Genesis 9:27

27. God Elohim, the generic, not the covenant name, as used with Shem .

Shall Rather, let .

Enlarge Japheth Japheth goes forth to conquer worlds of matter and worlds of thought . The Shemitic nations are spiritual and contemplative, preferring a pastoral or agricultural life; the Japhetic nations are intellectual, enterprising, nomadic . Intellectual activity characterizes them, as spiritual insight characterizes the descendants of Shem . The conquests of Xerxes, Alexander, the Cesars, and Napoleon the logic and philosophy of the Sanscrit, the Greek, the German, the English the vast migrations of the Tartars and Goths the colonies and the commerce of the Greeks, the Romans, and the English, show how deeply prophetic is the name of Japheth.

He shall dwell in the tents of Shem Let him dwell in the tents of Shem. Many commentators, following the Targum of Onkelos, make Elohim the subject here, but most follow the Targum of Jonathan, and consider Japheth the subject. The first interpretation destroys the unity of the prophecy, and is harsh and forced. As Japheth and Shem had united in this work of filial piety, so should their children be united in participating in world-wide blessings. The aggressive, intellectual Japheth shall dwell in the tents of the quiet, spiritual Shem, and share in the wondrous promises which he inherits. Each shall share the strength and glory of the other. The Hebrew religion was poured upon the world through the languages, the logic, and rhetoric of the Greek and Roman. The words of Jesus (who bore the “NAME above every name,” typified by Shem) come to us in a language of Japheth. Paul, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, preached and wrote in Greek, yet was protected in his work as a Roman citizen, and carried the glad tidings over Roman roads and in Roman ships.