the Week of Christ the King / Proper 29 / Ordinary 34
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Bible Dictionaries
Javan
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
or JAVAN , the Heb. rendering of the Gr. Iaôn , ‘Ionian, is a general term in the Bible for Ionians or Greeks; very similar forms of the name occur in the Assyrian and Egyptian inscriptions. In the genealogical table in Gn ( Genesis 10:2; Genesis 10:4 ) and 1 Ch ( 1 Chronicles 1:5; 1 Chronicles 1:7 ) Javan is described as a son of Japheth and the father of Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim (or better, Rodanim, i.e. Rhodes); from the reference to Kittim (Kition) as his son, it is possible that the passage refers particularly to Cyprus. In Isaiah 66:19 Javan is included among the distant countries that will hear of Jahweh’s glory; in Joel 3:6 the sons of the Javanites are referred to as trading in Jewish captives with the PhÅ“nicians and Philistines; in Ezekiel 27:13 Javan, with Tubal and Meshech, is described as trading with Tyre in slaves and vessels of brass. In all three passages the references are to the Ionian colonies on the coast of Asia Minor. In Ezekiel 27:19 Javan appears a second time among the nations that traded with Tyre; clearly the Ionians are not intended, and, unless the text is corrupt (as is very probable), the reference may be to an Arab tribe, or perhaps to a Greek colony in Arabia. In Daniel 8:21; Daniel 10:20; Daniel 11:2 , where ‘the king,’ ‘the prince,’ and ‘the kingdom’ of Javan are mentioned, the passages have reference to the Græco-Macedonian empire.
L. W. King.
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Javan'. Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdb/j/javan.html. 1909.
