HEVILA (Hebr. Ḥāwīlāh probably from ḥōl “sand”; Septuagint Εὐαῖα). - A region (v. EDEN) abundant in gold, aromatic gum, and precious stones, through which flowed the river Phison (Gen. 2:11). The name is mentioned as a descendant of the Hamitic Chus (Gen. 10:7; I Par. 1:9) and of the Semitic Iectan (Gen. 10:29; I Par. 1:23), and in the formula “from H. as far as Sur” (Gen. 25:18; I Sam. 15:7).
It is uncertain whether an African and an Asiatic H. should be distinguished. Generally, H. is regarded as a district inhabited by Chusites and Iectanites in southern Arabia, because of its association in the texts with Azarmaveth-Hadramawt. Others prefer the region of Hawlān north of Yemen because of a certain similarity in the name. Saul’s war against the Amalecites, moreover, suggests that the Arabian desert extended far north of el-Jamāmah and also bore the name H.