Ashkenaz is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Ashkenaz was a son of Gomer and a descendant of Japheth, mentioned in the Table of Nations. He appears in the genealogical record of Genesis 10, a chapter that traces the descendants of Noah’s three sons—Shem, Ham, and Japheth—following the flood. This table sets out how the peoples of the ancient world were divided and spread across the earth after the waters receded.
Ashkenaz is named in Genesis 10:3, which reads, “And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.” He is therefore one of three sons born to Gomer, who was himself the firstborn of Japheth. The passage lists him first among Gomer’s sons, though Scripture assigns him no further action, speech, or narrative role.
What Scripture says of Ashkenaz is limited to his place in this lineage. He did nothing recorded in the text; he is remembered simply as a name within a family line. Yet that line matters, for the Table of Nations shows how the descendants of Noah’s sons became the nations of the earth, and Ashkenaz stands within the branch that came through Japheth and Gomer. His sole appearance in the King James Bible is this single verse, and beyond it the text is silent about his life, his descendants, and his deeds.
The Name
The name Ashkenaz is Hebrew in form, and its meaning is not clearly recoverable. Unlike some biblical names whose sense is well established, the root and significance of Ashkenaz are uncertain, and scholars have not reached a settled conclusion about what it originally meant. Because the meaning is not plainly established, it is best to say so honestly rather than assign it a definition the text does not provide. Later history would attach the name to a region and a people, but that later usage should not be read back into the name’s original sense here.
A Closing Thought
Ashkenaz leaves us no deeds to admire and no words to remember—only a name in a long list. Yet his place in Scripture reminds us that God’s purposes run through ordinary, unrecorded lives as surely as through famous ones. Most of us will never be the subject of a story, but we are still part of a lineage of faith and providence. Like Ashkenaz, we may be known to God though unknown to history, and that is enough. The generations pass, but the One who numbers them does not forget a single name.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- Genesis 10:3 — And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.