Page "Japheth" Paragraph 2

Genesis 10: 21 refers to relative ages of Japheth and his brother Shem, but with sufficient ambiguity to have given rise to different translations.

The verse is translated in the KJV as follows, " Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born ".

However, the Revised Standard Version reads, " To Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth, children were born.

" The differing interpretations depend on whether the Hebrew word ha-gadol (" the elder ") is taken as grammatically referring to Japheth, or Shem.