Javan, ja'-van (Heb.)–Greece; Ionia; the East; the dove; warmth; fertility; effervescence; productiveness; clayey soil: mud: mire: deception. a Son of Japheth, who was one of Noah's three sons (Gen. 10:2). b A Gentile country or place (Isa. 66:19; Ezek. 27:13). In Daniel 8:21, 10:20, and 11:2, Javan is given in the margin in place of ”Greece,” which is in the text.

Meta. Javan is a name that the Hebrews of old gave to Greece. The original inhabitants of Greece are supposed to have been descendants of Javan the son of Japheth. Javan therefore refers to the human or personal intellect in man, and to one of its governing characteristics, the deceptive, error belief (clayey soil, deception) that understanding is gained by the impressions of the senses in contacting the outer world, by books, teachers, and experiences, instead of its knowing that true understanding comes from the Spirit of God within the soul of man.

In its broadest sense Javan refers to the spiritual phase of intelligence, or to the illumined and inspired intellect; hence, the idea of the East, fertility, productiveness.