The word ‘Arab’ occurs only once in the Bible: “Arab, and Dumah, and Eshean” (Joshua 15:52). Here it refers to a village near Hebron. There are some Hebrew words similar to ‘Arab’ which are translated various ways in the AV. For example, the Hebrew word arab occurs five times and is always translated ‘Arabia’. Other translations of related words include “swarms” (Exodus 8:21), “mixed multitude” (Nehemiah 13:3) and “mingle” (Daniel 2:43).
The modern term ‘Arab’ is a very general term. It loosely refers to peoples who are Semitic, speak Arabic and live mostly in the Middle East and North Africa. Following the rise of Islam, as prophesied in the fifth trumpet (Revelation 9:1-12), Arab influence spread, with other peoples taking hold of the Muslim religion. This increased the numbers of those claiming to be Arabic. Diplomatically a nation can be defined as Arab if it belongs to the League of Arab States. This was formed in Cairo in 1945 and comprised originally of Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Transjordan (now Jordan) and Yemen. The League currently has twenty-two members. Egypt was suspended for ten years following the 1979 peace-treaty with Israel but it was readmitted in 1989. In 1990 the League was divided by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, with twelve members condemning its action.
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Author: The Testimony
Keywords: Arabia, Arabians, Arabs
Bible reference(s): Gen. 16:11-12, Gen. 21:18, Gen. 25:13-15, Gen. 25:18, 2 Chron. 21:16, 2 Chron. 9:14, Isa. 13:20, Isa. 21:13-14, Isa. 60:7, Ezek. 27:21, Eze 38:13, Gal. 4:25, Rev. 9:1-12
Source: “A-Z,” The Testimony, Vol. 74, No. 881, May 2004, pg. 157.
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