Man living at the time of the Patriarchs
Javan, the ancestor of the Greek people, was a son of Japheth and grandson of Noah.
🗺 Places mentioned alongside Javan on the map →
Also known as Greek · Greek,Gentile · Gentile
Javan is mentioned in the Table of Nations (Gen.10.2,4; 1Ch.1.5,7) as one of the sons of Japheth and grandsons of Noah. He is considered the ancestor of the Greek people, and his name is often used in the Bible as a reference to Greece or the Greek people. In the Old Testament, Javan is associated with the trading of slaves (Jol.3.6), suggesting that the Greeks were involved in the slave trade. In the New Testament, the term "Greeks" (Hellenes) is used to refer to non-Jewish people, particularly those influenced by Greek culture. The Greeks are mentioned in various contexts, such as seeking Jesus (Jhn.12.20), attending synagogues (Act.14.1; 17.4; 18.4), and being among the first Gentile converts to Christianity (Act.16.1,3). The inclusion of Greeks in the early church underscores the universal nature of the gospel message (Rom.1.16; 10.12; Gal.3.28). The Greeks are also depicted as seekers of wisdom (1Co.1.22) and are contrasted with the Jews in terms of their religious and cultural background (Rom.1.14; 2.9-10; 1Co.10.32; 12.13). In Mrk.7.26, a Syrophoenician woman is described as a Greek, highlighting the widespread influence of Greek culture in the region.
More background: search Wikipedia ↗
(1.) The fourth “son” of Japheth (Gen. 10:2), whose descendants settled in Greece, i.e., Ionia, which bears the name of Javan in Hebrew. Alexander the Great is called the “king of Javan” (rendered “Grecia,” Dan. 8:21; 10:20; comp. 11:2; Zech. 9:13). This word was universally used by the nations of the East as the generic name of the Greek race. (2.) A town or district of Arabia Felix, from which the Syrians obtained iron, cassia, and calamus (Ezek. 27:19).
deceiver; one who makes sad
JA'VAN. In Isa 66:19 it is coupled with Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, and with Tubal and the "isles afar off;" again, in Eze 27:13, it is joined with Tubal and Meshech, as carrying on commerce with the Tyrians, who imported from these countries slaves and brazen vessels; in Dan 8:21; Num 10:20; Matt 11:2, in reference to the Macedonian empire; and in Zech 9:13, in reference to the Graeco-Syrian empire. From these passages it appears that "Javan" was regarded as a title for the Greek people and the Grecian empire. A town in the southern part of Arabia (Yemen), whither the Phoenicians traded, Eze 27:19; probably Uzal, a name of the capital of Yema, in Arabia, and famous for the manufacture of swordblades.
JA'VAN, the fourth son of Japheth, and the ancestor of the Grecians or lonians. Gen 10:2; 1 Chr 1:5, 1 Chr 1:7. Hence the word "Javan" in the O.T. denotes Greece, or the Greeks. Isa 66:19; Eze 27:13. JA'VAN. In Isa 66:19 it is coupled with Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, and with Tubal and the "isles afar off;" again, in Eze 27:13, it is joined with Tubal and Meshech, as carrying on commerce with the Tyrians, who imported from these countries slaves and brazen vessels; in Dan 8:21; Num 10:20; Matt 11:2, in reference to the Macedonian empire; and in Zech 9:13, in reference to the Graeco-Syrian empire. From these passages it appears that "Javan" was regarded as a title for the Greek people and the Grecian empire. A town in the southern part of Arabia (Yemen), whither the Phoenicians traded, Eze 27:19; probably Uzal, a name of the capital of Yema, in Arabia, and famous for the manufacture of swordblades.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
31 verses in 10 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H3120
The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.
And the sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites, and the Rodanites.
The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.
And the sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites, and the Rodanites.
You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, to send them far from their homeland.
Now she was a Greek woman of Syrophoenician origin, and she kept asking Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.
At this, the Jews said to one another, “Where does He intend to go that we will not find Him? Will He go where the Jews are dispersed among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?
Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the feast.
At Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue, where they spoke so well that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.
Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where he found a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman and a Greek father.
Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, so he took him and circumcised him on account of the Jews in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few leading women.
As a result, many of them believed, along with quite a few prominent Greek women and men.
Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks alike.
This continued for two years, so that everyone who lived in the province of Asia, Jews and Greeks alike, heard the word of the Lord.
This became known to all the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, and fear came over all of them. So the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.
testifying to Jews and Greeks alike about repentance to God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
crying out, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and against our law and against this place. Furthermore, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.”
I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish.
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek.
There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, first for the Jew, then for the Greek;
but glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does good, first for the Jew, then for the Greek.
What then? Are we any better? Not at all. For we have already made the charge that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin.
For there is no difference between Jew and Greek: The same Lord is Lord of all, and gives richly to all who call on Him,
Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom,
but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Do not become a stumbling block, whether to Jews or Greeks or the church of God—
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free, and we were all given one Spirit to drink.
Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.