Genesis 10:2-5

5. The Line of Japheth (Genesis 10:2-5).

2 The sons of Japheth: Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. 3 And the sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. 4 And the sons of Javan: Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. Of these were the isles of the nations divided in their lands, every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations

The Line of Japheth included the northern and western peoples: those who later spread over Europe and the Americas. Gomer: called Gimirrai in Assyrian texts: in Homer the Cimmerians (Odys., Genesis 11:13-19): lived north of the Black Sea. Ashkenaz: probably the Scythians, living in the Black Sea region (cf. Jeremiah 51:27). Riphath: unidentified. Togarmah: Tegarama in Hittite, Tilgarimmu in Assyrian, inscriptions: lived in what was later known as Cappadocia (cf. Acts 2:9; 1 Peter 1:1; Ezekiel 27:14; Ezekiel 38:6). Magog: name of northern nomads, living in regions around the Caspian Sea (cf. Ezekiel 38:2; Ezekiel 39:6; Revelation 20:8), equated by Josephus with the Scythians. Madai: uniformly translated Medes who lived South of the Caspian Sea, later formed an important part of the empire of Cyrus the Persian. Javan: Ionians: the name for the Greeks of Asia Minor. Elishah: the name traditionally associated with the Greeks of Sicily and southern Italy. Tarshish: many writers identify Tarshish with Tartessus of southern Spain (cf. Jonah 1:3; Jonah 4:2; Isaiah 23:1; Isaiah 23:6; Isaiah 23:10; Jeremiah 10:9). Kittim: the island of Cyprus; later used to refer to the Romans (Daniel 11:30). Dodanim (or Rodanim): probably the inhabitants of the island of Rhodes (cf. 1 Chronicles 1:7). Tubal and Meshech: names occur together in Scripture (Ezekiel 27:13; Ezekiel 32:26; Ezekiel 38:2-3; Ezekiel 39:1); Tabali in Assyrian texts, in inhabited area near Cilicia. Meshech, in Phrygia, was Assyrian Mushki, Greek Moschi. Tiras: probably identical with the Tyrsenoi of classical tradition and Turusha of earlier Egyptian texts; probably also the piratical sea people who invaded Egypt and Syria in the thirteenth century before Christ, thought by some to have been the Thracians. Occupied islands and coastlands of the Aegean, and said to have been ancestors of the Etruscans.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

See Genesis 10:21-32.