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Riphath

From CreationWiki, the encyclopedia of creation science

Riphath (Hebrew: ריפת, Rı̂yphath; "a crusher") or Diphath was a son of Gomer and brother of Ashkenaz and Togarmah listed in Genesis 10:3 and 1 Chronicles 1:6.

Ancient information on Riphath, son of Gomer, is difficult to find. Josephus simply states that "Ripath founded the Ripheans, now called Paphlagonians"^[1] which was a province in Asia Minor. From what can be determined, they were part of the Rusi peoples which migrated out of Asia Minor into southern Russia where they met up the Borusi who came out of Asia.^[2]

The ancient Greek poets spoke of the Ripaian Mountains and the people of that land were said to be the descendants of Riphath, the description of which, is clearly north-west Russia, near the Baltic: "northward by the Baltic and further east ... by the Gulf of Finland."^[3] In addition, according to the Targum Yehonathan, Riphath was located in Parkvi east of the Caspian Sea.

There was once a district called "Rifou", east of the Black Sea. Also the Paphlagonians, sometimes spelt Raphlagonians (Riphataei) and the Rhibi lived east of the Black Sea.^[4] Later they became known as Reif or Rus upon contact with the Byelorussians. Eventually, they migrated up through European Russia (the name of the Carpathian Mountains may derive from him) and settled in north-west Russia. They are known today as the Finno-Ugric peoples which may be divided into the five chief branches:

Baltic Finns (eastern Finns, Estonians, Karelians, Izhorians, Veps, Livonians, and Votes)
Saamis or Lapps
Volga-Finns (Erza-Mordvinians, Moksha-Mordvinians, and Mari or Cheremis)
Finno-Permyaks (Komi or Zyryans who, although amongst these peoples, descend from Aram; and Udmurts or Votyaks. They dwell north of Moscow)
Ugrians (Hungarians, Khant or Ostyaks and the Mansi or Voguls)

Of all these peoples, only the Finns, Estonians, and Hungarians have national independence.

Many of these people have been assimilated into Russian culture and with the end of Communism, hope to restore their clear identity. Because of their rightful common struggle against extinction, the various Finno-Ugric peoples have established cooperation with each other, attempting to forge policies and means to maintain their identity. They established a congress of Finno-Ugric peoples in 1992. Later a committee was founded for Finno-Ugric affairs with headquarters in Finland.

Some are in White Russia on the border with Finland or in eastern Finland (Tavastians), perhaps mixed with the Balts and Nordics and known as the Finnish Russians (Karelians). The Ural-Finno-Ugric peoples west of the Urals dervive from Riphath ultimately. The Riphaean or Rafu Mountains (modern Urals) were no doubt named after him. Indeed, these Finnic peoples call themselves the Suomalainen and Rossolainen, the latter which may derive from Riphath.

Today, Finland may be divided into three major ethnic groups: the eastern Finns (Tavastians) descendants of Riphath, western Finns (related to the Swedes) and the Saamis or Lapps.

Closely related to them are the Hungarians which have a similar origin and language. The Hungarian language is of the same branch as the Ural-Altaic and is known to be the closest modern resemblance to Sumerian; historians are aware that among the Sumerians there was an Ural-Altaic element.^[5]

References

↑ Josephus Antiquities 1:6:1
↑ Kachur 1972:5,7
↑ Rouse 1906:133
↑ Custance 1975:88
↑ Haddon 1912: 19; The construction of the Sumerian tongue was Turanid (Hall 1913: 174), but the facial type was not Mongoloid. (Wooley, The Sumerians, page 7)