ASCENEZ (Heb. Aškenaz; LXX Ašqaváč). - Son of Gomer, grandson of Japheth (Gen. 10:3), designates a branch of the Japhetic stock. Many connect the Aškuza of the cuneiform texts with A., transcribed by the Greeks as Σκύθαι, Scythians, nomads, distinguished from the sedentary peoples or Cimmerians (Gomer?).

Esarhaddon says in prism B that he fought against Manna and Aškuza, and Jer. 51:27 summons against Babylon "Ararat, Minni and A.," then Media. From this it could be deduced that the two peoples, the Minni and A., dwelt to the north-west of Media, in regions contiguous to Armenia (Ararat), and A. more particularly to the north of that country. Subsequently it is possible that the Scythians moved further west, toward the Black Sea, and left the name of Ascania, mentioned by the ancient geographers, to a district of Bithynia, on the Pontus Euxinus (Axenas).

Medieval and modern rabbis (Gomer: "Germany"), followed by A. Knobel (Die Völkertafel der Genesis, Giessen 1850), hold A. to be the ancestor of the Germans (v. AŠKENAZ). Much has also been written to identify A. now with the Phrygians, now with the Celts, now with the Britons, now with the Bruttii.

Giuseppe Priero

@incollection{ec2_ascenez_ebr_askenaz_settanta_a, author = {Priero, Giuseppe}, title = {Ascenez (Ebr. AŠKenaz; Settanta AŠQaváČ)}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {II}, pages = {83}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1949}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/ascenez-ebr-askenaz-settanta-asqavac} }

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