- verses
- 6
- first named
- Genesis 10:25
- last named
- 1 Chronicles 1:23
- period
- the Patriarchs
- tribe
- Early Patriarch
Description
Who was Joktan?
Joktan is mentioned in the genealogies of Genesis 10 and 1Chronicles 1 as a descendant of Shem, the son of Noah. He was the son of Eber and the brother of Peleg (Gen.10.25; 1Ch.1.19). The biblical record states that in the days of Peleg, the earth was divided, possibly referring to the division of languages and nations at the Tower of Babel (Gen.10.25).
Joktan is described as the ancestor of several Arabian tribes. Gen.10.26-29 and 1Ch.1.20-23 list his 13 sons: Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. These names are associated with various regions in Arabia, suggesting that Joktan's descendants settled in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula.
The mention of Joktan and his sons in the Table of Nations (Genesis 10) serves to highlight the diversity of peoples and nations that descended from Noah's sons after the Flood. It also demonstrates the fulfillment of God's command to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth (Gen.9.1).
Although no further details are provided about Joktan's life or his relationship with his descendants, his inclusion in the biblical genealogies emphasizes the connection between the Semitic peoples and the Arabian tribes. It also underscores the importance of genealogical records in ancient Near Eastern societies for establishing family ties and tracing the origins of nations.
Relations
Direct connections
Every entity the graph places in a stated relation with this one, grouped by the kind of link. Each relation is authored once and its inverse derived, so both ends always agree. Rows marked “registry” come from the identity spine rather than from a verse, and a row marked “which bearer is the source’s decision” is one where the name could have meant more than one person. The last group is not a relation at all — it counts the events two entities stand in together.
The 10 best-attested of 15 are drawn. All 15 are listed below.
Child of
- Eberregistrywhich bearer is the source’s decisionGenesis 10:251 Chronicles 1:19
Father of
- Abimaelregistry1 Chronicles 1:22Genesis 10:29
- AlmodadregistryGenesis 10:261 Chronicles 1:20
- Diklahregistry1 Chronicles 1:21Genesis 10:29
- Hadoramregistry1 Chronicles 1:21Genesis 10:29
- Havilahregistry1 Chronicles 1:23Genesis 10:29
- HazarmavethregistryGenesis 10:261 Chronicles 1:20
- JerahregistryGenesis 10:261 Chronicles 1:20
- Jobabregistry1 Chronicles 1:23Genesis 10:29
- Obalregistry1 Chronicles 1:22Genesis 10:29
- Ophirregistry1 Chronicles 1:23Genesis 10:29
- Shebaregistry1 Chronicles 1:22Genesis 10:29
- ShelephregistryGenesis 10:261 Chronicles 1:20
- Uzalregistry1 Chronicles 1:21Genesis 10:29
Sibling of
Stands in the same events as
Places
Where this happens
A person is placed by the events they take part in, and an event has to clear three things to place them: it must say where it happened, that place must be one the gazetteer can put a coordinate on, and the verse must report it rather than foretell, command or ask it. Nothing anchored here clears all three. Where the text names a setting no gazetteer surveys — a vineyard, a palace, a plot of ground — it is left off rather than guessed at; where a place is named only in a prophecy, the map does not draw what was said to be coming as though it had happened; and a place reached only through a relation is not inherited, because standing beside somebody is not being somewhere.
No verse Atlas has read as a report puts this person anywhere.
Not read yet
The pattern
Where Joktan is named
Every book of the corpus in the order it is read, each as wide as the chapters it holds. A bar is the verses of that book which write the name, and the flat stretches are as much of the answer as the bars.
6 verses across 2 of 66 books; 64 write the name nowhere. Named in Genesis (3) and 1 Chronicles (3).
Read it
Where to read it
Every verse of the text carried here that names this entity — 6, across 2 books.
Onward
Where this page goes
Not the direct relations above — these are one hop further out, ranked so that a rare shared connection outweighs a common one. Descriptions by STEPBible TIPNR.
Sources