Atomic Bible

Son of Japheth; ancestor of Greek people

Javan

Named in 31 verses across 10 books, first in Genesis 10:2.

יָוָןJavan

יְוָנִיGreek

ἝλληνGreek

ἙλληνίςGentile

Also called Greek, Gentile.

The name means “deceiver; one who makes sad.” Hitchcock's Bible Names, 1869

Father
Japheth
Brothers and sisters
Gomer, Magog, Madai, Tubal, Meshech, Tiras
Children
Elishah, Tarshish
People
Early Patriarch

About Javan Written by AI

Javan is mentioned in the Table of Nations (Genesis 10:2; 1 Chronicles 1:5) 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 (Joel 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 (John 12:20), attending synagogues (Acts 14:1), and being among the first Gentile converts to Christianity (Acts 16:1). The inclusion of Greeks in the early church underscores the universal nature of the gospel message (Romans 1:16; Galatians 3:28). The Greeks are also depicted as seekers of wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:22) and are contrasted with the Jews in terms of their religious and cultural background (Romans 1:14; 1 Corinthians 10:32). In Mark 7:26, a Syrophoenician woman is described as a Greek, highlighting the widespread influence of Greek culture in the region.

Drafted by an AI model for STEPBible's TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Check it against the verses below.

Easton's Bible Dictionary, 1897

(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).

M. G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, third edition (1897), public domain, from CrossWire. Shown as written; its Scripture quotes are from older translations.

GenesisMatthewRevelation

Where the Bible names him

  1. Genesis 10:2

    The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.

  2. Genesis 10:4

    And the sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites, and the Rodanites.

  3. 1 Chronicles 1:5

    The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.

  4. 1 Chronicles 1:7

    And the sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites, and the Rodanites.

  5. Joel 3:6

    You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, to send them far from their homeland.

  6. Mark 7:26

    Now she was a Greek woman of Syrophoenician origin, and she kept asking Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

  7. John 7:35

    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?

  8. John 12:20

    Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the feast.

  9. Acts 14:1

    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.

  10. Acts 16:1

    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.

  11. Acts 16:3

    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.

  12. Acts 17:4

    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.

  13. Acts 17:12

    As a result, many of them believed, along with quite a few prominent Greek women and men.

  14. Acts 18:4

    Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks alike.

  15. Acts 19:10

    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.

  16. Acts 19:17

    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.

  17. Acts 20:21

    testifying to Jews and Greeks alike about repentance to God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

  18. Acts 21:28

    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.”

  19. Romans 1:14

    I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish.

  20. Romans 1:16

    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.

  21. Romans 2:9

    There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, first for the Jew, then for the Greek;

  22. Romans 2:10

    but glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does good, first for the Jew, then for the Greek.

  23. Romans 3:9

    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.

  24. Romans 10:12

    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,

  25. 1 Corinthians 1:22

    Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom,

  26. 1 Corinthians 1:24

    but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

  27. 1 Corinthians 10:32

    Do not become a stumbling block, whether to Jews or Greeks or the church of God—

  28. 1 Corinthians 12:13

    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.

  29. Galatians 2:3

    Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.

  30. Galatians 3:28

    There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

  31. Colossians 3:11

    Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.

From STEPBible's TIPNR, Tyndale House Cambridge (CC BY 4.0): names, family, references and the AI written article. Verse text is the BSB.