Editing Japheth (section)

==In the Book of Genesis==
{{Main|Genesis flood narrative}}
[[File:Tissot Noah's Drunkenness.jpg|thumb|230px|right|''Noah's Drunkenness'', painting by [[James Tissot]] (between 1896 and 1902), [[Jewish Museum (Manhattan)|Jewish Museum]] ([[Manhattan]], [[New York City|New York]]). The painting depicts [[Noah]] lying in his tent; [[Shem]] and Japheth are holding up the cloak with their back to Noah; [[Ham (son of Noah)|Ham]] is standing to the side.]]

Japheth first appears in the [[Hebrew Bible]] as one of the three sons of Noah, saved from [[Genesis flood narrative|the Flood]] through the [[Noah's Ark|Ark]].<ref name="JE 1906"/> In the [[Book of Genesis]], they are always in the order "Shem, Ham, and Japheth" when all three are listed.<ref>{{bibleverse|Genesis|5:32|HE}}, {{bibleverse-nb|Genesis|9:18|HE}}, and {{bibleverse-nb|Genesis|10:1|HE}}.</ref>{{sfn|Haynes|2002|pages=204, 269}} Genesis 9:24 calls [[Ham (son of Noah)|Ham]] the youngest,{{sfn|Haynes|2002|pages=204, 269}} and Genesis 10:21 refers ambiguously to Shem as "brother of Japheth the elder", which could mean that either is the eldest.{{sfn|Garcia Martinez|2012|page=33 fn.7}} Most modern writers accept Shem–Ham–Japheth as reflecting their birth order, but this is not always the case: Moses and Rachel also appear at the head of such lists despite explicit descriptions of them as younger siblings.{{sfn|Greenspahn|1994|page=65}} However, Japheth is considered to have been the eldest son of Noah in [[Rabbinic literature]].<ref name="JE 1906"/>

Following the Flood, Japheth is featured in the story of [[Noah's drunkenness]].<ref name="JE 1906"/> Ham sees Noah drunk and naked in his tent and tells his brothers, who then cover their father with a cloak while avoiding the sight; [[Curse of Ham|when Noah awakes he curses Canaan, the son of Ham]], and blesses Shem and Japheth:<ref name="JE 1906"/> "Blessed be the Lord God of Shem and [[The Bible and slavery|may Canaan be his slave]]; and may God enlarge Japheth and may he dwell in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be his slave!"<ref>{{bibleverse|Genesis|9:20-27|HE}}.</ref> Chapter 10 of Genesis, the [[Table of Nations]], describes how earth was populated by the sons of Noah following the Flood, beginning with the descendants of Japheth:

{{chart/start|align=center}}
{{chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | JAP | | | | | | | | | | | | | |JAP=Japheth}}
{{chart| | | |,|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|^|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.}}
{{chart| | | GOM | | MAG | | MAD | | JAV | | TUB | | MES | | TIR |GOM=[[Gomer]]|MAG=[[Magog (Bible)|Magog]]|MAD=[[Madai]]|JAV=[[Javan]]|TUB=[[Tubal]]|MES=[[Meshech]]|TIR=[[Tiras]]}}
{{chart| |,|-|^|-|v|-|-|-|.| | | |,|-|^|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.| | }}
{{chart| ASH | | RIP | | TOG | | ELI | | TAR | | KIT | | DOD | |ASH=[[Ashkenaz]]|RIP=[[Riphath]]|TOG=[[Togarmah]]|ELI=[[Elishah]]|TAR=[[Tarshish]]|KIT=[[Kittim]]|DOD=[[Dodanim]]}}
{{chart/end}}