H3120 H3120
Javan (Yavan): son of Japheth, eponymous ancestor of the Ionians; by extension, Greece as a geographic-political entity.
The Hebrew name for both the person Javan, son of Japheth, and the land of Greece. In the Table of Nations (Gen 10:2, 4; 1 Chr 1:5, 7) Javan appears as an individual ancestor whose descendants include Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim -- peoples associated with the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts. In later prophetic literature, particularly Daniel (8:21; 10:20; 11:2) and Zechariah (9:13), the name designates Greece as a world power. The LXX renders it Ἑλλάς, and Old Persian inscriptions confirm the form Yauna for the Ionians. Spanish 'Grecia' in the prophetic texts shows the geographic shift clearly.
1. Yavan / Javan (person, eponymous ancestor) — The personal name Javan (Yavan), a son of Japheth listed in the Table of Nations (Gen 10:2; 1 Chr 1:5) and the eponymous ancestor of the Ionian Greeks. His 'sons' -- Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim (Gen 10:4; 1 Chr 1:7) -- represent peoples of the Aegean and western Mediterranean coastlands. In Isaiah 66:19 and Ezekiel 27:13, Javan appears alongside Tubal and Meshech as distant trading peoples. The multilingual glosses consistently render the name phonetically: Spanish 'Javan,' French 'Javan.' 7×
AR["وَ-ياوان","وَ-يَاوَانُ","وَيَاوَانَ","وَيَاوَانُ","ياوان","يَاوَانَ","يَاوَانُ"]·ben["-এবং-যাবন","আর-যাবন","ও-যাবন","যাবন","যাবনের"]·DE["Jawans","[ויון]","[יון]","und-Jawan"]·EN["Javan","Yavan","and-Javan","and-Yavan"]·FR["Javan","[ויון]","et-Javan"]·heb["ו-יוון","ו-יון","יוון","יון"]·HI["और-यावान","यावान","यावान-के"]·ID["Yawan","Yawan,","dan-Yawan"]·IT["Grecia","Javan","[ויון]","e-Grecia","e-Javan"]·jav["Yawan","lan-Yawan"]·KO["그-와-야완","그리고-야완","그리고-야완이","야완","야완과","야완의"]·PT["Yavan","e-Yavan"]·RU["Иаван","Иавана","Явана","и-Иаван","и-Йаван","и-Яван"]·ES["Javán","Yavan","Yaván","y-Javán","y-Yavan","y-Yaván"]·SW["Yavani","na-Yavani"]·TR["Yavan","Yavan'ın","ve-Yavan"]·urd["اور-یاوان","اور-یونان","و-یاوان","یاوان","یاوان-کے","یونان"]
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Senses
2. Yavan / Greece (geographic-political entity) — Greece as a geographic and political entity, used especially in apocalyptic and late prophetic texts. Daniel 8:21 identifies the 'king of Yavan' as the ruler of Greece (the LXX reads Ἑλλάς), and Daniel 10:20 and 11:2 describe the 'prince of Yavan' as a world-historical power. Zechariah 9:13 pits the sons of Zion against the sons of Yavan. Spanish 'Grecia' in these passages confirms the transition from personal-ethnic name to geopolitical designation. This semantic shift from ancestor to nation mirrors how 'Israel' functions elsewhere in Scripture. 4×
AR["الْيُونَانِ","يَا-يَاوَانُ"]·ben["গ্রীকের","যবন","যবনের","যাবনের"]·DE["[יון]"]·EN["Yavan"]·FR["Javan"]·heb["יוון"]·HI["यावान-का","यावान-के"]·ID["-Yunani","Yunani"]·IT["Grecia"]·jav["Yunani"]·KO["야반의","야완-의","헬라"]·PT["Yavan"]·RU["Йавана","Яван","Явана"]·ES["Grecia"]·SW["Uyunani","Yavani","wa-Uyunani"]·TR["Yavan","Yavan'ın","Yunan'in"]·urd["یونان","یونان-کا","یونان-کے"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† יָוָן n.pr.gent. Ionia(ns), Greece (Gk. Ἰάονες (i.e. orig. Ἰάϝονες), v. also 𝔊 infr.; OPers. Yauna SpiegAPK 237; Assyrian Iamanu (Iavanu) DlPa 248 ff. COTGloss; Egyptian Ye-van-(n)a, v. WMM369 f. cf. also 24 ff.; v. especially on this word StaDe Populo Javan 1880)—Ionians, as traders Ez 27:13, 𝔊 Ἑλλάς (named with תּוּבַל, מֶשֶׁךְ; in v 12 תַּרְשִׁישׁ, in v 14 תּוֹגַרְמָה); cf. יְוָנִי (adj.…