Names in Genesis 1-11One of his conclusions is that some of these names are very old indeed.
The names are often overlooked by modern readers, but not by the ancient Israelites, who understood Hebrew.
See Richard S. Hess, Studies in the Personal Names of Genesis 1-11 (Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2009)
By Richard S. Hess
Earl S. Kalland Professor of Old Testament and Semitic Languages
Denver Seminary
February 2010
By the way, the name Japheth is surely related to the name of the Greek Titan Iapetus.