Lexical Definition
כִּתִּי Kittîy (kit-tee') Kittim N:N--LG
or כִּתִּיִּי Kittîyîy (kit-tee-ee'); patrial from an unused name denoting Cyprus (only in the plural)
Chittim, Kittim.
- § Chittim or Kittim = "bruisers"
- a Kittite or Cypriote
- hence, an islander in general, i.e. the Greeks or Romans on the shores opposite Palestine
1) a general term for all islanders of the Mediterranean Sea
2) the descendants of Javan, the son of Japheth and grandson of Noah
Extended Information
- Someone descended from Kittim of the Greeks, first mentioned at Gen.10.4 descended from Javan (יָוָן); along with Elishah (אֱלִישָׁה), Tarshish (תַּרְשִׁישׁ) and Dodanim (דֹּדָנִים)
Brown-Driver-Briggs
[כִּתִּי] adjective, of a people always plural כִּתִּים כִּתִּיִּים; usually as name, of a people = Cypriotes (compare Phoenician proper name, of a location כת כתי, Citium; on a connection with Kheta, –-t¹, –attê, חִתִּי, see WMMAsien u. Europa,345; — on Citium see CesnolaGyprus 46 ff); — אֶרֶץ כִּתִּים Isa 23:1, כִּתִּיי֯ם vIsa 23:12 כִּתִּים (as son of Yawan) Gen 10:4 = 1Chr 1:7 וְצִים ׳מִיַּד כ Num 24:24 ships from the side (direction) of Kittim; more generally, of coast-lands of Mediterranean, אִיֵּי כִּתִּיִּים Jer 2:10, אִיֵּי כִּתִּיִּם Ezek 27:6 even of Macedonian Greece, צִיִּים כִּתִּים Dan 11:30 (only here as adjective, compare Bev) i.e. Grecian ships. כָּתִית see below כתת.
Brown-Driver-Briggs References
| Book | Refs |
|---|---|
| Genesis | 10:4 |
| Numbers | 24:24 |
| 1 Chronicles | 1:7 |
| Isaiah | 23:1 · 23:12 |
| Jeremiah | 2:10 |
| Ezekiel | 27:6 |
| Daniel | 11:30 |
Profile
Group • Early nation • Descendants of Javan, son of Japheth
People from Kittim
Kittim, a descendant of Japheth, son of Noah (Gen.10.4; 1Ch.1.7).
- People from Kittim of the Greeks, first mentioned at Gen.10.4;
- only referred to as Kittim כִּתִּי;
- descended from Javan יָוָן along with Elishah אֱלִישָׁה, Tarshish תַּרְשִׁישׁ and Dodanim דֹּדָנִים.
Kittim was a son of Javan and grandson of Japheth, son of Noah (Gen.10.4; 1Ch.1.7). The Kittim are listed among the descendants of Japheth who spread out into their lands after the flood, each with their own language, clan, and nation (Gen.10.5). The Kittim likely settled in the area of Cyprus, as Kittim is an early name for this island. They were probably a seafaring People from Japheth.
All entries for Kittim: כִּתִּי