And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
The verse lists Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim as the sons of Javan, recording the distribution of the races. Kittim is both the name of those descendants and the name of their country, supposed to be Cyprus. It stands within the lists and genealogies of the various tribes in the first nine chapters of Chronicles, which are records of events and lists of names that give much more attention to the house of Judah and the priesthood.
The genealogy was written and preserved under the direction of God's Spirit. Its records helped establish hereditary descent for land allotments and temple service after the exile. Its preservation mattered to the development and certainty of the gospel because correct genealogies were necessary. Its inclusion shows the Bible preserves material useful for the study of ethnology, while placing spiritual truth along the path of that study.
The verse lists Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim as the sons of Javan, recording the distribution of the races. Kittim is both the name of those descendants and the name of their country, supposed to be Cyprus. It stands within the lists and genealogies of the various tribes in the first nine chapters of Chronicles, which are records of events and lists of names that give much more attention to the house of Judah and the priesthood.
The genealogy was written and preserved under the direction of God's Spirit. Its records helped establish hereditary descent for land allotments and temple service after the exile. Its preservation mattered to the development and certainty of the gospel because correct genealogies were necessary. Its inclusion shows the Bible preserves material useful for the study of ethnology, while placing spiritual truth along the path of that study.