- published: 04 Dec 2015
- views: 1763
Havilah (literally meaning "Stretch of Sand") is in several books of the Bible referring to both land and people.
The story of the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2:11:
In addition to the region described in Genesis 2, two individuals named Havilah are listed in the Table of Nations which lists the descendants of Noah, who are considered eponymous ancestors of nations. They are mentioned in Genesis 10:7,29, 1 Chronicles 1:9,23. One is the son of Cush, the son of Ham; the other, a son of Joktan and descendant of Shem. The other sons of Cush are associated with eastern Africa, while Joktan's other sons are often associated with the Arabian desert. Such a land in the Arabian desert is mentioned in Genesis 25:18, where it defines the territory inhabited by the Ishmaelites as being "from Havilah to Shur, opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria"; and in 1 Samuel 15:7, which states that king Saul of Israel attacked the Amalekites who were living there.
In extra-biblical literature, the land of Havilah is mentioned in Pseudo-Philo as the source of the precious jewels that the Amorites used in fashioning their idols in the days after Joshua, when Kenaz was judge over the Israelites.