Ashkenaz (אַשְׁכְּנַז) is the firstborn of Gomer and grandson of Yefet. In ancient contexts, Ashkenaz was associated with the Scythians or the Askuza people mentioned in Assyrian records — nomadic groups of the Pontic steppe. Jeremiah 51:27 calls upon "the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz" as the nations summoned to come against Babylon in God's judgment.
The most striking legacy of the name Ashkenaz is its adoption in medieval Jewish literature to refer to Germany — and by extension, to the Jewish communities of the Rhineland and Northern Europe. "Ashkenaz" became synonymous with Franco-German Jewry from approximately the 10th century CE onward, and "Ashkenazim" today refers to Jews of Central and Eastern European descent. This naming reflects a medieval rabbinic identification of the Germanic lands with Ashkenaz of the Table of Nations, an association that has endured to the present day.
The Ashkenazi tradition — its liturgical rite, Yiddish language, legal customs, and distinctive melodies — grew from the Rhine valley communities of Speyer, Worms, and Mainz (the Shum cities) and spread eastward through the Crusade-era persecutions and later through the mass migrations to Poland, Lithuania, and Russia. The name of a son of Gomer thus became the defining label for the largest single Jewish cultural community in history.
