the son of Noah, who is commonly named the third in order of
Noah’s sons, was born in the five hundredth year of that patriarch,
Genesis v, 32; but Moses, Genesis x, 21, says expressly he was the
oldest of Noah’s sons, according to our translation, and those of the
Septuagint and Symmachus. Abraham was named the first of Terah’s sons,
“not from primogeniture, but from preëminence,” as the father of the
faithful, and the illustrious ancestor of the Israelites, and of the
Jews, whose “seed was Christ,” according to the flesh; with whose
history the Old Testament properly commences: “Now these are the
generations of Terah,” &c, Gen. xi, 27; all the preceding parts of
Genesis being only introductory to this. By the same analogy, Shem, the
second son of Noah, is placed first of his three sons, Gen. v, 32, and
Japheth, “the eldest,” last. Compare Gen. x, 21; xi, 20. Thus Isaac is
put before Ishmael, though fourteen years younger, 1 Chron. i, 28. And
Solomon, the eldest, is reckoned the last of Bathsheba’s children, 1
Chron. iii, 5.
Japheth signifies _enlargement_; and how wonderfully did Providence
enlarge the boundaries of Japheth! His posterity diverged eastward and
westward; from the original settlement in Armenia, through the whole
extent of Asia, north of the great range of Taurus, distinguished by the
general names of Tartary and Siberia, as far as the Eastern Ocean: and
in process of time, by an easy passage across Behring’s straits, the
entire continent of America; and they spread in the opposite direction,
throughout the whole of Europe, to the Atlantic Ocean; thus literally
encompassing the earth, within the precincts of the northern temperate
zone. While the enterprising and warlike genius of this hardy hunter
race frequently led them to encroach on the settlements, and to dwell in
“the tents of Shem,” whose pastoral occupations rendered them more
inactive, peaceable, and unwarlike; as when the Scythians invaded Media,
and overran western Asia southwards, as far as Egypt, in the days of
Cyaxares; and when the Greeks, and afterward the Romans, subdued the
Assyrians, Medes, and Persians, in the east, and the Scythians and Jews
in the south, as foretold by the Assyrian Prophet Balaam:
“And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim,
And shall afflict the Assyrians, and afflict the Hebrews;
But he [the invader] shall perish himself at last.”
Numb. xxiv, 24.
And by Moses: “And the Lord shall bring thee [the Jews] into Egypt [or
bondage] again with ships,” &c, Deut. xxviii, 28. And by Daniel: “For
the ships of Chittim shall come against him” [Antiochus, king of Syria,]
Dan. xi, 30.
In these passages Chittim denotes the southern coasts of Europe,
bordering on the Mediterranean Sea, called the “isles of the Gentiles,”
Gen. x, 5. And, in later times, the Tartars in the east have repeatedly
invaded and subdued the Hindoos and Chinese; while the warlike and
enterprising genius of the British isles has spread their colonies,
their arms, their arts, and their language, and, in some measure, their
religion, from the rising to the setting sun.
The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and
Tiras. The Scripture says, that they peopled the isles of the Gentiles,
and settled in different countries, each according to his language,
family, and people, Genesis x, 5. It is supposed that Gomer peopled
Galatia, and that from him the Cimmerians, or Cimbrians, and also the
Phrygians, derived their origin; that Magog was the father of the
Scythians, and Tartars, or Tatars; that Madai was the progenitor of the
Medes, though some make him the founder of a people in Macedonia, called
Macdi; that from Javan sprung the Ionians and Greeks; that Tubal was the
father of the Iberians, and that at least a part of Spain was peopled by
him and his descendants; that Meshech was the founder of the
Cappadocians, from whom proceeded the Muscovites, or Russians; and that
from Tiras the Thracians derived their origin. Japheth was known, by
profane authors, under the name of Japetus. The poets make him father of
heaven and earth. The Greeks believed that Japheth was the father of
their race, and acknowledged nothing more ancient than him.
Noah’s sons, was born in the five hundredth year of that patriarch,
Genesis v, 32; but Moses, Genesis x, 21, says expressly he was the
oldest of Noah’s sons, according to our translation, and those of the
Septuagint and Symmachus. Abraham was named the first of Terah’s sons,
“not from primogeniture, but from preëminence,” as the father of the
faithful, and the illustrious ancestor of the Israelites, and of the
Jews, whose “seed was Christ,” according to the flesh; with whose
history the Old Testament properly commences: “Now these are the
generations of Terah,” &c, Gen. xi, 27; all the preceding parts of
Genesis being only introductory to this. By the same analogy, Shem, the
second son of Noah, is placed first of his three sons, Gen. v, 32, and
Japheth, “the eldest,” last. Compare Gen. x, 21; xi, 20. Thus Isaac is
put before Ishmael, though fourteen years younger, 1 Chron. i, 28. And
Solomon, the eldest, is reckoned the last of Bathsheba’s children, 1
Chron. iii, 5.
Japheth signifies _enlargement_; and how wonderfully did Providence
enlarge the boundaries of Japheth! His posterity diverged eastward and
westward; from the original settlement in Armenia, through the whole
extent of Asia, north of the great range of Taurus, distinguished by the
general names of Tartary and Siberia, as far as the Eastern Ocean: and
in process of time, by an easy passage across Behring’s straits, the
entire continent of America; and they spread in the opposite direction,
throughout the whole of Europe, to the Atlantic Ocean; thus literally
encompassing the earth, within the precincts of the northern temperate
zone. While the enterprising and warlike genius of this hardy hunter
race frequently led them to encroach on the settlements, and to dwell in
“the tents of Shem,” whose pastoral occupations rendered them more
inactive, peaceable, and unwarlike; as when the Scythians invaded Media,
and overran western Asia southwards, as far as Egypt, in the days of
Cyaxares; and when the Greeks, and afterward the Romans, subdued the
Assyrians, Medes, and Persians, in the east, and the Scythians and Jews
in the south, as foretold by the Assyrian Prophet Balaam:
“And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim,
And shall afflict the Assyrians, and afflict the Hebrews;
But he [the invader] shall perish himself at last.”
Numb. xxiv, 24.
And by Moses: “And the Lord shall bring thee [the Jews] into Egypt [or
bondage] again with ships,” &c, Deut. xxviii, 28. And by Daniel: “For
the ships of Chittim shall come against him” [Antiochus, king of Syria,]
Dan. xi, 30.
In these passages Chittim denotes the southern coasts of Europe,
bordering on the Mediterranean Sea, called the “isles of the Gentiles,”
Gen. x, 5. And, in later times, the Tartars in the east have repeatedly
invaded and subdued the Hindoos and Chinese; while the warlike and
enterprising genius of the British isles has spread their colonies,
their arms, their arts, and their language, and, in some measure, their
religion, from the rising to the setting sun.
The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and
Tiras. The Scripture says, that they peopled the isles of the Gentiles,
and settled in different countries, each according to his language,
family, and people, Genesis x, 5. It is supposed that Gomer peopled
Galatia, and that from him the Cimmerians, or Cimbrians, and also the
Phrygians, derived their origin; that Magog was the father of the
Scythians, and Tartars, or Tatars; that Madai was the progenitor of the
Medes, though some make him the founder of a people in Macedonia, called
Macdi; that from Javan sprung the Ionians and Greeks; that Tubal was the
father of the Iberians, and that at least a part of Spain was peopled by
him and his descendants; that Meshech was the founder of the
Cappadocians, from whom proceeded the Muscovites, or Russians; and that
from Tiras the Thracians derived their origin. Japheth was known, by
profane authors, under the name of Japetus. The poets make him father of
heaven and earth. The Greeks believed that Japheth was the father of
their race, and acknowledged nothing more ancient than him.