It is natural for an interest or curiosity to arise to “discover” if there is a blood connection with our Hebrew ancestors.
You have probably asked yourself this question at some point since you began the journey back to the Hebrew roots of our faith.
Those of us who have left conventional churches because we “felt that something didn’t fit” began a search to gain a greater knowledge of our identity. After all, if we are on this Way, it is because we consider ourselves part of the lost sheep of the House of Israel, whom Yeshua declared He had come to seek.
It is natural for an interest or curiosity to arise to “discover” if there is a blood connection with our Hebrew ancestors. For this reason, many of us have turned (myself included) to DNA testing to see if we have any percentage of Jewish blood in us. The vast majority, at least those I have spoken with, have some percentage: 2, 4, 7, 13, or more percent of Jewish DNA.
DNA and the Identity of the Tribes
However, this does not guarantee that we are effectively from the tribe of Y’hudah (Judah). As we well know, prior to the exile of the Ten Tribes at the hands of the Assyrian Empire, many families belonging to those tribes had moved south to live within the House of Y’hudah due to the idolatry and pagan practices of the kings of the House of Israel (another name for the Ten Tribes).
In other words, over time, Y’hudah came to be a conglomerate that included members of the Twelve Tribes. The New Testament testifies to this when it narrates the details surrounding the presentation of Yeshua in the Temple:
“And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years from her virginity, and as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of Him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Yerushalayim.” (Luke 2:36–38)
Furthermore, Ya’akov (James) begins his letter with these words:
“Ya’akov (James), a servant of God and of the Lord Yeshua The Messiah: To the twelve tribes in the Diaspora: Shalom! Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.” (Ya’akov 1:1–2)
Thus, we have two witnesses in the New Testament showing that there was an awareness among the Jewish people of that time that members of the twelve tribes were present within the “Jewish” identity.
The Dispersion Throughout the World
This means that after the destruction of the Temple in the year 68 A.D., the entirety of the House of Y’hudah went into dispersion, joining the communities already exiled by both the Assyrians and the Babylonians in previous centuries.
That enormous number of people, dispersed at different times, mixed over time with people from other nations. Consequently, traces of that “seed” or identity are currently scattered throughout the world, a fact confirmed by the DNA tests mentioned earlier.
What if I cannot verify my DNA?
You might say that the above is fine for those who can verify their identity through a DNA test, but… what about those who cannot?
The good news is that the work Yeshua came to do covers those circumstances. Let’s consider some of the statements He made during His time on earth:
“But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 10:6)
“He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’” (Matthew 15:24)
Ultimately, the most important question is not whether we can prove a physical connection to Israel, but whether we are responding to the call of the Shepherd. Yeshua came to gather the lost sheep and bring them back into covenant with the Father. Through faith, obedience, and a desire to walk in His ways, many are awakening today to that calling and rediscovering the heritage of Israel and the instructions of Yehovah.