Kingdom Come

The biblical Japheth had seven sons who left a legacy worth documenting. For sure these early fathers had more sons to populate the earth, but space does not allow for listing the entire genealogy of the human race. These few that are named can be collated with ancient historical ancestry, validating the biblical account found to great extent in Ezekiel 27.

“Now these are the generations of…Japheth…By these [sons of Japheth] were the isles of the Gentiles / Europeans divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.” (Genesis 10)

1. Consistent with Homer’s Iliad report of Iawones as ancestor of the Ionians, Josephus documents Javan as the founder of Ionia from whom all Grecians are derived, The transliteration from Javan to Iawon is obvious: J/I – a – v/w – a/o – n, with “es” a minor linguistic add-on like English John to German Johannes. Javan is translated phonetically throughout the English language Old Testament until Daniel and Zachariah where it is translated as “Greece”, consistent with its up and coming role in forwarding world events. The settlement pattern is consistent with the Ionians as the first-comers who would naturally cruise and settle the coastline with their limited crews, before venturing inland where, without naval homeland support, homesteading was a high risk venture – as per the Vikings in Greenland. Two of the biblical Javan’s documented four sons are memorialized in Greek history for following in their father Javan’s / Ionian’s footstep by founding the long-lasting Aeolian and Dorian tribes. At this time we see the inroads into the interior, as with the American colonies, while still stered to the south of a post-apocalyptic climate freeze.
   1. Javan’s son Elishah conforms to the Greek Aeolus whose early appearance in history is demonstrated by his ancient name still being used in the Armana tablets as the Alashia, by the Egyptians as the A-ra-sa, and by the Hitttites as Alasiya. Josephus wrote that Elisa founded the Eliseans from which we get Elysian Fields – the ultimate paradise a hero could achieve – again a blatant reference to the existence of demigods at that time. Joseph reports that by his day the name of the ancient Eliseans was changed to the Aeolians, perhaps reflecting their change in status from hybrid heroes to plan ol’ humans.
   2. Tarshish, Javan’s second son, did not stay at home in the Adriatic under his older brother’s rule continued sailing to the far reaches of the Mediterranean Sea, which was consequently once known as the Sea of Tarshish. Herodotus wrote that Tartessus was an unfrequented port beyond the Pillars of Hercules, now known as the Straits of Gibraltar. This aligns with the location of pre-Flood Atlantis, the re-establishment of which would certainly be a grand coup. However, per Herodutus, this was too far off the main trade routes to do much trade. Strabo located Tartessus in the Gualdalquivir Valley in Spain where is located the longest navigable river in Spain called the Tartessos, and in ancient times also an inland sea, the Tartessian Gulf, and a city of that name which, archeologically reveals Phoenician traits. In the 4th century BC the historian Ephorus describes “a very prosperous market called Tartessos, with much tin carried by river, as well as gold and copper from Celtic lands”. Because it is an essential component of bronze, and being comparatively rare, trade in tin was very lucrative during the Bronze Age. Tartessos became important trading partners of the Phoenicians. Josephus wrote that Tharsus was an older name of Cilicia in which was located the city of Tarsus (Paul’s home town). This was undoubtedly the eastern-most end of a west-to-east shipping route trading raw minerals for manufactured goods. Exactly like the shipping routes established between Europe and the New World and manned by – ta da! – second sons who chose to strike out from the financial limitations of primogeniture – the inheritance system that allocated the whole lot of it to the oldest son then his son, etc., leaving younger sons with nothing. As was the case with Jacob and Esau.This is, after all, the only way to preserve the Wealth of Nations – the land. After so many divisions over so many generations all that would be inherited would be a handkerchief-sized plot of land.
      1. England provides a sterling example of the sociological effects of primogeniture. “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a younger son in possession of no fortune must be in want of a job if they were to have any chance of continuing to live in the style to which they had grown up accustomed. Career paths weren’t that many if they wanted to maintain caste. The church was the steadiest, but not for the most ambitious. The law was riskier and required more graft and brains, but the financial rewards at the top were far greater. Medicine did not have quite the social and professional status that we now associate with it. The most glamorous options, especially during the Napoleonic Wars, were the navy and army. The former required leaving home at a very young age, about 12. Another option for the adventurous was the British colonies.
      2. The founding fathers of the Deep South landed in the Carolina Colony in 1670…The fundamental elements of Deep South culture were conceived in England in 1066 when William the Conqueror of the Norman Conquest
         established societal racism, caste stigmas, ostentatious lifestyles, oligarchical rule, primogeniture land rights and expansive militarism. Incredibly, the cultural changes forged during his tenure resonated for almost a millennium. After Spain (get it? Tarshish) expanded its territorial reach to the Americas, landless sons in search of fortunes emigrated first to the plantations in the Caribbean, “the richest and most horrifying society in the English-speaking world,” and a place notorious for its inhumanity. As North America opened up they then imported the brutal Barbadian slave-based culture with there with its strict caste system, a land-based aristocracy, and a myriad of ostentatious behaviors that…eventually tainted all of the southern colonies in British North America. The Barbadian slave-based traditions survived the American Revolution to seep into the cotton states in the young republic until confrontation with northern political forces triggered military confrontation. Bitter Civil War halted the expansion of the Deep South culture, but many traits imported from Europe through Barbados persist, to be defended by some and reviled by others, unto our day.
   3. Javan’s son Dodan conforms to the Greek Dorian. Dodanim is translated as Rodanim in the Septuagint (1 Chronicles 1:7) and is likely the origin of the name of the island of Rhodes, home to the Colossus idol. Get it? Giant? He was deified by his descendants and worshipped as the incarnation of Jupiter /  Zeus. By now we are all getting the resurrection of the gods, right? Greeks refer to the Dardani, or Dardanians of Asia Minor who remained settled in the area still today called the Dardanelles, AKA the Hellespont / Bridge to Greece. As the boundary between the continents Europe and Asia, the Dardanelles is a permanent battleground. Yep, right where you would post your strongest warriors. Egyptian records refer to the Drdny who were allied to the Hittites, at the civilization-changing battle of Kadesh against the Egyptians.We understand that vowels, being formed by the shaping of the lips which are extremely flexible so can vary even in the same language in local accents. (I once had a deep South girl tell me I needed a “lot” which I took to be an adjective indicating quantity but she meant as a noun indicating “a light to see by”.) Think Jon – Jan – Johan – Jen as the same name, so Dodan is also pronounced and spelled Dedan, which is listed among the high-status nations trading with Tyre (Ezekel 27:1-15). Think of this like having offices at Tyre’s World Trade Center. In every way, including the downfall – “all thy men of war, that are in thee, and in all thy company which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the midst of the seas in the day of thy ruin. The suburbs shall shake at the sound of the cry.” (Ezekiel 27:27-28)
   4. Javan’s son Kit, the founder of the Kittim, is found in Old Phoenician records name as Kt, or Kty who settled on island of Cyprus, giving name to the ancient Cypriot city of Kition, now the city of Larnaca. The Bible refers to these Greek warships from Kittim bringing destruction starting with a prophecy by Balaam around 1400 BC against Assyria and the Hebrews and culminating with Isaiah’s prophecies of against Tyre in the 8th century BC. Ezekiel references the importation of ivory through Kittim so clearly this was a major world trade center.
2. Gomer was actually the oldest son of Japheth so we would expect a prominent role in history. Gomer founded a people known to the ancient Greeks as the Cimmerians or Gimarrai (both C and G being guttural consonants and frequently interchanged in languages or dialects). The Greek writers Herodotus and Plutarch both identified Gomer with the district of Cimmeria, linguistically identifiable with modern Crimea and strategically as the northern hammer against the Hellespont.
   1. Ashkenaz in the Caucasus Mountains near Mount Ararat
   2. Riphath is memorialized in the Riphaean mountain range in what is now northeastern Turkey. Its ancient origins can be deduced by it being considered the northernmost boundary of the earth by early cosmographers. His descendants became known as Paphlagonians but their ancient Japhethite origin is recognized in their distinctive language and acknowledgment as one of the most ancient nations of Anatolia. They were listed among the allies of the Trojans in that most ancient of histories by Homer and Livy, and upon defeat a group of  Paphlagonians emigrated – or more likely were carried as captive slaves – to the northern end of the Greek side of the Adriatic coast.
   3. Togarmah – The names of the countries of Turkey and Turkmenistan are probably derived from Togarmah. Josephus wrote that the descendants of Togarmah were called Phyrgians by Greeks (Ant 1.6.1) The Hittites in the 14th century BC refer to Tegarama, a region on a main trade route between Carchemish and Haran. Records from Sargon II and Sennacherib mention the destruction of the city of Til-gari-manu, 30 miles east of modern Gurun in Turkey, destroyed in 695 BC and its inhabitants scattered by the Assyrians.
3. Magog is famous for leading the apocalypse prophesied in Ezekiel 38:1-39:1 and Revelation 20:8 representing the final opponents of God’s King. During the Cold War Magog was interpreted as Russia, which can certainly be included, but current events are actually more in line with Magog’s ancient land of Gog, being…the Ukraine. “Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog [who is] the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him [Magog], And say, Thus saith the LORD God; Behold, I am against thee…And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles…the nations that are in the four quarters of the earth [World War]…
   • Persia [always associated with the Medes] / Iran
   • Ethiopia
   • Libya
   • Gomer, and all his bands;
   • the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands:
   • and many people with thee…
4. Madai is the father of the Medes according to Josephus. Along with the Persians they are the ancestors of modern Iranians and have always lived south and west of the Caspian Sea. The Greek historians Strabo and Herodotus both confirm that the Medes were of Indo-European origin. The land of the Medes was often mentioned in Assyrian historical records, being conquered by Shalmaneser III (858 – 824 BC) and Adad-nirari III (810 – 781 BC), Tiglath-pileser III (743 BC), and Sargon II (716 BC). The Medes are also mentioned many times in the Bible, such as when Assyria deported the northern tribes of Israel to Media in 721 BC (2 Kings 17:6, 18:11) and King Darius the Mede overran Babylon in 539 BC (Daniel 5:30-31).
5. Tubal settled a region in the centre of Asia Minor / Anatolia / modern Turkey called Tabal in the Assyrian records of Tiglath-pileser I (1100 BC), where they were associated with the Muski (Meshech). Part of this region is the modern nation of Georgia, whose capital Tbilisi, may retain the name Tubal. Together with Tarshish, Javan and Meshech, they were known for their metallurgy and trade with Tyre (Ezek 27:13). Josephus calls Tubal’s descendants the Thobelites, later known as the Iberes or Iberians (Spain) (Ant 1.6.1). Nennius states that the Iberian, Spanish and Italians – quite likely the Etruscans – were also descended from Tubal.
6. Meschech founded a small but formidable warrior kingdom in Asia Minor, known as Moschoi in Greek and Muski in Assyrian. The Muski later migrated to an area of Armenia, south-east of the Black Sea, establishing mountain strongholds. Mita, the Muski ruler in Asia Minor is probably to be identified with the legendary king Midas of Greek tradition. There is a possible connection between Mechesh and the old tribal name of the Muscovites of Russia, after whom Moscow (Moskva) is named, and the lowland around Moscow retains the name of Meshech in “Meschera”.
7. Tiras was worshipped by his descendants as Thuras or Thor, the god of thunder and war. Troy was named after him as well as the Taurus mountain range. His people were called the Thracians (and marauding pirates) by the Greeks.They covered an exceptionally large region which including most of Yugoslavia to the Adriatic in the west and Macedonia in the south reaching to the Danube in the north and the Black Sea in the east.