◄ 2051. Vedan ►
Lexical Summary
Vedan: Vedan

Original Word: רְדָן
Part of Speech: Proper Name Location
Transliteration: Vdan
Pronunciation: veh-DAHN
Phonetic Spelling: (ved-awn')
KJV: Dan also
NASB: Vedan
Word Origin: [perhaps for H5730 (עֵדֶן עֶדנָה - Delight)]

1. Vedan (or Aden), a place in Arabia

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Dan also

Perhaps for eden; Vedan (or Aden), a place in Arabia -- Dan also.

see HEBREW eden

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
of uncertain derivation
Definition
a place of unknown location
NASB Translation
Vedan (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
וְדָן, apparently proper name, of a location, only in וְדָן וְיָוָן Ezekiel 27:19 Wedan and Yawan (compare VB and references) but identification wholly dubious; = Waddân near Medina according to GlasSkizze ii. 428: ᵐ5 omit; text probably corrupt, compare StaJavan. 11 ff. Da and others; Ew Hi read דְּדָן, but דְּדָן is in following see, and anticipation improbable, compare Stal.c.; Co reads (for ודן ויון) וְאַרְנָבָן, on the basis of Babylonian & Assyrian Aranabanim, Arnabani, proper name, of a location, following –ilbunim (חֶלְבּוֺן) in lists of places whence wine was brought (compare יֵין חֶלְבּוֺן Ezekiel 27:18, & ᵐ5 καὶ οἶνον for ויון; also COT Ezekiel 27:18).

Topical Lexicon
Overview

Strong’s Hebrew word רְדָן (Redan, 2051) is an exceedingly rare proper name that does not surface in the preserved Hebrew text of the Old Testament. It survives only in textual notes and comparative philology, standing alongside the better-attested plural רֹדָנִים (Rodanim, “people of Rhodes”) that appears in 1 Chronicles 1:7. Because of the graphic similarity of ד and ר, ancient copyists sometimes wrote Dodanim (Genesis 10:4) where later manuscripts read Rodanim. Redan therefore belongs to the same family of readings that locate one branch of Javan’s seafaring descendants in the Aegean world.

Textual Background and Variants

Genesis 10:4 (MT) — “The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.”

1 Chronicles 1:7 — “The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Rodanim.”

The consonants ד and ר are easily confused in Hebrew script. Some early witnesses apparently preserved an intermediate singular form רְדָן (Redan), which Strongs indexed even though the consonantal text of Genesis and Chronicles ultimately settled on the plural. No existing canonical verse therefore contains Redan, yet the entry preserves an echo of an ancient scribal stage in which a singular tribal name was being copied, glossed, or harmonized with its plural counterpart.

Genealogical Placement and Ethnic Identity

Redan/Rodanim is linked with Javan, grandson of Noah through Japheth (Genesis 10:2). Javan’s line represents the early maritime Greeks, and the Rodanim correspond to the island of Rhodes and its colonies. Whether read in the singular (Redan) or plural (Rodanim), the term points to a people group located in the southeastern Aegean, famous for navigation and trade. Their inclusion in the Table of Nations highlights God’s providential ordering of all ethnic groups and underscores the historical roots of the Gentile world that would later hear the gospel (Acts 17:26–27).

Historical and Geographical Significance

Rhodes sat astride major Bronze-Age shipping lanes linking Asia Minor, Cyprus, and Egypt. Assyrian records (eighth–seventh centuries BC) mention Ia‐ad-na‐na and Ru-ad-nu, probably echoes of the same people. The Greek island became renowned for shipbuilding and bronze work, fields that knit well with Biblical notices of Phoenician and Greek commerce (1 Kings 10:22; Ezekiel 27:1–25). By the New Testament era, Rhodes formed a routine stop on Paul’s third missionary journey (Acts 21:1), demonstrating an unbroken maritime tradition first signaled in Genesis 10.

Theological Threads

1. Unity of the Nations: Redan’s place in the Table of Nations affirms that all peoples, whether Semitic, Hamitic, or Japhethite, originate from one family under God.
2. Missionary Horizon: When Paul later lands at Rhodes, the gospel is making inroads among the very descendants once merely listed in a genealogy. The seed of Genesis 10 blossoms into the harvest field of Acts, showing Scripture’s internal cohesion.
3. Sovereignty in Transmission: Even a marginal reading such as Redan demonstrates the Lord’s preservation of His word. Copyists may wrestle with orthography, yet the Spirit safeguards the historical message—Javan fathered a maritime people whose existence archaeology still corroborates.

Ministry Applications

• Cultural Awareness: Pastors and teachers can remind believers that the gospel engages real cultures with real histories; Redan’s links to Rhodes offer a concrete example.
• Assurance of Scripture’s Reliability: Variants and minor textual forms need not unsettle faith. They invite deeper study and confirm, rather than contradict, the overarching unity of the Biblical witness.
• Global Vision: From the obscure Redan to the celebrated cities of Acts, Scripture calls the church to a worldwide mission. The Lord who counted the Rodanim in Genesis now commissions His people to reach every modern counterpart of that ancient island society.

Links
Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts
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