JOKTAN, the eldest son of Eber, who had for his portion all the Land which lies from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar, a mount of Gen. x. 25, 26—30.the east. The land of Mesha is that, in our opinion, wherein Masias was situated in Mesopotamia, and Sephar in the Country of 2 Kings. xvii. 24. xviii. 34. xix. 13.Sepharvaims, or Sepharrenians, or Sapiors, or Serapares; for these all denote the same thing, that is to say, a people, who, according to Herodotus, were placed between the Colchians and the Medes. Now this was in the Provinces which Moses commonly describes by the name of Kedem or the East. We find footsteps in the same country, of the names of Joktan’s sons; which is a farther confirmation of the opinion, just now proposed by us. The names of Joktan’s thirteen sons were, Almohad, Shaleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abimeel, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab.
The Arabians firmly believe, that the country inhabited by them, was peopled in the beginning by Joktan the son of Eber, and brother of Peleg; who after the division of languages came and dwelt in this peninsula of Asia, which might have taken its name from Jarab the son of Joktan, or from a large plain in the Province of Tahama, which is called Arabat. These ancient Arabians lived in this country without mingling with other people, till Ishmael and his sons settled there, who mixing with the other Arabians were called Mos-arabes or Mosta-arabes, which signifies mixt Arabians, such as the Ishmaelites are, descended from Ishmael the son of Abraham and Hagar.
The same Authors suppose Joktan to have had several sons, as Joarab, the first author of the Arabic language, and from whom all the posterity of Joktan were called Arabians; Ad, the founder of the Adites, whom God in his anger extirpated; Thamond, Tasni and Giadis, all fathers of some old Tribes of Arabians; but that which embarasses us is, that the founders of these antient Tribes are called by names different from those which are described by Moses; which however did not hinder M. Bochart from placing in Arabia the sons of Joktan mentioned in the Scripture, wherein he has succeeded very well in the judgment of many learned men: in any thing so obscure, and at such distance of time from us, we should be satisfied with probabilities, and think ourselves obliged to those who take pains to clear the darkness of such remote Antiquity. The reader may consult M. Bochart on this matter, and if he has a mind to see some conjectures formed from another system, he may have recourse to our Comment upon Genesis.