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Sons of Noah


 
 

, Rasmus C. Rask and others) to what later became known as the Indo-EuropeanIndo-European languages Summary

, [[Bengali language | Bengali]...
 language group, on the assumption that, if descended from Japheth, the principal languages of Europe would have a common origin, which apart from Finno-UgricFinno-Ugric languages

The Finno-Ugric languages form a subfamily of the Uralic languages....
, KartvelianSouth Caucasian languages

The South Caucasian or Kartvelian languages are spoken primarily in Georgia, with smaller groups of speakers in Turkey...
, PonticNorthwest Caucasian languages

The Northwest Caucasian languages, also called Pontic, Abkhaz-Adyghe, or Circassian, are a group of langua...
, Nakh, DagestanNortheast Caucasian languages

The Northeast Caucasian languages, also called East Caucasian, Caspian, Nakh-Dagestanian, or Dagestani...
, and BasqueBasque language

Basque is the language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain and the adjoining region...
, appears to be the case. In a conflicting sense, the term was also used by the Soviet linguist Nikolai Marr in his Japhetic theoryFacts About Japhetic theory (linguistics)

Japhetic theory is a term used to describe a linguistic theory developed by the Soviet linguist Nikolay Yakovlevich Marr....
 intended to demonstrate that the languages of the Caucasus formed part of a once-widespread pre-Indo-European language group.

In classical times, and among a minority of modern students, various arguments have been proposed that the Roman deity Jupiter may have been a deified Japheth, and further, that he became known in Greek as 'Iapetos', and in SanskritSanskrit

The Sanskrit language is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and one o...
 as 'Pra-Japati'. Modern linguists dispute whether there are any actual connections between 'Pra-Japati', which translates as Lord of Creatures, Iapetos, Jupiter, a corruption of DyeusDyeus Summary

*Dyeus is the reconstructed chief god of the Proto-Indo-European pantheon....
 Pater
, meaning 'sky father', and Japheth, meaning open, and attempts to connect these deities with Japheth are often regarded as poor scholarship and folk etymologyFolk etymology

Folk etymology or popular etymology is a linguistic term for a category of false etymology which has grown up in popul...
.

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Biblical statement that God shall enlarge Japheth (Genesis 9:27) was used by some imperialists as a justification for the "enlargement" of European territories through ImperialismImperialism

Imperialism is a policy of extending control or authority over foreign entities as a means of acquisition and/or maintenance...
, interpreted as part of God's plan for the world..

Ham's descendants

  • CushBiblical Cush

    Cush was the eldest son of Ham, brother of Canaan and the father of Nimrod, mentioned in the "Table of Nations" in the Boo...
    , son of Ham. The Empire of KushKush

    Kush or Cush was a civilization centered in the North African region of Nubia, located in what is today northern Sudan...
     to the south of EgyptEgypt

    Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a Middle Eastern country in North Africa....
     is known from at least 1970 BC, but this name has also been associated by some with the KassitesKassites

    The Kassites were a Near Eastern mountain tribe of obscure origins, who spoke a non-Indo-European, non-Semitic language....
     who inhabited the Zagros -Kurdistan- area of Mesopotamia, the Sumerian city of KishKish (Sumer)

    Kish [kish] was an ancient city of Sumer, now in central Iraq....
    .
    • SebaSeba

      Sebastian Ahrenberg, better known as Seba is a drum and bass producer and DJ hailing originally from Ingar?, an island...
      , son of Cush. Has been connected with both YemenYemen

      Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a Middle Eastern country located on the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asi...
       and EritreaEritrea

      Eritrea is a country in northern East Africa....
      , with much confusion with Sheba below. (The ShibbolethShibboleth

      Shibboleth is any language usage indicative of one's social or regional origin, or more broadly, any practice that identifie...
      -like division amongst the Sabaeans into Sheba and Seba is acknowledged elsewhere, for example in Psalm 72, leading scholars to suspect that this is not a mistaken duplication of the same name, but a genuine historical division. The significance of this division is not yet completely understood, though it may simply reflect which side of the sea each was on.)
    • HavilahFacts About Havilah

      Place Havilah is a Biblical place-name first mentioned in Genesis 2:11: "The name of the first [river] is the Pishon; it ...
      , son of Cush. Usually considered to be a part of the Arabian peninsulaArabian Peninsula

      The Arabian Peninsula is a peninsula in Southwest Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia consisting mainly of desert....
       near the Red Sea.
    • Sabta, son of Cush. Sometimes connected with HadhramisFacts About Hadhramaut

      Hadhramaut, Hadhramout or Hadramawt is a historical region of the south Arabian Peninsula along the Gulf of Ade...
       (their ancient capital being Saubatha) in eastern Yemen.
    • RaamahRaamah Overview

      Ramaah means thunder in ???....
      , son of Cush. Has been connected with Rhammanitae mentioned by Strabo in the southwest Arabian peninsula, and with an Arabian city of Regmah at the head of Persian Gulf.
      • ShebaSheba

        Sheba is a southern kingdom mentioned in the Jewish scriptures and the Qur'an....
        , son of Raamah. Has been connected with SabaeansSabaeans

        The Sabaeans were an ancient people speaking a South Semitic language who lived in what is today Yemen and in northern Ethio...
         and peoples on either side of the narrowest part of the Red SeaRed Sea

        The Red Sea is an inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia....
        , in both YemenYemen

        Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a Middle Eastern country located on the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asi...
        /South Arabia, and EritreaEritrea

        Eritrea is a country in northern East Africa....
        /EthiopiaEthiopia

        Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country situated in the Horn of Africa....
        /SomaliaSomalia

        Somalia , formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is a coastal nation at the Horn of Africa in East Africa....
        .
      • DedanDedan

        The word Dedan means "low ground"....
        , son of Raamah. Apparently a region of the Tabuk ProvinceTabuk Province

        Tabuk is a province of Saudi Arabia, located along the north-west coast of the country, facing Egypt across the Red Sea....
         of Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia

        The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest country on the Arabian Peninsula....
        .
    • Sabteca, son of Cush. Possibly Sabaiticum Ostium, Sabaeans living around a specific harbour in Eritrea.
    • NimrodNimrod (king)

      In the Bible and in legend, Nimrod, son of Cush, grandson of Ham, great-grandson of Noah, was a Mesopotamian monarch and "a ...
      , son of Cush, also identified as a mighty hunter before God, and the founder of ancient BabelBabel

      Babel is the name used in the Hebrew Bible for the city of Babylon, notable as the location of the Tower of Babel....
      , AkkadAkkad

      Akkad was a city and its region of northern Mesopotamia,...
      , Sumer, and possibly cities in Assyria. The Hebrew wording of Genesis 10:11 has led to some ambiguity as to whether Asshur here is the son of Shem or a city built by Nimrod; either interpretation can be found in various modern versions.
  • MizraimMizraim

    Mizraim is the Hebrew name for the land of Egypt, with the dual suffix -ayim, perhaps referring to the "two Egypts": Upp...
    , son of Ham. Mizraim is a name for Upper and Lower EgyptUpper and Lower Egypt

    Ancient Egypt was divided into two kingdoms, known as Upper and Lower Egypt....
     and literally translates as Ta-Wy in Ancient Egyptian ("The Two Lands"). The -aim in Mizraim represents dual number. Arabic-speaking modern Egyptians refer to their country as mi?r.
    • LudimLudim

      Ludim is the Hebrew term for Lydia used in Jeremiah and Ezekiel....
      , offspring of Mizraim. Sometimes considered a scribal error for Lubim, a reference to the LebuFacts About Lebu

      "Lebu" can refer to:* The Egyptian term for the people of Libya...
       of Eastern Libya.
    • AnamimAnamim

      Anamim is, according to the Bible, either a son of Ham's son Mizraim or the name of a people descending from him....
      , offspring of Mizraim. There is a reference in an Assyrian inscription from Sargon IISargon II

      Sargon II was an Assyrian king. He took the throne from Shalmanassar V in 722 BC....
      's time to Anami, a tribe located in CyreneCyrene

      Cyrene can refer to:* The USS Cyrene, a motor torpedo boat tender...
      , Libya.
    • Lehabim, offspring of Mizraim. Identification uncertain, possibly Libya.
    • Naphtuhim, offspring of Mizraim. Has been connected with Na-PtahNoph

      Noph or Moph was the Hebrew name for the ancient Egyptian city of Memphis, which stood on the Nile near the site of mo...
      , the Egyptian form of MemphisMemphis, Egypt

      Memphis, coordinates , was the ancient capital of the first nome of Lower Egypt, and of the Old Kingdom of Egypt from its fo...
      .
    • PathrusimPathrusim

      Pathrusim is the name given by some scholars to southern Egypt....
      , offspring of Mizraim. Possibly connected with Egyptian word Pa-To-Ris meaning southerners.
    • CasluhimCasluhim

      Casluhim, according to Genesis 10:14, were descendants of Mizraim son of Ham, out of whom originated the Philistines. ...
       ("from whom came the PhilistimPhilistines

      The historic Philistines were a people who inhabited the southern coast of Canaan around the time of the arrival of the Is...
      "), offspring of Mizraim.
    • Caphtorim, offspring of Mizraim, associated with CaphtorCaphtor

      Caphtor is a locality mentioned in the Book of Amos, 9.7: "Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Ph...
      , probably CreteCrete

      Crete is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean Sea....
      , CyprusCyprus

      [[Akrotiri and Dhekelia|Base Areas]...
      , or both.
  • PhutPhut

    Phut is the term used by the Jewish historian Josephus for biblical ??? p?, the third son of Ham, in the biblical Table ...
    , son of Ham. Ancient authorities are fairly universal in identifying Phut with the LibyansAncient Libya

    Ancient Libya was the region in the west of the Nile valley and ancient Egypt....
      (Lebu and Pitu), the earliest neighbors of Egypt to the west. (Although more recent theories have tried to connect Phut with PhoeniciaPhoenicia

    Phoenicia was an ancient civilization centred in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal plains of...
    , or the currently unidentified Land of PuntLand of Punt

    The Land of Punt, also called "Ta Netjer" by the ancient Egyptians, or "God's Land", was a fabled and exotic site in eastern...
    .)


  • CanaanCanaan

    Canaan .Canaan is an ancient term for a region approximating present-day Israel and Palestine plus adjoining coastal lands ...
    , son of Ham. This is known to be the name of a nation and people who settled the Eastern shore of the Mediterranean in what is now called IsraelIsrael

    Israel , officially the State of Israel, is a country in Western Asia on the southeastern edge of the Mediterranean Se...
     and LebanonLebanon

    Lebanon, officially the Lebanese democratic Republic , is a small, largely mountainous country in the Middle East, loc...
    .
    • SidonSidon

      Sidon, Zidon or Saida, is the third-largest city in Lebanon....
      , firstborn son of Canaan, and name one of the oldest city-states on the PhoeniciaPhoenicia

      Phoenicia was an ancient civilization centred in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal plains of...
      n coast.
    • HethBiblical Hittites

      The Hittites and Children of Heth, translating Hebrew HTY and BNY-HT are the second of the eleven Canaanite...
      , son of Canaan, considered ancestor of "HittitesBiblical Hittites

      The Hittites and Children of Heth, translating Hebrew HTY and BNY-HT are the second of the eleven Canaanite...
      ", a people of Canaan, possibly connected with HattiHatti

      Hatti was the name of a region in Bronze Age Anatolia inhabited by the Hattians between the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC, and la...
      , a powerful entity in Anatolia.
    • "the JebusiteJebusite

      According to the Hebrew Bible the Jebusites were a Cananite tribe who inhabited the region around Jerusalem in pre-biblical ...
      ", offspring of Canaan, a tribe that lived around JerusalemJerusalem

      Jerusalem is Israel's capital and largest city, with a population of 724,000 contained in 123 km....
      , that was formerly known as Jebus according to the Books of KingsBooks of Kings

      The Books of Kings is a part of Judaism's Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible....
      .
    • "the AmoriteAmorite

      Amorite...
      ", offspring of Canaan, a people living between the Jordan and Euphrates rivers by at least 2000 BC, known as Amurru to the Akkadians and Egyptians.
    • "the Girgasite", offspring of Canaan, known to the Egyptians as the Kirkash. It is suggested they settled east of the Jordan River between Lake KinneretSea of Galilee

      The Sea of Galilee is Israel's largest freshwater lake, approximately 53 kilometers in circumference, about 21 km long, and ...
       and the Dead Sea.
    • "the HiviteHivites

      The Hivites were one of the sons of Canaan according to the Table of Nations in Genesis 10....
      ", offspring of Canaan
    • "the Arkite", offspring of Canaan, probably city-state of ArqaArqa

      Arqa is a village near Miniara in the Akkar district of northern Lebanon, 22 km northeast of Tripoli, near the coast....
       in Phoenicia.
    • "the SiniteSinites

      Sinites can refer to:*A Canaanite tribe mentioned in the Tanakh, particularly the Book of Genesis....
      ", offspring of Canaan, possibly connected with the Wilderness of SinWilderness of Sin

      In the Bible the Wilderness of Sin is an area lying between Elim and Sinai....
      , or the Sinn river in Syria.
    • "the Arvadite", offspring of Canaan, refers to the Phoenician city-state of ArwadArwad

      Arwad – formerly Arado, Arados, Arvad, Arpad, Arphad, Antiochia in Pieria, Latin: ...
      .
    • "the Zemarite", offspring of Canaan, refers to the Phoenician city-state of ZemarZemar

      Zemar was a Phoenician city in what is now Lebanon....
      .
    • "the Hamathite", offspring of Canaan, refers to Syrian city of Hamath.


Africans were thus anciently understood to be the sons of Ham, particularly his descendant Cush, as Cushites are referred to throughout scripture as being the inhabitants of East AfricaEast Africa

East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easternmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geo...
, and they and the Yoruba still trace their ancestry through Ham today. Beginning in the 9th century with the Jewish grammarian Judah ibn Quraysh, a relationship between the SemiticSemitic languages

The Semitic languages are a family of languages spoken by more than 200 million people across much of the Middle East, North...
 and Cushitic languagesCushitic languages

The Cushitic languages are a subgroup of the Afro-Asiatic languages, named after the Biblical figure Cush by analogy with Se...
 was seen; modern linguists group these two families, along with the EgyptianEgyptian languages

The Egyptian languages are a subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic language family....
, BerberBerber languages

The Berber languages are a group of closely related languages mainly spoken in Morocco and Algeria....
, ChadicChadic languages

The Chadic languages constitute a language family spoken across northern Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Central African Republic and ...
, and OmoticOmotic languages Overview

The Omotic languages are Afro-Asiatic languages spoken in northeast Africa....
 language groups into the larger Afro-AsiaticAfro-Asiatic languages

The Afro-Asiatic languages constitute a language family with about 375 languages and more than 300 million speakers spread...
 linguistic family. In addition, languages in the southern half of Africa are now seen as belonging to several distinct families independent of the Afro-Asiatic group. Some now discarded HamiticHamitic

Hamitic is an obsolete ethno-linguistic classification of some ethnic groups within the Afroasiatic language family....
 theories have become viewed as racist; in particular a theory proposed in the 19th century by Speke, that the TutsiTutsi

The Tutsi are one of three native peoples of the nations of Rwanda and Burundi in central Africa, the other two being the Tw...
 were supposedly Hamitic and thus inherently superior, (while the HutuHutu

Hutu is the name given to one of the three ethnic groups occupying Burundi and Rwanda....
 were seen as just BantuBantu

Bantu is a general term for over 400 different ethnic groups in Africa, from Cameroon to South Africa, united by a common la...
) is regarded by some sources as having ultimately led to the Rwandan GenocideRwandan Genocide

The Rwandan Genocide was the massacre of an estimated 800,000 to 1,071,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda, mostly carri...
.
Arpachshad's family (genealogy of Abraham)
The genealogy at this point lists several generations of Arpachshad's descendants, on account of their connection with the Hebrew nation and the rest of GenesisGenesis

Genesis is the first book of the Torah, the first book of the Tanakh and also the first book of the Christian Old Testament...
:
  • CainanCainan

    Cainan or Kenan is*A name in the generations of Adam, the lists of antediluvian patriarchs given in the torah...
     is listed as the son of Arpachshad and father of Shelah in some ancient sources. The name is omitted in the Hebrew Masoretic textMasoretic Text

    The Masoretic Text is the Hebrew text of the Tanakh approved for general use in Judaism....
     of the Hebrew BibleHebrew Bible Overview

    Hebrew Bible is a term that refers to the common portions of the Jewish and Christian biblical canons....
    , but the Greek SeptuagintSeptuagint

    The Septuagint is the name commonly given in the West to the ancient, Koine Greek version of the Old Testament translated i...
     and genealogy of JesusJesus

    Jesus,Some of the historians and Biblical scholars who place the birth and death of Jesus within this range include D....
     in St. Luke 3:36 include the name.


  • ShelahList of minor Biblical figures

    This list contains persons named in the Bible of minor notability. ...
     (also transcribed Salah) son of Arpachshad (or Cainan).
  • EberEber

    Eber is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible....
     son of Shelah, implicitly indicated as the eponymEponym

    An eponym is the name of a person, whether real or fictitious, which has given rise to the name of a particular place, trib...
    ous ancestor of the HebrewsHebrews

    Hebrews, were people who lived in Canaan, an area encompassing Israel, both banks of the Jordan River, Sinai, Lebanon, and ...
  • PelegPeleg

    Peleg is one of the two sons of Eber, the eponymous ancestor of the Hebrews, mentioned in the so-called "Table of Nations" i...
    , son of Eber. Sometimes connected to Phalgu, an ancient town located where the EuphratesEuphrates

    The Euphrates is the westernmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia ....
     and Chaboras meet. In the table, it is said that the Earth was divided in the days of Peleg. A threefold division among Ham, Shem and Japheth preceding the Tower of BabelTower of Babel

    According to the narrative in Genesis of the Bible, the Tower of Babel was a tower built by a united humanity to reach the ...
     incident, is elaborated on in some ancient sources; others assume the 'division' occurred immediately following it, with the scattering of the nations.
  • JoktanJoktan Overview

    Joktan or Yoktan was the second of the two sons of Eber mentioned in the Hebrew Bible....
    , son of Eber. Sometimes identified with Jectan, an ancient town near MeccaMecca

    Mecca or Makkah is the capital city of Saudi Arabia's Makkah province, in the historic Hijaz region....
    .

  • AlmodadAlmodad

    Almodad, meaning "immeasurable", was descendant of Noah and a son of Joktan, who was the founder of an Arabian tribe.....
    , son of Joktan. Has been identified with al-Morad, somewhere in Yemen.
  • ShelephSheleph Summary

    Sheleph was a son of Joktan, of the family of Shem.. ...
    , son of Joktan. Identified with Salif, Northwest Yemen. The capital of the Salif was Sulaf.
  • HazarmavethHazarmaveth

    Hazarmaveth is the third of thirteen sons of Joktan, who was a son of Eber, son of Shem in the table of the Sons of Noah in ...
    , son of Joktan. Identified with HadhramautHadhramaut

    Hadhramaut, Hadhramout or Hadramawt is a historical region of the south Arabian Peninsula along the Gulf of Ade...
     in East Yemen.
  • Jerah, son of Joktan. Identified with Jerakon Kome in South central Yemen.
  • HadoramHadoram

    Hadoram is the son of Joktan mentioned in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible....
    , son of Joktan. Identification has been proposed with Hurarina, a town of Southern Arabia mentioned in Assyrian inscriptions of AshurbanipalAshurbanipal

    Ashurbanipal, Assurbanipal or Sardanapal, in Akkadian Aur-bani-apli,, the son of Esarhaddon and Naqi'a-Zakut...
    . Hurarina also happens to be the name of a fruit tree exclusive to ShewaShewa

    Shewa is a historical region of Ethiopia....
    , Ethiopia.
  • UzalUzal

    Uzal in the Hebrew Bible, descendant of Joktan whose clan supposedly settled in Saudi Arabia....
    , son of Joktan. Identified with Azalla in Central west Yemen. Azal is the ancient name of San'a
  • Diklah son of Joktan. Uncertain, although a connection with Deqlath (the Syriac form of TigrisFacts About Tigris

    The Tigris is the eastern member of the pair of great rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates, which flows ...
    ) has been suggested
  • Obal, son of Joktan. Identified with the Abil in Central west Yemen. The Abil are, according to ancient inscriptions, placed west of the Azalla
  • Abimael, son of Joktan. Though Abimael is unidentified as a tribe it has traditionally been considered to be a northern Arabian group
  • ShebaSheba

    Sheba is a southern kingdom mentioned in the Jewish scriptures and the Qur'an....
    , son of Joktan. Like Sheba son of Raamah and Seba son of Cush, identified with Sabaeans of Southern Yemen/Coastal Eritrea.
  • OphirOphir

    Ophir is a port or region mentioned in the Bible that was famous for its wealth....
    , son of Joktan. Identified with Afir of Southwest Yemen. Ancient inscriptions place them between the Huwailah and Sabaeans (roughly where Ma'afir is now)
  • HavilahHavilah

    Place Havilah is a Biblical place-name first mentioned in Genesis 2:11: "The name of the first [river] is the Pishon; it ...
    , son of Joktan. Identified with Huwailah and Kwahlans of Northwest Yemen.
  • Jobab, son of Joktan. Identified with Labibi of Southwest Saudi Arabia. Their capital was Juhaibab, which ancient inscriptions locate near MeccaMecca Overview

    Mecca or Makkah is the capital city of Saudi Arabia's Makkah province, in the historic Hijaz region....
    .

In historiography

In Hippolytus

The chronicle of Hippolytus of Rome (c. 234), existing in numerous Latin and Greek copies, make another attempt to assign ethnicities to the names in Genesis 10, in some cases similar to those of Josephus, but with many differences, which are:

  • Gomer - Cappadocians
    • Ashkenaz - Sarmatians
    • Riphath - Sauromatians
    • Togarmah - Armenians
  • Magog - Galatians, Celts
  • Javan
    • Elishah - Siculi (Chron Pasc: Trojans and Phrygians)
    • Tarshish - Iberians, Tyrrhenians
    • Kittim - Macedonians, Romans, Latins
  • Tubal - "Hettali" (?)
  • Meshech - Illyrians
  • Misraim
    • Ludim - Lydians
    • Anamim - PamphyliaPamphylia

      Pamphylia, in ancient geography, was the region in the south of Asia Minor, between Lycia and Cilicia, extending from the Me...
      ns
    • Pathrusim - LyciaLycia

      Lycia is a region in the modern day Antalya Province on the southern coast of Turkey....
      ns (var.: Cretans)
    • Caphtorim - Cilicians
  • Put - Troglodytes
  • Canaan - AfriAfri

    The Afri were a people located on the shores of the southern Mediterranean Sea near the city of Carthage....
     and Phoenicians
    • Arkite - TripolitaniaTripolitania

      Tripolitania or Tripolitana is a historic region of western Libya, centered on the coastal city of Tripoli....
      ns
  • Lud - HalizonesHalizones

    The Halizones are an obscure people that appear in Homer's Iliad as allies of Troy during the Trojan War....
  • Arpachshad
    • Cainan - "those east of the Sarmatians" (one variant)
      • Joktan
        • Elmodad - Indians
        • Saleph - Bactrians
        • Hazamaveth, Sheba - Arabs
        • Adoram - CarmaniaCarmania (satrapy)

          Carmania was a satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire as well as, later on, the Sassanid Empire....
          ns
        • Uzal - AriaAria (satrapy)

          Aria is the ancient Latin name for the area around Herat, in northwest Afghanistan. ...
          ns (var.: Parthians)
        • Abimael - Hyrcanians
        • Obal - Scythians
        • Ophir - Armenians
        • Deklah - GedrosiaGedrosia

          Gedrosia is the ancient name of an area that corresponds to today's Balochistan province in southwestern Pakistan, from the ...
          ns
  • Aram - "Etes" ?
    • Hul - Lydians (var: Colchians)
    • Gether - "Gaspeni" ?
    • Mash - MossynoeciMossynoeci

      Mossynoeci . The Greeks of the Euxine Sea applied it to the peoples of Pontus, the northern Anatolian coast west of Trebizon...
       (var: Mosocheni)


The Chronicle of 354, the PanarionPanarion

Of early Christian heresiology, the Panarion, also known as Adversus Haereses, is the most important of the works of...
by Epiphanius of SalamisEpiphanius of Salamis

Epiphanius was a Church Father, a heresiologist who was a strong defender of orthodoxy, known for tracking down deviant teac...
 (c. 375), the Chronicon PaschaleChronicon Paschale

Chronicon Paschale is the conventional name of a 7th-century Byzantine universal chronicle of the world....
(c. 627), the History of Albania by the Georgian historian Movses KaghankatvatsiMovses Kaghankatvatsi Summary

Movses Kaghankatvatsi , also referred to as Movses Daskhurantsi , was the indigenous Armenian historian of Caucasian A...
 (7th century), and the Synopsis of Histories by John SkylitzesJohn Skylitzes

John/Ioannes Skylitzes/Scylitzes was a Byzantine historian of the late 11th century....
 (c. 1057) follow the identifications of Hippolytus.

In Jerome

JeromeJerome

Jerome is best known as the translator of the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into Latin....
, writing ca. 390, provided an 'updated' version of Josephus' identifications in his Hebrew Questions on Genesis. His list is substantially identical to that of Josephus in almost all respects, but with the following notable differences:

  • Thubal, son of Japheth: "Iberians, who are also the Spaniards from whom derive the CeltiberiansCeltiberians

    The Celtiberians were a Celtic people living in the Iberian Peninsula, chiefly in what is now north central Spain and northe...
    , although certain people suppose them to be the Italians."
  • Gether, son of Aram: "AcarnaniiFacts About Acarnania

    Acarnania is a region of west-central Greece that lies along the Ionian Sea, west of Aetolia, with the Achelous River for a ...
     or CariaCaria

    Caria was a region of the Asia Minor situated south of Ionia and west of Phrygia and Lycia....
    ns"
  • Mash, son of Aram: Maeones

In Isidore of Seville

The scholar Isidore of SevilleIsidore of Seville

----Saint Isidore of Seville was Archbishop of Seville for more than three decades and has the reputation of being one o...
, in his EtymologiaeEtymologiae

Etymologiae is an encyclopedia compiled by...
(ca. 600), repeats all of Jerome's identifications, but with these minor changes :

  • Joktan, son of Eber: Indians
  • Saleph, son of Joktan: Bactrians
  • Magog, son of Japheth: "Scythians and Goths"
  • Ashkenaz, son of Gomer: "SarmatiansSarmatians

    The Sarmatians, Sarmatae or Sauromatae were a multi-ethnic confederacy mentioned by classical authors from Herod...
    , whom the Greeks call Rheginians".


Isidore's identifications for Japheth's sons were repeated in the Historia BritonumHistoria Britonum

The Historia Britonum, or The History of the Britons, is a historical work that was first written sometime shortly a...
attributed to NenniusNennius

Nennius, or Nemnivus, is either of two shadowy personages traditionally associated with the history of Wales....
. Isidore's identifications also became the basis for numerous later mediaeval scholars.

Doublets

The text of Gen. 10 includes some apparent "doubletDoublet

Doublet is:*two different narrative accounts of the same actual event - this use of doublet is mainly present in textua...
s" in the form of two separate lines of descent covering certain groups in Yemen and the surrounding regions — one of these indicating descent from Ham via Cush; the other from Shem via Joktan. Specifically, the Sabaeans (under the similar names Sheba and Seba), Huwaila (under Havilah), and possibly Hadhramaut (if Hazarmaveth is to be equated with Sabtah as a name representing its capital), appear to be in both lineages. (Gen 10:11, translated in the KJV as "Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Niniveh, etc…", is taken in some modern translations to mean that the city of "Asshur" was one of those built by Nimrod; however, this is but a single verse in the Hebrew, with dual English interpretations, and not a genuine "doublet".)

In the documentary hypothesisDocumentary hypothesis

In studying the Hebrew Bible, some historians and academics in the fields of linguistics and source criticism have proposed the th...
, these doublets are taken as certain signs of multiple authorship; on this account, the theory identifies hypothetical JahwistJahwist

The Jahwist, also referred to as the Jehovist, Yahwist, or simply as J, is one of the sources of the Torah...
 (J) and PriestlyPriestly source

The Priestly Source is one of the sources of the Torah postulated by the documentary hypothesis. ...
 (P) sources as having two quite different genealogies later combined into the present table. It must be remembered that these hypothetical sources have never been archaeologically or otherwise attested, and are only reconstructions by modern scholars who hold this theory. These sources are seen as originating some 150-300 years apart, with the later source, the Priestly, rewriting the Jahwist's account to reflect their own view concerning ethnology. While both sources are considered to have divided the groups into Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the descent beyond these is reconstructed as quite different. To the Jahwist are ascribed by such experts, the account of Nimrod and his cities, as well as the descendants of Joktan, Canaan, and Mizraim, while to the Priestly source are ascribed the account of the descendants of Cush and Japheth.

The Yahwist (J) would thus exhibit a worldview concerned heavily with Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Arab tribes viewed to have originated from around Mecca (a holy site since ancient times), and Canaan. Rather than a table, the Yahwist is reconstructed as presenting a more narrative structure. Preceded by the tale of the curse of HamCurse of Ham

Curse of Ham refers to the curse that Noah placed upon Canaan, after Ham saw Noah naked because of drunkenness in his tent....
, the Yahwist reconstruction proceeds to describes his son fathering Nimrod, who is subsequently described as going on to found the great cities of Mesopotamia, then details the sons of Canaan and Mizraim.

A more genealogical line is given by the Yahwist reconstruction for Shem, going down the generations in a straight line until Joktan is reached, and, like elsewhere in the Yahwist text, though Joktan is not on the line himself, as the son of Eber, a major Patriarch on the line (the eponymEponym

An eponym is the name of a person, whether real or fictitious, which has given rise to the name of a particular place, trib...
ous founder of the Hebrews, Eberu), Joktan's own descendants are described. The name of Joktan's purported brother, Peleg, is etymologically related to the word Pulukku in Akkadian, meaning divided by boundaries, and by borders, and Palgu in Assyrian, meaning divided by canals, and by irrigation systems. While Peleg is believed by some to be present in the narrative to indicate origin via the city of Phalgu, the comment after his name, that in his day the earth was divided, is thought in critical circles to simply be a convenient pun in order to insert the story of the Tower of BabelTower of Babel

According to the narrative in Genesis of the Bible, the Tower of Babel was a tower built by a united humanity to reach the ...
 into the Yahwist's narrative. In the Yahwist reconstruction, Japheth has previously been described, within the tale of Ham's curse, as going on to dwell in the tents of Shem, and hence is not indicated as having any children of his own.

According to the dates given by critical scholars, the areas of the Mediterranean and the Caucasus had become much more developed over the years between the Yahwist and Priestly sources. The Egyptians had become much more unified (having largely recovered from the Third Intermediate Period). Thus, while the reconstructed Priestly source does not include the subdivisions within Egypt, it does include details of groups in the eastern Mediterranean (Javan, Tubal, Meschech, Tiras) and Caucasus (Gomer, Madai), attaching them to Japheth, perhaps since his descendants are not identified by the Yahwist. Mesopotamia retained its importance, and the Priestly source, a text reconstructed with a favouritism for long dry lists, extends the detail concerning its genealogy given by the Yahwist, presenting a more complicated ethnological tree. The Arab groups of the Yemen area also seem to have been viewed as retaining importance, as the hypothetical Priestly source considered them still worth detailing, though presenting an origin for them in the more significant Nubia (via Cush), rather than from around Mecca. There is little narrative quality in the text usually ascribed to the priestly source; essentially it resembles simply a raw list of names, with the occasional indication of familial relationship.

See also

  • Wives aboard the ArkWives aboard the Ark

    Although the Book of Genesis in the Bible does not give any information about the four women it says were aboard Noah's Ark, t...
  • NuwaubianismNuwaubianism

    Nuwaubianism is a term used to describe the various doctrines and practices of Malachi Z....
  • GenealogyGenealogy

    Genealogy is the study and tracing of family pedigrees....
  • EthnographyEthnography

    Ethnography refers to the genre of writing that presents qualitative description of human social phenomena, based on fieldwo...
  • Comparative linguisticsComparative linguistics

    Comparative linguistics is a branch of historical linguistics that is concerned with comparing languages in order to establi...
  • MesopotamiaMesopotamia Overview

    Mesopotamia refers to the region now occupied by modern Iraq, eastern Syria, and southeastern Turkey....
  • Ancient EgyptAncient Egypt

    Ancient Egypt was a long-lived ancient civilization in north-eastern Africa....
  • Fertile crescentFertile Crescent Overview

    The Fertile Crescent is a historical region in the Middle East incorporating Ancient Egypt, the Levant, and Mesopotamia....
  • Garden of EdenGarden of Eden

    The Garden of Eden is described in the Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man - Adam - and woman - Eve - li...
  • AntediluvianAntediluvian

    The word antediluvian is used to describe a period of time that allegedly preceded the Great Flood of Noah as related in the...
  • Human history
  • AggadahAggadah

    Aggadah refers to the homiletic and non-legalistic exegetical texts in classical rabbinic literature - particularly as recor...
  • Continuity thesisContinuity thesis

    In the history of ideas, the continuity thesis is the hypothesis that there was no radical discontinuity between the intelle...


External links

  • : Entry for "Genealogy" - a 1901/6 view (the early days of comparative linguistics and the documentary hypothesis).
  • according to a creationist source (with Europe as descended from the tribes of Israel, and the UK and USA from Joseph (but by different sons)).
  • A more standard creationist account that associates Japheth with Europe.