And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.
3. Ashkenaz ] Mentioned in Jer 51:27 along with Ararat; and now generally identified with the region of Armenia. It is worth noticing that the mediaeval Jews explained this name as denoting Germany. Thus the Ashkenazim are the German Jews.
Riphath ] In 1Ch 1:6 the name appears as “Diphath.” The letters, R ( ) and D ( ), are very similar in Hebrew. Cf. “Dodanim” for “Rodanim,” Gen 10:4. Josephus identified “Riphath” with the Paphlagonians. The name is now unknown.
Togarmah ] Mentioned also in Eze 27:14, with Javan, Tubal and Meshech; and in Eze 38:6, with Gomer, and generally identified with the western part of Armenia. Cf. 1Ch 1:6.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 3. Ashkenaz] Probably gave his name to Sacagena, a very excellent province of Armenia. Pliny mentions a people called Ascanitici, who dwelt about the Tanais and the Palus Maeotis; and some suppose that from Ashkenaz the Euxine Sea derived its name, but others suppose that from him the Germans derived their origin.
Riphath] Or Diphath, the founder of the Paphlagonians, which were anciently called Riphataei.
Togarmah.] The Sauromates, or inhabitants of Turcomania. See the reasons in Calmet.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Ashkenaz, whose seed possessed Pontus and Bithynia, and the neighbouring parts, from whom they took the names of the lake and haven called Ascanius, and the sea called Axenus, or Euxinus.
Riphath is called Diphath, 1Ch 1:6; the letters Daleth and Resh being oft interchanged, as we shall see in other instances. His posterity dwelled in or near Pontus and Bithynia, where Mela and Pliny and Solinus place the Riphaei, or Riphaces, and the Paphlagonians, who were anciently called Piphataei.
Togarmah, whose posterity are joined with Gomers; see Eze 27:14; 38:6; and were, as some think, the Phrygians and Galatians, and of them the Gauls and Germans; or, as others, the Armenians, and of them the Turks.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And the sons of Gomer,…. Who was the first of the sons of Japheth, three of whose sons are mentioned, and they are as follow:
Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah; the first of these seated himself in the lesser Asia, in Pontus and Bithynia, where were some traces of his name in the river Ascanius, and in the Ascanian lake or bay; and also in the lesser Phrygia or Troas, where was a city called Ascania, and where were the Ascanian isles x, and the Euxine Pontus, or Axeine y, as it was first called, which is the sea that separates Asia and Europe, and is no other than a corruption of the sea of Ashkenaz. It seems to have been near Armenia, by its being mentioned along with Minni or Armenia, in Jer 51:27. Germany is by the Jews commonly called Ashkenaz; perhaps some of the posterity of Ashkenaz in Asia might pass into Europe, and Germany might be a colony of them; so Mr. Broughton z observes of the sons of Gomer, that they first took their seat in Asia, and then came north and west into Muscovy and Germany. The next son of Gomer was Riphath. Josephus a says, that the Riphathaeans which came from him are the Paphlagonians, a people of Asia Minor, near Pontus, so that he settled near his brother Ashkenaz; perhaps his posterity are the Arimphaei of Pliny b, and the Riphaeans of Mela c, who inhabited near the Riphaean mountains, which might have their name from this son of Gomer, who in 1Ch 1:6 is called Diphath, the letters and being very similar. His third son is called Togarmah, who had his seat in the north of Judea, see
Eze 38:6 his posterity are the Phrygians, according to Josephus d; but some place them in Galatia and Cappadocia; and Strabo e makes mention of a people called Trocmi, on the borders of Pontus and Cappadocia; and Cicero f of the Trogmi or Trogini, who may have their name from hence; for the Greek interpreters always call him Torgama or Thorgana. The Jews make the Turks to be the posterity of Togarmah. Elias Levita says g, there are some that say that Togarmah is the land of Turkey; and Benjamin of Tudela h calls a Turkish sultan king of the Togarmans, that is, the Turks; and among the ten families of Togarmah, which Josephus ben Gorion i speaks of, the Turks are one; and perhaps this notion may not be amiss, since the company of Togarmah is mentioned with Gog, or the Turk, [See comments on Eze 38:6]. The Armenians pretend to be the descendants of Togarmah, who, with them, is the son of Tiras, the son of Gomer, by his son Haik, from whom they and their country, from all antiquity, have bore the name of Haik k.
x Strabo Geograph. l. 12. p. 387, 388. & l. 14. p. 468. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 4. 12. & 5. 30, 31, 32. y Vid. Orphei Argonautic, ver. 84. z See his Works, p. 2, 58. a Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 1.) b Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 2. c De Situ Orbis, l. 1. c. 2. d Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 1.) e Geograph. l. 4. p. 130. & l. 12. p. 390. f De Divinatione, l. 2. g In Tishbi, p. 259. h ltinerarium, p. 27, 54. i Hist. Heb. l. 1. c. 1. p. 3. k See the Universal History, vol. 1. p. 377.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(3) Gomer has three main divisions:
1. Ashkenaz, a region in the neighbourhood of Armenia (Jer. 51:27), whence, following the course of Japhethite migration, the race seems to have wandered into Germany. The derivations are all most uncertain; but the Jews call the Germans Ashkenazites, and are probably right.
2. Riphath, in 1Ch. 1:6, is called Diphath (see Dodanim, below). Riphath is probably right, and the, inhabitants of the Riphan Mountains (the Carpathians?) are the people meant. They were Celts.
3. Togarmah. Certainly Armenia.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
3. Sons of Gomer Sub-families of the Gomeridae, or Cimmerians, Kimbri .
Ashkenaz Or Askenaz. Kenaz means family, family of the Asi, who lived in the north-west of Asia Minor, and from whom Asia derives its name. (Knobel.) By metathesis the name becomes Aksenaz, possibly the old name of the Black Sea, which the Greeks called , Euxine . (Lewis . ) The Greek name is usually understood, however, to mean inhospitable .
Riphath The portion of the Kelts who, according to Plutarch, crossed the Rhipoen (Carpathian) mountains, and poured over northern Europe, seem to have preserved this name.
Togarmah The Armenians, who, according to their own historians, had Thorgon for their founder, and call themselves the house (family) of Thorgon. (Furst, Knobel.) They originally dwelt in Armenia and Asia Minor, but poured across the Hellespont into Europe before the dawn of history, and, according to Sallust, ( Jugurtha, 18,) spread over the Mediterranean peninsulas even to Spain. They are mentioned by Ezekiel (chap. 27:14) as trading at the Tyrian markets in horses, horsemen, and mules, which they brought down from the Armenian highlands to the sea.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And the sons of Gomer, Ashkenaz and Riphath and Togarmah. And the sons of Javan, Elishah and Tarshish, Kittim and Dodanim.’
Ashkenaz probably represents the ancestors of the Scythians. Togarmah may well relate to Tegarama witnessed to in 14th century BC as lying between Carchemish and Harran. Elishah, probably connected with the Alasia in the Amarna letters, and Kittim (Phoenician kt or kty), are the ancestors of Cyprus, and Dodanim possibly the ancestors of Rhodes. (In Hebrew d and r are easily confused and the Samaritan Pentateuch and some Hebrew manuscripts read r here. The Septuagint (LXX) also has ‘rodioi’ – see also 1Ch 1:7 which has Rodanim. Otherwise Dodanim is unidentifiable). Tarshish may represent the ancestors of Tartessus in South West Spain, but it simply means ‘refinery’ and could therefore be applied to a number of different places.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Gen 10:3. Sons of Gomer Who were three: Ashkenaz, inhabited Bythinia and Troas; Ripkath, Paphlagonia and the Riphaean mountains; Togarmah, Cappadocia.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Gen 10:3 And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.
Ver. 3. Ashkenaz. ] Hinc Tuiscones , or Duitschmen, say the Jews; making Ashkenaz the father of the Germans, as Gomer of the Cimbrians or Danes, and Meshec of the Muscovites. But of these things there is little certainty. See Breerwood’s Inquiries.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Reciprocal: 1Ch 1:6 – Ashchenaz Jer 51:27 – Ashchenaz Eze 27:14 – Togarmah Eze 38:6 – Togarmah