Wives aboard Noah's Ark often attributed to the poet Cædmon. The wife of Noah is given as Percoba in "Codex Junius". The Anglo-Saxon ""Solomon and Saturn"" dialogue gives for Noah's wife Dalila, for Ham's, Jaitarecta, and for Japheth's Catafluvia, while giving "Olla", Ollina and Ollibana as alternatives. The name of Shem's wife is missing. Some versions of the Gaelic "Lebor Gabala" also name Shem's, Ham's and Japheth's wives as Cata Rechta, Cata Flauia and Cata Chasta respectively. Similar traditions seem to have endured for several centuries in some form, for in Petrus Comestor, we read that the wives of Noah, Shem, Ham and Japheth
Japheth on his death (the descendants of Shem and Ham respectively correspond to the other two, those of the Ptolemies and Seleucids). As the point of the "blessing of Japheth" seems to be that Japheth (a Greek-descended people) and Shem (the Israelites) would rule jointly over Canaan (Palestine). From the 19th century until the late 20th century it was usual to see Japheth as a reference to the Philistines, who shared dominion over Canaan during the pre-monarchic and early monarchic period of Israel's history. This view accorded with earlier understanding of the origin of the Book of Genesis, which was seen