Bible Dictionaries

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

Japheth

Enlargement, the eldest of Noah's three sons, Genesis 9:24 10:21 , born one hundred years before the flood. He was perhaps the Iapetos, whom Greek legends represent as the progenitor of the Greek race. His seven sons, Genesis 10:2-5 1 Chronicles 1:5 , occupied with their posterity the north of Asia and most of Europe. The probable location of each of the seven is described in its place. In later years the Greeks and Romans subdued large portions of Southern and Western Asia, in accordance with the prediction of Noah, Genesis 9:27 . The "enlargement" of Japheth now extends over America also.