In the Bible, Ashkenaz is Gomer's first son, brother of Riphath, and Togarmah (Gen. 10:3, 1 Chronicles 1:6). In Rabbinical texts he is believed to be the ancestor of the Germanic, Scandinavian and Slavic peoples, because of the similarity of the names Gomer and German, and the similarity of Ashkenaz to the name of the mythological founder of the Germans and Scandinavians Aschanes or Askanius (German) and Ask (Scandinavian). For this reason, Ashkenaz is the Medieval Hebrew name for Germany.