Dodanim

Who is Dodanim?

Dodanim or Rodanim, was, in the Book of Genesis, a son of Javan. Dodanim's brothers, according to Genesis 10:4, were Elishah, Tarshish and Chittim. He is usually associated with the people of the island of Rhodes as their progenitor. "-im" is a plural suffix in Hebrew, and the name may refer to the inhabitants of Rhodes. Traditional Hebrew manuscripts are split between the spellings Dodanim and Rodanim — one of which is probably a copyist's error, as the Hebrew letters for R and D are quite similar graphically. The Samaritan Pentateuch, as well as 1 Chronicles 1:7, have Rodanim, while the Septuagint has Rodioi. The Dodanim were considered either kin to the Greeks or simply Greeks.

The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan calls his country Dordania, while the Targum Neofiti names it Dodonia.

Connections have been suggested with Dodona in Epirus and Dardania in Illyria, as well as with the island of Rhodes. Samuel Bochart associated the form Rodanim with the river Rhone's Latin name, Rhodanus. Franz Delitzsch identified the figure of Dodanim with the Dardanus of Greek mythology, while Joseph Mede equated him with the Jupiter Dodonaeus who had an oracle at Dodona.