KITTIM

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lazar

KITTIM

Post by lazar »

Anybody can tell me more about the word KITTIM. Which land was that mentioned in the Bible, who with her navy concered some ancient kings of the Asia and Africa?
Anybody has more info on this?

I think Moses mentions it... Thanks for any info on it lazar
matz
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Re: KITTIM

Post by matz »

According to the Macedonian historian Aleksandar Donski Macedonians were called Kitim in the old testament. The word Kit may come from the Macedonian city Kition or perhaps the Macedonian mountain Kitios. Adding the Jewish suffix "im" would make the word Kitim, meaning people of Kit.So there you go. There could be other possibilities, that others may know of.Regards,
MAtz
matz
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Re: KITTIM

Post by matz »

In the words of historian Spase Suplinoski, according to the Bible Alexander came from the land of Kitim, which is the other name for Macedonia.Kitim was a son of Javan, descendant of Noah (1st Moses book, 10 1-4).
yiannis
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Re: KITTIM

Post by yiannis »

Some say Kittim refers to Macedonia and some say to Cyprus (a few even to Rome):"Kition was the important Phoenician establishment on Cyprus since the 9th/8th century BC and Phoenician inscriptions found there refer to the city as kty. Although there was still a large autochthonous population, the island was by the 8th century BC essentially Greek in population. This is
acknowledged by the listing of the Kittim as one of the sons of Yawan (Ionia, and by extension, Greece)..." (p. 40. Vol. 3. J.C. Greenfield.
"Kittim." G.A. Buttrick. Editor. The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible. Nashville. Abingdon Press. 1962), lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/b-hebrew/ 2002-December/014342.html and:
"The name of the next grandson, Javan, is the Hebrew word for Greece. Greece, Grecia, or Grecians appears five times in the Old Testament, and is always the Hebrew word Javan. Daniel refers to GÇÿthe king of GreciaGÇÖ (Daniel 8:21), literally GÇÿthe king of JavanGÇÖ. JavanGÇÖs sons were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim (Genesis 10:4), all of whom have connections with the Greek people. The Elysians (an ancient Greek people) obviously received their name from Elishah. Tarshish or Tarsus was located in the region of Cilicia (modern Turkey).
Encyclop+ªdia Britannica says that Kittim is the biblical name for Cyprus.6 The Greeks worshipped Jupiter under the name of Jupiter Dodanaeus, possibly a reference to the fourth son of Javan, with Jupiter a derivative of Japheth. His oracle was at Dodona."
http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs/4215cen_s1998.asp or:
"The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, andJavan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. By these
were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations." (Genesis 10:2-5)As can be seen from the above verses, the fourth son of Japheth was named Javan. This is transliterated from the Hebrew word 'yavan', pronounced 'yaw-vawn'. What may surprise you is that in the previous verses where we see the
word 'Greece', or 'Grecia', it is this Hebrew word 'yavan' that is used. In fact, this word 'javan' was universally used by the nations of the East as the generic name for the Greek race, and Alexander the Great was known as the 'King
of Javan'! Another transliteration used is 'Ionia'. Thus we see that the Greeks, or Ionians, are ac
matz
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Re: KITTIM

Post by matz »

It is evident that Daniel's prediction, "But ships of Kittim shall come against him"...(11:30), is based upon a midrash on Balaam's words which identifies the Kittim with the Romans and Assyria with the Seleucid dynasty of Syria. The identification of Kittim with the Romans was accepted by the Jews in later generations, and served as a basis for eschatological thought in succeeding generations. In 1 Maccabees 1:1 Macedonia is called Kittim...(The author of this commentary is referring here to the connection the author of the Book of 1 Maccabees makes between the apocryphal figure of Alexander the Great and the regions of Greece and Macedonia, associating them with the land of the Chettim. He will not realize, however, the true extent of Alexander's domain, as the Hebrew scribes did--or the fact that he is one of Seven archetypal rulers who prefigure the reign of the antichrists in the last days. Thus the author of 1 Maccabees says of him: And (he) made many wars, and won many strong holds, and slew the kings of the earth. AND HE WENT THROUGH TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH, and took spoils of many nation...1 Maccabees 1:2,3. Thus the books of the Maccabees are only partly historical, and form the backdrop for the greater narrative which is mostly apocryphal and prophetic).http://www.revelation2seven.org/WebPage ... entary.htm
yiannis
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Re: KITTIM

Post by yiannis »

Another explanation about the connection of Kittim with the Romans is that the Jews saw the Romans arrive in Greek ships and thus the mix-up...Well, it's not very clear but it's never the less interesting!
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