Difference between revisions of "Arabia"

<p> '''Ara'bia.''' ''(desert, barren).'' [[A]] country known in the Old [[Testament]] under two designations: - </p> <p> 1. ''The East Country,'' &nbsp;Genesis 25:6, or perhaps ''the East,'' &nbsp;Genesis 10:30; &nbsp;Numbers 23:7; &nbsp;Isaiah 2:6, and ''Land of the Sons of the East,'' &nbsp;Genesis 29:1. [[Gentile]] name, ''Sons of the East,'' &nbsp;Judges 6:3; &nbsp;Judges 7:12; &nbsp;1 Kings 4:30; &nbsp;Job 1:3; &nbsp;Isaiah 11:14; &nbsp;Jeremiah 49:28; &nbsp;Ezekiel 25:4. </p> <p> From these passages, it appears that ''Land of the East'' and ''Sons of the East'' indicate, primarily, the country east of Palestine, and the tribes descended from Ishmael and from Keturah; and that this original signification may have become gradually extended to Arabia and its inhabitants generally, though without any strict limitation. </p> <p> 2. '''Arab'' and ''A'rab'' , whence Arabia. &nbsp;2 Chronicles 9:14; &nbsp;Isaiah 21:13; &nbsp;Jeremiah 26:24; &nbsp;Ezekiel 27:21. (Arabia is a triangular peninsula, included between the Mediterranean and Red seas, the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf. Its extreme length, north and south, is about 1300 miles, and its greatest breadth 1500 miles. - Encyclopedia Britannica). </p> <p> '''Divisions.''' - Arabia may be divided into ''Arabia Proper,'' containing the whole peninsula as far as the limits of the northern deserts; ''Northern Arabia'' (Arabia Deserta), constituting the great desert of Arabia; and ''Western Arabia,'' the desert of Petra and the peninsula of Sinai, or the country that has been called ''Arabia Petraea,'' </p> <p> [[I.]] '''Arabia Proper,''' or the ''Arabian penninsula'' consists of high tableland, declining towards the north. Most of it is well peopled, watered by wells and streams, and enjoys periodical rains. The moist fertile tracts are those on the southwest and south. </p> <p> [[Ii.]] '''Northern Arabia,''' or the ''Arabian Desert,'' is a high, undulating, parched plain, of which the Euphrates forms the natural boundary from the Persian Gulf to the frontier of Syria, whence it is bounded by the latter country and the desert of Petra on the northwest and west, the peninsula of Arabia forming its southern limit. </p> <p> It has few oases, the water of the wells is generally either brackish or unpotable and it is visited by the sand-wind called ''Samoom.'' The inhabitants principally descended from Ishmael and from Keturah, have always led a wandering and pastoral life. They conducted a considerable trade of merchandise of Arabia and India from the shore of the Persian Gulf. &nbsp;Ezekiel 27:20-24. </p> <p> [[Iii.]] '' Western Arabia'' includes the peninsula of Sinai, ''see '' '''Sinai''' , and the desert of Petra; corresponding generally with the limits of Arabia Petraea. The latter name is probably derived from that of its chief city, not from its stony character. </p> <p> It was mostly peopled by descendants of Esau, and was generally known as the land of [[Edom]] or Idumea, ''see '' '''Edom, [[Idumaea]] or Idumea''' ''.'' , as well as by its older appellation, the desert of [[Seir]] or Mount Seir. ''See '' '''Seir''' ''.'' </p> <p> '''Inhabitants.''' - (Arabia, which once ruled from India to the Atlantic, now has eight or nine millions of inhabitants, about one-fifth of whom are Bedouin or wandering tribes, and the other four-fifths settled Arabs. - Encyclopedia Britannica). </p> <p> 3. The descendants of '''Joktan''' occupied the principal portions of the south and southwest of the peninsula, with colonies in the interior. The principal Joktanite kingdom, and the chief state of ancient Arabia, was that of the Yemen. </p> <p> 4. The '''Ishmaelites''' appear to have entered the peninsula from the northwest. That they have spread over the whole of it (with the exception of one or two districts on the south coast), and that the modern nation is predominantly Ishmaelite, is asserted by the Arabs. </p> <p> 5. Of the descendants of '''Keturah''' , the Arabs say little. They appear to have settled chiefly north of the peninsula in Desert Arabia, from Palestine to the Persian Gulf. </p> <p> 6. In northern and western Arabia are other peoples, which, from their geographical position and mode of life are sometimes classed with the Arabs, of these are '''Amalek''' , the descendants of '''Esau''' , etc. </p> <p> (''Productions'' - The productions are varied. The most noted animal is the horse. Camels, sheep, cattle, asses, mules and cats are common. Agricultural products are coffee, wheat, barley, millet, beans, pulse, dates and the common garden plants. In pasture lands Arabia is peculiarly fortunate. In mineral products it is singularly poor, lead being most abundant. - Encyclopedia Britannica). </p> <p> '''Religion.''' - The most ancient idolatry of the Arabs we must conclude to have been fetishism. Magianism, an importation from [[Chaldaea]] and Persia, must be reckoned among the religions of the pagan Arabs; but it never had very numerous followers. </p> <p> Christianity was introduced into southern Arabia toward the close of the second century, and about a century later it had made great progress. It flourished chiefly in the Yemen, where many churches were built. [[Judaism]] was propagated in Arabia, principally by Karaites, at the captivity. They are now nominally Mohammedans. </p> <p> '''Language.''' - Arabic, the language of Arabia, is the most developed and the richest of Shemitic languages, and the only one of which we have an extensive literature; it is, therefore, of great importance to the study of Hebrew. </p> <p> '''Government.''' - Arabia is now under the government of the Ottoman empire. </p>

<p> '''Arabia''' (''a-râ'biah'' ), ''arid, sterile.'' [[A]] peninsula in the southwestern part of Asia, between the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Persian Gulf. Its extreme length from north to south is about 1300 miles, its greatest breadth about 1500 miles, though from the northern point of the Red Sea to the Persian Gulf is only about 900 miles. It has the sea on all sides except the north. Its area is estimated at 1,030,000 square miles; and of the three ancient divisions of the country, that known as Arabia Felix was by far the largest and most important. Its main features are a coast range of low mountains or table land, seldom rising over 2000 feet, broken on the eastern coast by sandy plains; this plateau is backed up by a second loftier range of mountains in the east and south. The Sinaitic peninsula is a small triangular region in the northwestern part, or corner, of Arabia. See Sinai. The ancients divided it into Petræa, Deserta, and Felix; or the stony, the desert, and the happy or fertile. The principal animals are the horse, famed for its form, beauty, and endurance; camels, sheep, asses, dogs, the gazelle, tiger, lynx, and monkey; quails, peacocks, parrots, ostriches; vipers, scorpions, and locusts. Of fruits and grains, dates, wheat, millet, rice, beans, and pulse are common. It is also rich in minerals, especially in lead. Arabia in early [[Israelitish]] history meant a small tract of country south and east of Palestine, probably the same as that called Kedem, or "the east." &nbsp;Genesis 10:30; &nbsp;Genesis 25:6; &nbsp;Genesis 29:1. Arabia in New Testament times appears to have been scarcely more extensive. &nbsp;Galatians 1:17; &nbsp;Galatians 4:25. The chief inhabitants were known as Ishmaelites, Arabians, Idumeans, Horites, and Edomites. The allusions in the Scripture to the country and its people are very numerous. Job is supposed to have dwelt in Arabia. The forty years of wandering by the Israelites under Moses was in this land. See Sinai. Solomon received gold from it, &nbsp;1 Kings 10:15; &nbsp;2 Chronicles 9:14; [[Jehoshaphat]] flocks, &nbsp;2 Chronicles 17:11; some of its people were at [[Jerusalem]] at the Pentecost, &nbsp;Acts 2:11; Paul visited it, &nbsp;Galatians 1:17; the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah frequently refer to it. &nbsp;Isaiah 21:11-13; &nbsp;Isaiah 42:11; &nbsp;Isaiah 60:7; &nbsp;Jeremiah 25:24; &nbsp;Jeremiah 49:28-29. The Minnaean country to which Moses fled, according to recent discoveries, was among the most cultured of ancient times, having alphabetic writing and literary works earlier than the Phœnicians. It has been said, that if any people in the world afford in their history an instance of high antiquity and great simplicity of manners, the Arabs surely do. Of all peoples, the Arabs have spread farthest over the globe, and in all their wanderings have preserved their language, manners, and peculiar customs more perfectly than any other nation. </p>