Only rarely does the Bible mention Arabia by name. It usually refers to the peoples of the region by the family or tribal groups to which they belonged. Often it refers to Arabia simply as the east’ (Genesis 10:30; Genesis 25:6; Judges 6:3; Isaiah 2:6; Ezekiel 25:4).

Many of the people descended from Noah (Genesis 10), Abraham (through his concubine Keturah; Genesis 25:1-6), and Esau (Genesis 36) settled as tribal groups in Arabia. They were wandering shepherds rather than farmers, since most of the land was not suitable for cultivation and some of it was desert. Among the better known tribal groups were Joktam and Sheba in the south (Genesis 10:25-29; 1 Kings 10:1-13; Psalms 72:10; Psalms 72:15; Isaiah 60:6) and Dedan and Kedar in the north (Isaiah 21:13-17; Isaiah 42:11; Jeremiah 25:23-24; Jeremiah 49:28; Ezekiel 25:13; Ezekiel 27:21).