Rome, the Greek World, and the East, Vol. 3 - The Greek World, the Jews, and the East

The Origins of Islam 

(in either case) exactly what forms of these names his text, or texts, offered.
But what is most significant is, as we will see, that he took the genealogies
found in Genesis, and deployed there primarily as the lines of descent ofindi-
viduals, with indications at certain points of whole peoples who descended
from them, and identified the peoples concerned with groups existing in the
present. In the case of many of these he offers no further interpretation; but
in the case of those contemporaries whom he identifies as ‘‘Arabes’’ he goes
significantly beyond Molon, in offering the legendary genealogy which he
has supplied as an explanation of a religious custom of theirs: circumcision.
As indicated above, what Josephus does is to take certain plausible starting
points found in Genesis and develop them explicitly, not to invent traditions
ex nihilo. To understand what he does it is necessary to follow his exposition
of the Genesis narrative step-by-step.

Genesis : The Descendants of Noah’s Sons

Josephus’ method may be illustrated by setting out what he makes of Genesis
:–:

Sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magōg, and Madai, and Iōvan, and Elisa

and Thabel, and Mosoch, and Thiras. And sons of Gomer: Askhanaz,

and Riphath, and Torgmah. And sons of Iōvan: Elisah, and Tharsis,

Kitoi, Rodoi. By these were the isles of the nations/races divided in

their lands; every one according to his tongue, by their tribes, and by

their nations/races.

Both the Hebrew and the LXX texts then proceed directly with no further
comment, to list the sons of Ham. Josephus’ interpretation of this passage, as
given in the Loeb translation (made with the full awareness of the problems
about the transmission of names), amounts to a very extensive re-writing.
It runs as follows:

Japheth, son of Noah, had seven sons. These, beginning by inhabit-

ing the mountains of Taurus and Amanus, advanced in Asia up to

the river Tanais and in Europe as far as Gadeira, occupying the terri-

tory upon which they lit, and, as no inhabitant had preceded them,

giving their own names to the nations. Thus those whom to-day the

Greeks call Galatians were named Gomarites, having been founded

by Gomar. Magog founded the Magogians, thus named after him, but

who by the Greeks are called Scythians. Two other sons of Japheth,

Javan and Mados, gave birth, the latter to the Madaeans—the race called

by the Greeks Medes—the former to Ionia and all the Greeks. Theo-