Havilah
Havilah was a son of Cush, a descendant of Ham, mentioned in the Table of Nations. (Gen.10.7; 1Ch.1.9)
Biography
Havilah son of Cush is listed in the Hamitic section of the Table of Nations in Genesis 10:7 and 1 Chronicles 1:9, making him a descendant of Ham, one of Noah's three sons. Cush's line is associated in Scripture with African and Cushite peoples, and his son Havilah is regarded as the ancestor of a people whose geographic location remains debated among scholars, with some linking the name to regions of eastern Africa or the Arabian Peninsula. The name Havilah also appears in Genesis 2:11 in connection with the land surrounding the Garden of Eden, where gold is found, though the relationship between the geographical name and these genealogical figures is uncertain.
Significance
Havilah son of Cush occupies a significant place in the biblical ethnography of Genesis 10, which presents all human diversity as flowing from a single divinely ordered origin. His listing within Ham's line places him among the ancestors of peoples who, though often in conflict with Israel, were nonetheless recognized as part of God's created human family. The Table of Nations in Genesis 10 is remarkable in antiquity for its relatively non-polemical presentation of foreign peoples. Havilah's inclusion witnesses to the biblical conviction that God is Lord of all nations and that human diversity itself reflects the richness of his creative design.
Verse Appearances (2)
Genesis
1Chr
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References (TIPNR). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]