Bible Figure
Ashkenaz
Biblical descendent of Noah and father of the German peoples (Genesis 10)
Ashkenaz was a son of Gomer and grandson of Japheth in the Table of Nations.
Biography
Genesis 10 and 1 Chronicles 1 list Ashkenaz with Riphath and Togarmah as sons of Gomer, son of Japheth. Jeremiah 51 later names a kingdom called Ashkenaz among peoples summoned against Babylon. Scripture gives no personal narrative of the ancestral Ashkenaz. Much later Jewish usage applied the name Ashkenaz to regions of Europe, but that later identification should not be projected directly into Genesis.
Biblical Significance
Ashkenaz belongs to the Table of Nations and later appears as a geographic or national name. Claims that Genesis directly identifies him as father of a particular modern European people go beyond what the text states.