Havilah

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[edit] Place

For the small town in the United States, see Havilah, California.

Havilah is a land mentioned in the Bible, first described in Genesis 2:11 in relation to the Garden of Eden: "The name of the first [river] is the Pishon; it is the one that winds through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold." Havilah is known for its abundance. In addition to gold, Havilah is reported as having bdellium and onyx stone. - Genesis 2:12

There are two other references in the Bible to a place named Havilah: in Genesis 25:18, where it defines the border of the territory inhabited by the Ishmaelites, and in 1 Samuel 15:7, which states that king Saul of Israel attacked the Amalekites who were living there^[1].

Havilah is usually associated with northwest Yemen (see the Table of Nations), but in the work associated with the Garden of Eden by Juris Zarins, the Hijaz mountains south of Medina (circa 400 miles north of Yemen) appear to potentially meet the description of Havila. The Hijaz includes both the Cradle of Gold at Mahd adh Dhahab and a potential source of the now dried out Pishon River that may have once flowed to the Persian Gulf, plus abundant bdellium plants.

[edit] People

There are two descendants of Noah named Havilah listed in the Table 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. ^[2]

Havilah (or Chavaleh, a pet name of Chava) is the name of the third/middle daughter, "everybody's favorite child" in Fiddler on the Roof.