יָוָן
𐤉𐤅𐤍
Yavan
H3120 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Yâvân designates a people and region associated with the western seafaring Greeks, particularly the Ionians, and by extension, regions or populations considered Greek in the Hebrew Bible. It refers both to a descendant of Japheth and, more commonly, to the populations and lands corresponding to the Aegean or Greek world, especially the Ionians.
Semantic Range
descendant of Japheth named Yâvân; the Ionian Greeks; Greek peoples encountered by Israelites; Greek territories (especially coastal and maritime regions); sometimes general designation for all peoples of the Greek world; occasionally, a place name in Arabia in genealogical lists
Root / Etymology
From the root יון (y-w-n), likely a borrowing or adaptation of the ethnonym for the Ionians (Greek: Ἰάονες, Iáones) rather than a native Hebrew root. Association with יַיִן (wine) is due to similarity in form, not etymology.
Historical & Contextual Notes
יָוָן appears in genealogical lists (Genesis 10:2,4; 1 Chronicles 1:5,7) as a descendant of Japheth, representing a population known to Israelites as Yâvân, likely corresponding to the Greek Ionians. In prophetic and later texts (Isaiah 66:19; Ezekiel 27:13,19; Daniel 8:21; 10:20; 11:2; Zechariah 9:13; Joel 4:6 [Eng. 3:6]), it refers generally to Greek peoples or their territories, commonly the western lands across the Mediterranean. While the territory of Javan was sometimes equated with the coastlands or islands (Genesis 10:5), it can refer more broadly to 'Greeks' as a geographical and cultural idea. References in Ezekiel and Joel highlight trade and slave traffic between Javan and the Levantine world. In post-exilic and Hellenistic literature, יָוָן is firmly established as 'Greece' but English translations that simply say 'Greece' can obscure the distinctive Israelite perception of the Ionian Greeks, which did not always coincide fully with later concepts of Hellenic identity. The term is not used for the later religious category of 'Jews' or for other Greek peoples (such as Dorians or Macedonians) unless context indicates a broader scope.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
probably from the same as יַיִן; effervescing (i.e. hot and active); Javan, the name of a son of Joktan, and of the race (Ionians, i.e. Greeks) descended from him, with their territory; also of a place in Arabia; Javan.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
יון (y-w-n) — Ionian, Greek peoples, Greek territories
Word Forms
2 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H3120-02 |
יָוָ֖ן | yavan | HNp |
Javan | Yavan (Ionian-Greek) | 7 |
H3120-01 |
וְ/יָוָ֣ן | veyavan | HC/Np |
and Javan | and Yavan | 4 |
Occurrences in Scripture
11 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H3120-01 |
Genesis 10:2 | וְ/יָוָ֣ן | veyavan | HC/Np |
and Javan | and Yavan |
H3120-02 |
Genesis 10:4 | יָוָ֖ן | yavan | HNp |
Javan | Yavan (Ionian-Greek) |
H3120-01 |
Isaiah 66:19 | וְ/יָוָ֑ן | veyavan | HC/Np |
and Javan | and Yavan |
H3120-02 |
Ezekiel 27:13 | יָוָ֤ן | yavan | HNp |
Javan | Yavan (Ionian-Greek) |
H3120-01 |
Ezekiel 27:19 | וְ/יָוָן֙ | veyavan | HC/Np |
and Javan | and Yavan |
H3120-02 |
Zechariah 9:13 | יָוָ֑ן | yavan | HNp |
Greece | Yavan (Ionian-Greek) |
H3120-02 |
Daniel 8:21 | יָוָ֑ן | yavan | HNp |
of-Greece | Yavan (Ionian-Greek) |
H3120-02 |
Daniel 10:20 | יָוָ֖ן | yavan | HNp |
of Greece | Yavan (Ionian-Greek) |
H3120-02 |
Daniel 11:2 | יָוָֽן | yavan | HNp |
of Greece | Yavan (Ionian-Greek) |
H3120-01 |
1 Chronicles 1:5 | וְ/יָוָ֣ן | veyavan | HC/Np |
and Javan | and Yavan |