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RODANIM

(Roʹda·nim).

Listed as one of Javan’s four sons at 1 Chronicles 1:7. There is uncertainty as to the correct spelling of the name, since the Masoretic text at 1 Chronicles 1:7 has “Rodanim,” whereas many Hebrew manuscripts and the Latin Vulgate here read “Dodanim.” “Dodanim” also appears in the Masoretic text at Genesis 10:4, where, however, the Greek Septuagint and the Samaritan Pentateuch read “Rodanim.” In Hebrew the letter “r” (ר) and the letter “d” (ד) are very similar and hence could be confused by a copyist. (Thus “Riphath” in Ge 10:3 appears as “Diphath” at 1Ch 1:6 in the Masoretic text.) Most translations present both names. Many lexicographers consider “Rodanim” to be the preferred reading. Commentators that accept this reading consider it likely that the people descending from this son of Javan populated the island of Rhodes and the neighboring islands of the Aegean Sea.