meaning we have more relations with Cohen than any other surname.  

Recent studies have been conducted on a large number of genes, homologous chromosomes or autosomes (all chromosomes except chromosomes X and Y). A 2009 study was able to genetically identify individuals with full or partial Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry. In August 2012, Dr. Harry Ostrer in his book Legacy: A Genetic History of the Jewish People, summarized his and other work in genetics of the last 20 years, and concluded that all major Jewish groups share a common Middle Eastern origin. Ostrer also refuted the Khazar theory of Ashkenazi ancestry. Citing autosomal DNA studies, Nicholas Wade estimates that "Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews have roughly 30 percent European ancestry, with most of the rest from the Middle East." He further noticed that "The two communities seem very similar to each other genetically, which is unexpected because they have been separated for so long." Concerning this relationship he points to Atzmon's conclusions that "the shared genetic elements suggest that members of any Jewish community are related to one another as closely as are fourth or fifth cousins in a large population, which is about 10 times higher than the relationship between two people chosen at random off the streets of New York City". Concerning North African Jews, autosomal genetic analysis in 2012 revealed that North African Jews are genetically close to European Jews. This finding "shows that North African Jews date to biblical-era Israel, and are not largely the descendants of natives who converted to Judaism," Y DNA studies examine various paternal lineages of modern Jewish populations. Such studies tend to imply a small number of founders in an old population whose members parted and followed different migration paths. In most Jewish populations, these male line ancestors appear to have been mainly Middle Eastern. For example, Ashkenazi Jews share more common paternal lineages with other Jewish and Middle Eastern groups than with non-Jewish populations in areas where Jews lived in Eastern Europe, Germany and the French Rhine Valley. This is consistent with Jewish traditions in placing most Jewish paternal origins in the region of the Middle East.
                 Our genes say we're from the 
             Middle East.  
Resource:
Tanakh, the Stone Edition (Old Testament) 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urhttps://bmcevolbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2148-11-288 In search of the genetic footprints of Sumerians: a survey of Y-chromosome and mtDNA variation in the Marsh Arabs of Iraq
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haplogroup_J-M267#:~:text=Out%20of%20its%20native%20Asian,especially%20those%20with%20Cohen%20surnames.
The New Standard Jewish Ecyclopedia

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