The sons of Gomer suggests that the three names that follow are descendants of Gomer and so form, in terms of a lineage, the second generation. However, the names appear, as before, to be the names of groups of people or nations, and so Good News Translation says “the descendants of Gomer were the people of….” This is a satisfactory model to follow.

Ashkenaz: the only other mention of this name in the Old Testament is Jer 51.27, where, in league with Ararat and Minni, Ashkenaz is called to war against Babylon.

Riphath: this name occurs only here in the Old Testament and not at all in any ancient cuneiform texts.

Togarmah occurs in Ezek 27.13-14 along with Javan, Tubal, and Meshech. This makes the geographical association of Togarmah with the northern part of Asia Minor almost certain.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .