Havilah

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[edit] Place

Havilah is a land in the Garden of Eden first mentioned in Genesis 2:11: "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 lapis lazuli.

There are two other references to a place name Havilah, Genesis 25:18 and 1 Samuel 15:7 ^[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 used to flow to the Persian Gulf, plus abundant bdellium plants.

[edit] People

There are two descendants of Noah who were named Havilah. They are mentioned in Genesis 10:7,29, 1 Chronicles 1:9,23; One, the Grandson of Noah through his son "Ham," the other, a great-grandson of Noah through his son "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.