Notes on Japheth
Iapetus, or Iapetos in Greek, comes from Greek mythology. “Iapetus’ sons were thought to have been the ancestors of humans, and that they had some detrimental qualities that not only led to their own demise, but they also passed them down to humans.”
(Greek Mythology.com. https://www.greekmythology.com/Titans/Iapetus/iapetus.html)
“Iapetus as the progenitor of mankind has been equated with Japheth (יֶפֶת), the son of Noah, based on the similarity of their names and the tradition. … Iapetus was linked to Japheth by 17th-century theologian Matthew Poole [Commentary on the Holy Bible (1685), vol.1, 26] and, more recently, by Robert Graves [The Greek Myths vol. 1 p. 146] and by John Pairman Brown. [Israel and Hellas (1995), 82]”
“Iapetus (“the Piercer”) … His name derives from the word iapto (“wound, pierce”) and usually refers to a spear, implying that Iapetus may have been regarded as a god of craftsmanship, though scholars mostly describe him as the god of mortality.”
(Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iapetus)
“His name derives from the Greek word meaning to pierce usually with a spear; therefore, Iapetus may have been considered as the god of craftsmanship, although other sources site him as the god of mortality.”
(Greek Mythology.com. https://www.greekmythology.com/Titans/Iapetus/iapetus.html)
Japheth in Insight on the Scriptures means “May He Grant Ample Space.” The Jewish Encyclopedia says: “The name ‘Japheth’ is derived, according to Gen. ix. 27, from the Aramaic root פתה = ‘to extend,’ in allusion to the expansion of the Japhetites. Saadia and the modern lexicographers, as Gesenius and others, derive it from יפה = ‘fair’; but this interpretation had already been rejected by Ibn Ezra.”
It adds: “As to the identification of Japheth with the Iapetos of the Greek mythology, see D. S. Margoliouth in Hastings, ‘Dict. Bible’; comp. also Sayce in ‘Tr. Soc. Bibl. Arch.’ 1883, p. 154.”
http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/8516-japheth
Wikipedia adds: “The meaning of the name Yafet/Yefet (יָפֶת/יֶפֶת) is disputable. There are two possible sources to the meaning of the name.
- From Aramaic root פתה, meaning to extend. In which case, the name would mean may He extend (Rashi).
- From Hebrew root יפה, meaning beauty. In which case, the name would mean beautiful.”
So the meaning of Japheth is debatable, and the Greek meaning from iapto (“wound, pierce”) may be coincidental. Since his name matches phonetically with Iapetus and since they both were “the progenitor of mankind,” being the father of the Japhethitic Romans and Greeks, it seems quite reasonable that Iapetus is the Greek and Roman version of Japheth. This would provide independent corroboration for the historicity of Japheth, even though Iapetus is isolated from any Flood legend in a mythological matrix.
To Summarize:
- Iapetus and Japheth match phonetically
- Both are progenitors of humans
- Thus, even though isolated in a mythological setting, Iapetus provides independent corroboration for the historicity of Japheth
Footnotes:
[1] For Genesis 10:2 the NET Bible notes: “The Greek form of the name Japheth, Iapetos, is used in Greek tradition for the ancestor of the Greeks.” What is also interesting is that Iapetos is the son of Uranus who was sexually assaulted by Iapetos’ brother Kronos. In Genesis 9:22, Japheth’s father Noah is understood to have been sexually assaulted by Japheth’s brother Ham and/or by Ham’s son Canaan. Canaan and Kronos do not share phonetic similarity accept for the K and closing N. How this is related is unknown, but the similarities are incredible!
See also:
- Corroborating Babel
jimspace3000.blogspot.com/2014/02/corroborating-babel-whole-earth-had.html - Observations on the Pandora myth
jimspace3000.blogspot.com/2012/04/observations-on-pandora-myth-were-all.html
Iapetus from Greek Mythology.com. https://www.greekmythology.com/Titans/Iapetus/iapetus.html
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| Iapetus is also one of Saturn’s moons. |
Labels: Bible
posted by JimSpace at 2:54 PM
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