Bible Dictionary
Chittim, Kittim
Chittim, also called Kittim, was a people descended from Javan. The name first appears connected with Cyprus and later denotes various Mediterranean islands, coasts, and their peoples.
Definition
Chittim, also called Kittim, was a family or race descended from Javan. The name is especially associated with Cyprus, though its meaning later broadened to include islands, coasts, and peoples connected with Phoenician settlement.
Biblical Usage
Chittim is mentioned in Genesis, Chronicles, Numbers, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel in expressions such as the islands, ships, and coasts of Chittim.
Historical Background
Josephus regarded Cyprus as the original home of the Chittim. The name passed from the Phoenicians to the islands they occupied and to the peoples who succeeded them there.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(bruisers), a family or race descended from Javan. (Genesis 10:4; 1 Chronicles 1:7) Authorized Version Kittim. Chittim is frequently noticed in Scripture. (Numbers 24:24; Isaiah 23:1,12; Jeremiah 2:10; Ezekiel 27:6; Daniel 11:30) In the above passages, the “isles of Chittim,” the “ships of Chittim, the “coasts of Chittim,” are supposed to refer to the island of Cyprus. Josephus considered Cyprus the original seat of the Chittim. The name Chittim, which in the first instance had implied to Phoenicians only, passed over to the islands which they had occupied, and thence to the people who succeeded the Phoenicians in the occupation of them.