Lexical Definition
חֲוִילָה Chăvîylâh (khav-ee-law') Havilah N:N--L
probably from חוּל; circular
Havilah.
- § Havilah = "circle"
- Chavilah, the name of two or three eastern regions
- also perhaps of two men
n pr loc
1) a part of Eden through which flowed the river Pison (Araxes); was probably the Grecian Colchis, in the northeast corner of Asia Minor, near the Caspian Sea
2) a district in Arabia of the Ishmaelites named from the 2nd son of Cush; probably the district of Kualan, in the northwestern part of Yemen
n pr m
3) a son of Cush
4) a son of Joktan
Extended Information
- A man living at the time of the Patriarchs, first mentioned at Gen.10.7
- son of: Cush (כּוּשׁ)
- brother of: Seba (סְבָא), Sabtah (סַבְתָּא), Raamah (רַעְמָה), Sabteca (סַבְתְּכָא) and Nimrod (נִמְרוֹד)
Brown-Driver-Briggs
חֲוִילָה proper name, of a territory (√ dubious DlPa 12 suggests חוֺל sand-land, downs, as Hebrew popular etymology, MV11 give it as actual etymology; StaThLZ Apr. 28, 1894, 235 compares this, as well as חוֺל sand, with Arabic 
soft mud, [dampsand]) — אֶרֶץ הַחֲוִילָה Gen 2:11 (surrounded or bordered — סבב — by river Pishon; noted for excellent gold, bdellium and shoham-stone); elsewhere without article חֲוִילָה Gen 10:7 = 1Chr 1:9 as a 'son' of Cush (between סְבָא and סַבְתָּה); but also as a 'son' of יָקְטָן, a descendant of Shem Gen 10:29 = 1Chr 1:23 (between אוֺפִיר and יוֺבָב); עַדשֿׁוּר ׳מֵח Gen 25:18 said of limits of Ishmaelitish territory; compare same limits of Amalek 1Sam 15:7 (but dubious; We reads טֵילָם, compare v1Sam 15:4 and see Dr; GlaserSkizze ii, 326 reads חֲכִילָה as 1Sam 23:19; 1Sam 26:1; 1Sam 26:3). — Most have supposed several regions named ׳ח to be indicated in these passages: — e.g. Thes.
- Arabian shore of Persian Gulf Gen 10:29 etc. 2. Ethiopian coast Gen 10:7 etc. 3. India Gen 2:11 (regarded as indefinite extension of 1). DiGen 10:7 distinguishes 1 and 2 either as quite distinct, or as different settlements of one great people, and (on Gen 2:14) thinks that ׳כל ארץ ח Gen 2:11 implies vague extension eastward. DlPa 12 ff. 57 ff. identification ׳ח in all passages with northeast part of Syrian desert, so EMeyGeschichte. Alterth. i. 224; GlaserSkizze ii. 323 ff. with central and northeast Arabia. The question is still undecided.
Brown-Driver-Briggs References
| Book | Refs |
|---|---|
| Genesis | 2:11 · 2:14 · 10:7 · 10:29 · 25:18 |
| 1 Samuel | 15:4 · 15:7 · 23:19 · 26:1 · 26:3 |
| 1 Chronicles | 1:9 · 1:23 |
Profile
Male • Son of Cush • A son of Cush, descendant of Ham.
Man living at the time of the Patriarchs
Havilah was a son of Cush, a descendant of Ham, mentioned in the Table of Nations. (Gen.10.7; 1Ch.1.9)
- A man living at the time of the Patriarchs, first mentioned at Gen.10.7;
- only referred to as Havilah חֲוִילָה;
- son of Cush כּוּשׁ;
- a brother of Seba סְבָא, Sabtah סַבְתָּא, Raamah רַעְמָה, Sabteca סַבְתְּכָא and Nimrod נִמְרוֹד.
Havilah is mentioned in the Table of Nations in Genesis and 1 Chronicles as a son of Cush, who was a son of Ham, one of Noah's three sons. The Table of Nations is a genealogical record of the descendants of Noah's sons after the Great Flood, representing the known nations and peoples of the ancient world. No further information is provided about this Havilah in the Bible. (Gen.10.7; 1Ch.1.9).
All entries for Havilah: חֲוִילָה