Togarmah & the Koreas

On 30/08/202105/02/2024 By The Lightkeeper7 Comments

Chapter VI

There are exceptions to every rule in family living together, as per point number one in the introduction. We will encounter two significant exceptions amongst Japheth’s grandsons, with the first being the youngest son of Gomer and his prompt decision to dwell apart from his siblings. Togarmah is highlighted as a people with military capability and forms a prominent part of the formidable alliance with Magog and Gomer’s other sons [refer Chapter V Gomer: Continental South East Asia and Chapter X China: Magog, Tubal & Meshech].

Book of Jasher 10:10-12

10 And the children of Tugarma are ten families, and these are their names: Buzar, Parzunac, Balgar, Elicanum, Ragbib, Tarki, Bid, Zebuc, Ongal and Tilmaz; all these spread and rested in the north and built themselves cities. 11 And they called their cities after their own names, those are they who abide by the rivers Hithlah and Italac unto this day. 12 But the families of Angoli, Balgar and Parzunac, they dwell by the great river Dubnee; and the names of their cities are also according to their own names.

Ancient Civilisation:

‘Encyclopaedia Britannica says that the Armenians traditionally claim to be descended from Togarmah… Ancient Armenia reached into Turkey. The name Turkey probably comes from Togarmah.’

We will see repeatedly on our journey, nations claiming to be a Bible identity though this does not make it so.

Israel a History of:

‘The Jewish Targums claim that Germany was also derived from Togarmah and his descendants. Turkey and Turkestan also have possible connections with Togarmah.’

Derek Walker – emphasis & bold mine:

‘Togarmah is another country aligned with Russia [Russia is not Magog, Meshech or Tubal]. He was a son of Gomer, son of Japheth (Genesis 10:1-3), known in Assyrian records as Tilgarimmu, a city state in Eastern Anatolia (Asia Minor, modern Turkey)… This identification is generally acknowledged by all. The Bible confirms Togarmah’s location in Ezekiel 38:6: “Beth-Togarmah from the uttermost parts of the north with all its troops.” The word Beth at the beginning of the word is the Hebrew word for “house.” It means “house or place of Togarmah.” In Ezekiel 38:6: “the house of Togarmah, and all its hordes” are specifically pointed out as being from the north.

Therefore we know it is directly north of Israel [the sons of Jacob – not the State of Israel]. Some of the sons of Togarmah can be traced to the Turkoman tribes of Central Asia. Rimmer had no doubts that Togarmah is ancient Armenia (most of which is in Turkey today…) and cited certain Assyrian chronicles as well as Tacitus in support of his view. He said that the title the House of Togarmah is a common description for Armenia in Armenian literature.

All agree to identify Togarmah with Armenia and Turkey. This fits Ezekiel, for Turkey is directly north of Israel. There’s a possible etymological connection between the names Togarmah and Turkey and Turkestan. In Ezekiel’s time, there was a city in Cappodocia (Turkey) known as Tegarma, Tagarma, Til-garimmu, and Takarama. It’s significant that [four] of the ancient locations Ezekiel gives are found today in the nation of Turkey. Clearly God is emphasising Turkey’s important part in the end-time coalition…’

The location of Togarmah in Asia Minor if accurate, relates to thousands of years ago, directly after the flood [refer Chapter I Noah Antecessor Nulla]. Many peoples have dwelt at this major continental intersection at one time or another; migrating as new peoples encroached. All these different groups of people cannot now still be living there, or all be called Turks.

Dr Hoeh in his 1957, Plain Truth article adds:

‘One branch of the family of Gomer, however, did not journey to Southeast Asia. Ezekiel 38:6 explains it: “The house of Togarmah in the uttermost parts of the north, and all his bands” (Jewish translation). The far, far north means Russian Siberia today! That is where the descendants of Togarmah (Genesis 10:3) live. These Asiatics are still a wild nomadic people, much as they were 2500 years ago, trading “with horses and horsemen and mules” (Ezekiel 27:14).’

The descendants of Togarmah figure more prominently in world affairs than as non-specifically identified nomadic, tribal, horsemen. The two scriptures mentioned by Dr Hoeh pertaining to Togarmah:

Ezekiel 27:14

New Century Version

14 People of Beth Togarmah traded your goods for work horses, war horses, and mules.

This verse today, with a modern application, is revealing a people who are economically and technically advanced; producing machinery and transport for industry and arms weaponry.

Ezekiel 38:6 English Standard Version, translates as quoted by Hoeh.

Gomer and all his hordes; Beth-togarmah from the uttermost parts of the north with all his hordes – many peoples are with you.

Derek Walker explained the meaning of Beth as house. It is a family unit. Its use is showing Togarmah as a separate entity from his brothers Ashkenaz and Riphath. We learned when studying Madai, that Asshur or Assyria lives in the north. There are not many options in Central and East Asia for who Togarmah might be today. Other translations state:

New Century Version

… the nation of Togarmah from the far north…

New English Translation

… and by Beth Togarmah from the remote parts of the north…

There are only four peoples or five nations, which Togarmah could be: China, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea and Japan.

Youngs Literal Translation

… The house of Togarmah of the sides of the north…

This is a more specific translation and eliminates China and Mongolia.

Modern King James version

… the house of Togarmah from the recesses of the north…

This translation effectively eliminates Japan, for the connotation of this word is a bend, a crook or even a hook. In the King James version it says ‘of the north quarters’. North in Hebrew, tsaphon from the root H6845 tsaphan, signifies ‘hidden, stored up, dark, gloomy’ and ‘unknown.’ Quarters in Hebrew, from H3411: yrekah meaning side or sides [used 21 times in KJV], coasts [3], parts [2], border [1], quarters [1]. It also means ‘flank, extreme parts, the rear or recess’ and ‘recesses.’

The Peninsula jutting out from the Asian continent with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in the north and the Republic of Korea in the South, is the clear answer to where Togarmah is located today. This was not obvious until looking at this verse very closely. I had initially considered that Meshech and Tubal were North and South Korea respectively and Japan was Togarmah. Though only Korea, could equate to being tucked away and hidden in a crook or recess.

Korea was split in two in 1945 and unlike North and South Vietnam does not look like uniting anytime soon. The use of House of Togarmah in Ezekiel 38:6, may hint at just one of the Koreas being part of the military alliance with Magog and the rest of Gomer – or, it might be revealing the eventual unification of Korea.

Abarim Publications:

‘The name Togarmah most likely originated in a language other than Hebrew, and therefore does not occur as a word in the Hebrew language. But, transliterated as is, at the heart of the name Togarmah sits the common Hebrew noun (gerem), bone, which figuratively is used to mean self or strength. It comes from the verb (garam), meaning to lay aside or save… The verb [garam] means to leave over, to save for later… to break bones [or breaking bones].’

Recall the names of Gomer, Riphath and Askenaz: ‘Bring to an end’, ‘Crushers’, ‘fire is scattered’ or ‘sprinkling of blood’ [refer Chapter V Gomer: Continental South East Asia]. Further dread then, with the addition of ‘Bone breaker’ to this formidable list of adversaries.

Readers paying careful attention, may remember this quote earlier from the preceding chapter on Gomer – emphasis & bold mine:

‘The study said that Vietnamese people were the only population in the study’s phylogenetic analysis that did not reflect a sizable genetic difference between East Asian and Southeast Asian populations. Jung Jongsun et al. (2010) said that genetic structure analysis found significant admixture in “Vietnamese (or Cambodian) with unknown Southern original settlers.” The study said that it used Cambodians and Vietnamese to represent “Southern people,”… The study also said that Vietnamese people are located between Chinese and Cambodian people in the study’s genome map.’

Bhak Jong-hwa, a professor in the biomedical engineering department at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) states:

‘… the ancient Vietnamese, which was a population that flourished with rapid agricultural development after 8,000 BC, slowly travelled north to ancient civilizations in the Korean peninsula and the Russian Far East. Bhak said that Korean people were formed from the admixture of agricultural Southern Mongoloids from Vietnam who went through China – [According to most linguists and archaeologists with expertise in ancient Korea, the linguistic homeland of proto-Korean and of the early Koreans is located somewhere in Manchuria, particularly the Liao River.] – and hunter-gatherer Northern Mongoloids in the Korean Peninsula. Bhak said, “We believe the number of ancient dwellers who migrated north from Vietnam far exceeds the number of those occupying the peninsula,” making Koreans inherit more of their DNA from southerners.’

Regarding Vietnam, recall that the Vietnamese have a genetic structure that is partially dissimilar to their related neighbours – with an unknown admixture – and aligned to East Asian peoples in contrast. Korea has been populated in part from a migratory wave of people travelling eastward in the north and primarily from another wave of migrants travelling northwards through China from… Vietnam – with Koreans actually possessing a majority of their DNA from these southern immigrants.

This is quite an admission and provides the genetic link between Togarmah and his brother Ashkenaz in continental South East Asia. Who would have thought there is a genetic association between the Vietnamese and Koreans. Yet the Bible revealed this fact millennia’s ago, when it described Togarmah dwelling separately from his brothers.

North Korean soldiers

The Genetic history of Koreans: Studies of polymorphisms in the human Y-chromosome produced evidence to suggest that: ‘the Korean people have a long history as a distinct, mostly endogamous [marrying their own] ethnic group, with successive waves of people moving to the peninsula and three major Y-chromosome haplogroups [O2a1, O1b and C]. Several studies confirmed that Koreans have both a Northeast and Southeast Asian genome.’

Paternal lineages, Jin Han-jun, 2003: ‘Korean males display a high frequency of Haplogroup O-M176 [O1b2, formerly O2b], a subclade that probably has spread mainly from somewhere in the Korean Peninsula or its vicinity, and Hapologroup O-M122 (O2, formerly O3), a common Y-DNA haplogroup among East and Southeast Asians in general.’

Maternal lineages: ‘Haplogroup B [B4 and B5], which occurs very frequently in many populations of Southeast Asia, Polynesia, and the Americas, is found in approximately 10% (ethnic Koreans from Arun Banner, Inner Mongolia) to 20% (Koreans from South Korea) of Koreans. Haplogroup A has been detected in approximately 7% (Koreans from South Korea) to 15% (ethnic Koreans from Arun banner, Inner Mongolia) of Koreans.’ Haplogroup A is the most common mtDNA haplogroup among the Eskimo and many other Amerind ethnic groups of North and Central America.’ Other major Korean mtDNA Haplogroups include: D4 [29%], M7 [11%], G [6%] and F [5%].

Immunoglobulin G: Hideo Matsumoto professor emeritus at Osaka medical College, tested Gm types [genetic markers] of immunoglobulin G of Korean populations in 2009.

Matsumoto said that, ‘Gm afb1b3 is a southern marker gene possibly originating in southern China and found at high frequencies across Southeast Asia, southern China, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Assam and parts of the Pacific. Matsumoto said that the average frequency of Gm afb1b3 for Koreans was 14.7% which was intermediate between a frequency of 10.6% for general Japanese and a frequency of 24.1% for Beijing Han Chinese.’

Autosomal DNA, Jin Han-jun, 1999: ‘… based on genetic studies of classic genetic markers of protein and nuclear DNA… that these 9-bp deletion frequencies are consistent with earlier surveys which showed that 9-bp deletion frequencies increase going from Japan to mainland Asia to the Malay peninsula.’

South Korean man

‘The Cavalli-Sforza’s chord genetic distance (4D,) from Cavalli-Sforza & Bodmer (1971), which is based on the allele frequencies of the intergenic COII/tRNA^Lys region, showed that Koreans are more genetically related to Japanese than Koreans are genetically related to the other East Asian populations which were surveyed. The close genetic affinity between present day Koreans and Japanese is expected due to the Yayoi migration from China and the Korean Peninsula to Japan which began about 2,300 years ago. Horai [1996] detected mtDNA D-loop variation which supports the idea that a large amount of maternal lineages came into Japan from immigrants from the Korean Peninsula after the Yayoi period.’

‘Kim Jong-jin [2005] conducted a study about the genetic relationships among East Asians based on allele frequencies. Focusing on how close Chinese, Japanese and Koreans are genetically related to each other.

The study concluded that Middle West Korea was a melting pot in the Korean Peninsula with people traveling from North to South, South to North, and people traveling from East China…’

Jung [2010] said that Koreans are genetically homogenous. The study stated ‘the affinity of Koreans is predominately Southeast Asian with an estimated admixture of 79% Southeast Asian and 21% Northeast Asian for Koreans… all of the Koreans which were analyzed uniformly displayed a dual pattern of Northeast Asian and Southeast Asian origins. The study said that Koreans and Japanese displayed no observable difference between each other in their proportion of Southeast Asian and Northeast Asian admixture.’ We will refer again to this parallel when we discuss the Japanese.

South Korean woman

The Emerging Limbs and Twigs of the East Asian mtDNA Tree, multiple authors, 2002 – emphasis & bold mine:

‘Haplogroups A, C, D, G, Y, and Z almost completely cover the mtDNA pool of Northeast Asians, whereas in Southeast Asians C, Y, or Z mtDNAs have rarely been found, but instead haplogroups B and F are predominant.

N9a** is, compared with its sister bough Y, widely spread [in SE Asia], although at very low frequencies, among most East Asian populations… Considering the geographic distribution of the boughs and twigs we see further regional patterns. In contrast to A4, which is widely spread, the A5 twig, with its low diversity suggesting shallow time depth [not sons of Japheth but grandsons of Japheth with a mutational evolution and migration, unlike their siblings and uncles], is specific to Koreans and Japanese… Similarly, B4 is the prevailing bough in haplogroup B… covering all haplogroup B types in Native Americans and Polynesians. B5 is found most frequent, accounting for about one third to one half of the B types, in eastern China, Korea, and Japan…

E1 is so far found only in Southeast Asia… F1a is the main branch of F… in Southeast Asia, whereas F1b is more frequent in Central Asians and Mongols, Koreans, and Japanese. G2a is highest among Central Asians (8.8%) [Kazakhstan] and also above 3% in Tibetans and Ainu and rare or absent among southern Chinese, Vietnamese, island Southeast Asians… and Siberians. G3 is not yet well screened, but evidently it is seen in Korea, Mongolia, and Central Asia.

Haplogroup M7, although characteristic for East Asian populations, has not been found in the northeast of the continent… It is also very rare in Central Asians… This haplogroup has been detected so far in China and Vietnam, the Korean peninsula and Japanese islands, as well as among Mongols, the West Siberian Mansi, and island Southeast Asia. Koreans possess lineages from both the southern and the northern haplogroup complex and share M7a with Japanese, Ainu, and Ryukyu islanders. The geographic specificity of the boughs and twigs of M7… is most intriguing: M7c1c is specific to island Southeast Asia and M7b1 is of Chinese provenance, whereas M7a, M7b2, and M7c1b are found almost exclusively in Korea and Japan. In fact, M7 is one of the prevailing haplogroups not only among Japanese (of Honshu and Kyushu) but also for Ainu and Ryukyuans, thus testifying to a common genetic background.’

Khazaria, Korean Genetics – emphasis & bold mine:

‘Among Korean males who have been studied, the Y-DNA (paternal DNA) haplogroups [O1b2] (P49) [M176] and [O2] (M122) were particularly common… Koreans are racially a purely Mongoloid population. They carry the 1540C allele on their EDAR gene which among other things results in thicker hair than other races. Koreans also have the ABCC11 gene nearly universally so they have dry earwax as opposed to the wet earwax of most people in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.’

The Peopling of Korea Revealed by Analyses of Mitochondrial DNA and Y-Chromosomal Markers, Han-Jun Jin, Chris Tyler-Smith, and Wook Kim, 2009:

‘The mtDNA haplogroup D4 is very common among Korean people. This haplogroup is also prevalent in Siberia. The study found mtDNA haplogroup A in about 10% of the Koreans tested.

A is the most frequently encountered mtDNA haplogroup among… New World Indian (Amerindian) populations from North America and Central America. Meanwhile, the mtDNA haplogroup B is also found in some Koreans and it’s also common in China and Japan. Less common Korean mtDNA haplogroups include F, M, R, U, and Z.’

“The Koreans are generally considered a northeast Asian group because of their geographical location. However, recent findings from Y chromosome studies showed that the Korean population contains lineages from both southern and northern parts of East Asia.”

Y-chromosoaml DNA haplogroups and their implications for the dual origins of the Koreans, multiple authors, 2003:

“We have analyzed eight Y-chromosomal binary markers (YAP, RPS4Y(711), M9, M175, LINE1, SRY(+465), 47z, and M95) and three Y-STR markers (DYS390, DYS391, and DYS393) in 738 males from 11 ethnic groups in east Asia in order to study the male lineage history of Korea… the distribution pattern of Y-chromosomal haplogroups reveals the complex origin of the Koreans, resulting from genetic contributions involving the northern Asian settlement and range expansions mostly from southern-to-northern China.”

“The haplogroups carrying the M9-G mutation and additional sublineages of M9-G in Korea appear to be at an intermediate frequency (81.9%) between southeast and northeast Asian populations. This result implies that the Korean population may be influenced by both the northeast and southeast Asian populations. Even within haplogroup O, the most frequent Korean STR haplotype (23-10-13 with the markers DYS390-DYS391-DYS393), 19% of haplogroup O… is the most frequent in the Philippines (27%), whereas the second most frequent Korean haplotype (24-10-12, 16%) is the most frequent in Manchuria (45%)…”

‘In this study, the Koreans appear to be most closely related overall to the Manchurians among east Asian ethnic groups… although a principal components analysis of haplogroup frequencies reveals that they also cluster with populations from Yunnan and Vietnam…’

“Using two multiplex systems, all 593 Korean mtDNAs were allocated into 15 haplogroups: M, D, D4, D5, G, M7, M8, M9, M10, M11, R, R9, B, A, and N9. As the D4 haplotypes occurred most frequently in Koreans, the third multiplex system was used to further define D4 subhaplogroups: D4a, D4b, D4e, D4g, D4h, and D4j.”

“[Mitochondrial] Haplogroup N9a** is characteristic of eastern Asian populations, where it is detected at… frequencies in Japan (4.6%), China (2.8%), Mongolia (2.1%) and Korea (3.9%)…”

Mapping Human Genetic Diversity in Asia, 2009:

‘Koreans were found to have the least amount of Austronesian DNA compared to other East Asian peoples, even a little less than the Japanese.’

This is a significant point, as this lends weight to the proposal that the Koreans with the Japanese, have been separated from the main body of their respective family enclaves. The Austronesian peoples, including the related archipelago southeast Asian nations of the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Polynesia, migrated southwards from Taiwan after crossing from mainland China thousands of years ago [refer Chapter VII Javan: Archipelago South east Asia & Polynesia]. The Japanese as remaining major Island people, were not included in this migratory path. Similarly, for the majority of the Korean people. Thus the Koreans and Japanese having the lowest amount of Austronesian DNA is not a surprise and supports their unorthodox movement and mutual mutational evolution in relation to their respective brothers and cousins.

Dual origins of the Japanese: common ground for hunter-gatherer and farmer Y chromosomes, multiple authors, 2005:

“All southeastern Asian populations cluster together on the left side of the plot; with only northern Han Chinese, Korean, and Manchu populations showing closer affinities with southeastern groups than with their geographic neighbors. All other northeast Asians, as well as central Asians, south Asians, and Oceanic populations, are on the right side of the plot…

[There is a] very low incidence of (Y-DNA) D chromosomes in Korea [D1 (M174)]… [and] very few O-47z [sub-clade of M176 – O1b2] chromosomes found in Korea [8.7%] and Southeast Asia… Haplogroup M12 is the mitochondrial counterpart of Y chromosome D lineage. This rare haplogroup was detected only in mainland Japanese, Koreans, and Tibetans, with the highest frequency and diversity in Tibet (Tanaka et al. 2004).

… Y chromosomes that originated in Southeast Asia expanded to Korea and Japan…”

There is a wealth of Haplogroup data for South Korea and the opposite for North Korea. Even so, there is confirmation unsurprisingly, that the paternal Haplogroups match as they are one people artificially separated and politically divided within two states.

The male South Korean Y-DNA Haplogroups in descending percentage order:

O2a [42.1%] – O1b2 [ 33.1%] – C [12.9%] – N [3.8%] – O1a [3.1%] –

D1 [ 2.5%] – Q [1.8%] – K [0.5%]

It is now interesting to compare South Korea and Vietnam.

Vietnam: O2a [40%] – O1b [32.9%] – Q [7.1%] – O1a [5.7%] – C [4.3%] –

D1 [2.9%] – N [2.9%] – J2 [2.9%]

Vietnam: O2a – O1b – Q – O1a – C – D – N – J2

South Korea: O2a – O1b – C – N – O1a – D – Q – K

If we disregard Vietnam’s West Asia influenced J2 and also the rarer Q for East Asian populations, then aside from C, it is remarkable how aligned Korea and Vietnam are in their prime paternal marker Haplogroup of O2a1, followed by O1b and O1a in line with their autosomal DNA, as shown on the PCA graph below. One could believe they had the same father [refer Chapter V Gomer: Continental South East Asia].

Substantiating the familial link and the geographic estrangement as revealed in the scriptures regarding Togarmah and his brothers Ashkenaz and Riphath.

What would be the odds that these two peoples – two brothers – consisting of Vietnam and Korea would both be cut in half so-to-speak, during the twentieth century. The two peoples are also located on the eastern extremity or coastline, of their respective regions.

Now adding the prime Korean Haplogroups to the table we began in chapter III – with the addition of Haplogroup N – while also delineating between the three main strains of the O Haplogroup.

O O2a O1a O1b C D K Q N

NA Amerindian 6 77

Kazakhstan 8 40 10 2 7

Vietnam 79 40 6 33 4 3 7 3

South Korea 79 42 3 33 13 2.5 0.5 2 4

The Koreans show the link to north Asian migration with a considerably higher level of Haplogroup C, as we find in Central Asia. Some dispute that Y-DNA Haplogroups O1 and O2 are East Asian defining markers, but as we progress it will become difficult to support that premise. We have now studied all three of Gomer’s sons, of which Haplogroup O is clearly the principle group. As O2a followed by O1b are the principle paternal defining marker Haplogroups for continental South East Asian males, so they are for Korean men as well. We will soon turn our attention to Gomer’s younger brother Javan and his four sons, whom parallel Gomer’s sons in more ways than one.

The House of Togarmah is a very specific title and an uncommon usage in the Bible. It may allude to one Korea in the predicted East Asian Army of the future; or it might be specifying North Korea’s involvement in Magog’s military machine. Once we have concluded Japheth’s sons identities, it will be apparent why both options have to be weighed.

A comparison of North and South Korea:

Indicator	North Korea	South Korea
Capital	Pyongyang	Seoul
Official languages	Korean
Government	Juche single-party state	Representative Democracy
Formal declaration	9 September 1948	15 August 1948
Area	120,540 km²	100,210 km²
Population (2022)	26,049,276	51,375,868
GDP total (2011/2014)	$40 billion	$1.755 trillion
Currency	Korean People’s won	Korean Republic won
Active military personnel	1,106,000	639,000
Military expenditure (2010/2012)	$10 billion	$30 billion

North and South Korea’s combined population is very close to the Amerindian and the Turko-Mongol populations in the world. With regard to Ezekiel 27:14 and the economic and military strength of Togarmah, it is worth listing the key industries and exports of both countries.

North Korea: military products, machine building, electric power, chemicals, mining [coal, iron ore, limestone, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead and precious metals], metallurgy, food processing and tourism.

South Korea: electronics, telecommunications, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding and steel.

South Korea, with a 2019 GDP of $1.65 trillion was the 12th largest economy in the world. South Korea’s economic journey is a twentieth century success story – the miracle on the Han River. South Korea is reputed for its strategy of export led growth, the dominance of its large business conglomerates called Chaebols and its highly motivated and educated populace. South Korea has built a network of free trade agreements with over fifty-eight countries which account for over three-quarters of the world’s GDP.

South Korea ranks highly on the index of nations with superior technology, at number three in the world. South Korea is the birthplace to some of the biggest names in technology and development: LG, Hyundai, and Samsung are all global leaders. South Korea is also in the forefront of the incredibly vital robotics field. In 2023, South Korea was ranked 10th in the world on the Global Innovation Index – only one of two East Asian countries in the top ten, the other being Singapore at number five.

South Korea is included in the group of Next Eleven countries which are projected to dominate the global economy in the middle of the 21st century. The other N-11 nations include Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Turkey, and Vietnam. Most of the group’s total gross domestic product derives from Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea and Turkey, whose economies have grown significantly. The World Bank described South Korea as one of the fastest growing major economies of the next generation along with the burgeoning economies of the BRIC nations comprising Brazil, Russia, India and China as well as non-BRIC nation Indonesia.

North Korea holds the dubious honour of being one of the world’s foremost powder kegs. While there are potential military hotspots in the world, such as in the Middle East, Africa and Russia, where conflagrations could ignite in a flash; it would not be a surprise if East Asia were to become the focus of attention, should a third world war enveloping the major powers arise over a geo-political crisis regarding Korea or Taiwan for instance, or even from escalated economic tension stemming from evolving trading blocs.

Fools do not want to understand anything. They only want to tell others what they think.

Proverbs 18:2 New Century Version

“Did I ever think I might have been wrong? Yes, sometimes and briefly. But never because of the supposed majority against me.”

Christopher Hitchens

Gomer: Continental South East Asia

On 28/08/202121/04/2024 By The Lightkeeper7 Comments

Chapter V

Japheth’s eldest son is Gomer. He had three sons and they are the first three great grandsons of Noah listed in Genesis Ten.

Genesis 10:3

English Standard Version

The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.

We will discuss the first two sons Ashkenaz and Riphath with their father Gomer, while studying the third son, Togarmah separately [Chapter VI Togarmah & the Koreas]. The following quotes are reprinted in large part, to show how the first suggestion of an identity – in this instance 438 years ago – can take hold perpetuating an error. Also, to highlight the pitfalls of using any given word as a proof, when they are either just interesting or completely misleading. These two points have almost irreparably discredited the identity of nations teaching.

Ancient Civilisation:

‘In modern Turkey is an area which in New Testament times was called Galatia. The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus records that the people who were called Galatians or Gauls in his day (c. AD 93) were previously called Gomerites [this is disputable]. They migrated westward to what are now called France and Spain [the Galatians or Gauls did]. For many centuries France was called Gaul, after the descendants of Gomer [incorrect]. North-west Spain is called Galicia to this day. Some of the Gomerites migrated further to what is now called Wales. The Welsh historian, Davis… records that the Welsh language is called Gomeraeg (after their ancestor Gomer) [incorrect].’

The words Gaul and Gallic have a closer ethnic association with the words Gael[s] and Gaelic, though not necessarily an etymological one. The descendants of Gomer as Asian kin of Tiras and Madai, can not be the ancestors of the Welsh [refer Chapter III Tiras the Amerindian and Chapter IV Central Asia – Madai & the Medes].

Israel a History of:

‘Herodotus and Plutarch associate Gomer, Japheth’s first son, with the peoples of Cimmeria, a region north of the Black Sea. Cimmeria is modern day Crimea. A certain group of Gomer’s descendants eventually moved westward, and the name was more than likely preserved in the names Germany and Cambria, or Wales.’

There is a link between the Welsh and the Cimmerians, just not with Gomer. Likewise, some have tried to equate the name Gomer with the word German. Trying to fit an Asian group into a European line does not work. Assumptions are easily made and ancient historians too readily relied upon.

A H Sayce pages 48-49 – emphasis mine & bold mine:

‘Jeremiah (51.27) makes it pretty clear in what part of the world we are to look for Ashkenaz… Ararat was the district which lay between the Araxes and the mountains south of Lake Van, while the Minni adjoined the kingdom of Ararat on the east. Ashkenaz accordingly must have been precisely where an inscription of Sargon places the people of the Asguza, and we may therefore feel but little hesitation in identifying the two together. The Gimirra, or Kimmerians, are placed in the same locality by certain cuneiform inscriptions which relate to the closing days of the Assyrian Empire. On Riphath no light has as yet been thrown by the decipherment of the records of the past…’

As per point number two in the introduction, Sayce has possibly located where these people once lived though not where they finally migrated.

Oxford Bible Church, Derek Walker – emphasis and bold mine:

‘Another participant in the end-time confederation of nations is ancient Gomer… Some prophecy teachers as well as the Rabbinical view identify Gomer as Germany, and the Jewish Talmud positively identify Gomer with the Germans.’

An Asian line of Japheth has been incorrectly matched to a European line of Shem. It would be helpful to learn exactly what the positive identification of Germany with Gomer is?

‘A closer examination, however, reveals that the Gomerites were the ancient Cimmerians, expelled in 700 BC from the southern steppes of Russia into the area we know today as Turkey. Gomer, scholars seem to almost universally agree, “refers to the Celtic Cimmerians of Crim-Tartary.” Gomer is well known to the ancient world as Gimarrai of north central Asia Minor [Cappadocia]. These people are also known as the Cimmerians. This seems to be the simplest, most obvious interpretation. Gomer is to be identified with the Cimmerians (the Cimarrai of the Assyrian inscriptions), located on the shores of the Black and Caspian Seas. Gomer is Gimarra is Cimmeria is Cappadocia – central Turkey.

The Cimmerians are well known to secular historians. The Scythians chased them across the Caucasus mountains into Asia Minor (Turkey). They made their way through that land, destroyed the Phrygian kingdom in the 7th-8th century BC., and in the 5th century raided the kingdom of Lydia. They kept all of southern and western Asia in turmoil for a century and a half.

Dr Young, citing the best of the most recent archaeological finds, says of Gomer [Cimmerians]: “They settled on the north of the Black Sea and then spread themselves westward and southward to the extremities of Europe.” Josephus said Gomer founded those whom the Greeks called the Galatians. This confirms the best identification of Gomer as Turkey.’

Confusion has arisen as ‘Gomer’ is superficially linked to the Gimarri or Cimmerians and later, with the Gauls. The Cimmerians were warlike and spread to the extremities of southwestern Europe, before migrating to the British Isles. They just weren’t the Gomerites descended from Japheth.

Possibly the first author to identify Gomer, the Cimmerians and Cimbri with the Welsh name for themselves Cymri or Cymry, was the English antiquarian William Camden in his work: Britannia, published in 1586. In his 1716 book Drych y Prif Oesoedd, Welsh antiquary Theophilus Evans, posited correctly that the Welsh were descended from the Cimmerians and incorrectly, from Gomer.

An identity is offered and whether correct or incorrect, it is upheld. Scholars and researchers assume the question is answered. A certain academic laziness ensues and 438 years later, an original error deleteriously affects the mosaic of the overall identity jig-saw puzzle.

Celtic linguists follow the etymology proposed by Johann Kaspar Zeuss in 1853, which derives Cymry from the Brythonic word Combrogos, meaning ‘fellow countryman’. The name Gomer – as in the pen-name of 19th century editor and author Joseph Harris – and its modern Welsh derivatives such as Gomeraeg – as an alternative name for the Welsh language – became popular for a time in Wales, but the Gomerian theory has long since been discredited as an outdated hypothesis with no historical or linguistic validity.

In rabbinic literature the kingdom of Ashkenaz was associated with the Scythian region, then later with the Slavic territories and from the Eleventh century, with Germany and northern Europe. Medieval Jews associated the term with the geographical area of the Rhineland and the Palatinate of Western Germany. The Jewish culture which developed in the area came to be called Ashkenazi. How the name of Ashkenaz came to be associated in the rabbinic literature with the Rhineland is a subject of speculation.

Associating a name from a grandson of Japheth with descendants from Shem is certainly going too muddy the waters. Ironically, we will learn later that the name Ashkenaz actually does have an association with the Jewish people – just not the one derived from Gomer [refer Chapter XXIX Esau: The Thirteenth Tribe].

Herman Hoeh comments – capitalisation his, emphasis & bold mine:

‘Look in your Bible for a map – if you have one in your Bible. There you will probably have pictured the descendants of Gomer migrating into Europe! Nothing could be further from the truth. They migrated in exactly the opposite direction! But do you know why many have assumed that Gomer may be in modern Europe today? Because the people of Northwest Europe journeyed through the land of Gomer before coming to Europe and were therefore called Kymmri! Prophecy says this very fact would occur! Notice what Israel is called while in captivity: “Gomer” (Hosea 1:3). The woman “Gomer” mentioned by the prophet had the same name which the children of Israel bore when coming into Europe! The Israelites were called Khumri or Cymmri, or Khmeri, or Cimmerians upon reaching northwest Europe. But where are the descendants of Gomer today?’

This is conjecture on Hoeh’s part, for there is a better case for the word Kymmri deriving from a king of Israel, called Omri [refer Chapter XXX Judah & Benjamin – the Regal Tribes]

‘Gomer originally settled northeast of Elam. From here they were driven to the Caucasus, between the Black and the Caspian Sea. Then they journeyed to Southeast Asia! Notice! The native name for Cambodia in Indo-China is Khmer – the land of Gomer! Read the BRITANNICA article on Cambodia. Associated with Gomer are the Chams and Annamese. Could this be only a coincidence? The Cambodians are related to the Siamese [Thailand], [and] Burmese [Myanmar]… In the ancient land of Gomer dwelled a small tribe called the Lullu (ENCYCLOPAEDIA BIBLICA). In extreme South China today dwell the Lulu, a non-Chinese race related to the people of Southeast Asia!’

The two eldest sons of Gomer, Ashkenaz and Riphath, migrated to mainland South East Asia and settled in what was historically called, Indochina. The name Indochina, was given to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, due to their being culturally and socially influenced by the Indian [Indo] and Chinese [China] cultures. The region comprises the nations of Myanmar [formerly Burma and the Burmese], Thailand [formerly Siam and the Siamese], Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

We will look at the island nations of South East Asia separately as they identify with a different son from Japheth.

The meaning of Gomer in Hebrew: ‘completion, complete’ or ‘perfect.’ From the verb meaning, ‘to complete, bring to an end’ or ‘come to an end’.

We read of Gomer in the Book of Jubilees 9:8-9.

And the first portion came forth for Gomer to the east from the north side to the river Tina; and in the north there came forth for Magog all the inner portions of the north until it reaches to the sea of Me’at.

Gomer is described as being adjacent and southwards of Magog, when Japheth’s descendants made their original settlement in south eastern Europe and western Asia.

Riphath is not mentioned outside Genesis Ten and 1 Chronicles One, though seems to be synonymous with Gomer. The meaning of his name is not straight forward. It can include: ‘fruit, grain, healers’ and possibly ‘crushers.’ The noun is ripa, some sort of beaten and dried grain or fruit. The verb is rapa, to heal.

Abarim Publications – emphasis & bold mine:

‘… since we don’t know how to translate the word [Riphath] we also don’t know what to do with the name… To add to the confusion, in 1 Chronicles 1:6 this descendant of Gomer is called Diphath – the letters d and r look much alike. Maybe this discrepancy is due to a scribal error, and maybe the man simply had two names. Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names refers to a root that doesn’t exist. Jones erroneously points at Job 26:11, where the verb (rapap), meaning to shake or tremble is used. And so Jones reads Crusher… NOBSE Study Bible Name List and BDB Theological Dictionary don’t even try to translate this name. Whatever Riphath may have been supposed to mean, the intent is lost for good. But to a Hebrew audience, the name Riphath may have sounded like Healers.’

Ashkenaz and Riphath are not obvious in their identification, though their names provide possible clues. Thailand is at the forefront for herbal remedies as well as cosmetic surgery, as Riphath possibly alludes in to heal.

Flag of Vietnam

Gomer’s eldest son, Ashkenaz’s name is from the noun esh, meaning: ‘fire’, ke: ‘like’ or ‘as’ and the verb naza, ‘to sprinkle’. In Hebrew it means: ‘sprinkles like fire’ or ‘so fire is scattered’ with a connotation of a fire offering or a ritualistic sprinkling of blood or water and immediately reminds of the Vietnam war and the destructiveness of napalm.

The leading economy of the the five nations is Thailand, with the second highest population after Vietnam, and the second biggest area after Myanmar. Thailand is the 22nd largest economy in the world – 5th in East Asia – with a GDP of $543.55 billion in 2019. The Thai economy possesses relatively high quality infrastructure as well as pro-free enterprise and pro-investment policies. Thailand is very dependent on exports; accounting for about two-thirds of its GDP. Thailand has a substantial international tourism industry. While its agricultural sector only makes up about 10% of its economy, it employs nearly a full 30% of its workers.

‘The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Thai global shipments during 2020.

Machinery including computers: US$37.7 billion
Electrical machinery, equipment: $34.1 billion
Vehicles: $24.1 billion
Gems, precious metals: $18 billion
Rubber, rubber articles: $15.5 billion
Plastics, plastic articles: $11.9 billion
Meat/seafood preparations: $6.6 billion
Mineral fuels including oil: $6.1 billion
Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $4.7 billion
Fruits, nuts: $4.2 billion

Gems and precious metals was the fastest-growing among the top 10 export categories, up by 14.9% since 2019 propelled by higher international sales of gold. The leading decliner among Thailand’s top 10 export categories was mineral fuels including oil which fell -27.8% year over year.’

Thai Woman

In the Bible, Gomer is mentioned just once, aside from the genealogical lists; in a yet future, intimidating military alliance with several other nations. In Ezekiel 38:2-6, ESV we read:

2 “Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him 3 and say, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.

4 And I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great host, all of them with buckler and shield, wielding swords.

5 Persia, Cush, and Put are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6 Gomer and all his hordes; Beth-togarmah from the uttermost parts of the north with all his hordes – many peoples are with you.”

Notice Togarmah is differentiated from Gomer, as his descendants migrated to a distant land. Gomer is able to field a large army in this already massive military operation.

Countries comprising Continental SE Asia

Country	Population (2022)
Vietnam	99,419,132
Thailand	70,217,312
Myanmar	55,280,166
Cambodia	17,276,335
Laos	7,525,556

With a combined population of nearly 250 million people, we can understand how this would be feasible. If we return briefly to Gomer and his first two sons names meanings, it is a rather frightening prospect when they are placed together:

‘Bring to an end’, ‘Crushers’, ‘fire is scattered’ and ‘sprinkling of blood’.

Ashkenaz is highlighted in a single verse in Jeremiah 51:27, NET:

“Raise up battle flags throughout the lands. Sound the trumpets calling the nations to do battle. Prepare the nations to do battle against Babylonia. Call for these kingdoms to attack her: Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a commander to lead the attack. Send horses against her like a swarm of locusts” – Revelation 9:3-11.

‘Footnote: Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz were three kingdoms located in the Lake Van-Lake Urmia region that are now parts of eastern Turkey and northwestern Iran. These kingdoms were conquered and made vassal states by the Medes in the early sixth century.‘

The regions of Ararat and Minni are described as kingdoms, placed on a similar footing with Ashkenaz. Actually, they are even listed before Ashkenaz. Thus they are not regions within another territory. The fact that the Bible states them, shows they are an identifiable family subdivision of Gomer as his additional sons, or perhaps the link to his eldest son Ashkenaz, means they are Gomer’s grandsons. As we read from A H Sayce, we know this was where these peoples were once located in modern Armenia, though they are not there now. If Ashkenaz and Riphath’s children are located in former Indo-China; how do these other two peoples relate to them?

It is not integral in understanding Gomer’s future role, where Ashkenaz and Riphath are specifically located, though it is valuable in investigating for those people who may be represented by them today. With the introduction of Ararat and Minni, coupled with Diphath, the enigmatic double of Riphath, the mystery broadens. We have five Biblical identities associated with Gomer’s sons Ashkenaz and Riphath and we have unsurprisingly, five modern nations in continental Southeast Asia.

Previously, we addressed the original Ararat Mountains representing the Himalayas and the mountain ranges in Anatolia – modern Turkey – becoming a later identification [refer Chapter I Noah Antecessor Nulla]. If the people of Ararat and Minni were once associated with this area in the past, then might they be near the Himalayas or in a mountainous region today?

The most mountainous nation in Southeast Asia is coincidentally, Myanmar – followed by Indonesia. The Hkakabo Razi is believed to be Myanmar’s highest mountain. The 19,295 foot tall mountain is also the highest mountain in Southeast Asia and is located in the northern Myanmar state of Kachin, in an outlying subrange of the Greater Himalayan mountain system adjacent to the tri-point border with India and China.

Abarim Publications – bold mine:

‘Ararat is the name of a mountain range, which is famous for being the site of the first ship wreck in history: the stranding of the Ark of Noah (Genesis 8:4). Nowadays nobody knows for sure where the Ararat might be… according to Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names the name Ararat comes from (1) the common Hebrew word (har) hill, mountain. And (2) the Hebrew verb (yarad) to go down, descend, march down. Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names reads Mountain Of Descent, which is a wonderful interpretation if it didn’t ignore the final teth.

The following cluster of words seems more appropriate: (‘arar), to curse; (retet), trembling, panic, and (rata), wring out (Job 16:11), a word that, according to BDB Theological Dictionary may have to do with (yarat), precipitate, or be headlong, contrary (Numbers 22:32, “… because your way is contrary to me”. BDB Theological Dictionary suggest an alternative reading, “… thou hast precipitated the journey in front of me”.) As is the case with many names from the earliest chapters of Genesis, it’s impossible to retrieve the intended meaning of the name Ararat. We can’t even be sure in which language this name originated. But the way this name was later spelled, it seems to stylise the Noah story: A curse and a trembling; then a mountain and a future in a flash laid out.’

The definition of Ararat is insightful with its accurate description of Noah’s family trekking down a mountain of magnitude, to populate the Indus Valley after the Flood.

Minni in Hebrew means: ‘my portion, partly’. A subtle link with ‘my portion’ to Madai’s ‘middle land’ and Japheth’s ‘enlarged’. From the preposition min, ‘from’, or the verb mana, ‘to count or reckon.’ The name Minni appears to have also originated from a language other than Hebrew.

In 1 Chronicles, Riphath is called Diphath. This is puzzling, as I do not believe it is an accident of a scribes quill. We learnt there was no clear definite meaning for Riphath. Diphath seems a shadow of the same name. As there appears to be three components to Ashkenaz, there seems to be a similar aspect with Riphath, of two parts.

Book of Jasher 10:8-9

8 And the children of Gomer, according to their cities, were… by the river Franza, by the river Senah. 9 And the children of Rephath are the Bartonim, who dwell in the land of Bartonia by the river Ledah, which empties its waters in the great sea Gihon, that is, oceanus.

The River Mekong is 2,703 miles long; the worlds 12th longest river and 7th in Asia. It serves all five nations and strategically opens out to the South China Sea via Vietnam.

Online comment, One:

‘Interestingly, linguistic-wise, Cambodia and Vietnam share… the same language family. Integration of Cambodia into [the] Vietnam[ese] cultural and political sphere[s] also took place regularly in [an] historical context[;] [with the] conquest and cultural conversion often instigate[d] by the Vietnamese empire of the past[,] against the remnant of the old Khmer empire.’

Flag of Cambodia

Online comment, Two – emphasis & bold mine:

‘I’m often asked how similar Burmese is to the national languages of its Southeast Asian [neighbours], namely Thai, Lao and Khmer. And I’ve got to say: Burmese is quite different from the other three, whether it’s phonology, grammar, vocabulary, or writing.

In my perspective, one can divide Southeast Asia into two distinct sub-regions: continental Southeast Asia (Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam) and insular Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore [Chapter VII Javan: Archipelago South East Asia & Polynesia]). The national languages of Southeast Asia can similarly be divided along those same lines. It’s worth noting that all languages fall into a number of language families, which groups together languages that share a common ancestor, the proto-language of that family.

According to this conceptualization, Burmese is a clear outlier, as it is the only national language that’s part of the Sino-Tibetan language family, among the ranks of Chinese varieties and Tibetan. Thai and Lao are members of the Tai-Kadai language family. In fact, the two are quite similar, such that Thai and Lao are seen as languages in a Tai language ‘dialect continuum’ spanning from Thailand to southwest China. On the other hand, Khmer is part of the Mon-Khmer language family, linguistically related with neighboring Vietnamese.’

The principal lowland inhabitants of Laos are the Lao, who politically and culturally are the dominant group. They comprise the bulk of the Lao Loum; approximately 60% of the total population. The Lao are considered a branch of the Tai people, who began migrating southward from China in the first millennium CE.

Cambodian Man

Thais tend to have high frequencies of Y-DNA Haplogroup O-M95 including its O-M88, O1b sub-clade, which also has been found with high frequency among both the Cham of Vietnam, the Kuy people in Laos and Cambodia, as well as the Jarai of Cambodia.

The genetic testing website 23andme groups Khmer people under the ‘Indonesian, Khmer, Thai & Myanmar’ reference population. This reference population contains people who have had recent ancestors from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Notice Vietnam is excluded, plus the similarity with Malaysia and Indonesia is possibly due to overspill from the migration of people of Ashkenaz, Riphath and the others to these two, non-Gomer descended nations.

Kim Wook in 2000, stated that genetically, Vietnamese people are more clustered with East Asians, of which his study analyzed DNA samples from Chinese, Japanese, Koreans and Mongolians, rather than with Southeast Asians. The same study analysed DNA samples of Indonesians, Filipinos and Thais included with the Vietnamese. The study observed that Vietnamese people were the only population in the study’s phylogenetic analysis that did not reflect a sizeable genetic difference between East Asian and Southeast Asian populations. In other words, they intriguingly bridge the genetic gap between these two regions.

Jung Jongsun in 2010, said that genetic structure analysis found significant admixture in ‘Vietnamese with unknown Southern original settlers’ and that Vietnamese people are located between Chinese and Cambodian people in the study’s genome map.

We will return to the anomaly of the Vietnamese being different from their four related neighbours, whilst having a strong link with northeastern Asia [refer Chapter VI Togarmah & the Koreas].

Complete human mtDNA genome sequences from Vietnam and the phylogeography of Mainland Southeast Asia, multiple authors, 2018 – emphasis & bold mine:

‘Vietnam is an important crossroads within Mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA) and a gateway to Island Southeast Asia… However, comparatively few studies have been undertaken of the genetic diversity of Vietnamese populations. We sequenced the entire mtDNA genome from 609 unrelated Vietnamese individuals… 399 distinct sequences (haplotypes) belonging to 135 haplogroups were identified, all belonging to the two macro-haplogroups M and N… Overall, F1 is the predominant haplogroup (19.38%) followed by B4 (17.41%), M7 (9.36%), B5 (7.22%), and M71 (6.08%); these haplogroups are also common in other MSEA populations…**

To identify Vietnamese-specific lineages (clades or branches consisting of sequences only from Vietnam), we constructed phylogenetic trees relating 2742 entire mtDNA genome sequences (including 609 newly sequenced mitogenomes from the present study and 2133 previously reported sequences from MSEA). Several previously undescribed sub-branches of haplogroups A, B, C, D, F, M and N were identified… In total, 111 novel lineages unique to Vietnam were found in the dataset. The majority of these belong to haplogroups B, F and M (25, 26 and 29, respectively); these are major haplogroups of MSEA, accounting for 76.35% of the sequences.**

Haplogroup A occurs mostly in northern and eastern Asia at frequencies from 5 to 10%, and is one of five founder haplogroups among native Americans. Overall, haplogroup A is most widespread in AA groups from Vietnam and Thailand… Within MSEA, haplogroup A is at highest frequency in northern Vietnam and northwestern Thailand.

Haplogroup B is one of the most common haplogroups in northern and eastern Asia, with three major subhaplogroups B4, B5 and B6. With the 164 Vietnamese mtDNA sequences belonging to haplogroup B, several new sub-clusters within B4, B5, and B6a are identified… B4 is the second most frequent haplogroup in Vietnam and is widespread across MSEA, especially northern Vietnam, northern Thailand, and Taiwan. However, B4 subhaplogroups that are relatively frequent in Taiwan… are absent in the Vietnamese AN groups… while haplogroup B4 has the highest frequency in northern Vietnam and Taiwan, there is very little overlap of B4 subhaplogroups between Vietnam and Taiwan… Overall, there is remarkably little sharing of sequences between groups from different language families or countries… haplogroup B5 reaches the highest frequency in northeastern Thailand. Haplogroup B6a is distributed mostly in northern Thailand.

Haplogroup C is widespread across East Asia and is one of the five founder haplogroups among native American populations… Haplogroup C5 is represented by a single haplotype belonging to subhaplogroup C5d*… and is present only in Vietnamese HM groups, while C4 is distributed in Vietnamese, Thai, and S. Chinese groups… Haplogroup F is one of the most common haplogroups throughout Asia… Haplogroup F1a is at high frequency in northern Vietnam and northeastern Thailand… Haplogroup G is one of the most common mtDNA haplogroups among Japanese, Ainu, Mongol and Tibetan populations, and is also found at a lower frequency across East Asia, Central Asia and MSEA… The G2a1* sequence is from a TK group… Among MSEA populations, haplogroup G reaches the highest frequency in northern Vietnam.

M is a macro-haplogroup found at high frequency all across Asia (including MSEA)… Haplogroup M7 reaches the highest frequency in eastern Thailand and northern Taiwan… Haplogroup M71 is found in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam… haplogroup M71 has the highest frequency in central Vietnam… N9a, one of three major sub-clades of haplogroup N, is found in East Asia, Southeast Asia and Central Asia… Haplogroup N9a reaches the highest frequency in southern peninsular Malaysia…’

The mtDNA macro-haplogroup M, is indicative of all Oriental Asians. What is significant, is that M71 bonds the five continental southeast Asian nations, revealing a common ancestry and a shared status as brothers.

Large-scale mitochondrial DNA analysis in Southeast Asia reveals evolutionary effects of cultural isolation in the multi-ethnic population of Myanmar, multiple authors, 2014 – emphasis & bold mine:

‘… we sequenced the mtDNA control region of 327 unrelated donors and the complete mitochondrial genome of 44 selected individuals…

Population genetic analyses of Burmese control region sequences combined with population data from neighboring countries revealed that the Myanmar haplogroup distribution showed a typical Southeast Asian pattern, but also Northeast Asian and Indian influences. Analyzing mtDNA data from Myanmar is of great genetic interest, because in spite of accumulating knowledge in recent years the resolution of the mitochondrial haplogroup phylogeny in SEA, especially in macrohaplogroup M, is still very low compared to West-Eurasian haplogroups…

Myanmar is subdivided into more than 100 ethnic groups amongst them the Bamar represent 68% of the population. Other important minorities are Shan (10%), Karen (7%), Arakanese (4%), Chinese (3%) and the ethno-linguistically related Mon and Khmer (2% each). F1a1a** with 15.9% of all sequences was by far the most frequent haplogroup in this study, followed by C4b1 (7.0%), B6 (6.4%) and A4 (5.2%). R9b1a1a, D4 and G2b1a reached 4.6% each. The 78 individuals actually belonging to M split into 50 different haplogroups, 29 of them with only a single representative. The most common haplogroup in M was M21a (1.8%)…

The Myanmar sample was typical for Southeast Asian populations with a high percentage of R9’F and B lineages as well as a variety of M haplogroups. The minor contribution of N lineages (without A, B and R9’F) to the gene pool also turned out to be characteristic for Southeast Asia. Noticeable was a relatively high percentage of A and C lineages in Myanmar compared to the neighboring countries…’

A distinct geographic pattern appeared in the multi-dimensional scaling plot of pairwise Fst-values: The Myanmar sample fitted very well within the Southeast Asian cluster, the Central Asian populations formed a second cluster, the Korean sample represented East Asia, the Afghanistan population was representative for South Asia and Russia symbolized Western Eurasia. The main haplogroup distributions are displayed as pie charts. The size of the pie diagrams corresponds to sample size. The proportion of N-lineages (without A,B and R9’F) increases from very low percentages in Southeast and East Asia over 50% in Central Asia to more than 75% in Afghanistan and 100% in the sample of Russian origin. The proportion of the American founding haplogroups A, B, C and D displayed an interesting pattern: from nonexistent in Russians it increased to more than 50% in East Asian Korea.

The mitochondrial haplogroup distribution in Myanmar showed a typical Southeast Asian pattern, confirming earlier findings but also adding new information: the population sample of Myanmar displayed quite a few parallels to North and Northeast Asian and also to South Asian populations. No traces of European or African influence to the maternal gene pool of Myanmar were detected. The description and dating of eight new mitochondrial haplogroups and the detection of three further basal M lineages shed more light on the population history of Southeast Asia.’

An in-depth analysis of the mitochondrial phylogenetic landscape of Cambodia, multiple authors, 2021 – emphasis & bold mine:

‘A total of 224 unique haplotypes were identified, which were mostly classified under haplogroups B5a1, F1a1, or categorized as newly defined basal haplogroups or basal sub-branches of R, N and M clades. The mtDNA data presented here increases the phylogenetic resolution in Cambodia significantly, thereby highlighting the need for an update of the current human mtDNA phylogeny. As a result of the historic expansion of the Khmer Empire in the twelfth century, the majority (96%) of Cambodia’s present-day population belongs to Khmer…

Haplogroup distribution in different populations/data sets. (A) Frequency plot of macrohaplogroups in different populations, including 1000 Genome Project data. The super populations are given for African ancestry, European ancestry, South Asian ancestry and admixed American ancestry. East Asia is reported individually as Vietnam (KHV = Kinh in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam), China (CDX = Chinese Dai in Xishuangbanna, CHB = Han Chinese in Beijing, CHS = Southern Han Chinese) and Japan (JPT = Japanese in Tokyo).

(B) Haplogroup distribution by publication… Bodner (Laos), Duong (mostly Vietnam), Kutanan (mostly Thailand), Summerer (Myanmar), Zhang (Cambodia). “This study” indicates the present work’s data set. Macrohaplogroups represent M (yellow), N (green) and R (blue) groups.’

An article, Mitochondrial DNA control region variation in a population sample from Thailand, multiple authors, 2020, found that, ‘the [mtDNA] haplogroup composition [for Thailand] is comparable with other Southeast Asia population samples…’ The most frequent haplogroups being B5a [9.4%], F1a1a [8.9%] and M [8.9%].**

It depends how one chooses to group these five peoples, whether linguistically, historically, geographically or biblically. The Vietnamese are somewhat separated from the others genetically. Linguistically and historically, they are grouped with Cambodia, while Laos is linked with Thailand linguistically and historically. Myanmar is separated from the others linguistically. Thailand has a thriving economy that sets them apart. Historically, Myanmar and Thailand share a common heritage, as both were British colonies; whereas Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos were French colonies.

Biblically, Riphath and Diphath are not specifically mentioned in scripture, whereas Ashkenaz is, with Ararat and Minni. From this, one could logically expect the latter three to equate to the three larger nations and the former two to the two smaller nations. Thus, Riphath and Diphath are Cambodia and Laos. Ararat, Minni and Ashkenaz are in order, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. Myanmar the mountainous nation, Thailand located in the middle, with a significant portion of blessings and Vietnam the nation with a history of war, fire and blood.

The final determining factor is their genetic variance or similarity from their respective Y-DNA Haplogroups. All five nations share O-M122, or O2 [formerly O3] as their predominant Haplogroup. The principle O2 lineage in mainland southeast Asia is M7 [O2a2a1a2]. In lesser quantities, O1a or M119 [formerly O1] and O1b [formerly O2] are found with the other indicative East and South East Asian Haplogroups of C and D. The primary O1b lineage in continental southeast Asia is M95 [O1b1a1a].

Both Cambodia and Laos have a strikingly similar sequence of: O2, O1a, O1b, C, D and K. Each also have traces of Haplogroups associated with South or West Asia of J2, R1a and H. Thailand shows a similar sequence and is the closet to Cambodia and Laos. Myanmar has a higher percentage of Haplogroup D than any of the others; whilst Vietnam has Haplogroup Q, which is the main Haplogroup for the Amerindian [Chapter III Tiras the Amerindian].

Myanmar: O2 – D – O1b – O1a – C

Thailand: O2 – [O1b] – O1a – C – D

Vietnam: O2 – O1b – Q – O1a – C – D – N – J2

The distinctiveness of the other three nations suggests they are not offspring of Ashkenaz or derived from the Vietnamese but lean heavily towards being the direct lineage of Gomer. This would support their separate listed status in the Book of Jeremiah. The three peoples were obviously powerful enough combined to cause a threat and this is supported by Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam having sizeable populations today, with the potential to capably wage a future military campaign.

Thailand: O2a2 [35.3%] – O1b [?%] – O1a [8.8%] – C [2.9%] – D1 [2.9%]

Vietnam: O2a2 [40%] – O1b [32.9%] – Q [7.1%] – O1a [5.7%] – C [4.3%]

– D1 [2.9%] – N [2.9%] – J2 [2.9%]

Vietnam’s Haplogroups listed above and the percentages for each, plus partially for Thailand.

C O K D Q

NA Amerindian 6 77

Kazakhstan 40 8 10 2

Vietnam 4 79 3 7

Comparing Vietnam, with a representative from the preceding chapters, with Kazakhstan from Madai and the North American Indian from Tiras, highlights two points. First, the very clear marker Haplogroups for Japheth’s descendants – aside from N – are represented by C, D, K, O and Q. Two, even so, it can be seen already just how wide the variation is between related siblings. Each of the three so far, Tiras, Madai and Gomer though having groups in common, each demonstrate the individuality each possesses in having a prime Haplogroup different from one another. In contrast, we will discover in the next few chapters that the severity of the divide reduces considerably with Japheth’s remaining four sons. One could say, it is a case of some brothers being more like each other than others.

All so far, carry Y-DNA Haplogroup Q, which was passed through Japheth’s line via the earlier mutations of F, K and P. Yet, it is the sons of Tiras who exhibit Q as their principle Haplogroup. All carry Haplogroup C, again passed via Japheth; yet it is the most undiluted sons of Madai in Kazakhstan after Mongolia, where group C is dominant. Though the number one principle Haplogroup for Japheth’s sons overall is O, it is devoid in the sons of Tiras. For the male descendants of Gomer, Haplogroup O2a2a [M188] followed by O1b [M268] are the prime defining marker Haplogroups.

All five nations on the Southeast Asian mainland, include the core Y-DNA Haplogroups: O, C and D. The primary significance, is that these five nations ultimately comprise the collective body of Gomer’s two eldest sons Ashkenaz and Riphath, with the additional offspring from Diphath, Ararat and Minni. In the next chapter, we will investigate Gomer’s intriguing third and youngest son, Togarmah.

“These are the people I am pleased with: those who are not proud or stubborn and who fear my word.”

Isaiah 66:2 New Century Version

“I would remind you to notice where the claim of consensus is invoked. Consensus is invoked only in situations where the science is not solid enough. Nobody says the consensus of scientists agrees that E=mc2. Nobody says the consensus is that the sun is 93 million miles away. It would never occur to anyone to speak that way.”

Michael Crichton