Havilah

Havilah is a name the Bible attaches to both a man and a region. Genesis lists one Havilah among the sons of Cush and another among the sons of Joktan. Later the word marks a place: Ishmael’s descendants “dwelt from Havilah unto Shur,” and Saul struck the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, east of Egypt. So the land seems to lie somewhere in the desert country of Arabia, though the passages do not pin down its exact location. If you want a feel for it, read Genesis 25 and 1 Samuel 15 side by side.

4 verses

Genesis

Genesis 10:7

And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.

Genesis 10:29

And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan.

Genesis 25:18

And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: and he died in the presence of all his brethren.

1 Samuel

1 Samuel 15:7

And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt.

From Easton's Bible Dictionary

Matthew George Easton, 1897

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.

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(3.) One of the sons of Cush (Gen. 10:7).

(4.) A son of Joktan (Gen. 10:29; 1 Chr. 1:23).

From Smith's Bible Dictionary

William Smith, 1884

Havilah

(Genesis 2:11)

(1.) A part of Eden through which flowed the river Pison (Araxes). It was probably the Grecian Colchis, in the northeast corner of Asia Minor, near the Caspian Sea.

(2.) A district in Arabia Felix, (Genesis 10:7) named from the second son of Cush; probably the district of Kualan, in the northwestern part of Yemen.

Havilah

(circle).

(1.) A son of Cush. (Genesis 10:7)

(2.) A son of Joktan. (Genesis 10:29)