Japheth

Holy Righteous Japheth was the third and youngest son of the patriarch Noah, brother of Shem and Ham (Genesis 5:32). The exact meaning of the name is not established. Some scholars link it to the Hebrew verb to be beautiful, while a popular etymology, based on a wordplay in the Masoretic text (may God enlarge Japheth, Genesis 9:27), links it to the verb to be wide and points to Japheth's inheriting a large territory.

In all the lists of Noah's sons Japheth is named in third place. Yet in Genesis 9:24 Noah calls Ham the younger son, which is probably an echo of another tradition, different from the genealogies that follow strictly the chronological order. In Christian exegesis the verse was not connected with Japheth, but taken as a sign of Ham's lower spiritual state compared with that of his brothers. In rabbinic tradition Japheth was considered the eldest son.

After the rescue from the flood, Japheth, with his brothers, received God's blessing and took part in the making of the covenant (Genesis 9:1 and 17). When he learned from Ham of Noah's drunkenness, Japheth returned with Shem to his vineyard and respectfully covered his father's nakedness. Then Noah blessed him, saying: May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant (Genesis 9:27). The blessing may point to the later alliance of the Israelites with the Philistines against the Canaanites, in the time of King David. In the so-⁠called Table of Nations, Noah's descendants are presented through seven sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan (Elisha, according to the Septuagint), Tubal, Meshech and Tiras (Genesis 10:1-2). Josephus Flavius connected them with the names of seven Indo-⁠European peoples: the Cimmerians, Scythians, Medes, Ionians, Thracians, Cappadocians and others. Four of Japheth's sons, Gomer, Javan, Tubal and Meshech, are mentioned in the books of the prophets. Of Japheth's descendants the best known were the tribes Kittim and Tarshish, who gave their names to lands.

In the apocryphal tradition, the most detailed account of Japheth is in the Book of Jubilees, where the territory that fell to him is described in detail. According to this apocryphon, Japheth, out of envy of Ham, built a city, which he called Adataneses in honour of his wife. In the Sibylline Oracles, when the sons of Noah are given the names of Greek gods, Japheth is identified with the Titan Iapetus of Greek mythology, the father of Atlas, Prometheus and Epimetheus. In the Talmudic tradition, the blessing of Genesis 9:27 pointed to the rebuilding of the temple by the Persian king Cyrus, a descendant of Japheth, or to the teaching of the Law to the Gentiles in the Greek language. Japheth's descendants Gog and Magog are mentioned in the Apocalypse in the description of the battle at the end of time. In the exegesis of the ancient Church, the figure of Japheth became an edifying example of modesty and meekness. The blessing given by the patriarch Noah to Japheth signifies the turning of the pagan nations to Christ.

According to medieval notions, the peoples who lived chiefly in Europe descended from Japheth. In linguistics at the beginning of the eighteenth century the idea arose of a system of three language families, one being the Japhetic. The term was replaced in the first half of the nineteenth century by Indo-⁠Germanic and Indo-⁠European.

He is commemorated on the Sundays of the Holy Fathers and of the Holy Forefathers before the Nativity of the Lord (in the Russian calendar on 3 January and 27 December, movable days).