Genesis 10:4 - Exposition

And the sons of Javan; Elizhah . The isles of Elishah are praised by Ezekiel ( Ezekiel 27:7 ) for their blue and purple; supposed to have been Elis in the Peloponnesus, famous for its purple dyes (Bochart); AE olis (Josephus, Knobel); Hellas (Michaelis, Rosenmüller, Kalisch); without doubt a maritime people of Grecian stock ('Speaker's Commentary'). And Tarshish. Tarsus in Cilicia (Josephus); but rather Tartessus in Spain (Eusehius, Michaelis, Bochart, Kalisch). Biblical notices represent Tarshish as a wealthy and flourishing seaport town towards the west ( vide 1 Kings 10:22 ; Psalms 48:7 ; Psalms 72:10 ; Isaiah 60:9 ; Isaiah 66:19 ; Jeremiah 10:9 ; Ezekiel 27:12 ). Kittim . Chittim ( Numbers 24:24 ); Citium in Cyprus (Josephus), though latterly the name appears to have been extended to Citium in Macedonia (Alexander the Great is called the king of Chittim, 1 Macc. 1:1; 8:5), and the colonies which settled on the shores of Italy and Greece (Bochart, Keil, Kalisch). Isaiah 23:1 , Isaiah 23:12 ; Daniel 11:30 describe it as a maritime people. And Dodanim . Dordona in Epirus (Michaelis, Rosenmüller); the Dardaniaus, or Trojan's (Gesenius); the Daunians of South Italy (Kalisch); the Rhodani in Gaul, reading as in 1 Chronicles 1:7 (Bochart). Josephus omits the name, and Scripture does not again mention it.