Genesis 10:4

_AND THE SONS OF JAVAN; ELISHAH, AND TARSHISH, KITTIM, AND DODANIM._ The sons of Javan; Elishah. Since the descendants of Javan populated Greece, we must seek "Elishah" in some part of that country. Josephus, followed by Knobel, identifies the name with the Aeolians, a race who, addicted to maritime pursuits, settled in various parts of Greece. But since the fabrics of purple and scarlet formed a principal part of their exports to the Tyrian market (Ezekiel 27:27), it is probable that their headquarters was the Peloponnesus. TARSHISH. This is perhaps the ancient Aramaic form of Tartessus, a city and emporium in the south of Spain, situated between the two mouths of the Boetis or Guadalquiver; or it may be applied to the whole Spanish peninsula, or in general to the countries of Western Europe ...

1-7 This chapter shows concerning the three sons of Noah, that of them was the whole earth overspread. No nation but that of the Jews can be sure from which of these seventy it has come. The lists of names of fathers and sons were preserved of the Jews alone, for the sake of the Messiah. Many learned men, however, have, with some probability, shown which of the nations of the earth descended from each of the sons of Noah To the posterity of Japheth were allotted the isles of the gentiles; probably, the island of Britain among the rest. All places beyond the sea from Judea are called isles, Jeremiah 25:22. That promise, Isaiah 42:4, The isles shall wait for his law, speaks of the conversion of the gentiles to the faith of Christ....

Verse Genesis 10:4. _ELISHAH_] As _Javan_ peopled a considerable part of _Greece_, it is in that region that we must seek for the settlements of his descendants; _Elishah_ probably was the first who settled at _Elis_, in Peloponnesus. _TARSHISH_] He first inhabited _Cilicia_, whose capital anciently was the city of _Tarsus_, where the Apostle Paul was born. _KITTIM_] We have already seen that this name was rather the name of a _people_ than of an _individual_: some think by _Kittim_ Cyprus is meant: others, the isle of Chios; and others, the _Romans_; and others, the _Macedonians_. _DODANIM._] Or _Rodanim_, for the ד and ר may be easily mistaken for each other, because of their great similarity. Some suppose that this family settled at D

- Section VIII - The Nations - Japheth 2. גמר _gomer_, “Gomer, completion; related: complete;” Κιμμέριοι _Kimmerioi_. מגוג _māgôg_, “Magog, Caucasian, Skyth.” מדי _māday_, “Madai, middle: Mede.” יון _yāvān_, “Javan”; Ἰάων _Iaōn_; “Sanskrit, Javana; Old Persian, Juna.” תבל _tubāl_, “Tubal”; Τιβαρηνοὶ _Tibareenoi_. משׁך _meshek_, “Meshek, drawing possession, valor”; Μόσχοι

PART II. THE POST-DILUVIAN AGE OF THE WORLD. CH. 10:1-11:26. FROM THE DELUGE TO THE CALL OF ABRAM. § 5. THE GENERATIONS or THE SONS OF NOAH (CH. 10:1-11:9). I. THE _historical credibility _of the present section has been challenged. 1. On account of a fancied resemblance to the ethnographic mythologies of Greece, the genealogical table of the nations has been relegated to the category of fictitious invention. It has been assigned by many critics to a post-Mosaic decried, to the days of Joshua (Delitzsch), to the age of Hebrew intercourse with the Phenician Canaanites (Knobel), to the era of the exile ...

AND THE SONS OF JAVAN,.... Another son of Japheth; four sons of Javan are mentioned, which gave names to countries, and are as follow: ELISHAH, AND TARSHISH, KITTIM, AND DODANIM; the first of these, Elishah, gave name to the Elysaeans, now called Aeoles, as Josephus l says; hence the country Aeolia, and the Aeolic dialect, all from this name; and there are many traces of it in the several parts of Greece. Hellas, a large country in it, has its name from him; so the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem interpret Elishah by Allas. Elis in Peloponnesus, Eleusis in Attica, the river Elissus, or Ilissus, and the Elysian fields, are so called from him. Tarshish, second son of Javan, gave name to Tarsus, by which Cilicia was formerly called, as Josephus says m, of which the city named Tarsus was the metropolis, the birth place of the Apostle Paul, Acts 22:3. Hence the Mediterranean sea is

V. THE GENERATIONS OF THE SONS OF NOAH CHAPTER 10 Shem, Ham, and Japheth and Their Seed _ 1. The sons of Japheth (Genesis 10:2)_ 2. The sons of Ham (Genesis 10:6) 3. The sons of Shem (Genesis 10:21) Here we have the beginning of the nations. God knows them and keeps track of the nations of the earth. The order of the sons of Noah is here changed. Japheth comes first. Ham's place is unchanged. Shem comes last. This order is given in view of Noah's prophecy. Among the descendants of Ham we find Nimrod, a mighty hunter. His name means “Let us rebel.” Here also we find Babel mentioned for the first time. Babylon has for its founder “a mighty one in the earth-a mighty hunter.” Mentioned

GENESIS 10. THE TABLE OF NATIONS. From P and J. To P we may assign Genesis 10:1; Genesis 10:20; Genesis 10:31 f. The rest belongs to J, for the most part to its secondary stratum, with some elements from R. The genealogy, as was customary among the Semites, expresses national rather than individual relationships. The true character of the lists may be seen quite clearly from many of the names, which are names of countries (_e.g._ Cush, Mizraim, Ophir), or cities (_e.g._ Tarshish, Zidon), or peoples (_e.g._ Ludim). It is an attempt to explain the origin of the various nations, before the author proceeds to the special ancestry of Israel. It is of great importance for the Hebrew view of other peoples, alike

_the sons of Javan_ The names here mentioned are evidently geographical. Javan's sons are well-known Greek colonies and settlements or communities. This example will serve to illustrate the composition of the genealogical list. _Elishah_ Mentioned in Ezekiel 27:7 as a place from which there was a trade in purple. Josephus identified it with the Æolians. Other conjectures have been Hellas, Elis, Sicily, and Carthage. Possibly, it is Alasa, the modern Cyprus. _Tarshish_ Probably the ancient commercial town of Tartessus, at the mouth of the river Guadalquivir. It is classed with the isles in Psalms 72:10; Isaiah 60:9. Its trade is mentioned in...

_GENESIS 10:4_. S_ONS OF JAVAN_— Who were four: Elishah, inhabited Elis and Peloponnesus; Tarshish, Cilicia, whose capital was Tarsus; Kittim, Macedonia; Dodanim, or Rhodanim, Epirus. Bochart observes, that Rhodanim peopled France, and gave its name to the river Rhodanus....