Ashkenaz

Ashkenaz (meaning a fire that spreads) was the firstborn son of Gomer and grandson of Japheth in the table of nations (Genesis 10:3). He is regarded as the ancestor of a northern people, probably the Scythians or a related Indo-European group. In Jeremiah 51:27 Ashkenaz is called alongside Ararat and Minni to marshal forces against Babylon. In later Jewish usage the name came to designate the Germanic lands and their Jewish communities (Ashkenazim).