1152. Verses 3-4 And the sons of Gomer Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. And the sons of Javan: Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.

'The sons of Gomer' also means those who possessed external worship, but an external worship derived from that which existed with the nation 'Gomer'. 'Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah' were just so many nations with whom such worship existed, and who also mean just so many types of matters of doctrine which were forms of ritual, derived from the external worship existing with 'Gomer'. 'The sons of Javan' means others again with whom there existed external worship derived from the worship existing with the nation 'Javan'. 'Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim' were just so many nations with whom such worship existed, and who also mean just so many types of matters of doctrine which were forms of ritual, derived from the external worship existing with 'Javan'.

The Bible generally uses two different terms for large groups: “people” and “nations.” When it uses “nation,” it is talking about a group with the desire for good as its ultimate underlying motivation; when it uses the term “people” it is talking about a group whose deep motivation is to seek true ideas and concepts. As with all symbolism in the Bible, this can be also used in a negative sense, to describe groups with the lust for evil or those driven by false concepts. It can also be used in the abstract, with “nation” representing desires for good themselves and “people” representing true ideas themselves. In a way, these meanings make sense if we look at the two words themselves. “People” brings to mind a collection of individuals, and that is somewhat how it is with ideas -- you can have many of them that inter-relate, but also stand somewhat on their own, individually. “Nation” is a more unified term, reflecting the way that a desire for good tends to unify other feelings.