Genesis 10:4

10:4 The sons of Javan were Elishah, ¹  Tarshish, ²  the Kittim, ³  and the Dodanim. ⁴ 

Genesis 10:2

10:2 The sons of Japheth ⁵  were Gomer, ⁶  Magog, ⁷  Madai, ⁸  Javan, ⁹  Tubal, ¹⁰  Meshech, ¹¹  and Tiras. ¹² 

[10:4]  ¹ sn The descendants of Elishah populated Cyprus.

[10:4]  ² sn The descendants of Tarshish settled along the southern coast of what is modern Turkey. However, some identify the site Tarshish (see Jonah 1:3) with Sardinia or Spain.

[10:4]  ³ sn The name Kittim is associated with Cyprus, as well as coastlands east of Rhodes. It is used in later texts to refer to the Romans.

[10:4]  ⁴ tc Most of the MT mss read “Dodanim” here, but 1 Chr 1:7 has “Rodanim,” perhaps referring to the island of Rhodes. But the Qere reading in 1 Chr 1:7 suggests “Dodanim.” Dodona is one of the most ancient and revered spots in ancient Greece.

[10:2]  ⁵ sn The Greek form of the name Japheth, Iapetos, is used in Greek tradition for the ancestor of the Greeks.

[10:2]  ⁶ sn Gomer was the ancestor of the Cimmerians. For a discussion of the Cimmerians see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 49-61.

[10:2]  ⁷ sn For a discussion of various proposals concerning the descendants of Magog see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 22-24.

[10:2]  ⁸ sn Madai was the ancestor of the Medes, who lived east of Assyria.

[10:2]  ⁹ sn Javan was the father of the Hellenic race, the Ionians who lived in western Asia Minor.

[10:2]  ¹⁰ sn Tubal was the ancestor of militaristic tribes that lived north of the Black Sea. For a discussion of ancient references to Tubal see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 24-26.

[10:2]  ¹¹ sn Meshech was the ancestor of the people known in Assyrian records as the Musku. For a discussion of ancient references to them see E. M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (SBA), 24-26.

[10:2]  ¹² sn Tiras was the ancestor of the Thracians, some of whom possibly became the Pelasgian pirates of the Aegean.