Havilah

About Havilah Written by AI

Havilah was a region located in the northwestern Arabian Peninsula, inhabited by the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham's son (Gen.25.18). The Ishmaelites settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, which bordered Egypt to the east. During King Saul's reign, he launched a military campaign against the Amalekites, a nomadic people who lived in the region. Saul's army attacked the Amalekites from Havilah to Shur (1Sa.15.7), indicating that Havilah marked the eastern extent of the Amalekite territory. This Havilah is distinct from the one mentioned in the Garden of Eden account and is likely located in what is now northwestern Saudi Arabia.

Drafted by an AI model for STEPBible's TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Check it against the verses below.

Easton's Bible Dictionary, 1897

This entry is on the name Havilah, and may cover more than one person or place by that name.

The sand region. (1.) A land mentioned in Gen. 2:11 rich in gold and bdellium and onyx stone. The question as to the locality of this region has given rise to a great diversity of opinion. It may perhaps be identified with the sandy tract which skirts Babylonia along the whole of its western border, stretching from the lower Euphrates to the mountains of Edom.

(2.) A district in Arabia-Felix. It is uncertain whether the tribe gave its name to this region or derived its name from it, and whether it was originally a Cushite (Gen. 10:7) or a Joktanite tribe (10:29; comp. 25:18), or whether there were both a Cushite and a Joktanite Havilah. It is the opinion of Kalisch, however, that Havilah “in both instances designates the same country, extending at least from the Persian to the Arabian Gulf, and on account of its vast extent easily divided into two distinct parts.” This opinion may be well vindicated.

M. G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, third edition (1897), public domain, from CrossWire. Shown as written; its Scripture quotes are from older translations.