Coordinates	40°42′15.0″N73°55′4.0″N
Name	Cushitic
Region	Horn of Africa
Familycolor	Afro-Asiatic
Iso2	cus
Fam1	Afroasiatic
Child1	? ''Beja'' (North)
Child2	Agaw (Central)
Child3	Sidamic (East Highlands)
Child4	? Dullay
Child5	? ''Yaaku''
Child6	East Lowlands
Child7	? Dahalo
Child8	? Rift (South)
Iso5	cus
Map	Cusitas.png
Mapcaption	Cushitic (dark green) and other Afroasiatic (medium green) }}

The Cushitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family spoken in the Horn of Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Sudan and Egypt. They are named after the Biblical character Cush, who was identified as an ancestor of the speakers of these specific languages as early as AD 947 (in Masudi's Arabic history ''Meadows of Gold''). The most populous Cushitic language is Oromo with about 35 million speakers, followed by Somali with about 18 million speakers, and Sidamo in Ethiopia with about 2 million speakers. Other languages with more than one million speakers are Hadia (1.6 million), Kambata (1.4 million), and Afar (1.5 million).

Composition

There are eight clearly valid groups of languages which are or have been included in the Cushitic family, and there is a wide range of opinions as to how they are interrelated.

The Beja language, or ''North Cushitic,'' is sometimes placed outside Cushitic proper, though there is no evidence that the rest of Cushitic forms a valid group.

The positions of the small Dullay languages and Yaaku are uncertain. These have traditionally been assigned to an ''East Cushitic'' branch along with Highland (Sidamic) and Lowland East Cushitic. However, Richard Hayward believes East Cushitic may not be a valid node and breaks it into three well-supported families: Highlands, a diverse Lowlands family (with ''Afar, Somalic,'' and ''Oromic'' branches), and ''Dullay'' (he apparently leaves Yaaku unclassified), which he believes should be considered separately when attempting to work out the internal relationships of Cushitic.

Hetzron (1980:70ff) and Ehret (1995) have suggested that the Rift languages ''(South Cushitic)'' are a part of Lowland East Cushitic.

Cushitic was traditionally seen as also including the Omotic languages, then called ''West Cushitic.'' However, this view has largely been abandoned, primarily due to the work of Harold C. Fleming (1974) and M. Lionel Bender (1975). These scholars consider Omotic to be an independent branch of Afroasiatic. While some scholars including Zaborski (1986) and Lamberti (1991) have kept the issue alive and suggested that Omotic can still be classified as part of Cushitic, Rolf Theil (2006), in keeping with the noted Chadicist Paul Newman, excludes Omotic from Afroasiatic altogether.

References

Ethnologue entry for Cushitic languages

Bender, Marvin Lionel. 1975. Omotic: a new Afroasiatic language family. Southern Illinois University Museum series, number 3.

Bender, M. Lionel. 1986. A possible Cushomotic isomorph. Afrikanistische Arbeitspapiere 6:149-155.

Fleming, Harold C. 1974. Omotic as an Afroasiatic family. In: Proceedings of the 5th annual conference on African linguistics (ed. by William Leben), p 81-94. African Studies Center & Department of Linguistics, UCLA.

Roland Kießling & Maarten Mous. 2003. ''The Lexical Reconstruction of West-Rift Southern Cushitic.'' Cushitic Language Studies Volume 21

Lamberti, Marcello. 1991. Cushitic and its classification. Anthropos 86(4/6):552-561.

Zaborski, Andrzej. 1986. Can Omotic be reclassified as West Cushitic? In Gideon Goldenberg, ed., Ethiopian Studies: Proceedings of the 6th International Conference, pp. 525–530. Rotterdam: Balkema.

External links

http://www.summerschools.leidenuniv.nl/content_docs/cushitic_bibliography_ss.doc

http://www.msu.edu/~hudson/HECrefs.htm

Category:Afro-Asiatic languages *

ar:لغات كوشية br:Yezhoù kouchitek bg:Кушитски езици ca:Llengües cuixítiques cs:Kušitské jazyky de:Kuschitische Sprachen el:Κουσιτικές γλώσσες es:Lenguas cushitas eo:Kuŝida grupo eu:Cushit hizkuntzak fr:Langues couchitiques ko:쿠시어파 hsb:Kušitske rěče hr:Kušitski jezici it:Lingue cuscitiche he:שפות כושיות ka:ქუშიტური ენები la:Linguae Chusiticae nl:Koesjitische talen no:Kusjittiske språk nn:Kusjittiske språk oc:Lengas coshiticas om:Kushi pms:Lenghe cussìtiche pl:Języki kuszyckie pt:Línguas cuchíticas ru:Кушитские языки so:Luqadaha Kushiitiga sr:Кушитски језици sh:Kušitski jezici fi:Kuušilaiset kielet sv:Kushitiska språk ta:குஷிட்டிக் மொழிகள் ur:کوشیائی زبانیں zh:庫希特語族

The Seventy Nations or Sons of Noah is an extensive list of descendants of Noah appearing in of the Hebrew Bible, representing an ethnology from an Iron Age Levantine perspective. The significance of Noah in this context is that, according to Genesis, the population of the Earth was completely destroyed during the Flood because of the wickedness of the inhabitants, and Noah and his family were the sole eight survivors to continue the human race. The view of history presented by the Bible is thus that all humans on Earth are descended from Noah's family, and thereby related.

Historicity and coverage

A literal interpretation of suggests that the present population of the world was descended from Noah's three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their wives. Until the mid-19th century, this was taken by many as historical fact, and still is by many Orthodox Jews, Muslims, and Christians.

There are disputes about how many of the peoples of the Earth this story was intended to cover, and as to its accuracy. Many Jews, Christians, and Muslims retain the belief that the table applies to the entire population of the earth, while others read it as a guide only to local ethnic groups.

In the Biblical view, the listed children of Japheth, Shem and Ham correspond to various historic nations and peoples. In the typical interpretation, these sons of Noah correspond to three races: European, Semitic, and African. Alternate divisions claim Euro-Asian Japhet, Semitic Shem, and Afro-Asian Ham.

Table of nations

According to Genesis 10, Noah had three sons:

Ham, forefather of the southern peoples (Hamitic)

Shem, forefather of the middle peoples (Semitic)

Japheth, forefather of the northern peoples (Japhetic Eurasia)

The names of these sons are thought to have significance related to Semitic roots. ''Ham'' means "warm". ''Shem'' merely means "name" or "renown", "prosperity". ''Japheth'' means "open".

It then proceeds to detail their descendants. The identification of several of the first generation is aided by the inclusion of the second, although several of their identifications are less certain. (The copy of the table in the biblical book of 1 Chronicles chapter 1 has occasional variations in the second generation, most likely caused by the similarity of Hebrew letters such as ''Resh'' and ''Daleth''). Forms ending in ''-im'' are plurals, probably indicating names of peoples, and not intended as the name of a single person.

Japheth's descendants

Gomer, son of Japheth. Usually identified with the migratory ''Gimirru'' (Cimmerians) of Assyrian inscriptions, attested from about 720 BC.

Ashkenaz, son of Gomer. It has been conjectured that this name arose from a misprint in Hebrew for "Ashkuz", by reading a ''nun'' for a vav. ''Ashkuz'' and ''Ishkuz'' were names used for the Scythians, who first appear in Assyrian records in the late 8th century in the Caucasus region, and at times occupied vast areas of Europe and Asia. Additionally, in Medieval Hebrew, Germany is known as ''Ashkenaz'', and is the origin of the term ''Ashkenazic Jews''.

Riphath (''Diphath'' in Chronicles), son of Gomer. Identification with Paphlagonians of later antiquity has been proposed, but this is uncertain.

Togarmah, son of Gomer. Some Armenian and Georgian traditions have claimed descent from Togarmah; other authors have attempted to connect them with Turkic peoples.

Magog, son of Japheth. This name appears in the Assyrian texts as ''mat gugu'', The Land of Gugu, and means Lydia. Gugu is known in Greek texts as Gyges of Lydia, a historical king of Lydia and the founder of the Mermnad dynasty (ruled c.716-678 BCE). Is claimed as an ancestor in both Irish and Hungarian medieval traditions. Flavius Josephus, followed by Jerome and Nennius, makes him ancestor of the Scythians who dwelt north of the Black Sea. Madai, son of Japheth. The Medes of Northwest Iran first appear in Assyrian inscriptions as ''Amadai'' in about 844 BC. Javan, son of Japheth. This name is said to be connected with the Ionians, one of the original Greek tribes.

Elishah, son of Javan. Identifications have been proposed with various Aegean peoples such as Elis of northwestern Peloponnesos, or Ellis of Phthia.

Tarshish (''Tarshishah'' in Chronicles), son of Javan. Has been variously connected with Tarsus in Anatolia, or Tartessus in southern Spain.

Kittim, offspring of Javan. Usually connected with Kition in Cyprus, but name appears in other texts with a variety of interpretations.

Dodanim (''Rodanim'' in Chronicles), offspring of Javan. Usually connected with large Aegean island of Rhodes near the coast of Asia Minor.

Note: the Greek Septuagint (LXX) of Genesis includes an additional son of Japheth, "Elisa", in between Javan and Tubal; however, as this name is found in no other ancient source, nor in I Chronicles, he is almost universally agreed to be a duplicate of Elisha, son of Javan. Nevertheless, the presence of Elisa (as well as that of Cainan son of Arpachshad, below) in the Greek Bible accounts for the traditional enumeration among early Christian sources of 72 families and languages, from the 72 names in this chapter, as opposed to the 70 names, families and languages usually found in Jewish sources.

Tubal, son of Japheth. He is connected with Tabal, an Anatolian kingdom, and by way of the ancient tribe of the Tibareni both with the Iberians of the Caucasus and those of the Iberian peninsula (modern Spain and Portugal). Sometimes he is also seen as the ancestor of the Illyrians and Italics. In the book of Jubilees he was bequeathed the three 'tongues' of Europe. Meshech, son of Japheth. He is regarded as the eponym of the Mushki tribe of Anatolia. The Mushki are sometimes considered one of the ancestors of the Georgians, but also became connected with the Sea Peoples who roved the Mediterranean Sea. Some consider him father of Moscow, combining his name Meshech (Msc) and his wife's name, Kva (Cwa). Tiras, son of Japheth. This name is usually connected with that of Thracians, an ancient nation first appearing in written records around 700 BC. It has also been associated with some of the Sea Peoples such as Tursha and Tyrsenoi, with the river Tiras (Dniester), and sometimes with the Anatolian region of Troas, dating to the later 13th century BC. In tractate Yoma, of the Talmud, it states that Tiras is Persia.

Japheth is traditionally seen as the ancestor of Europeans, as well as some more eastern nations; thus ''Japhetic'' has been used as a synonym for Caucasians. ''Caucasian'' itself derives in part from the assumption that the tribe of Japheth developed its distinctive racial characteristics in the Caucasus, where Mount Ararat is located. The term Japhetic was also applied by the early linguists (brothers Grimm, William Jones, Rasmus C. Rask and others) to what later became known as the Indo-European language group, on the assumption that, if descended from Japheth, the principal languages of Europe would have a common origin, which apart from Uralic, Kartvelian, Pontic, Dagestanian, and Basque, appears to be the case. In a conflicting sense, the term was also used by the Soviet linguist Nikolai Marr in his Japhetic theory intended to demonstrate that the languages of the Caucasus formed part of a once-widespread pre-Indo-European language group.

Ham's descendants

Cush, son of Ham. The Empire of Kush to the south of Egypt is known from at least 1970 BC, but this name has also been associated by some with the Kassites who inhabited the Zagros area of Mesopotamia, the Sumerian city of Kish.

Seba, son of Cush. Has been connected with both Yemen and Ethiopia, with much confusion with Sheba below. (The Shibboleth-like division amongst the Sabaeans into ''Sheba'' and ''Seba'' is acknowledged elsewhere, for example in Psalm 72, leading scholars to suspect that this is not a mistaken duplication of the same name, but a genuine historical division. The significance of this division is not yet completely understood, though it may simply reflect which side of the sea each was on.)

Havilah, son of Cush. Usually considered to be a part of the Arabian peninsula near the Red Sea.

Sabtah, son of Cush. Sometimes connected with Hadhramis (their ancient capital being Saubatha) in eastern Yemen.

Raamah, son of Cush. Has been connected with Rhammanitae mentioned by Strabo in the southwest Arabian peninsula, and with an Arabian city of Regmah at the head of Persian Gulf.

*Sheba, son of Raamah. Has been connected with Sabaeans and peoples on either side of the narrowest part of the Red Sea, in both Yemen/South Arabia, and Eritrea/Ethiopia/Somalia.

*Dedan, son of Raamah. Apparently a region of the Tabuk Province of Saudi Arabia.

Sabtechah, son of Cush. Possibly Sabaiticum Ostium, Sabaeans living around a specific harbour in Eritrea.

Nimrod, son of Cush, also identified as a ''mighty hunter before God'', and the founder of ancient Babel, Akkad, Sumer, and possibly cities in Assyria. The Hebrew wording of Genesis 10:11 has led to some ambiguity as to whether ''Asshur'' here is the son of Shem or a city built by Nimrod; either interpretation can be found in various modern versions.

Mizraim, son of Ham. Mizraim is a name for Upper and Lower Egypt and literally translates as ''Ta-Wy'' in Ancient Egyptian ("The Two Lands"). The ''-aim'' in ''Mizraim'' represents dual number. Arabic-speaking modern Egyptians refer to their country as ''miṣr''.

Ludim, offspring of Mizraim. Sometimes considered a scribal error for ''Lubim'', a reference to the Lebou of Eastern Libya.

Anamim, offspring of Mizraim. There is a reference in an Assyrian inscription from Sargon II's time to Anami, a tribe located in Cyrene, Libya.

Lehabim, offspring of Mizraim. Identification uncertain, possibly Libya.

Naphtuhim, offspring of Mizraim. Has been connected with Na-Ptah, the Egyptian form of Memphis.

Pathrusim, offspring of Mizraim. Possibly connected with Egyptian word ''Pa-To-Ris'' meaning ''southerners''.

Casluhim ("out of whom came Philistim").(, )

Caphtorim, offspring of Mizraim, associated with Caphtor in northeast Egypt near Philistia.(, )

Phut, son of Ham. Ancient authorities are fairly universal in identifying Phut with the Libyans (''Lebu'' and ''Pitu''), the earliest neighbors of Egypt to the west. (Although more recent theories have tried to connect Phut with Phoenicia, or the currently unidentified Land of Punt.)

Canaan, son of Ham. This is known to be the name of a nation and people who settled the Eastern shore of the Mediterranean in what is now called Israel and Lebanon and Syria.

Sidon, firstborn son of Canaan, and name one of the oldest city-states on the Phoenician coast.

Heth, son of Canaan, considered ancestor of "Hittites", a people of Canaan, possibly connected with Hatti, a powerful entity in Anatolia.

"the Jebusite", offspring of Canaan, a tribe that lived around Jerusalem, that was formerly known as ''Jebus'' according to the Books of Kings.

"the Amorite", offspring of Canaan, a people living between the Jordan and Euphrates rivers by at least 2000 BC, known as ''Amurru'' to the Akkadians and Egyptians.

*"the Girgasites", offspring of Canaan

*"the Hivite", offspring of Canaan

"the Arkite", offspring of Canaan, probably city-state of Arqa in Phoenicia.

"the Sinite", offspring of Canaan, possibly connected with the Wilderness of Sin, or the Sinn river in Syria.

"the Arvadite", offspring of Canaan, refers to the Phoenician city-state of Arwad, now; inhabited island in Syria.

"the Zemarite", offspring of Canaan, refers to the Phoenician city-state of Zemar.

"the Hamathite", offspring of Canaan, refers to Syrian city of Hamath.

Africans were thus anciently understood to be the sons of Ham, particularly his descendant Cush, as Cushites are referred to throughout scripture as being the inhabitants of East Africa, and they and the Yoruba still trace their ancestry through Ham today. Beginning in the 9th century with the Jewish grammarian Judah ibn Quraysh, a relationship between the Semitic and Cushitic languages was seen; modern linguists group these two families, along with the Egyptian, Berber, Chadic, and Omotic language groups into the larger Afro-Asiatic language family. In addition, languages in the southern half of Africa are now seen as belonging to several distinct families independent of the Afro-Asiatic group. Some now discarded Hamitic theories have become viewed as racist; in particular a theory proposed in the 19th century by Speke, that the Tutsi were supposedly Hamitic and thus ''inherently superior''.

The 17th-century Jesuit, Athanasius Kircher, thought that the Chinese had also descended from Ham, via Egyptians.

Shem's descendants

Shem is traditionally held to be the ancestor of the Semitic people; Religious Jews and Arabs consider themselves sons of Shem through Arpachshad (thus, Semites).

In the view of some 17th century European scholars (e.g., John Webb), the people of China and India descended from him as well.

Elam, son of Shem. The Elamites called themselves the ''Haltamti'' and had an empire (capital Susa) in what is now Khuzistan, modern Iran. Elamite, however, is a non-Semitic language. It has been controversially grouped with the modern Dravidian languages, into "Elamo-Dravidian". Ashur, son of Shem. The Assyrians traced themselves to the god-ancestor ''Ashur'' and the city he founded by that name on the Tigris. Arpachshad, (also transcribed ''Arphaxad'') son of Shem. He or his immediate descendants are credited in Jewish tradition with founding the city of Ur of the Chaldees, possibly Urfa modern southeastern Turkey, although it has also been identified by some (following the archaeologist Wooley) with the Sumerian city of Ur on the south bank of the Euphrates. Lud, son of Shem. Most ancient authorities assign this name to the Lydians of Eastern Anatolia (''Luddu'' in Assyrian inscriptions from ca. 700 BC). This name may also be connected with the earlier Luwians who lived in approximately the same area. Aram, son of Shem. There are references to a campaign against 'Aram' as early as 2300 BC in the inscriptions of Naram-Sin of Akkad. His descendants settled in the city of Haran. There were a number of places named Aram including one in Damascus and another called ''Aram-Naharaim'' or ''Aram of two Rivers'' since it was situated between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. There is also ''Aram-Tzova'' which is mentioned in Psalms 60.

*Uz, son of Aram. Possibly the ancestors of the Nabataeans, extending from Southern Jordan to Northwestern Saudi Arabia; also mentioned in Job.

Hul, son of Aram. Unknown; possible connection with Lake known in Aramaic as Hulata.

Gether, son of Aram. Father of Thamud in Arabic tradition.

Mash, son of Aram (1 Chronicles has ''Meshech''). Unknown; suggestions include Mashu, an unknown region of cedars mentioned in the Epic of Gilgamesh (possibly Lebanon), and E-Mash-Mash, the main temple at Ninevah in Assyria.

Arpachshad's family (genealogy of Abraham) and the Line of Joktan

The genealogy at this point lists several generations of Arpachshad's descendants, on account of their connection with the Hebrew nation and the rest of Genesis: Cainan is listed as the son of Arpachshad and father of Shelah in some ancient sources. The name is omitted in the Hebrew Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible, but the Greek Septuagint and genealogy of Jesus in St. Luke 3:36 include the name. Shelah (also transcribed ''Salah'') son of Arpachshad (or Cainan).

Eber son of Shelah, implicitly indicated as the eponymous ancestor of the Hebrews.

*Peleg, son of Eber. Sometimes connected to Phalgu, an ancient town located where the Euphrates and Chaboras meet. In the table, it is said that the Earth was divided in the days of Peleg. A threefold division among Ham, Shem and Japheth preceding the Tower of Babel incident, is elaborated on in some ancient sources; others assume the 'division' occurred immediately following it, with the scattering of the nations.

**Joktan, son of Eber.

Joktan's Sons

:::*Almodad, son of Joktan. According to Easton's Bible Dictionary "Almodad" means "immeasurable", however it has also been translated as "not measured", "measurer", "measure of God", "the beloved," or, "God is beloved", "God is love", and "God is a friend".

:::*Sheleph, son of Joktan. Sheleph means "drawing out" or "who draws out" (Hitchcock's Bible Dictionary). :::*Hazarmaveth, son of Joktan. Hazarmaveth, also transcribed Hazarmaueth, means "dwelling of death" (Hitchcock's Bible Dictionary). :::*Jerah, son of Joktan. :::* Hadoram, son of Joktan. According to Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan's footnotes: "Hadarom: Some interpret this as denoting 'the south.' :::*Uzal, son of Joktan. :::*Diklah son of Joktan. :::*Obal, son of Joktan. :::*Abimael, son of Joktan. Abimael means my father is God. :::*Sheba, son of Joktan. :::*Ophir, son of Joktan. Ophir means Gold :::*Havilah, son of Joktan. Literally meaning "Stretch of Sand" :::*Jobab, son of Joktan.

In historiography

In Flavius Josephus

The first century Jewish-Roman historian Flavius Josephus, in ''Antiquities of the Jews'' Book 1, chapter 6, was among the first of many who attempted to assign known ethnicities to some of the names listed in Genesis chapter 10. His assignments became the basis for most later authors, and were as follows:

Gomer: "those whom the Greeks now call Galatians, [Galls,] but were then called Gomerites".

*Aschanax (Ashkenaz): "Aschanaxians, who are now called by the Greeks Rheginians".

*Riphath: "Ripheans, now called Paphlagonians".

*Thrugramma (Togarmah): "Thrugrammeans, who, as the Greeks resolved, were named Phrygians".

Magog: "Magogites, but who are by the Greeks called Scythians".

Madai: "the Madeans, who are called Medes, by the Greeks".

Javan: "Ionia, and all the Grecians".

*Elisa: "Eliseans... they are now the Aeolians".

*Tharsus (Tarshish): "Tharsians, for so was Cilicia of old called". He also derives the name of their city Tarsus from Tharsus.

*Cethimus (Kittim): "The island Cethima: it is now called Cyprus". He also derives the Greek name of their city, which he spells ''Citius'', from Cethimus.

Thobel (Tubal): "Thobelites, who are now called Iberes".

Mosoch (Meshech): "Mosocheni... now they are Cappadocians." He also derives the name of their capital Mazaca from Mosoch.

Thiras (Tiras): "Thirasians; but the Greeks changed the name into Thracians".

Chus (Cush): "Ethiopians... even at this day, both by themselves and by all men in Asia, called Chusites".

*Sabas (Seba): Sabeans

*Evilas (Havilah): "Evileans, who are called Getuli".

*Sabathes (Sabta): "Sabathens, they are now called by the Greeks Astaborans".

*Sabactas (Sabteca): Sabactens

*Ragmus (Raamah): Ragmeans

**Judadas (Dedan): "Judadeans, a nation of the western Ethiopians".

**Sabas (Sheba): Sabeans

Mesraim (Misraim): Egypt, which he says is called ''Mestre'' in his country.

*"Now all the children of Mesraim, being eight in number, possessed the country from Gaza to Egypt, though it retained the name of one only, the Philistim; for the Greeks call part of that country ''Palestine''. As for the rest, Ludieim, and Enemim, and Labim, who alone inhabited in Libya, and called the country from himself, Nedim, and Phethrosim, and Chesloim, and Cephthorim, we know nothing of them besides their names; for the Ethiopic war which we shall describe hereafter, was the cause that those cities were overthrown."

Phut: Libya. He states that a river and region "in the country of Moors" was still called ''Phut'' by the Greeks, but that it had been renamed "from one of the sons of Mesraim, who was called Lybyos".

Canaan: Judea, which he called "from his own name Canaan".

*Sidonius (Sidon): The city of Sidonius, "called by the Greeks ''Sidon''".

*Amathus (Hamathite): "Amathine, which is even now called Amathe by the inhabitants, although the Macedonians named it Epiphania, from one of his posterity."

*Arudeus (Arvadite): "the island Aradus".

*Arucas (Arkite): "Arce, which is in Libanus".

*"But for the seven others [sons of Canaan], Chetteus, Jebuseus, Amorreus, Gergesus, Eudeus, Sineus, Samareus, we have nothing in the sacred books but their names, for the Hebrews overthrew their cities".

Elam: "Elamites, the ancestors of the Persians".

Ashur: Assyrians, and their city Niniveh built by Ashur.

Arphaxad: "Arphaxadites, who are now called Chaldeans".

* Sala

**Heber (Eber): "from whom they originally called the Jews Hebrews".

***Phaleg (Peleg): He notes that he was so named "because he was born at the dispersion of the nations to their several countries; for ''Phaleg'' among the Hebrews signifies division".

***Joctan

****"Elmodad, Saleph, Asermoth, Jera, Adoram, Aizel, Decla, Ebal, Abimael, Sabeus, Ophir, Euilat, and Jobab. These inhabited from Cophen, an Indian river, and in part of Asia adjoining to it."

Aram: "Aramites, which the Greeks called Syrians".

*Uz: "Uz founded Trachonitis and Damascus: this country lies between Palestine and Celesyria".

*Ul (Hul): Armenia

*Gather (Gether): Bactrians

*Mesa (Mesh): "Mesaneans; it is now called Charax Spasini".

Laud (Lud): "Laudites, which are now called Lydians".

In Hippolytus

The chronicle of Hippolytus of Rome (c. 234), existing in numerous Latin and Greek copies, make another attempt to assign ethnicities to the names in Genesis 10, in some cases similar to those of Josephus, but with many differences, which are:

Gomer – Cappadocians

*Ashkenaz – Sarmatians

*Riphath – Sauromatians

*Togarmah – Armenians

Magog – Galatians, Celts

Javan

*Elishah – Siculi (''Chron Pasc'': Trojans and Phrygians)

*Tarshish – Iberians, Tyrrhenians

*Kittim – Macedonians, Romans, Latins

Tubal – "Hettali" (?)

Meshech – Illyrians

Misraim

*Ludim – Lydians

*Anamim – Pamphylians

*Pathrusim – Lycians (var.: Cretans)

*Caphtorim – Cilicians

Put – Troglodytes

Canaan – Afri and Phoenicians

*Arkite – Tripolitanians

Lud – Halizones

Arpachshad

*Cainan – "those east of the Sarmatians" (one variant)

**Joktan

***Elmodad – Indians

***Saleph – Bactrians

***Hazamaveth, Sheba – Arabs

***Adoram – Carmanians

***Uzal – Arians (var.: Parthians)

***Abimael – Hyrcanians

***Obal – Scythians

***Ophir – Armenians

***Deklah – Gedrosians

Aram – "Etes" ?

*Hul – Lydians (var: Colchians)

*Gether – "Gaspeni" ?

*Mash – Mossynoeci (var: Mosocheni)

The ''Chronicle of 354'', the ''Panarion'' by Epiphanius of Salamis (c. 375), the ''Chronicon Paschale'' (c. 627), the ''History of Albania'' by the Georgian historian Movses Kaghankatvatsi (7th century), and the ''Synopsis of Histories'' by John Skylitzes (c. 1057) follow the identifications of Hippolytus.

In Jerome

Jerome, writing ca. 390, provided an 'updated' version of Josephus' identifications in his ''Hebrew Questions on Genesis''. His list is substantially identical to that of Josephus in almost all respects, but with the following notable differences:

Thubal, son of Japheth: "Iberians, who are also the Spaniards from whom derive the Celtiberians, although certain people suppose them to be the Italians."

Gether, son of Aram: "Acarnanii or Carians"

Mash, son of Aram: Maeones

In Isidore of Seville and later authors

The scholar Isidore of Seville, in his ''Etymologiae'' (ca. 600), repeats all of Jerome's identifications, but with these minor changes :

Joktan, son of Eber: Indians

Saleph, son of Joktan: Bactrians

Magog, son of Japheth: "Scythians and Goths"

Ashkenaz, son of Gomer: "Sarmatians, whom the Greeks call Rheginians".

Isidore's identifications for Japheth's sons were repeated in the ''Historia Britonum'' attributed to Nennius. Isidore's identifications also became the basis for numerous later mediaeval scholars, remaining so until the Age of Discovery prompted newer theories, such as that of Benito Arias Montano (1571), who proposed connecting Meshech with Moscow, and Ophir with Peru.

Shem as the Father of the Far East

In the view of some 17th century European scholars (e.g., John Webb), the people of China and India descended from Shem. Both Webb and the French Jesuits belonging to the Figurist school (late 17th-early 18th century) went even further, identifying the legendary Emperor Yao of Chinese history with Noah himself.

Extrabiblical sons of Noah

There exist various traditions in post-biblical sources claiming that Noah had children other than Shem, Ham, and Japheth — born variously before, during, or after the Deluge.

According to the ''Quran (Hud'' v. 42–43), Noah had another unnamed son who refused to come aboard the Ark, instead preferring to climb a mountain, where he drowned. Some later Islamic commentators give his name as either Yam or Kan'an.

According to Irish mythology, as found in the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' and elsewhere, Noah had another son named Bith, who was not allowed aboard the Ark, and who attempted to colonise Ireland with 54 persons, only to be wiped out in the Deluge.

Some 9th century manuscripts of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicles'' assert that Sceafa was the fourth son of Noah, born aboard the Ark, from whom the House of Wessex traced their ancestry; in William of Malmesbury's version of this genealogy (c. 1120), Sceaf is instead made a descendant of Strephius, the fourth son born aboard the Ark (''Gesta Regnum Anglorum'').

An early Arabic work known as ''Kitab al-Magall'' or the ''Book of Rolls'' (part of Clementine literature) mentions Bouniter, the fourth son of Noah, born after the flood, who allegedly invented astronomy and instructed Nimrod. Variants of this story with often similar names for Noah's fourth son are also found in the ca. 5th century Ge'ez work ''Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan'' (Barvin), the ca. 6th century Syriac book ''Cave of Treasures'' (Yonton), the 7th century ''Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius'' (Ionitus), the Syriac ''Book of the Bee'' 1221 (Yônatôn), the Hebrew ''Chronicles of Jerahmeel'', ca. 12th–14th cent. (Jonithes), and throughout Armenian apocryphal literature, where he is usually referred to as Maniton; as well as in works by Petrus Comestor c. 1160 (Jonithus), Godfrey of Viterbo 1185 (Ihonitus), Michael the Syrian 1196 (Maniton), Abu Salih the Armenian c. 1208 (Abu Naiţur); Jacob van Maerlant c. 1270 (Jonitus), and Abraham Zacuto 1504 (Yoniko).

Martin of Opava (c. 1250), later versions of the ''Mirabilia Urbis Romae'', and the ''Chronicon Bohemorum'' of Giovanni di Marignola (1355) make Janus (i.e., the Roman deity) the fourth son of Noah, who moved to Italy, invented astrology, and instructed Nimrod.

According to the monk Annio da Viterbo (1498), the Hellenistic Babylonian writer Berossus had mentioned 30 children born to Noah after the Deluge, including sons named Tuiscon, Prometheus, Iapetus, Macrus, "16 titans", Cranus, Granaus, Oceanus, and Tipheus. Also mentioned are daughters of Noah named Araxa "the Great", Regina, Pandora, Crana, and Thetis. However, Annio's manuscript is widely regarded today as having been a forgery.

See also

Wives aboard the Ark

Nuwaubianism

Genealogy

Ethnography

Comparative linguistics

Mesopotamia

Ancient Egypt

Fertile crescent

Garden of Eden

Antediluvian

Human history

Aggadah

Continuity thesis

Notes

Dillmann, A., ''Genesis: Critically and Exegetically Expounded'', Vol. 1, Edinburgh, UK, T. and T. Clark, 1897, 314.

Kautzsch, E.F.: quoted by James Orr, "The Early Narratives of Genesis," in The Fundamentals, Vol. 1, Los Angeles, CA, Biola Press, 1917.

References

External links

Latin Vulgate and English Douay-Rheims

English Septuagint

King James Version and Revised Standard Version

''Jewish Encyclopedia'': Entry for "Genealogy" - a 1901/6 view (the early days of comparative linguistics and the documentary hypothesis).

The connection of modern nations to the table according to a creationist source (with Europe as descended from the tribes of Israel, and the UK and USA from Joseph (but by different sons)).

Custance, Arthur C., ''The Roots of the Nations''. A more standard creationist account that associates Japheth with Europe.

Category:Torah people Category:Bible genealogy Category:Hebrew Bible topics Category:Noahides Category:Survivors Category:Noah Category:Japhetic Category:Ham (son of Noah) Category:Book of Genesis Category:Noah's Ark

am:የኖህ ልጆች bg:Синовете на Ной de:Völkertafel (Bibel) fr:Table des peuples nl:Volkenlijst (Bijbel) pt:Tabela das Nações zh:挪亞眾子

Gog and Magog (}}; '''') are names that appear primarily in various Jewish, Christian and Muslim scriptures, as well as numerous subsequent references in other works. Their context can be either genealogical (as in Genesis 10:2) or eschatological and apocalyptic, as in Ezekiel and Revelation. They are sometimes individuals, sometimes whole peoples, or in the case of Magog, a region. The passages from Ezekiel and Revelation in particular have attracted attention due to their prophetic descriptions of conflicts said to occur near the "End times".

Etymology

The etymology of Gog/Magog remains uncertain. The ''ma-'' at the beginning of Magog may indicate a land or it may mean "from", so that Magog means "of the land of Gog" or "from Gog". "Gog" itself may originate as the Hebrew version of the name of Gyges of Lydia, who made his kingdom a great power in the early 7th century BC, but this explanation, although common, is not universally accepted. A different theory is that "Magog" might be a reference to Babylon, by turning BBL ("Babylon" in Hebrew script, which originally had no vowel-signs) into MGG (Magog), but this account, like the others, has problems.

Texts

Genesis and Chronicles

Chapter 10 of the Book of Genesis, commonly called the Table of Nations, names some 70 descendants of Noah from whom "the nations spread out over the earth after the Deluge." Noah has three sons, Sham, Ham and Japheth, and Magog is one of the sons (the second) of Japheth:

This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah’s sons, who themselves had sons after the flood. The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras.

1 Chronicles begins with a list of genealogies repeating that in the Table of Nations but continuing well beyond. In chapter 5, among the many descendants of Reuben, first of the twelve sons of the patriarch Jacob, it mentions Gog.

Ezekiel

The two names Gog and Magog first appear together in chapters 38 and 39 of the Book of Ezekiel:

Son of man, direct your face towards Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince, leader of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy concerning him. Say: Thus said the Lord: Behold, I am against you, Gog, the prince, leader of Meshech and Tubal.

Ezekiel lived in the first half of the 6th century, and the earliest possible date for the prophecy is c.585 BCE. Scholars disagree, however, as to whether Ezekiel 38-39 was part of the original text (compare, for example, Joseph Blenkinsopp, who believes it to be a late addition, and Daniel Block, who argues for its original status). Its prophecy of a savage foe from the north is based on Jeremiah 1:3-16, where Jeremiah is talking about the Babylonians; "Why the prophet's gaze should have focused on these particular nations is unclear," says Daniel Block in a recent study of Ezekiel 25-48, but suggests that their remoteness and reputation for violence and mystery "made Gog and his confederates perfect symbols of the archetypal enemy, rising against God and his people." Cush (Sudan or Ethiopia) and Put (Libya) are African according to Genesis 10, while Persia is located to the east and is not mentioned in Genesis 10 at all. Since Ezekiel insists on the northern-ness of Gog and his allies, many commentators believe that these three names were added later, although this is disputed.

Intertestamental period

Around the middle of the 2nd century BC, the Sibylline Oracles mention the "land of Gog and Magog" as "situated in the midst of Aethiopian rivers", but in a second mention links it with the "Marsians and Dacians", in eastern Europe; in both cases they are about to receive "woe," and according to Boe, "there can be little doubt about the direct use of Ezekiel's oracles" in their composition.

The Book of Jubilees, known from about the same time, mentions Magog as a son of Japheth to whom land is allocated, while Gog is a region on Japheth's borders. 1 Enoch tells how God stirs up the Medes and Parthians (instead of Gog and Magog) to attack Jerusalem, where they are destroyed; an indebtedness to Ezekiel 38-39 has also been asserted. In the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Messiah will rule "over all the peoples and Magog," and Magog is allocated land next to Gomer, the first son of Japheth. The sole fragment where the two names are combined as "Gog and Magog" is too small to be meaningful.

The Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, made during this period, frequently introduces the name of Gog where the Hebrew original has something else. Thus at Numbers 24:7 it replaces Agag, a mysterious but clearly powerful figure, with Gog, and at Amos 7:1 the Greek has Gog as the leader of a threatening locust-like army. The author of the Book of Revelation tells how he sees in a vision Satan rallying Gog and Magog, "the nations in the four corners of the Earth," to a final battle with Christ and his saints:

When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the Earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore.

Ezekiel's Gog from Magog was a symbol of the evil darkness of the north and the powers hostile to God,

Quran and Hadith

In sura Al-Kahf ("The Cave", 18:83–98) of the Quran (early 7th century CE), a mysterious individual called Dhul-Qarnayn ("The Two-horned One") journeys to a distant land beyond the sunrise where he finds people who are suffering from the mischief of Gog and Magog. Dhul-Qarnayn then makes a wall of copper and iron to keep Gog and Magog out, but warns that it will be removed in the Last Age. In sura 21, Al-Anbiyā (The Prophets), the wall is mentioned again: there Allah tells his Prophet (Mohammed) that there is a "prohibition upon [the people of] a city which We have destroyed that they will [ever] return, until [the dam of] Gog and Magog has been opened and thou shall see them, from every higher ground, descending." According to Islamic tradition (in Saḥīḥ al-Bukhāri), Gog and Magog are human beings, and the city mentioned in sura 21 is Jerusalem.

Various Islamic eschatology ( hadith ) from the Islamic prophet Muhammad mentioned of Gog and Magog coming in the end times. Christian revelation said that it precede Jesus second coming but in Islamic eschatology, Gog and Magog shall come after the prophet Isa as (Jesus). After killing Dajjal, Isa as shall take cover from Gog and Magog at Mount Sinai. Since their brutality is beyond words, the Prophet shall make supplication to Allah help . Allah then send them a disease from 'worms' ( modern term virus ? ) that kill them one by one. Since the carcass of Gog and Magog are unbearable Isa as again make supplication to Allah for help and Allah shall send big birds with neck as big as camels neck ( vulture like ) to pick the carcases and send them elsewhere . Then Allah shall flood the Holy land to cleanse it and there after the world shall be full of bounty , peace , security , wild animals becomes harmless to even children . Wolves would be playing with sheep , children would be putting their hands into snakes , etc. Nobody would require tithe ( zakat ) and sadaqah ( giving alms )

Identifying Gog and Magog

Separate passages in the "Jewish Antiquities" and "Jewish War" of the 1st century CE Jewish historian and scholar Josephus show that Jews of that time identified Gog and Magog with the Scythians: Alexander the Great, Josephus said, locked these horse-riding barbarians of the far north behind the Caucasus mountains with iron gates. Similar version of this event is actually mentioned in the Qur'an regarding Dhul-Qarnain ( a Muslim Great King ) as opposed to Alexander ( a Pagan ). though their characteristics seems to be the same .

Some early Christian writers (e.g. Eusebius) identified Gog and Magog with the Romans. Ambrose (d.397) identified them with the Goths, and Isidore of Seville confirmed that people in his day supposed that the Goths were descended from Magog "because of the similarity of the last syllable". The idea that Gog and Magog were connected with the Goths was longstanding; in the mid-16th century, Archbishop of Uppsala Johannes Magnus traced the royal family of Sweden back to Magog son of Japheth, and this opinion was accepted in the Swedish court for centuries. In Magnus' account, two of Magog's sons were Suenno, progenitor of the Swedes, and Gethar (also known as Gog or Gogus), the ancestor of the Goths.

In the 6th century, the Byzantine historian Procopius (d. after 562) saw Attila and the Huns as the nation locked out by Alexander, and a little later other Christian writers identified them with the Saracens. Still later, Gog and Magog became identified with the Khazars, whose empire dominated Central Asia in the 9th and 10th centuries. In his 9th century work ''Expositio in Matthaeum Evangelistam'', the Benedictine monk Christian of Stavelot referred to them as descendants of Gog and Magog, and says they are "Circumcised and observing all [the laws of] Judaism"; the 14th century Sunni scholar Ibn Kathir also identified Gog and Magog with the Khazars, as did a Georgian tradition, which called them "wild men with hideous faces and the manners of wild beasts, eaters of blood". According to the famous Khazar Correspondence (c.960 CE), King Joseph of Khazaria claimed to be a descendant of Magog's nephew Togarmah.

The Mongols were the next barbarians. Early in the 13th century reports began to reach Europe of a mysterious and invincible horde from the east that destroyed Muslim empires and kingdoms, leading kings and popes to take them for Prester John, marching to save Christians from the Saracens; but when they entered Poland and Hungary and annihilated Christian armies, a terrified Europe concluded that they were "Magogoli", the offspring of Gog and Magog, released from the prison Alexander had constructed for them and heralding Armageddon.

The Mongolian armies decided to turn back because of the death of Genghis Khan back in the East, thus Europe was spared destruction. Gog and Magog became the subject of literature. The ''Travels of Sir John Mandeville'', a 14th best-seller, associated the Jews with Gog and Magog, saying the nation trapped behind the Gates of Alexander comprised the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. Marco Polo located Gog and Magog as regions of Tenduk, a province belonging to the legendary Prester John, and governed by one George, fourth in descent from the original John. According to this account Gog (locally ''Ung'') is inhabited by a tribe called the Gog, whilst Magog (or ''Mongul'') is inhabited by Tatars. The 14th century Muslim traveller Ibn Battuta reported that "the rampart of Yajuj and Majuj" was "sixty days' travel" from the city of Zeitun; the translator notes that Ibn Battuta has confused the Great Wall of China with that built by Dhul-Qarnayn.

A German tradition claimed a group called the Red Jews would invade Europe at the end of the world; the "Red Jews" became associated with different peoples, but especially the Eastern European Jews and the Ottoman Turks.

Jewish scholars of the Middle Ages, including Rashi, Radak and others, had associated no specific nation or territory with Magog, beyond locating it to the north of Israel. In the early 19th century some Chasidic rabbis identified Napoleon's invasion of Russia as "The War of Gog and Magog" which would precede the coming of the Messiah, so that the Emperor filled the role of Gog. In the 20th century Hitler was seen as a likely candidate,

An even older British connection to Gog and Magog appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's influential 12th century ''Historia Regum Britanniae'', which states that Goemagot was a giant slain by the eponymous Cornish hero Corin or Corineus. The tale figures in the body of unlikely lore that has Britain settled by the Trojan soldier Brutus and other fleeing heroes from the Trojan War. Corineus supposedly slew the giant by throwing him into the sea near Plymouth; Richard Carew notes the presence of chalk figures carved on Plymouth Hoe in his time. Wace (''Roman de Brut''), Layamon (''Layamon's Brut'') (who calls the giant Goemagog), and other chroniclers retell the story, which was picked up by later poets and romanciers. John Milton's ''History of Britain'' gives this version:

:The Island, not yet Britain, but Albion, was in a manner desert and inhospitable, kept only by a remnant of Giants, whose excessive Force and Tyrannie had consumed the rest. Them Brutus destroies, and to his people divides the land, which, with some reference to his own name, he thenceforth calls Britain. To Corineus, Cornwall, as now we call it, fell by lot; the rather by him lik't, for that the hugest Giants in Rocks and Caves were said to lurk still there; which kind of Monsters to deal with was his old exercise.

:And heer, with leave bespok'n to recite a grand fable, though dignify'd by our best Poets: While Brutus, on a certain Festival day, solemnly kept on that shore where he first landed (Totnes), was with the People in great jollity and mirth, a crew of these savages, breaking in upon them, began on the sudden another sort of Game than at such a meeting was expected. But at length by many hands overcome, Goemagog, the hugest, in hight twelve cubits, is reserved alive; that with him Corineus, who desired nothing more, might try his strength, whom in a Wrestle the Giant catching aloft, with a terrible hugg broke three of his Ribs: Nevertheless Corineus, enraged, heaving him up by main force, and on his shoulders bearing him to the next high rock, threw him hedlong all shatter'd into the sea, and left his name on the cliff, called ever since ''Langoemagog'', which is to say, the Giant's Leap.

Michael Drayton's ''Poly-Olbion'' preserves the tale as well:

:Amongst the ragged Cleeves those monstrous giants sought: :Who (of their dreadful kind) t'appal the Trojans brought :Great Gogmagog, an oake that by the roots could teare; :So mighty were (that time) the men who lived there: :But, for the use of armes he did not understand :(Except some rock or tree, that coming next to land, :He raised out of the earth to execute his rage), :He challenge makes for strength, and offereth there his gage, :Which Corin taketh up, to answer by and by, :Upon this sonne of earth his utmost power to try.

Gog Magog Hills

The Gog Magog Downs are about three miles south of Cambridge, said to be the metamorphosis of the giant after being rejected by the nymph Granta (i.e. the River Cam). The dowser Thomas Charles Lethbridge claimed to have discovered a group of three hidden chalk carvings in the Gogmagog Hills. This alleged discovery is described at length in his book ''Gogmagog: The Buried Gods'', in which Lethbridge uses his discoveries to extrapolate a primal deity named 'Gog' and his consort, 'Ma-Gog', which he believed represented the Sun and Moon. Although his discovery of the chalk figures in the Gogmagog Hills has been dogged by controversy, there are similarities between the name and nature of the purported 'Gog' and the Irish deity Ogma, or the Gaulish Ogmios.

Gog and Magog in Ireland

Works of Irish mythology, including the ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' (the Book of Invasions), expand on the Genesis account of Magog as the son of Japheth and make him the ancestor to the Irish through Partholón, leader of the first group to colonize Ireland after the Deluge, and a descendant of Magog, as also were the Milesians, the people of the 5th invasion of Ireland. Magog was also the progenitor of the Scythians, as well as of numerous other races across Europe and Central Asia. His three sons were Baath, Jobhath, and Fathochta.

References

BHS refers to the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia

Bibliography

in

in

External links

Agog over Bush's comments on Gog and Magog

Yajuj wa Ma'juj (Gog and Magog) according to Islam

Christian website explaining Gog and Magog from their point of view.

Category:Christian eschatology Category:English legendary characters Category:English legendary creatures Category:Islamic eschatology Category:Articles about multiple people Category:Medieval legends Category:Jewish eschatology Category:Monarchs of the Hebrew Bible Category:Hebrew Bible nations Category:Biblical phrases Category:Japhetic Category:Book of Ezekiel Category:Apocalypticism Category:English giants Category:Jewish messianism Category:London folklore

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