The historical record · 2200 BC to today
Jewish Population Map
Explore where Jewish populations are recorded through history, with dated estimates, biblical accounts, and links to the sources behind each record.
0 of 220 country / territory rows have a sourced estimate. Each dot uses its own reference year; blanks remain unknown. Country points are labels, not city populations.
Dated count Unknown, range, other unit, or undated
Split shades = uncertain dates · Numbered circles = record clusters
Counted persons use a compressed area scale; counts are never added together.
Reading this map in the Jacob Ancestry project
Evidence of communities, not proof of ancestry
Jewish identity does not establish descent from Jacob. A recorded population could include converts from many ethnic backgrounds. A record alone cannot establish that any or all members descended from Jacob; it also cannot establish that none did.
This is an evidence map, not the ancestry simulation. It does not measure genetic inheritance, prove a universal ancestor, or establish migration, intermarriage, or descent for individuals. Jewish communities and descendants of Jacob are not interchangeable categories.
Dates and counts have limits. First surviving evidence is not necessarily an arrival. Estimates belong to their stated dates. Families, named individuals, visitors, and textual totals retain their original units. Missing evidence or an empty map area does not mean zero Jews lived there.
Departures require a specific claim. Partial migration does not erase a community. Complete departure is recorded only for the source’s specified locality or cohort; later returns are separate evidence. Death, forced conversion, expulsion, and emigration have different meanings.
Biblical testimony remains identifiable. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob appear as ancestral households before the later title “Jewish.” Literary accounts, religious identity claims, and disputed dates are labeled. Dated biblical entries show the evangelical dating source and chosen chronology. Alternative evangelical chronologies and census interpretations are recorded in the spreadsheet. Undated narratives receive no assumed calendar date.
Geography and coverage are incomplete. The basemap shows modern geography, not ancient borders or sovereignty. Country markers represent whole territories as defined by their sources. Locality points approximate a place, not a residence or synagogue. Unresolved locations remain searchable below.
Follow the evidence
Explore the records
0 records match this view. Select a row for its full citation and qualifications.
| Place / scope | Evidence date | Population / original unit | Source |
|---|
A living research collection
Update the map with a spreadsheet
Download the current workbook, revise or add rows, then upload it here. Keep the sheet names and column headings. Previewing affects only this open page; publishing replaces the shared dataset for everyone.
- 1 · EditKeep stable record IDs. Use negative years for BC, positive years for AD, and blanks for unknown values. Add a source and its page or section.
- 2 · LocateExisting place names reuse the geographic index. For a new locality, add Latitude, Longitude, Coordinate source URL, Coordinate precision, and Coordinate note columns to Historical evidence.
- 3 · Review & publishCheck the preview, including records without dots. Sign in with the owner’s ChatGPT account to make the revised data visible to all visitors.
Published edition: Loading… · . New geographic names are not geocoded automatically. Unresolved and ambiguous entries are never assigned a guessed position.