Uzal
Joktan's sixth son (Gen 10:27; 1Ch 1:21). The capital of the Yemen (Arabia Felix) was originally Awzal (now San'a), anciently the most flourishing of Arab communities, its rivals being Sheba and Sephar. The Greek and Roman writers (Pliny, N. H. 12:16) call it Auzara, a city of the Gebanitae. Uzal is situated on an elevation, with a stream running through it from Mount Sawafee; it has a citadel. Transl. for "going to and fro," Eze 27:19, "from Uzal."
This is added to "Javan" to mark which Javan is meant, Gen 10:27.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia on Uzal
Uzal u'-zal ('uzal): Sixth son of Joktan (Ge 10:27; 1Ch 1:21). Uzal as the name of a place perhaps occurs in Eze 27:19. the Revised Version (British and American) reads, "Vedan and Javan traded with yarn for thy wares." Here an obscure verbal form, me'uzzal, is taken to mean "something spun," "yarn." But with a very slight change we may read me'uzal = "from Uzal." ⇒See a list of verses on UZAL in the Bible. The name is identical with the Arabic `Auzal, the old capital of Yemen, later called San`a'. San`a' is described as standing high above sea-level in a fertile land, and traversed by a river bed which in the rainy season becomes a torrent. Under the Himyarite dynasty it succeeded Zafar as the residence of the Tubba`s. If it is the same place as the Audzara or Ausara of the classics, it is clear why Arabic geographers dwell upon its great antiquity. The most celebrated feature of the town was Ghumdan, an immense palace, the building of which tradition ascribes to Shorabbil, the 6th known king of the Himyarites. According to Ibn Khaldoun this building had four fronts in color red, wh…
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible on Uzal
Name of a son of Joktan, Gn lCr-'(A'Ati-)j\), 1 Ch I-' (A Ai^ri", B om., Luc. Ois'dX), but figuring .as a local name in Ezk 27", according to one interpretation [reading V;w? ( ' from Uzal,' so RVm), with Hitzig, Sniend. Cornill, et al. ; B ^{ 'Ka-qk, A ii 'A<ra^\]. With this wo«d Gesenius compared Euzclis of Hindu, mentioaed as a market town in a passage of John of Epi.esua (6tli cent. A.D.) preserved by Dionysias of Tell- Mahre ('ip. Assemani, Bibl. Or. L 301), who sup- posed it to be situated in the interior of the Indian (i.e. Arab) country, beyond the territory of the Himyar. This may well be identical with Uzal (AI-Bckri, p. 206), Izal or Azal (Yakut after Ham- dani), which the Arab geographers declare was the former name of Sana, now capital of Yemen. The name was, they think, changed to Sana either in honour of a queen of that name, or of Sana son of Azal ; or it may have been given the place by tlie Abyssinians, in whose language it means ' fortress?.' Tlie name San'au is found in an inscription which Glaser (die Abessinier, etc. p. 117) assigns to the 2nd cent. A.D. An earl…
Smith's Bible Dictionary on Uzal
(separate), the sixth son of Joktan, (Genesis 10:27; 1 Chronicles 1:21) whose settlements are clearly traced in the ancient name of San’a, the capital city of the Yemen (a district of Arabia), which was originally Awzal . From its position in the centre of the best portion of that kingdom it must always have been an important city. (San’a is situated about 150 miles from Aden and 100 miles from the coast of the Red Sea. It is one of the most imposing cities of Arabia -ED.)
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Easton, M.G. (1893) Easton's Bible Dictionary. 3rd edn. Thomas Nelson. [Public Domain]
- Nave, O.J. (1897) Nave's Topical Bible. Topical Bible Publishing Co.. [Public Domain]
- Hastings, J. (ed.) (1909) A Dictionary of the Bible. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Smith, W. (ed.) (1884) Smith's Bible Dictionary. London: John Murray. [Public Domain]
- Fausset, A.R. (1878) Fausset's Bible Dictionary. [Public Domain]A Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopaedia