The Thoughts of Wesley son of Cornelius

“The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras. … The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittim and the Rodanim. (From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own language.” (Genesis 10:2, 4, 5 NIV)

Someone reading through his Bible might skip over this passage, or read it and not grasp what is mentioned. I have been surprised of the contents.

Many Biblical historians believe the following connections to the sons of Japheth.
1. Magog might possibly be the father of the Scythians.
2. Madia is probably the father of the Medes.
3. The Hebrews called the Greek the Javan. (see Daniel 8:21)
4. More of likely, the Kittim settled in Cyprus. (see Numbers 24:24)
5. Rodanim might be reflected in the Greek isle of Rhodes.

From this information, it appears Japheth’s descendants settled along the north of the Mediterranean Sea.

“The sons of Ham: Cush, Mizraim, Put and Canaan. … Mizraim was the father of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, Pathrusites, Casluhites (from whom the Philistines came) and Caphtorites. Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn, and of the Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites. Later the Canaanite clans scattered and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.” (Genesis 10:6, 13-19)

As with the descendants of Japheth, we can get an idea of where the Hamites settled.

1. The Hebrews referred to the Egyptians as Mizraim. Interestingly, Mizraim is dual and could possibly represent a Lower and Upper Egypt.
2. Clearly, Canaan settled in what would be eventually called the Promised Land.
3. Canaan was the father of the famous Hittites and Amorites.
4. The name Sidon is still used today for the city of the same name in Lebanon. This area was the area of the Phoenicians.

From this information, the majority of Ham’s descendants settled along the east and south coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. The Egyptians, Philistines, Phoenicians, and Greeks were all maritime people. Their early interactions might be evident in their written languages.