And the sons of Gomer; Ashchenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.
The verse names Ashchenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah as the sons of Gomer within a genealogy that traces ancestry back to the earliest times. Chronicles preserves such genealogies because the returning exiles required proof of hereditary descent for allotting land and for maintaining temple service. The recorded genealogies are preserved by God's Spirit for instruction, since accurate genealogies were necessary to the development and certainty of the gospel. They are not as interesting or instructive as the Gospels and need not be read or memorized as often as more valuable passages.
Ashchenaz is traced through the Teutons to the English, Riphath is traced to the Celts and to peoples including some Scandinavians, ancient Germans, Franks, Anglo-Saxons, and Irish, and Togarmah is traced to the Armenians.
The verse names Ashchenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah as the sons of Gomer within a genealogy that traces ancestry back to the earliest times. Chronicles preserves such genealogies because the returning exiles required proof of hereditary descent for allotting land and for maintaining temple service. The recorded genealogies are preserved by God's Spirit for instruction, since accurate genealogies were necessary to the development and certainty of the gospel. They are not as interesting or instructive as the Gospels and need not be read or memorized as often as more valuable passages.
Ashchenaz is traced through the Teutons to the English, Riphath is traced to the Celts and to peoples including some Scandinavians, ancient Germans, Franks, Anglo-Saxons, and Irish, and Togarmah is traced to the Armenians.