Arabia; Arabian

The term “Arabia” refers mainly to the Arabian Peninsula in SW Asia near the African continent. However, the term could also refer to neighboring regions N and W of the Arabian Peninsula, such as the Syrian Desert and the Sinai Peninsula. While the name Arabia does not occur in the Hebrew Scriptures, the terms “Arabs” and “Arabians” are used to refer to the inhabitants of the area.​—1Ki 10:15; 2Ch 9:14; 21:16; Ne 4:7.

Arabia consists mostly of deserts and arid tablelands. In general, the inhabitants of Arabia referred to in the Scriptures were nomads, who were herding flocks and dwelling in tents. (Isa 13:20; Jer 3:2, ftn.) Others were traders, and some were referred to as merchants for Tyre. (Eze 27:21) Caravan routes crisscrossed the peninsula, connecting trade from East Africa, India, and the southern cities of Arabia with Egypt and the lands to the north, including Assyria, Syria, and Babylon. Arabian merchants and caravans moved from oasis to oasis, trading in such goods as spices, frankincense, myrrh, gold, algum wood, and precious gems.​—1Ki 10:10, 11, 15; Isa 60:6.

A number of God’s servants stayed in Arabia or had contact with people from the region. For example, Job lived in the land of Uz, most likely in northern Arabia. (Job 1:1) Moses spent 40 years in Arabia when dwelling with the Midianite Jethro. (Ex 3:1; Ac 7:29, 30) During the time of the Judges, hordes of Midianites, Amalekites, and Easterners came out of Arabia on camels to ravage the land of Israel. (Jg 6:3-6) The kingdom of the queen of Sheba may have been located in SW Arabia. (1Ki 10:1-10, 15; 2Ch 9:1-9, 14; Mt 12:42 and study note) During the reign of Judean King Jehoram, Arabs plundered Jerusalem, carrying off possessions from the king’s house as well as his sons and his wives.​—2Ch 21:16, 17.

In the Christian Greek Scriptures, there are three references to Arabia. “Arabians” are mentioned among those gathered in Jerusalem at Pentecost 33 C.E. Thus, some Arabian Jews may have become Christians on that occasion. (Ac 2:11, 41) Paul twice refers to Arabia in his letter to the Galatians. He says at Ga 1:17 that following his conversion in Damascus (in Syria), he “went to Arabia, and then . . . returned to Damascus.” The term “Arabia” could refer to any part of the Arabian Peninsula. However, it is possible that Paul departed for the neighboring Syrian Desert, an area to the east of Syria and Israel. In the first century C.E., this area was sometimes referred to as Arabia, a conclusion supported by Josephus. He wrote that Arabia could be viewed by looking E from a certain tower (the tower of Psephinus) in Jerusalem. (The Jewish War, Book 5, chap. 4, par. 3 [Loeb 5.159-160]) At Ga 4:25, Paul refers to Mount Sinai as “a mountain in Arabia.” That is where Jehovah established the Law covenant with the nation of Israel.​—See Media Gallery, “Mount Sinai.”