Ashkenaz
Son of Gomer and ancestor of a northern people
Also known as: Ashkenaz, Ashkenas
Ashkenaz was a son of Gomer and a grandson of Japheth, one of Noah's sons. He is mentioned in the Bible's genealogies as an ancestor of a people traditionally associated with the regions around the Black Sea, the Caucasus, and Armenia. The name has been linked to Scythian ethnic groups known from Assyrian sources. In Jewish tradition, the name Ashkenaz was later used for the Germanic lands and gave rise to the term 'Ashkenazi Jews'. In Jeremiah's prophecy against Babylon, the kingdom of Ashkenaz is mentioned together with Ararat and Minni as nations that will be mobilized in God's judgment on the great power.
Family
Key events
Mentioned in Noah's genealogy
Ashkenaz is listed as a son of Gomer and grandson of Japheth in the post-flood genealogy, which describes the origins of the nations.
Repeated in the genealogies of Chronicles
Ashkenaz is mentioned again in 1 Chronicles as one of Gomer's sons, in a repetition of the table of nations.
The spread of the nations after Babel
As a descendant of Japheth, Ashkenaz and his descendants became part of the nations that scattered across the earth after the confusion at the Tower of Babel.
The kingdom of Ashkenaz mentioned in Jeremiah's prophecy against Babylon
The prophet Jeremiah mentions the kingdom of Ashkenaz together with Ararat and Minni as nations to be mobilized against Babylon in God's judgment.