so that we should expect to find these kings of the Arabs to the south of Palestine and to the southeast of the harbor of Elath, which belonged to Solomon even after Edom was separated from his kingdom.
According to 2 Chronicles, 17: 11, the Arabs brought 7700 rams and 7700 goats to Joshaphat, king of Judea (873–849 B. C.). Joshaphat still held sway over the harbor of Elath and the trade route leading thence to the northwest and west. It is therefore probable that annual gifts were sent to him by the tribes passing along that route in the trade caravans. His son and successor Jehoram (849–842 B. C.) lost Elath and according to 2 Chronicles, 21: 16; 22: 1, had to fight against the Philistines and Arabs dwelling near the Kushites, who made inroads as far as Judea and plundered it.
The Edomites then gained possession of Elath (2 Chronicles, 21: 8—10), and the Arab tribes encamped on the peninsula of Sinai were certainly incited both by them and the Philistines against Judea. The Assyrian records also refer to kings of the Arabs on the peninsula of Sinai (Rawlinson, Cuneiform, Vol. 3, pl. 35, no. 4, rev., 1. 2; Winckler, Textbuch, p. 54.) The Arabs dwelling near the Kushites may be those who encamped on the Egyptian border in the western part of the Sinai peninsula; but according to the Biblical view they were also those who encamped with the tribes of southern Arabia near the transport route which runs from southwestern Arabia northward, with one branch leading to Syria and another to Egypt. This road was guarded by South Arabian garrisons. The Arabs are to be sought at the southeastern frontier of the Sinai peninsula in the vicinity of Elath.
This view is upheld by 2 Chronicles, 26: 7, according to which God helped Uzziah against the Philistines, against the Arabs dwelling in Gûr Baʻal, and against the Meʻûnites. Uzziah (779—740 B. C.) reconquered Elath and in consequence became involved in dispute with the Philistines and the Meʻûnites. The Philistines owned Gaza, a city to which the trade caravans from southwestern Arabia conveyed their goods. The transport routes to Gaza led from Elath and the oasis of Maʻân or Maʻôn. The term Meʻûnites denotes partly the inhabitants of the settlement of Maʻôn and partly also the garrisons dependent upon this settlement. The latter certainly extended as far as the harbor of Elath, to which an important branch road led from Maʻôn. As soon as Uzziah was in possession of Elath he had control over both roads to Gaza, and he necessarily endeavored, either in an amicable or a hostile manner, to gain the favor of the Meʻûnites and their allies the Arabs to the south and southwest of Maʻôn. I identify Gûr Baʻal with the northwestern corner of the territory of Ḥesma. Two old transport routes lead through it, and the whole region is covered with isolated mesas known as ḳûr (singular ḳâra).
The Bible also refers to the Arabs and consequently to the nomads on the northeast and east of Edom. Jeremiah, 25: 23 f., threatens destruction upon Dedan, Têma, Bûz, and all those with shaven heads; and in the following verse it is added that all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the Arabs shall perish.
According to the context the kings of Arabia are the kings of the Arabian oases of Dajdân, Tejma, and Bûz, while the kings of the Arabs denote all the nomads with shaven heads. Even to the present day nearly