Japhet

Shem, Ham and Japhet, a painting by James Tissot. Japhet is the man on the right with blue clothes.

According to the Bible, Japhet or Japheth was the oldest son of Noah. His name means "increase". Many think Japhet is the ancestor of the peoples of Europe (like the Indo-European people) and North and Central Asia.

Sons

He had seven sons:

• Gomer, who populated Western Europe. Gomer had three sons named Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.
• Magog, who populated Northern Asia
• Madai, who founded the Medes
• Javan, who founded the Greeks. Javan had four sons named Elishah (Greece), Tarshish (Spain), Kittim (Rome), and Rodanim (or Dodanim; Rhodes).
• Tubal and Meshech, who populated Russia. In Ezekiel 38, there is a prophecy that they (Russia) will invade Israel.
• Tiras, who populated Thrace

He also had a daughter, Keturah, who married Abraham after the death of his wife Sarah.

Japhet Media

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  Geographic identifications for the Sons of Noah (Flavius Josephus, c. 100 AD); Japheth's sons shown in red.

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  This T and O map, from the first printed version of Isidore's Etymologiae (Augsburg 1472), identifies the three known continents (Asia, Europe and Africa) as respectively populated by descendants of Sem (Shem), Iafeth (Japheth) and Cham (Ham).