Explorations in Bible lands during the 19th century - H. V. Hilprecht

742 EXFLORATlOSs l.x BIBLE LANDS
chapter of Genesis and similar passages (Gen. 22 :
and 25
20, seqq.
: 1, seq. and 12, seq.), it is remarkable to see what a
close kinship between Hebrew and Arab is indicated by-
Hebrew tradition, — a kinship second only to that existing
between the former and Amnion, Moab and the really
half
Arabian Edom. Edom, it is true, was regarded as the twin
brother of Jacob, but Ishmael, the father of twelve Arab
tribes (Gen. 25
:
13-15), was at least the half brother of
Isaac. And there are others, among them the Midianites
(prominent in the stories of Joseph and Moses and in the
Book of Judges), who are mentioned as half brothers of
Isaac and Ishmael ; even the Joktanides (Gen. 10 : 26, seqq.),
living farther away, are connected at least with Eber, the
pre-Abrahamic ancestor of the Hebrews. Besides the references
to them in the inscriptions, numerous passages in
the prophetic literature throw valuable light upon manv of
these names (see especially Is. 21 ; Ezek. 27, etc.).
Further light upon the part played by Arabia in
the Old
Testament comes from the fact, now well established, that
the oft-mentioned Kush, or rather Kosh, means Ethiopia
only in 2 Kings 19 : 9 (=Is. 37 : 9) and perhaps in Is. 11 :
11, Nah. 3
:
9 and Jer. 46 : 9, — while in all other passages,
beginning with the story of Eden and the table of
nations (Gen. 10), it means Arabia, especially the district
around the Jebel Shammar (Havil). Kosh, arisen from
Kevosh, is identical with the Babylonian Kivash (written
Kimash). The Gihon is a wadi of Arabia (Kosh), as Nimrod
is a son of Arabia (see his above-mentioned journey
through Arabia in the Babylonian epos), as Zerah (2
Chron.
14) is an Arab shaikh (comp. the camels mentioned in
verse 14 1 ), and the wife of Moses, whether Zipporah (Ex.
2 : 21) or perhaps another (Num. 12 :
1), is an Arab woman.
" The Sabeans [in Central Arabia], men of stature " (Is. 45
:
14) and " the nation tall and smooth " (Is. 18:1, seq.) " be-
1
Hebrew text; in English version v. 15. — The Editor.