Dodanim
The Dodanim were descendants of Javan, son of Japheth, mentioned in the Table of Nations. (Gen.10.4; 1Ch.1.7)
Biography
Dodanim, also rendered Rodanim in 1 Chronicles 1:7, were descendants of Javan, the son of Japheth, who was a son of Noah. The Table of Nations in Genesis 10:4 identifies them among the maritime peoples of the Aegean and Mediterranean world. Most scholars associate the Dodanim or Rodanim with the island of Rhodes, a significant trading and maritime hub in the ancient Mediterranean. As descendants of Javan, the Dodanim belonged to the Greek or proto-Greek family of peoples, alongside Elishah (associated with Cyprus or the Aegean coast), Tarshish (probably in the western Mediterranean), and the Kittim (Cyprus). The Dodanim thus represent one of the western Japhethite peoples who spread throughout the islands and coastlands of the Mediterranean world after the dispersion from Babel.
Significance
The Dodanim appear within the Table of Nations as part of Scripture's sweeping account of how God populated the entire earth through the descendants of Noah's three sons. Their identification with the maritime peoples of the Aegean world is significant because it places them among the ancestors of the Greek-speaking civilizations that would later form the cultural backdrop of the New Testament. The meticulous genealogies of Genesis 10 testify to the biblical conviction that no people or nation exists outside God's sovereign governance, and that the diversity of human civilizations ultimately traces back to one Creator who made all peoples from one man (Acts 17:26).
Verse Appearances (2)
Genesis
1 Chronicles
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References (TIPNR). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]