Havilah standard
(3) Mentioned with Shur as one of the limits of the territory of the Ishmaelites (Ge 25:18); compare the same limits of the land of the Amalekites (1Sa 15:7), where, however, the text is doubtful.
Where is Havilah in the Bible?
Havilah is a biblical land first mentioned in Genesis 2:11-12 as one of the regions watered by the Pishon River in the description of the Garden of Eden. This ancient territory was renowned for its valuable resources, including pure gold, aromatic bdellium resin, and onyx stone, which gave it significant economic importance in the biblical world. Havilah appears in later biblical passages as well, including references to a Cushite people group and as a boundary marker for both the Ishmaelites and the Amalekites. While scholars debate its exact modern location, it is generally understood to have been located somewhere in the Arabian Peninsula or nearby regions. The mention of Havilah's natural wealth in the Genesis creation account underscores its theological significance as part of the abundance provided in God's created world.
In Scripture1 biblical book; 1 with study content
- Genesis
Havilah
ISBE 1915 (Public Domain)(3) Mentioned with Shur as one of the limits of the territory of the Ishmaelites (Ge 25:18); compare the same limits of the land of the Amalekites (1Sa 15:7), where, however, the text is doubtful. It is described (Ge 2:11,12) 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 Ge 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 (Ge 10:29) suggests a location in Arabia. South Arabian inscriptions mention a district of Khaulan (Chaulan), and a place of this name is found both in Tihama and Southeast of San`a'. Again Strabo's Chaulotaioi and Chuwaila in Bahrein point to a district on the Arabian shore of the Persian Gulf. No exact identification has yet been made.
A. S. Fulton
hav'-ok: "Devastation," "to make havoc of" is the translation of lumainomai, "to stain," "to disgrace"; in the New Testament "to injure," "destroy" (Ac 8:3, "As for Saul he made havoc