The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
2. The sons of Japheth ] These are names of peoples who for the most part seem to have dwelt in remote northern and western regions in Asia Minor.
Gomer ] Mentioned also in Eze 38:6. Probably the people dwelling in the region of Pontus in Asia Minor, and called by the Greeks Cimmerians ( ). Cf. 1Ch 1:5-6.
Magog ] appears as the name of a country in Eze 38:2, and of a northern people in Eze 39:6, generally identified with the Scythians. Sayce conjectures that Magog is for “Mat-Gog” = “land of Gog.” The allusions to Gog and Magog in Rev 20:8 are based upon the prophetic passages in Ezekiel 38, 39.
Madai ] Almost certainly “the land of the Medes.” The people of Media are referred to in the Assyrian inscriptions as “Madai” in the 9th century b.c. In the history of Israel they are first mentioned in 2Ki 17:6. Cf. Isa 13:17; Isa 21:2 ; 1Ch 1:5.
Javan ] This is the Hebrew name for “the Greeks.” The Ionians were the Greeks of Asia Minor and of the islands of the gean Sea, who were first known to the peoples of Western Asia. They were called in Assyrian Javanu. For other passages in which the Greeks are mentioned in the O.T., cf. Isa 66:19; Eze 27:13; Eze 27:19; Dan 8:21; Dan 10:20; Joe 3:6; Zec 9:13.
Tubal Meshech ] These two names are mentioned, along with Javan, in Eze 27:13; Eze 39:1. They have been identified with peoples in N.E. Asia Minor, Tibarenians and Moschians.
In Isa 66:19 Tubal is classed with Javan and “the isles afar off.” In Psa 120:5, “Meshech” is used as the name of a barbarous and remote people, “Woe is me that I sojourn in Meshech.”
Tiras ] Identified by Josephus ( Ant. i. 6) with the Thracians, but now more frequently with a race of sea pirates of the gean Sea called . Another conjecture is Tarsus; another, Tarshish; cf. 1Ch 1:6.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 2. The sons of Japheth] Japheth is supposed to be the same with the Japetus of the Greeks, from whom, in an extremely remote antiquity, that people were supposed to have derived their origin.
Gomer] Supposed by some to have peopled Galatia; so Josephus, who says that the Galatians were anciently named Gomerites. From him the Cimmerians or Cimbrians are supposed to have derived their origin. Bochart has no doubt that the Phrygians sprang from this person, and some of our principal commentators are of the same opinion.
Magog] Supposed by many to be the father of the Scythians and Tartars, or Tatars, as the word should be written; and in great Tartary many names are still found which bear such a striking resemblance to the Gog and Magog of the Scriptures, as to leave little doubt of their identity.
Madai] Generally supposed to be the progenitor of the Medes; but Joseph Mede makes it probable that he was rather the founder of a people in Macedonia called Maedi, and that Macedonia was formerly called Emathia, a name formed from Ei, an island, and Madai, because he and his descendants inhabited the maritime coast on the borders of the Ionian Sea. On this subject nothing certain can be advanced.
Javan] It is almost universally agreed that from him sprang the Ionians, of Asia Minor; but this name seems to have been anciently given to the Macedonians, Achaians, and Baeotians.
Tubal] Some think be was the father of the Iberians, and that a part at least of Spain was peopled by him and his descendants; and that Meshech, who is generally in Scripture joined with him, was the founder of the Cappadocians, from whom proceeded the Muscovites.
Tiras.] From this person, according to general consent, the Thracians derived their origin.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Japheths portion was at first Asia the Less, and afterwards by degrees all Europe, and the northern parts of Asia. This is he so much celebrated among the Greeks by the name of Japetus.
Gomers posterity are reckoned among the northern people, Eze 38:6, and were seated in the northern parts of the Lesser Asia, and afterwards about Thracia; and from him were called Gomari, and by an easy change Cimbri, or Cimmerii.
Magog was the father of the Scythians, as may be gathered from Eze 38:2-3,15; 39:3, 6.
The posterity of
Madai, wheresoever they were first placed, in Macedonia or elsewhere, afterward were fixed in Media, and were called Medes, and in the Hebrew by the name of their father Madai, as appears from 2Ki 17:6; Isa 13:17; Jer 25:25; 51:11; Dan 5:28; 6:8.
From
Javan came the Grecians, who are called by themselves Iaones, or Iones, and in the Hebrew Jevanim, and their country Greece, Javan. See Isa 66:19; Eze 27:13, 19; Dan 8:21; 10:20.
Of
Tubal came the Iberi, anciently called Thobeli, a people of Asia, near the Euxine Sea. See Eze 27:3; 32:26; 38:2-3.
Meshech was father of the Moschi, i.e. the Muscovites, or rather, as others think, the Cappadocians, who were anciently called Meschini, and Moschi, and their chief city Maraca.
And
Tiras was father of the Thracians; amongst whom is a river and haven called Athyras, and who worshipped their god Mars under the name of Thuras.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
The sons of Japheth,…. Who though mentioned last, the genealogy begins with him, by a figure which rhetoricians call a “chiasm”. The posterity of Japheth are those whom Hesiod z often calls , “Iapetionides”, and him , “Iapetus”. According to Josephus a, the sons of Japheth inhabited the earth, beginning from the mountains Taurus and Amanus, and then went on in Asia unto the river Tanais, and in Europe unto Gadira. Seven of his sons are mentioned, and the first is Gomer; from whom, according to the same writer b, came the Gomareans or Gomerites, in his time called by the Greeks Galatians, that is, the Gauls of Asia minor, who inhabited Phrygia; both Gomer and Phrygia signifying the same, as Bochart c observes, and the country looking as if it was torrified or burnt; and Pliny d makes mention of a town in Phrygia, called Cimmeris; and the Cimmerians and Cimbri are derived by some from this Gomer, whom Herodotus e makes mention of as in Asia and Scythia, and speaks of a country called Cimmerius, and of the Cimmerian Bosphorus; and these seem to be the Gauls before mentioned, under a different name; and it is to be observed, that the Welsh, who sprung from the Gauls, call themselves to this day Cumero, or Cymro and Cumeri. It is plain from
Eze 38:6 that Gomer and his people lay to the north of Judea, and the posterity of Japheth went first into the northern parts of Asia, and then spread themselves into Europe: six more of his sons follow, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras; the first of these, Magog, was the father of a northern people which bore his name, see Eze 38:2 and according to Josephus f, who is generally followed, are the same that were called Scythians; from Madai came the Medes, often spoken of in Scripture, along with the Persians; so Josephus g says, from him came the nation of Madaeans, whom the Greeks call Medes; and very frequently in Scripture the Medes go by the name of Madai, their original ancestor; see Da 5:28 but Mr. Mede h is of opinion, that Macedonia was the seat of this Madai, which was formerly called Aemathia; that is, as he gives the etymology of it, , “Madai”, the country of Madai; but the former sense is generally received. Javan is by all agreed to be the father of the Grecians; hence Alexander, king of Grecia, is in Da 8:21 called king of Javan; and one part of Greece bore the name of Ionia; and the sea that washed it is called the Ionian sea. And his posterity are
, “Iaonians”, in Homer i and Aristophanes k; and the scholiast of the latter says, that the Barbarians call all Greeks Iaonians. The next son of Japheth is Tubal or Thobel, as Josephus calls him, who says l the Thobelians in his time were called Iberians, a people in Asia, that dwelt near the Euxine sea; and in Albania was a place called Thabilaca, as may be seen in Ptolemy m, and another called Thilbis, from whom might spring the Iberians in Europe, now called Spaniards; but Bochart n thinks that the Tibarenes are the descendants of Tubal, a people that dwelt between the Trapezuntii and Armenia the less; and he wonders that this never was thought of by any; but in that he is mistaken, for our countryman Mr. Broughton o makes the Tibarenes to spring from Tubal; and Epiphanius p many hundreds of years before him. Meshech, his next son, is mentioned along with Tubal in Eze 27:13 from him came the Mosocheni, as Josephus q, who in his time were called Cappadocians, with whom there was a city then named Mazaca, since Caesarea r; and these seem to be the same that Pliny s calls Moscheni, who inhabited the mountains Moschici, which were at the north east of Cappadocia. Some derive the Muscovites from them, which is not improbable: the last of Japheth’s sons is Tiras or Thiras, which Jarchi interprets very wrongly by Paras, or Persia; much better the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem, and so a Jewish chronologer t, by Thracia; for the descendants of Thiras, as Josephus u observes, the Greeks call Thracians; and in Thrace was a river called Atyras w, which has in it a trace of this man’s name; and Odrysus, whom the Thracians worshipped, is the same with Tiras, which god sometimes goes by the name of Thuras; and is one of the names of Mars, the god of the Thracians.
z In Theogonia. a Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 1. b Ib. c Phaleg. l. 3. c. 8. col. 171, 172. d Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 30. e Clio sive, l. 1. c. 16, 103. & Melpomene sive, l. 4. c. 11, 12, 13. f Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 1.) g Ib. h Dissert. 48. i Iliad. 13. ver. 685. k Acharneus. act. 1. scen. 3. p. 376. l Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 1. m Geograph. l. 5. c. 12. n Phaleg. l. 3. c. 12. col. 180. o See his Works, p. 2, 58. p Ancorat. p. 546. q Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 1.) r Vid. Ammian. Marcellin. l. 20. p. 170. Ed. Vales. s Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 9, 10. t Sepher Juchasin, fol. 145. 1. Vid. T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 10. 1. u Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 1.) w Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 4. c. 11.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
5. The Line of Japheth (Gen. 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., Gen. 11:13-19): lived north of the Black Sea. Ashkenaz: probably the Scythians, living in the Black Sea region (cf. Jer. 51:27). Riphath: unidentified. Togarmah: Tegarama in Hittite, Tilgarimmu in Assyrian, inscriptions: lived in what was later known as Cappadocia (cf. Act. 2:9; 1Pe. 1:1; Eze. 27:14; Eze. 38:6). Magog: name of northern nomads, living in regions around the Caspian Sea (cf. Eze. 38:2; Eze. 39:6; Rev. 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. Jon. 1:3; Jon. 4:2; Isa. 23:1; Isa. 23:6; Isa. 23:10; Jer. 10:9). Kittim: the island of Cyprus; later used to refer to the Romans (Dan. 11:30). Dodanim (or Rodanim): probably the inhabitants of the island of Rhodes (cf. 1Ch. 1:7). Tubal and Meshech: names occur together in Scripture (Eze. 27:13; Eze. 32:26; Eze. 38:2-3; Eze. 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 Gen. 10:21-32.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(2) The sons of Japheth.Of these, seven main divisions are enumerated, some of which are subsequently sub-divided; they are
1. Gomer, whose name reappears in the Cimmerians. Their original settlement was between Magog and Madai, that is, between the Scythians and the Medes. After remaining some time on the Caspian and Black Seas, on which latter they have left their name in the Crimea, a powerful branch of them struck across the centre of Russia, and, skirting the Baltic, became the Cimbri of Denmark (whence the name of the Chersonesus Cimbrica, given to Jutland), the Cymry of Wales, &c. Generally they are the race to which the | name is given of Celts.
2. Magog. The Scythians, who once possessed the country north and south of the Caucasus. The Russians are their modern representatives, being descended from the Sarmatians, a Scythic race, with a small admixture of Median blood.
3. Madai. The Medes, who dwelt to the south and south-west of the Caspian. Mada, in the Accadian language, means land, and it was in the Median territory that Kharsak-Kurra, the mountain of the East, was situated, on which the Accadians believed the ark to have rested, whence possibly Media took its name, being the land above all others (Chald. Gen., p. 196).
4. Javan, that is, Ionia, the land of the Greeks.
5. Tubal. The Tibareni, on the south-east of the Black Sea.
6. Meshech. The Moschi, a people of Colchis and Armenia.
7. Tiras. According to Josephus and the Targum, the Thracians. Other races have been suggested, but this is probably right; and as the Getae, the ancestors of the Goths, were Thracians, this would make the Scandinavian race the modern representatives of Tiras.
In this enumeration the race of Japheth is described as occupying Asia Minor, Armenia, the countries to the west as far as the Caspian Sea, and thence northward to the shores of the Black Sea. Subsequently it spread along the northern shores of the Mediterranean and. over all Europe. But though unnoticed by the writer its extension was equally remarkable towards the east. Parthia, Bactria, the Punjab, India, are equally Japhethite with Germany, Greece, and Rome; and in Sanscrit literature the Aryan first showed that genius, which, omitting the greatest of all books, the Semitic Bible, has made this race the foremost writers in the world.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
2. Gomer The word occurs elsewhere in the Scriptures only in Eze 38:6, where it is, as here, associated with Togarmah . The name is undoubtedly preserved in the Homeric name , the Gimiri in the cuneiform inscriptions of Darius Hystaspes, Cimmerians, Kymri or Kymbri, the original Kelts, (Celts,) and Gauls, who were found in possession of all northern and western Europe at the dawn of western civilization . This race settled first on the north of the Black Sea, where they have left traces of their name, as Crimea, Crim -Tartary; driven thence by the Scythians before the time of Herodotus, ( Her . , 4, 11,) they moved west and south-west to the sea . Traces of the original Celtic language are still preserved in Ireland, the Isle of Man, Wales, and the Scotch Highlands .
The Galatians of Asia Minor, the Celtic people to whom Paul wrote his famous epistle, were called Gomerites by Josephus. The Celts call themselves Kymr, and by orthoepic changes between the liquids L, M, R, as well as the palatals K and G, changes such as are constantly taking place in spoken languages, the names Gomer, Kymr, Gaul, Kelt, Galatae, Kimmeri, Crimea, Cambria, Cumberland, all come from the same root. Linguistic affinities show that these people, the earliest inhabitants of Europe of whom we definitely know, were Asiatic in origin, for the Keltic is an Indo-European language.
Magog The name probably means “the place,” (or region,) of Gog, and appears in Eze 38:2; Eze 39:6, as the name of a people dwelling “in the sides of the north,” over whom Gog is king, identified by Josephus, Jerome, and most moderns with the Scythians, who in the time of Herodotus had their home north of the range of Caucasus, in what is now Russia . Furst interprets Magog as Great Mount, that is, Caucasus . The region between the Black and Caspian Seas was called Magog by the Arabians . They came into Europe after the Kelts, a fierce, formidable, nomadic race, who poured down upon Asia Minor and Egypt in the seventh century B . C . ( Herod . , 4 .)
Madai This word is nowhere else in the Bible rendered as the name of a person, but, whenever it occurs, it is translated Media, or the Medes, (see 2Ki 17:6; Est 1:3; Est 1:18-19,) a powerful nation who once dwelt south and south-west of the Caspian, east of Armenia and Assyria . The Medes are here represented in close affinity with the Kelts (Gomer) and the Greeks, (Javan,) confirming Schlegel’s theory, now deemed established by linguistic researches, that the principal European and East Indian nations are of the same Aryan stock, having in a prehistoric period migrated westward and eastward from the high land of Ivan . This theory is embodied in the word Indo-European .
Javan , Yavan, translated Greece in Zec 9:13; Dan 8:21, etc.; and its plural is rendered Grecians in Joel 4:6. Ionia, the name of a western province of Asia Minor, colonized at an early period by the Greeks, and applied by the Orientals to the Greeks in general. The Rosetta Stone shows that the Egyptians called the Greeks by the same name. The word occurs with the same meaning in Sanskrit and old Persian, showing that the name existed before the rise of the Aryan, Hamitic, and Shemitic families of speech. (Knobel.) The famous Greco-Italian races, which did not arise till many centuries after the composition of this narrative, inhabiting Macedonia, Thessaly, the Greek and Italian peninsulas, and west Asia Minor, are foreshadowed in this name.
Tubal, and Meschech These peoples are constantly associated together by Ezekiel, (Eze 27:13; Eze 32:26; Eze 38:1-2, etc . ,) and by Herodotus, ( Herod . , 3: 94, 7:78 . ) They are likewise, according to Rawlinson, associated in the Assyrian inscriptions . Josephus identifies Tubal with the Iberians, who once dwelt between the Caspian and Euxine Seas . Knobel considers the Tibareni to have been only a branch of the widespread Iberians, some of whom settled in the east, some in the west . The Moschi were the ancestors of the Muscovites, builders of Moskwa, or Moscow, and still give Russia its name throughout the East . Ezekiel says that they came down from the “sides of the north,” and traded in copper and slaves in the markets of Tyre . Eze 27:13.
Tiras Thracians, who dwelt between Mt. Haemus and the AEgean, on the south-west shore of the Black Sea. They are associated with Meshech (Meshnash) on the old Egyptian monuments. (Rawlinson.)
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘The sons of Japheth; Gomer and Magog and Madai and Javan and Tubal and Meshech and Tirus.’
The term ‘sons of’ had wide significance in the Ancient Near East. It could mean descended from, connected with by treaty, subjugation in warfare, and so on. Here it is a recognition that the nations associated with these names in a general way look back to descendants of Japheth and are seen as associated with each other.
Whether they are to be seen as direct names of sons of Japheth we may never know. It could well be that later tribal or national names looked back to genuine individuals, but no certainty is obtainable, or necessary for the purpose of commentary. It would have been quite normal to call nations ‘sons of -’ when there was genuine connection of one kind or another.
The above are the major groupings from which other groupings (‘their sons’) derive. The deliberate point is that Noah bore nations not just sons. In Eze 27:14 Togarmah, Tubal, Javan and Meshech are mentioned as peoples who supply slaves, horses, mules and other merchandise to Tyre. In Eze 38:6 Gomer is connected with Togarmah as peoples.
Gomer probably here represents the ancestors of the Cimmerians, Madai of the Medes, Javan of the Ionians, Tubal of Tabal, and Meshech of the Muski , the latter being people who entered the Ancient Near East from the Northern steppe. Tabal and Muski are mentioned together in Assyrian inscriptions.
Tiras may be the ancestors of the Etruscans. Magog is not as yet satisfactorily connected with any known people but has connections with Tabal and Muski and may well be the name of a people rather than a land, ‘the land of Magog’ meaning the land where they lived (Eze 38:2). (Meshech and Tubal are not etymologically connected with Moscow and Tobolsk in spite of their comparative similarity in English. Such a connection does not tie in with the usual transliterations of letters used in those days).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Sons of Japheth (Fourteen Nations) Gen 10:2-4 tells us the names of the fourteen nations that descended from the loins of Japheth the son of Noah.
Josephus says:
“Japhet, the son of Noah, had seven sons: they inhabited so, that, beginning at the mountain Taurus and Amanus, they proceeded along Asia, as far as the river Tanais, and along Europe to Cadiz; and setting themselves on the lands which they light upon, which none had inhabited before, they called the nations by their own names:” (Josephus, Antiquities 1.6.1)
According to The Book of Jubilees, the sons of Japheth migrated to the north after the flood.
“And in the sixth year [1567 A.M.] thereof, she bare him son, and he called his name Peleg; for in the days when he was born the children of Noah began to divide the earth amongst themselves: for this reason he called his name Peleg. And they divided (it) secretly amongst themselves, and told it to Noah. And it came to pass in the beginning of the thirty-third jubilee [1569 A.M.] that they divided the earth into three parts, for Shem and Ham and Japheth, according to the inheritance of each, in the first year in the first week, when one of us who had been sent, was with them. And he called his sons, and they drew nigh to him, they and their children, and he divided the earth into the lots, which his three sons were to take in possession, and they reached forth their hands, and took the writing out of the bosom of Noah, their father. And there came forth on the writing as Shem’s lot the middle of the earth which he should take as an inheritance for himself and for his sons for the generations of eternity, from the middle of the mountain range of Rafa, from the mouth of the water from the river Tina, and his portion goes towards the west through the midst of this river, and it extends till it reaches the water of the abysses, out of which this river goes forth and pours its waters into the sea Me’at, and this river flows into the great sea. And all that is towards the north is Japheth’s , and all that is towards the south belongs to Shem.” ( The Book of Jubilees 8.8-13)
Note a more detailed description in The Book of Jubilees of the land of Japheth that lay to the north of the Middle East.
“And for Japheth came forth the third portion beyond the river Tina to the north of the outflow of its waters, and it extends north-easterly to the whole region of Gog, and to all the country east thereof. And it extends northerly to the north, and it extends to the mountains of Qelt towards the north, and towards the sea of Ma’uk, and it goes forth to the east of Gadir as far as the region of the waters of the sea. And it extends until it approaches the west of Fara and it returns towards ‘Aferag, and it extends easterly to the waters of the sea of Me’at. And it extends to the region of the river Tina in a north-easterly direction until it approaches the boundary of its waters towards the mountain Rafa, and it turns round towards the north. This is the land which came forth for Japheth and his sons as the portion of his inheritance which he should possess for himself and his sons, for their generations for ever; five great islands, and a great land in the north. But it is cold, and the land of Ham is hot, and the land of Shem is neither hot nor cold, but it is of blended cold and heat.” ( The Book of Jubilees 8.25-30)
In a further detailed description in The Book of Jubilees of the land to the north, we read that Noah ended by placing a curse upon any of his sons that attempts to seize the inheritance of another. This curse that Noah pronounced was that God would destroy them with the sword and with fire, which is exactly the way Ezekiel describes that manner in which God destroys Gog and his allies in Eze 38:18-22 when they come against the nation of Israel.
“And Japheth also divided the land of his inheritance amongst his sons. And the first portion came forth for Gomer to the east from the north side to the river Tina; and in the north there came forth for Magog all the inner portions of the north until it reaches to the sea of Me’at. And for Madai came forth as his portion that he should posses from the west of his two brothers to the islands, and to the coasts of the islands. And for Javan came forth the fourth portion every island and the islands which are towards the border of Lud. And for Tubal there came forth the fifth portion in the midst of the tongue which approaches towards the border of the portion of Lud to the second tongue, to the region beyond the second tongue unto the third tongue. And for Meshech came forth the sixth portion, all the region beyond the third tongue till it approaches the east of Gadir. And for Tiras there came forth the seventh portion, four great islands in the midst of the sea, which reach to the portion of Ham [and the islands of Kamaturi came out by lot for the sons of Arpachshad as his inheritance]. And thus the sons of Noah divided unto their sons in the presence of Noah their father, and he bound them all by an oath, imprecating a curse on every one that sought to seize the portion which had not fallen (to him) by his lot. And they all said, ‘So be it; so be it.’ for themselves and their sons for ever throughout their generations till the day of judgment, on which the Lord God shall judge them with a sword and with fire for all the unclean wickedness of their errors, wherewith they have filled the earth with transgression and uncleanness and fornication and sin.” ( The Book of Jubilee 9.7-15)
According to Eze 38:2-3, at this time in prophetic history a prince by the name of Gog who lives in the land of Magog will rule over his brothers Meshech and Tubal.
Regarding the other three sons of Japheth who are not listed in this coalition of armies that rises up in the last days, the ISBE suggests their identity. Javan is considered to be identical with the name “Ion,” who was the father of the Ionians. These were the ancestors of the region of Greece. [137] Tiras refers to Tarshish, the Thracians (Thrakes) or the Tursenioi, a race of Pelasgian pirates, “who left many traces of their ancient power in the islands and coasts of the Aegean, and who were doubtless identical with the Etruscans of Italy.” [138] Madai refers to the Medes. [139] These three areas are considered to be land to the north of the Middle East and was part of the inheritance of the sons of Japheth. Gomer, the seventh son of Japheth, is referred to in Gen 38:6. His descendants are believed to be a barbaric horde of Aryans who in the seventh century B.C. left “Southern Russia and poured through the Caucasus into Western Asia.” [140]
[137] David Francis Roberts, “Javan,” in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, ed. James Orr (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., c1915, 1939), in The Sword Project, v. 1.5.11 [CD-ROM] (Temple, AZ: CrossWire Bible Society, 1990-2008).
[138] Horace J. Wolf, “Tiras,” in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, ed. James Orr (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., c1915, 1939), in The Sword Project, v. 1.5.11 [CD-ROM] (Temple, AZ: CrossWire Bible Society, 1990-2008).
[139] W. St. Clair Tisdall, “Madai,” and “Medes,” in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, ed. James Orr (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., c1915, 1939), in The Sword Project, v. 1.5.11 [CD-ROM] (Temple, AZ: CrossWire Bible Society, 1990-2008).
[140] George Ricker Berry, “Gomer,” in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, ed. James Orr (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., c1915, 1939), in The Sword Project, v. 1.5.11 [CD-ROM] (Temple, AZ: CrossWire Bible Society, 1990-2008).
Gen 10:2 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
Gen 10:2
Eze 38:6, “Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.”
Comments – Josephus tells us, “Gomer founded those whom the Greeks now call Galatians [Gauls], but were then called Gomerites.” ( Antiquities 1.6.1) Gesenius says that Togarmah (the Armenians) descended from Gomer. He says that Gomer is “understood to be the Cimerii () inhabiting the Tauric Ehersonese and the region near the Don and Danube,” who invaded Asia Minor during the sixth century B.C. BDB says Gomer was “the progenitor of the early Cimmerians and other branches of the Celtic family.” The ISBE says that Gomer is believed to be a reference to “a barbaric horde of Aryans who in the seventh century B.C. left Southern Russia and poured through the Caucasus into Western Asia.” [141] PTW says that they may have been “the Cimmerians of classical history.”
[141] George Ricker Berry, “Gomer,” in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, ed. James Orr (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., c1915, 1939), in The Sword Project, v. 1.5.11 [CD-ROM] (Temple, AZ: CrossWire Bible Society, 1990-2008).
Gen 10:2 Word Study on Magog” (2 nd nation) BDB says the Hebrew name “Magog” ( ) (H4031) means, “the land of Gog.” PTW says that it literally means, “covering, roof,” and “region of God.” The name Magog occurs only four times in the Old Testament and one time in the New Testament, being translated in the KJV as “Magog.” This name is referred to in the genealogies of Gen 10:1 and 1Ch 1:5. It also occurs in the end-time prophecies of Ezekiel (Gen 38:2-3; Gen 39:6) and the book of Revelation (Gen 20:8).
1Ch 1:5, “The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog , and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.”
Eze 38:2-3, “Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog , the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:”
Eze 39:6, “And I will send a fire on Magog , and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.”
Rev 20:8, “And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog , to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.”
Comments – Josephus ( Antiquities 1.6.1) and Gesenius believe these are the Scythians. The ISBE notes that some associate Magog with Lydia because of the “resemblance between the names Gog and Gyges (Gugu), king of Lydia.” [142] BDB says it refers to “the mountainous region between Cappadocia and Media.”
[142] John A. Lees, “Magog,” in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, ed. James Orr (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., c1915, 1939), in The Sword Project, v. 1.5.11 [CD-ROM] (Temple, AZ: CrossWire Bible Society, 1990-2008).
Gen 10:2 Word Study on “Madai” (3 rd nation) BDB says the Hebrew name “Madai” ( ) (H4074) means, “middle land.” Many believe Madai refers to the Medes, since the word Madia occurs 16 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as “Medes 8, Media 6, Madai 2.”
Comments – Josephus says, “Now as to Javan and Madai, the sons of Japhet; from Madai came the Madeans, who are called Medes by the Greeks; but from Javan, Ionia and all the Grecians are derived.” ( Antiquities 1.6.1) PTW suggests that Madai refers to the inhabitants of Media. BDB says Media was “located northwest of Persia proper, south and southwest of the Caspian Sea, east of Armenia and Assyria, and west and northwest of the great salt desert of Iram.”
Gen 10:2 Word Study on “Javan” (4 th nation) Gesenius says the Hebrew name “Javan” ( ) (H3120) comes from an unused root word that means, “boiling up, bubbling up, being in a ferment.” The Enhanced Strong says this name occurs 11 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as “Javan 7, Grecia 3, Greece 1.”
Comments – Gesenius believes Javan was a region east of Greece, and later became associated with “the rest of Greece.” Javan is generally considered to be identical with the name “Ion,” who was the father of the Ionians, who were the ancestors of the region of Greece. PTW suggests that Javan is “Ionia, and may denote the Greeks.”
Gen 10:2 Word Study on “Tubal” (5 th nation) BDB says the Hebrew name “Tubal” ( ) (H8422) means, “thou shall be brought.” The Enhanced Strong says this name is found 8 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as “Tubal 8.” Beside the two references in the genealogies of Genesis 10 and 1 Chronicles 1, this name only occurs in end-time prophecy. Note that the name “Tubal” is always used in juxtaposition with his brothers in Scripture (Gen 10:2, 1Ch 1:5, Isa 66:19, Eze 27:13; Eze 32:26; Eze 38:2-3; Eze 39:1).
1Ch 1:5, “The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal , and Meshech, and Tiras.”
Isa 66:19, “And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal , and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.”
Eze 27:13, “Javan, Tubal , and Meshech, they were thy merchants: they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market.”
Eze 32:26, “There is Meshech, Tubal , and all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, though they caused their terror in the land of the living.”
Eze 38:2-3, “Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal , and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal :”
Eze 39:1, “Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal :”
Comments – Josephus says, “Thobel (Tubal) founded the Thobelites, who are now called Iberes.”( Antiquities 1.6.1) PTW says that these are “a people of eastern Asia Minorcalled ‘Tabal’ in ancient Assyrian inscriptions.” BDB says it refers to “a region in east Asia Minorperhaps nearly equal to Cappadocia.”
Gen 10:2 Word Study on “Meshech” (6 th nation) Strong says the Hebrew name “Meschech” ( ) (H4902) means, “a sowing, a possession.” BDB says the name means, “drawing out.” PTW says that it means, “long, tall.” The Enhanced Strong says this word is found 9 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as “Meshech 8, Mesech 1.”
Comments – Some scholars believe that these people were located in the area of Armenia based upon a reference to Meschech by Herodotus, “ The Moschi [], Tibareni, Macrones, Mossynoeci, and Mares, the nineteenth province, were ordered to pay three hundred.” ( History of Herodotus 3.94) [143] Josephus says, “and the Mosocheni were founded by Mosoch; now they are Cappadocians. There is also a mark of their ancient denomination still to be shown; for there is even now among them a city called Mazaca, which may inform those that are able to understand, that so was the entire nation once called.” ( Antiquities 1.6.1) Note these comments from the ISBE regarding “Meshech.”
[143] Herodotus II, trans. A. D. Godley, in The Loeb Classical Library, eds. T. E. Page, E. Capps, and W. H. D. Rouse (London: William Heinemann, 1928), 123.
“It is thought that the ‘Tibareni and Moschi’ of the classical writers refer to the same people. Doubtless they appear in the annals of Assyria as enemies of that country under the names Tabali and Mushki–the latter the descendants of Meshech and the former those of Tubal to whom the term ‘Tibareni’ may refer in the clause above. This juxtaposition of names is in harmony with practically every appearance of the word in Scripture.” [144]
[144] Henry Wallace, “Meschech,” in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, ed. James Orr (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., c1915, 1939), in The Sword Project, v. 1.5.11 [CD-ROM] (Temple, AZ: CrossWire Bible Society, 1990-2008).
PTW suggests that they were the Musku, “a people who inhabited the land in the mountains north of Assyria.”
Gen 10:2 Word Study on “Tiras” (7 th nation) BDB says the Hebrew name “Tiras” ( ) (H8494) means, “desire.” This name only occurs two times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as “Tiras 2.” Note the other use:
1Ch 1:5, “The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.”
Comments – The ISBE says that the name Tiras refers to Tarshish, the Thracians (Thrakes) or “the Tursenioi, a race of Pelasgian pirates, who left many traces of their ancient power in the islands and coasts of the Aegean, and who were doubtless identical with the Etruscans of Italy.” [145] PTW says that they were “possibly the inhabitants of Thrace,” or perhaps “the Tyrsenoi, a people who inhabited the islands and coastlands of the Aegean.” Josephus says, “Thiras also called those whom he ruled over, Thirasians; but the Greeks changed the name into Thracians.” ( Antiquities 1.6.1)
[145] Horace J. Wolf, “Tiras,” in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, ed. James Orr (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., c1915, 1939), in The Sword Project, v. 1.5.11 [CD-ROM] (Temple, AZ: CrossWire Bible Society, 1990-2008).
Gen 10:3 And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.
Gen 10:3
1Ch 1:6, “And the sons of Gomer; Ashchenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.”
Jer 51:27, “Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillers.”
Comments – Josephus says, “Of the three sons of Gomer, Aschanax founded the Aschanaxians, who are now called by the Greeks Rheginians.” ( Antiquities 1.6.1) BDB says this is “a northern people, perhaps of Bithynia.” PTW suggests that this was a people “who dwelt near Ararat and Minni in eastern Armenia.”
Gen 10:3 Word Study on “Riphath” (9 th nation) BDB and PTW say the Hebrew name “Riphath” ( ) (H7384) means, “spoken.” This name is found only two times in the Scriptures (Gen 10:3, 1Ch 1:6). In the book of Chronicles it is found in the form “Diphath” ( ). This is considered an orthographical error, where a scribe accidentally wrote the Hebrew letter daleth ( ) instead of resh ( ). The error obviously occurred because the two letters are very similar in shape and in pronunciation.
1Ch 1:6, “And the sons of Gomer; Ashchenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.”
Comments – Josephus says, “So did Riphath found the Ripheans, now called Paphlagonians. ” ( Antiquities 1.6.1) PTW suggests that these were “the Paphlagonians on the Black Sea.”
Gen 10:3 Word Study on “Togarmah” (10 th nation) BDB says the Hebrew name “Togarmah” ( ) (H8425) means, “thou wilt break her.” Togarmah was the son of Gomer and grandson of Japhath. There are only four references to this name in the Old Testament, the other three being:
1Ch 1:6, “And the sons of Gomer; Ashchenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.”
Eze 27:14, “They of the house of Togarmah traded in thy fairs with horses and horsemen and mules.”
Eze 38:6, “Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.”
Comments – Josephus says, “and Thrugramma the Thrugrammeans, who, as the Greeks resolved, were named Phrygians.” ( Antiquities 1.6.1) PTW says they are “a people of the north who inhabited the mountains northwest of Mesopotamia, between Anti-Taurus and the Euphrates, or perhaps the area on the upper Euphrates between Samosata and Melita.” BDB suggests that these descendants dwelt in the area of Armenia. We can see the letters “armah” within the name.
Gen 10:4 And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
Gen 10:4
1Ch 1:7, “And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.”
Eze 27:7, “Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was that which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail; blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was that which covered thee.”
Comments – Josephus says, “Elisa gave name to the Eliseans, who were his subjects; they are now the Aeolians.” ( Antiquities 1.6.1) PTW says it may refer to “the people of Cyprus or the inhabitants of Alasiya, the country near Cilicia.”
Gen 10:4 Word Study on “Tarshish” (12 th nation) BDB says the Hebrew name “Tarshish” ( ) (H8659) means, “yellow jasper.” This word is used 28 times in the Old Testament as “Tarshish 24, Tharshish 4.”
Comments – Josephus says, “Tharsus to the Tharsians; for so was Cilicia of old called; the sign of which is this, that the noblest city they have, and a metropolis also, is Tarsus, the tau being by change put for the theta.” ( Antiquities 1.6.1) PTW suggests they are “a people who inhabited a region in Spain,” which may be the modern city of Tartessus near Gibraltar.
Gen 10:4 Word Study on “Kittim” (13 th nation) BDB says the Hebrew name “Kittim” ( ) (H3794) means, “bruisers.” PTW says that it means, “knotty.” The Enhanced Strong says this name is found 8 times in the Old Testament as “Chittim 6, Kittim 2.”
Num 24:24, “And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish for ever.”
1Ch 1:7, “And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.”
Isa 23:1, “The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.”
Isa 23:12, “And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arise, pass over to Chittim; there also shalt thou have no rest.”
Jer 2:10, “For pass over the isles of Chittim, and see; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing.”
Eze 27:6, “Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars; the company of the Ashurites have made thy benches of ivory, brought out of the isles of Chittim.”
Dan 11:30, “For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.”
Comments – Josephus says, “Cethimus possessed the island Cethima; it is now called Cyprus: and from that it is that all islands, and the greatest part of the seacoasts, are named Cethim (Kittim) by the Hebrews; and one city there is in Cyprus that has been able to preserve its denomination; it is called Citius by those who use the language of the Greeks, and has not, by the use of that dialect, escaped the name of Cethim.” ( Antiquities 1.6.1) PTW says it refers to “the inhabitants of Cyprus and the islands nearby.”
Gen 10:4 Word Study on “Dodanim” (14 th nation) BDB says the Hebrew name “Dodanim” ( ) (H1721) means “leaders.” The Hebrew text reads “Dodaniym” ( ) in Gen 10:4, but in its parallel passage in 1Ch 1:7 the Hebrew text reads “Rodaniym” ( ), although the KJV spells it as “Dodaniym” ( ). This is considered an orthographical error, where a scribe accidentally wrote the Hebrew letter daleth ( ) instead of resh ( ). The error obviously occurred because the two letters are very similar in shape and in pronunciation. [146]
[146] I have spent over a decade living and working in Uganda, East Africa, where Luganda is the national language. The leading university in the capital of Kampala is spelled “Makerere,” but the local people pronounce it “Makelele.” They have difficulty pronouncing the letter “r” simply because they articulate their words at the front of their mouths, while “r” is a guttural sound articulated deeper in the throat. Such distinctions in dialects and localized pronouncations could have let to the variant readings of “Dodanim” and “Rodanim” among the ancient Jews. For example, the book of Judges records the battle between the Gileadites and Ephriamites, in which one tribe distinguished between the other by asking their adversaries to pronounce “Shibboleth.” (Judges 12:6, “Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right.”) Judges 12:6 shows that the Hebrew silibant “shin” ( ) was also pronounced “sin” ( ) by the Ephraimites. The Scriptures also record that the apostle Peter spoke with a distinct dialect, “And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilaean, and thy speech agreeth thereto.” (Mark 14:70) Thus, the variant readings of “Dodanim” and “Rodanim” may simply be variations in pronunciations from different periods of Jewish history.
1Ch 1:7, “And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim .”
Comments – Because of the tremendous reverence that the Jews gave the Hebrew Scriptures, they feared to correct the text even when it was an obvious scribal error. Therefore, any corrections of recognized errors were made in the margin or footnote of the text, while the misspelled words were retained within in the text. 1Ch 1:7 gives us a classic example of this practice.
Because the LXX, the Samaritan Pentateuch, [147] 1Ch 1:7, and some of the manuscripts of the Massoretic Text read “Rodanim,” most scholars believe that the correct form should read “Rodanim.” As a result, some modern translations take the liberty to correct the reading, such as the NIV, “The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittim and the Rodanim ” (Gen 10:4) However, the majority of manuscripts of the Masoretic Text read “Dodanim,” so that the BHS retains this distinction. Regardless of the interpretation, it is generally agreed that this name refers to the Rhodians, which denotes the inhabitants of the island of Rhodes. Smith says, “ Dodanim is regarded as identical with the Dardani, who were found in historical times in Illyricum and Troy.”
[147] Samaritan Pentateuch, Der Hebrische Pentateuch der Samaritaner, ed. A. F. von Gall. Giessen: Verlag von Alfred Topelmann, 1918.
Gen 10:5 By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
Gen 10:5
Comments The Hebrew word ( ) (H339) is translated as either “islands, coastlands,” or “boundaries” in modern English versions.
(1) “Islands” – Some translations interpret this to mean that these were people that lived near the sea or migrated to the islands of the sea. The NIV reads, “the maritime peoples spread out into their territories” as if to say that it was the sons of Japheth that took to the seacoasts and populated the islands.
BBE, “From these came the nations of the sea-lands…”
Rotherham, “From these, were dispersed the inhabitants of the coastlands of the nations…”
RSV, “From these the coastland peoples spread”
(2) “ Boundaries ” – Other translations interpret this word to means cultural boundaries of nations. The NASB reads, “the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands”
ASV, “Of these were the isles of the nations divided in their lands”
LITV, “The coasts of the nations were divided by these in their lands each by his tongue”.
The translation “boundaries” means that Gen 10:5 refers to the entire list of seventy (70) Gentile nations that descended from the sons of Noah as listed in Gen 10:1-32.
Gen 10:5 Word Study on “of the Gentiles” Strong tells us that the Hebrew word “Gentiles ( ) ( ) (H1471) means, “ a foreign nation; hence, a Gentile.” The Enhanced Strong says i t is used 558 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as “ nation 374, heathen 143, Gentiles 30, people 11.”
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Gen 10:2. Sons of Japheth Japheth is here mentioned in his due rank, as the eldest, see Gen 10:21. He was known to the Greeks, under the name of Japetus, whom they acknowledge to have been their father: more ancient than Japetus, was a proverb among them, for any thing whose origin could not be known. Japheth had seven sons: Gomer, who inhabited Phrygia; Magog,
Scythia; Madai, Media; Javan, Ionia and Greece; Tubal, Tibarene; Meshech, Moschiah; Tiras, Thrace.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Gen 10:2 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
Ver. 2. The sons of Japheth. ] Not all, but the chief men of renown, Ethnarchs: think the same of the other two sons of Noah: seventy-one of their posterity are here registered (fourteen of Japheth, thirty-one of Ham, and twenty-six of Shem); hence it went for current among the ancients (grounding upon Gen 10:31-32 of this chapter) that the nations were afterwards distinguished by so many tongues and countries.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Gen 10:2-5
2The sons of Japheth were Gomer and Magog and Madai and Javan and Tubal and Meshech and Tiras. 3The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz and Riphath and Togarmah. 4The sons of Javan were Elishah and Tarshish, Kittim and Dodanim. 5From these the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.
Gen 10:2 Gomer This seems to refer to the Cimmerians (BDB 170), who are mentioned in Homer’s Iliad, chapter Gen 11:13-19. They inhabited northern Asia Minor. They possibly migrated north and became European tribal groups. This can be seen through a similar term for them in north Germany, Cimbi and in Wales, Cymri.
Magog There has been much discussion about this name because of its connection to Ezekiel 38-39 and end-time events. However, it must be asserted that Magog (BDB 156), along with Meshech and Tubal, also mentioned in Gen 10:2, are primarily tribes connected with Asia Minor and the coast of the Black Sea. It is quite possible that they migrated north and became the tribal groups of modern Russia. But, in ancient times, they were much closer to the Promised Land. Most assert that Magog is connected with the Scythians, southeast of the Black Sea. This information comes from Josephus.
Madai Most assert that this refers to the Medes (BDB 552), who lived south and southwest of the Caspian Sea, who become so important to Israel in their joining with Persia to overthrow the Neo-Babylon Empire (Nebuchadnezzar).
Javan This (BDB 402) seems to refer to the Ionian (southern) Greeks (cf. Dan 8:21; Dan 10:20; Dan 11:2). This group is spelled Javana in Sanskrit; Juna in old Persian and Jounan on the Rosetta stone. They later became, not only the kingdom of Greece, but possibly a part of the sea peoples in the Aegean area (i.e. Phoenicians and Philistines).
Tubal Many assert that this (BDB 1063) refers to the Tiberenians of central Asia Minor. Both Tubal and Meshech occur in Ezekiel 38-39 as residing in Asia Minor.
Meshech Many assert that this is a tribal group (BDB 604) who lived south and southwest of the Black Sea (cf. Eze 27:13; Eze 32:26; Eze 38:2; Eze 39:1). This information comes from Herodotus.
Tiras There have been several possible identifications for this group (BDB 1066), as is so common among commentators. Many of these names and locales are simply uncertain. The possibilities include (1) the Etruscans; (2) an Aegean pirate nation called Pelasgians; (3) Josephus says the Thracians; or (4) Rashi says that it refers to Persia.
Gen 10:3 Ashkenaz This is the name (BDB 79) adopted later by Jews of Europe (i.e. Germany). The current theories are (1) Scythians in the area of Germany; (2) people close to Lake Urumia; or (3) a tribal group of Bithynia in Asia Minor.
Riphath This has been alleged to be a tribal group (BDB 937) near the river Rhebas or a tribal group near the Bosphorus.
Togarmah These (BDB 1062) are (1) a tribal group in the area of Cappadocia in Asia Minor; (2) near the ancient city of Carchemish; or (3) a tribal group in Phrygia. All three of these possibilities are in modern Turkey.
Gen 10:4 Elishah Most assert that this refers (BDB 47) to the native population of Cypress. They are mentioned in Eze 27:7.
Tarshish Although Albright located this at Sardinia, most modern researchers locate it in southern Spain (i.e. Tartessos). It is mentioned in 2Ch 9:21; Psa 48:7; Psa 72:10; Jon 1:3; Jon 4:2).
Kittim There is a consistent opinion that this refers to the settlers on the east coast of Cypress (BDB 1076 II).
Dodanim Many assert that the similarity between the Hebrew letters, D () and R (), has been confused and that this refers to the tribal inhabitants of the Island of Rhodes (cf. NIV translation). However, others assert that it is northern Greece and still others say it is southern Italy. It is obvious that this is simply unknown (BDB 187).
Gen 10:5 From the coastlands of the nations This phrase is used metaphorically for far away peoples, but here it seems to refer to the inhabitants along the coast of the Mediterranean and Black Seas which follows the migration of the children of Japheth.
their lands. . .his language. . .their families. . .their nations This seems to be a fourfold division of how this chapter is divided: (1) geographically; (2) linguistically; (3) ethnically; and (4) politically.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
1 Gomer 2 Magog 3 Madai 4 Javan 5 Tubal 6 Meshech 7 Tiras
1 Progenitor of the ancient Cimerians and Cimbri, from whom are descended the Celtic family.
2 From Magog are descended the ancient Scythians, or Tartars, whose descendants predominate in the modern Russia. Eze 38:2; Eze 39:6; Rev 20:8.
3 Progenitor of the ancient Medes.
4 Progenitor of those who peopled Greece, Syria, etc.
5 Tubal’s descendants peopled the region south of the black Sea, from whence they spread north and south. It is probable that Tobolsk perpetuates the tribal name. A branch of this race peopled Spain.
6 Progenitor of a race mentioned in connection with Tubal, Magog, and other northern nations. Broadly speaking, Russia, excluding the conquests of Peter the Great and his successors, is the modern land of Magog, Tubal, and Meshech.
7 Progenitor of the Thracians.
From these seven sons of Japheth are descended the goyim, or Gentile, nations, trans. “heathen” 148 times in the A.V. The name implies nothing concerning religion, meaning simply, non-Israelite, or “foreigner.”
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Gen 10:21, 1Ch 1:5-7, Isa 66:19, Eze 27:7, Eze 27:12-14, Eze 27:19, Eze 38:2, Eze 38:6, Eze 38:15, Eze 39:1, Rev 20:8
Reciprocal: Gen 7:13 – and Shem Gen 9:19 – and of Psa 120:5 – Mesech Isa 60:9 – the isles Jer 51:28 – the kings Eze 27:13 – Javan Eze 32:26 – Meshech
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Gen 10:2. Moses begins with Japheths family, either because he was the eldest, or because it lay most remote from Israel, and had least concern with them at the time when he wrote; and therefore he mentions that race very briefly; hastening to give account of the posterity of Ham, who were Israels enemies, and of Shem, who were Israels ancestors: for it is the church of which the Scripture is designed to be the history: and of the nations of the world, only as they were some way or other interested in the affairs of Israel.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
10:2 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and {b} Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
(b) Of Madai and Javan came the Medes and Greeks.