Genesis 10:2

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 10:2 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “The sons of Japheth: Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

The sons of Japheth: Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
Genesis 10:2 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 10

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
2The sons of Japheth: Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“The sons of Japheth, etc.] 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 f518 often calls iapetionidhv, “Iapetionides”, and him iapetov, “Iapetus”. According to Josephus f519, 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 f520, 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…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“- 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 Moschoi, תירס tı̂yrās, “Tiras;” Θρᾷξ Thrax. 3. אשׁכנו 'ashkenaz, “Ashkenaz,” Ἀσκάνιος Askanios. ריפת rı̂ypat, “Riphath,” ὄρη Ῥίπαια oree Ripaia, תגרמה togarmâh “Togarmah, Thorgom, ancestor of the Armenians.” 4. אלישׁה 'elı̂yshâh, “Elishah;” Ἧλις Eelis, Ἑλλὰς Hellas, Αἰολεῖς Aioleis. תדשׁישׁ tarshı̂ysh, “Tarshish,…”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“10:2-32 This section describes the ancestral origin of the nations of the ancient Near East. Ham was at the center (10:6-20), while the descendants of Japheth and Shem spread out to the surrounding regions of Greece, Crete, Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, Madai, the Arabian peninsula, and northeast Africa. The list selectively highlights nations relevant to Israel. The total of seventy (seven times ten) names indicates completeness (see 46:27; Deut 32:8) and symbolizes the totality of the world, which would later be blessed by the descendants of Abraham (Gen 18:18). • Although Shem is mentioned first in 10:1, he is addressed last in the Table because of his connection to Abram (10:21-31; 11:10-32;…”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification