Bible Strands
1 Chronicles 1:7
And the sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites, and the Rodanites.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The Chronicler records a genealogical list tracing the descendants of Javan, placed between the sons of Gomer and the sons of Ham to map known ancient peoples within a single ancestral framework.
The words — יָוָן (Yavan) denotes Javan, and תַרְשִׁישׁ (Tarshish) denotes the coastal region or people named Tarshish, both functioning as proper nouns in a straightforward ethnonymic enumeration.
The thread — Tarshish reappears in Psalms 72:10 as a source of royal tribute and in Isaiah 23:1 as the origin of merchant ships, while Kittim surfaces in Numbers 24:24 as the source of maritime vessels.
Why it lands — It requires the reader to recognize the text as a historical catalog rather than a theological argument, mapping the known geopolitical landscape of the ancient Near East onto a unified lineage.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
Cross-references
- Numbers 24:24 Ships will come from the coasts of Cyprus; they will subdue Asshur and Eber, but they too will perish forever.”
- Psalms 72:10 May the kings of Tarshish and distant shores bring tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.
- Isaiah 23:1 This is the burden against Tyre: Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor. Word has reached them from the land of Cyprus.
- Isaiah 23:12 He said, “You shall rejoice no more, O oppressed Virgin Daughter of Sidon. Get up and cross over to Cyprus—even there you will find no rest.”
- Isaiah 66:19 I will establish a sign among them, and I will send survivors from among them to the nations—to Tarshish, Put, and the archers of Lud; to Tubal, Javan, and the islands far away who have not heard of My fame or seen My glory. So they will proclaim My glory among the nations.
- Jeremiah 2:10 Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus and take a look; send to Kedar and consider carefully; see if there has ever been anything like this:
- Daniel 11:30 Ships of Kittim will come against him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and rage against the holy covenant and do damage. So he will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant.
- Ezekiel 27:6 Of oaks from Bashan they made your oars; of wood from the coasts of Cyprus they made your deck, inlaid with ivory.