Hav'ilah. (circle).
1. A son of Cush. Gen_10:7.
2. A son of Joktan. Gen_10:29.
3. Gen_2:11. A part of Eden
through which flowed the river Pison (Araxes). It was probably the , Colchis,
in the northeast corner of Asia Minor, near the Caspian Sea.
4. A district in Arabia Felix, Gen_10:7,
named from the second son of Cush; probably the district of Kualan, in the
northwestern part of Yemen.
Source:
Smith’s Bible Dictionary
Havilah
hav´i-la (חוילה, ḥăwīlāh; Εὑιλά, Heuilá):
(1) Son of Cush (Gen_10:7;
1Ch_1:9).
(2) Son of Yoktan, descendant of Shem (Gen_10:29; 1Ch_1:23).
(3) Mentioned with Shur as one of the limits of the
territory of the Ishmaelites (Gen_25:18);
compare the same limits of the land of the Amalekites (1Sa_15:7), where, however, the text is doubtful.
It is described (Gen_2:11, Gen_2:12) as bounded by the river Pishon and as
being rich in gold, bdellium and “shoham-stone” (English Version of the Bible,
“onyx”). The shoham-stone was perhaps the Assyrian samtu, probably the
malachite or turquoise. The mention of a Cushite Havilah is explained by the
fact that the Arabian tribes at an early time migrated to the coast of Africa.
The context of Gen_10:7 thus favors
situation on the Ethiopian shore, and the name is perhaps preserved in the kolpos
Aualites and in the tribe Abalitai on the South side of the straits
of Babel-Mandeb. Or possibly a trace of the name appears in the
classical Aualis, now Zeila‛ in Somaliland. But its occurrence
among the Yoktanite Arabs (Gen_10:29)
suggests a location in Arabia. South Arabian inscriptions mention a district of
Khaulan (Ḥaulan), and a place of this name is found both in Tihāma
and Southeast of San‛ā). Again Strabo's Chaulotaioi
and Ḥuwaila in Bahrein point to a district on the Arabian shore of
the Persian Gulf. No exact identification has yet been made.
Source:
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Havilah
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 (Gen_10:29; compare Gen_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.
(3.) One of the
sons of Cush (Gen_10:7).
(4.) A son of
Joktan (Gen_10:29; 1Ch_1:23).
Source:
Easton’s Bible Dictionary