Yefet יֶפֶת
Noach's eldest son; from him the peoples of the north and the isles
In Bereshit 10:21 he is called the elder—"the brother of Yefet the elder"; the verse is also read otherwise, taking "elder" of Shem, and the commentators differ. We give both readings and choose neither.
Of him and Shem the Torah marks something out: when Noach lay uncovered, they walked in backwards with a garment on their shoulders and covered their father with their faces turned away (Bereshit 9:23). And the blessing to him: "May God enlarge Yefet, and may he dwell in the tents of Shem" (9:27).
The table of nations traces from his seven sons the peoples of the north and west and "the isles of the nations" (Bereshit 10:2–5).
The Torah gives no years for him.
On the timeline
Related
Sources
Tanakh
- Bereshit 5:32, 9:18–27, 10:1–32 — Noach's three sons and the table of the nations descended from each
- I Chronicles 1:1–4 — the same line from Adam to the sons of Noah, repeated in the Writings a thousand years after the Torah
Basis: stated in the Tanakh.