Editing Israelites (section)

==Genetics==
{{further|Genetic history of the Middle East|Canaan#Genetic studies}}
{{see also|Genetic studies on Jews|Samaritans#Genetic studies}}
[[File:Flickr - Government Press Office (GPO) - Samaritan Elder in Passover Prayer Service.jpg|thumb|A Samaritan elder participates in Passover prayer services held on Mount Gerizim]]

As of 2024, only one study has directly examined ancient Israelite genetic material. The analysis examined [[Solomon's Temple|First Temple]]-era skeletal remains excavated in [[Abu Ghosh]], and showed one male individual belonging to the [[Haplogroup J-M172|J2]] [[Y-DNA]] haplogroup, a set of closely-related DNA sequences thought to have originated in the Caucasus or Eastern Anatolia, as well as the [[Haplogroup T (mtDNA)|T1a]] and [[Haplogroup H (mtDNA)|H87]] [[Human mitochondrial DNA haplogroup|mitochondrial DNA]] haplogroups, the former of which has also been detected among Canaanites, and the latter in Basques, Tunisian Arabs, and Iraqis, suggesting a Mediterranean, Near Eastern, or perhaps Arabian origin.<ref>{{cite web |title=DNA of Ancient Israelites | last =David| first =Ariel| date =9 October 2023| publisher =[[Haaretz]]|url=https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/2023-10-09/ty-article/in-first-archaeologists-extract-dna-of-ancient-israelites/0000018b-138a-d2fc-a59f-d39b21fd0000}}</ref>

A 2004 study (by Shen et al.) comparing [[Samaritans]] to several [[Jews|Jewish]] populations (including [[Ashkenazi Jews]], [[Iraqi Jews]], [[Libyan Jews]], [[Moroccan Jews]], and [[Yemenite Jews]]) found that "the principal components analysis suggested a common ancestry of Samaritan and Jewish patrilineages. Most of the former may be traced back to a common ancestor in what is today identified as the paternally inherited Israelite high priesthood ([[Cohanim]]), with a common ancestor projected to the time of the [[Assyrian captivity|Assyrian conquest of the kingdom of Israel]]."<ref name="evolutsioon.ut.ee">{{cite web |title=Reconstruction of Patrilineages and matrilineages of Samaritans and Other Israeli Populations From Y-Chromosome and Mitochondrial DNA Sequence Variation |url=http://evolutsioon.ut.ee/publications/Shen2004.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130508024921/http://evolutsioon.ut.ee/publications/Shen2004.pdf |archive-date=8 May 2013 |access-date=10 May 2010}}&nbsp;(855&nbsp;KB), Hum Mutat 24:248–260, 2004.</ref>

A 2020 study (by Agranat-Tamr et al.) stated that there was genetic continuity between the Bronze Age and Iron Age southern Levantines, which included the Israelites and Judahites. They could be "modeled as a mixture of local earlier [[Neolithic]] populations and populations from the northeastern part of the Near East (e.g. [[Zagros Mountains]], [[Ethnic groups in the Caucasus|Caucasians]]/[[Origin of the Armenians|Armenians]] and possibly, [[Hurrians]])". Reasons for the continuity include resilience from the [[Bronze Age collapse]], which was mostly true for inland cities such as [[Tel Megiddo]] and [[Abel-beth-maachah|Tel Abel Beth Maacah]]. Elsewhere, [[Europeans|European]]-related and [[East Africa]]n-related components were added to the population, from a north-south and south-north gradient respectively. [[Neolithic Europe#Genetics|Late Neolithic]] and [[Bronze Age Europe]]ans and [[Somalis]] were used as representatives.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Agranat-Tamir |first1=Lily |last2=Waldman |first2=Shamam |display-authors=1 |date=2020-05-28 |title=The Genomic History of the Bronze Age Southern Levant |journal=Cell |language=en |volume=181 |issue=5 |pages=1146–1157.e11 |doi=10.1016/j.cell.2020.04.024 |issn=0092-8674 |pmc=10212583 |pmid=32470400 |s2cid=219105441 |doi-access=free}}</ref>