Joktan (also written asYoktan;Hebrew:יָקְטָן,Modern: Yŏqṭan,Tiberian: Yāqṭān;Arabic:يقطان,romanized: Yaqṭān) was the second of the two sons ofEber (Book of Genesis 10:25;1 Chronicles 1:19) mentioned in theHebrew Bible. He descends fromShem, son ofNoah.
In theBook of Genesis 10:25 it reads: "And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one wasPeleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan."
Joktan's sons in the order provided inGenesis 10:26–29, wereAlmodad,Sheleph,Hazarmaveth,Jerah,Hadoram,Uzal,Diklah, Obal,Abimael,Sheba,Ophir,Havilah, andJobab.
InPseudo-Philo's account (ca. 70), Joktan was first made prince over the children ofShem, just asNimrod and Phenech were princes over the children ofHam andJapheth, respectively. In his version, the three princes command all persons to bake bricks for theTower of Babel; however, twelve, including several of Joktan's own sons, as well as Abraham and Lot, refuse the orders. Joktan smuggles them out ofShinar and into the mountains, to the annoyance of the other two princes.[1]
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There is an Arab tradition that Joktan was the progenitor of all the purest tribes of Southern Arabia.[2] Joktan has been identified with Qahtān (Arabic: قحطان), the ancestral figure ofQahtanites, in traditional Arab genealogy.[3] Three of Joktan's sons have connections to South Arabia.Sheba is identified as the ancient South Arabian kingdom of Saba.[4]Hazarmaveth (Biblical Hebrew: חֲצַרְמָוֶת,tr. Ḥăṣarmāweṯ;Arabic: حضرموت) has been identified with the South Arabian region ofHadhramaut and according to various Bible dictionaries, the name "Hazarmaveth" means "court of death" which reflects a meaning similar to the Arabic folk etymologies of the region.[5]Hadoram according to Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan is interpreted as denoting "the south" and it was a fortress to the south of Yemen'sSana'a.[6]
Theories (based on a literal reading ofGenesis 10:30, which states that Joktan's descendants migrated eastward)[7] suggested that Joktan is the progenitor of theMongoloid race, includingeast Asians and theindigenous peoples of the Americas, with theYucatan Peninsula supposedly being named after Joktan.[8][9] One early proponent of this theory was the theologianBenito Arias Montano, who proposed a link between the names ofOphir, Joktan's son, andPeru.[9]
