Jacob's Legacy : A Genetic View of Jewish History / David B. Goldstein.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Goldstein, David B., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Human genetics.

Jews.

Jews--Origin.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (176 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Haven, Connecticut : Yale University Press, 2008.

Summary:

Who are the Jews? Where did they come from? What is the connection between an ancient Jewish priest in Jerusalem and today's Israeli sunbather on the beaches of Tel Aviv? These questions stand at the heart of this engaging book. Geneticist David Goldstein analyzes modern DNA studies of Jewish populations and examines the intersections of these scientific findings with the history (both biblical and modern) and oral tradition of the Jews. With a special gift for translating complex scientific concepts into language understandable to all, Goldstein delivers an accessible, personal, and fascinating book that tells the history of a group of people through the lens of genetics. In a series of detective-style stories, Goldstein explores the priestly lineage of Jewish males as manifested by Y chromosomes; the Jewish lineage claims of the Lemba, an obscure black South African tribe; the differences in maternal and paternal genetic heritage among Jewish populations; and much more. The author also grapples with the medical and ethical implications of our rapidly growing command of the human genomic landscape. The study of genetics has not only changed the study of Jewish history, Goldstein shows, it has altered notions of Jewish identity and even our understanding of what makes a people a people.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1. Keeping God's House: Y Chromosomes and Old Testament Priests

Chapter 2. Lost Tribe No More? The Black Jews of South Africa

Chapter 3. Looking Out for Number Two: The Case of the Ashkenazi Levites

Chapter 4. Those Jewish Mothers: The Development of Female-Defi ned Ethnicity in the Jewish Diaspora

Chapter 5. Look on Mine Affliction: Genetic Diseases and Jewish History

Chapter 6. Jews, Genes, and the Future

Notes

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on: online resource; title from PDF information screen (De Gruyter, viewed November 29, 2022).

ISBN:

9780300145106

0300145101

OCLC:

746471292