him and against Judah and Jerusalem.” Happily, he recovered from this dangerous attitude. The account continues. “However, Hezekiah humbled himself for the haughtiness of his heart, he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and Jehovah’s indignation did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.”—2 Chron. 32:25, 26; compare Isaiah 3:16-24; Ezekiel 28:2, 5, 17.

GOD OPPOSES HAUGHTINESS

Not only are haughty ones distasteful to honest men, but, more seriously, they receive the opposition of Jehovah God. (Jas. 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:5) Haughtiness is foolishness, and a sin (Prov. 14:3; 21:4), and Jehovah sets himself against the haughty to bring them low. (2 Sam. 22:28; Job 10:16; 40:11; Ps. 18:27; 31:18, 23; Isa. 2:11, 17) Haughtiness is sure to bring destruction if not forsaken. The ancient nation of Moab, which lifted itself up against God and his people, was brought to nothing. (Isa. 16:6; 25:10, 11; Jer. 48:29) Even the ten-tribe kingdom of Israel was not spared when it became haughty and insolent in heart.—Isa. 9:8-12.

GUARD AGAINST HAUGHTINESS

One should therefore watch carefully to keep haughtiness out of his heart. He should be especially on guard when he has achieved success in any endeavor, or is given a higher or more responsible position. He can be mindful that “pride is before a crash, and a haughty spirit before stumbling.” (Prov. 16:18) Furthermore, one can let haughtiness grow. It can come to control him to the extent that Jehovah will class him with those whom he gives up to a disapproved mental state, and who are deserving of death. (Rom. 1:28, 30, 32) Such caution is especially appropriate in the “last days,” when, as the apostle warned, haughtiness would be one of the distinguishing characteristics of those critical times.—2 Tim. 3:1, 2.

Additionally, the person desiring God’s favor should avoid flattery, which tends to cultivate haughtiness in others. The proverb says: “An able-bodied man that is flattering his companion is spreading out a mere net for his steps.” (Prov. 29:5) Not only does the flatterer bring ruin to his companion (“a flattering mouth causes an overthrow”—Prov. 26:28), but he also receives God’s disfavor. The apostle Paul was careful to avoid both flattery and haughtiness.—1 Thess. 2:5, 6.

HAURAN

(Ha·u·ranʹ).

A boundary site in Ezekiel’s vision of Israel’s inheritance. (Ezek. 47:13, 15, 16, 18) According to some scholars it embraced approximately the same area earlier covered by the term “Bashan.” (See BASHAN.) Hauran is apparently the district referred to in ancient Egyptian texts (Huruna), and Assyrian documents of Shalmaneser III (Hauranu). It also appears to correspond to the smaller region called “Auranitis” in Graeco-Roman times. The name el-Hauran is applied today to the rolling prairie of rich red soil between Damascus and the Yarmuk River.

HAVILAH

(Havʹi·lah) [stretch of sand].

1. A land ‘encircled’ by the Pishon, one of the four rivers branching off from the river issuing out of Eden. It is further identified as a land of good gold, bdellium gum and the onyx stone. (Gen. 2:10-12) Inasmuch as the Pishon River is no longer identifiable, the location of the land of Havilah remains uncertain. (See PISHON.) The description of its resources is considered by some to be typically Arabian and it is often associated with a region in SW Arabia. However, as geographer J. Simons comments (The Geographical and Topographical Texts of the Old Testament, 1959, p. 41): “From ancient times gold has come from various parts of the Arabian peninsula.”

If, as seems reasonable, the land of Havilah of Genesis 2:11 is the same as that referred to in Genesis 25:18, then it appears that Havilah embraced a larger area than the region in SW Arabia suggested by some. According to Genesis 25:18, the Ishmaelites were “tabernacling from Havilah near Shur, which is in front of Egypt, as far as Assyria.” This would require that Havilah, or at least a portion thereof, extend to or near the Sinai Peninsula, in which the Wilderness of Shur likely is located. (See SHUR.) The text evidently shows that the nomadic Ishmaelites ranged from the Sinai Peninsula clear across northern Arabia and into Mesopotamia. Similarly, when King Saul struck down the Amalekites “from Havilah as far as Shur, which is in front of Egypt” (1 Sam. 15:7), it would appear that the expression “from Havilah” points to a portion, probably the NW corner, of the Arabian Peninsula as representing one limit of the territory in which the Amalekites were centered, while the Wilderness of Shur in the Sinai Peninsula represented the other limit, or as expressed in The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (Vol. 1, p. 101): “from the desert interior of the N Arabian Nejd to the region N of modern Suez in Egypt.”

Thus, unless the “Havilah” of Genesis 2:11 is a distinct region from that mentioned in these other texts, it would appear that it embraced at least the NW portion of the Arabian Peninsula and perhaps a much larger area. On the basis of the Biblical reference to “the entire land of Havilah,” J. Simons, quoted above, suggests that the term “Havilah” may take in the entire Arabian Peninsula, though it is difficult to see how the Pishon River could have ‘encircled’ such an area.

2. A son of Cush the son of Ham. (Gen. 10:6, 7) Many scholars view the name “Havilah” in this text as also representing a region, and the name may well have come to be applied to the area settled by the descendants of this son of Cush. Since the majority of Cush’s descendants appear to have migrated into Africa and Arabia following the breakup at Babel (Gen. 11:9), it is generally suggested that the descendants of the Cushite Havilah are to be connected with the region called “Haulan” in ancient Sabean inscriptions. This region lay on the SW coast of Arabia to the N of modern Yemen. Additionally, some suggest that, in course of time, migrants of this tribe crossed the Red Sea to Somaliland in Africa, the ancient name possibly being preserved there in that of the Aualis. (Hasting’s Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. II, p. 311) It is equally possible that the migration took place in a reverse direction, that is, from Africa to Arabia. The strait of the Red Sea, called Bab el-Mandeb, that separates Arabia from Somaliland in Africa is only twenty miles (32 kilometers) wide.

3. A son of Joktan and descendant of Shem through Arpachshad. (Gen. 10:22-29) The names of certain others of Joktan’s sons, such as Hazarmaveth and Ophir, are evidently connected with regions in S Arabia. Thus it seems likely that the Shemitic Havilah and his descendants also settled in Arabia, though not necessarily in the S. Some would place him in the region identical with that of the Cushite Havilah; but the mere correspondency of the names is hardly basis for assuming that, in spite of their ethnological differences, they both gravitated to the same area. While the evidence connecting the Cushite Havilah with the region in SW Arabia known as Haulan (mentioned in No. 2 above) is not conclusive, hence possibly allowing for Haulan to be connected instead with the Shemitic Havilah, Haulan’s association with Africa and its proximity to Ethiopia (the land of Cush) would seem to favor its being linked with the Cushite Havilah. On this basis it would seem likely that the Havilah descended from Shem occupied territory more to the N of Arabia, perhaps providing the source for the name of the land referred to in the Genesis texts mentioned in No. 1 above.

HAVVOTH-JAIR

(Hav·voth-jaʹir) [tent villages of Jair].

Villages located in Manasseh’s territory E of the Jordan. Since “Gilead” at times also denotes all of Israel’s land E of the Jordan (Josh. 22:9), this may explain why the Havvoth-jair are spoken of as being in Gilead (Num. 32:40, 41), although other texts locate the villages in Bashan.—Deut. 3:14; Josh. 13:29, 30.

Jair (a descendant of Judah through Hezron, but also reckoned as a descendant of Manasseh), a contemporary of Moses, is credited with capturing these “tent villages,” evidently twenty-three in number, and naming them after himself, Havvoth-jair. (Num. 32:39-41; Deut. 3:14; 1 Chron. 2:3, 21-23; see JAIR No. 1.) Years later, thirty cities in the possession of Judge Jair’s thirty sons were known as Havvoth-jair. Some critics view this as a contradictory explanation about the origin of the name “Havvoth-jair.” However, the Judges account does not state that the name “Havvoth-jair” was first used in this later period. It simply indicates that at the time of writing the name still was in use and was applied to these thirty cities.—Judg. 10:3, 4.

During the reign of Solomon the tent villages of Jair were included in one of the districts placed under a deputy. (1 Ki. 4:7, 13) As indicated by the context, the sixty cities mentioned in 1 Kings 4:13 and other texts (Josh. 13:30; 1 Chron. 2:23) were fortified cities of the Argob region in Bashan and apparently did not include the numerous rural towns. (Compare Deuteronomy 3:4, 5.) Hence, the “tent villages” of Jair should likely be regarded as distinct from these sixty cities.

At an unspecified time in Israel’s history, Geshur and Syria captured the Havvoth-jair.—1 Chron. 2:23.

HAZAEL

(Hazʹa·el) [God sees].

A notable king of Syria, Hazael apparently began to rule during the reign of King Jehoram of Israel (c. 917-905 B.C.E.). (2 Ki. 8:7-16) He died during the reign of King Jehoash of Israel (c. 859-844 B.C.E.). (2 Ki. 13:24, 25) Hazael was not of royal lineage, but had been merely a high officer in the service of his predecessor, King Ben-hadad of Syria.—2 Ki. 13:7-9.

Years prior to Hazael’s reign, Jehovah had instructed Elijah to “anoint Hazael as king over Syria.” The reason for the appointment was that Israel had sinned against God and Hazael was to execute punishment upon the nation.—1 Ki. 19:15-18.

Hazael was never literally anointed with oil, but the commission given to Elijah was nevertheless fulfilled by his successor Elisha the prophet. This occurred when Syrian King Ben-hadad, who had fallen sick, sent Hazael to Elisha, then in Syria’s principal city, Damascus, with a gift and an inquiry as to whether or not he would survive his sickness. Elisha said to Hazael: “Go, say to [Ben-hadad], ‘You will positively recover,’” but the prophet continued, saying: “And Jehovah has shown me that he will positively die.” He further said to Hazael: “Jehovah has shown me you as king over Syria.” On Hazael’s return, in reply to the king’s question as to Elisha’s answer, Hazael said: “He said to me, ‘You will positively revive’”; but then, on the next day, Hazael suffocated the king with a wet coverlet, and began to rule in his place.—2 Ki. 8:7-15.

The words of Elisha to Hazael have been the subject of considerable conjecture. According to the margin of the Masoretic text, as well as the Septuagint, the Vulgate, the Syriac Peshitta Version and eighteen Hebrew manuscripts, the text reads: “Say to him, ‘You will positively revive,’” whereas the main body of the Masoretic text says, “Say, ‘You will not.’”

If the reading is taken that Hazael was told to tell Ben-hadad “‘You will positively recover,’” Elisha’s answer to Ben-hadad’s inquiry may have been in the form of a riddle, meaning that Ben-hadad’s sickness itself would not kill him, but that he would nevertheless die (as he did, by the hand of Hazael). At any rate, Hazael verbally gave the king the first part of Elisha’s answer: “You will positively recover,” but the rest of the answer Hazael carried out in violent action.

HAZAEL OPPRESSES ISRAEL

Shortly after becoming king, Hazael engaged in a war with the kings of Israel and Judah at Ramoth-gilead. At that time, King Jehoram of Israel was wounded at Ramah, but the outcome of the battle itself is not stated in the account. (2 Ki. 8:25-29; 2 Chron. 22:1-6) In the days of Jehoram’s successor King Jehu of Israel, Hazael began to take Israel’s land piece by piece, capturing Gilead and Bashan, E of the Jordan. (2 Ki. 10:32, 33) This apparently opened the way for his later invasion of the kingdom of Judah. Hazael took the city of Gath in Philistia, and then set his face to go up against Jerusalem. King Jehoash of Judah, however, bought Hazael off by giving him valuable things from the temple and palace, so that Hazael withdrew, sparing Jerusalem.—2 Ki. 12:17, 18.

Particularly during the reign of Jehu’s son Jehoahaz of Israel, Hazael became a great oppressor of Israel, fulfilling what the prophet Elisha had foreseen—that Hazael would consign Israel’s fortified places to the fire, kill their choice men with the sword, dash to pieces their children and rip up their pregnant women. (2 Ki. 13:3, 22; 8:12) Yet, God did not allow Syria to crush Israel completely. (2 Ki. 13:4, 5) After Hazael’s death, King Jehoash of Israel, in three victories, recaptured from Hazael’s son Ben-hadad the cities that Hazael had taken from King Jehoahaz, his father. (2 Ki. 13:23-25) Later King Jeroboam II of Israel “restored Damascus and Hamath to Judah in Israel.”—2 Ki. 14:28.

IN ANCIENT INSCRIPTIONS

Hazael is mentioned in a historical inscription found in 1904 at a place now called Afis, about twenty-five miles (40 kilometers) SE of Aleppo. The inscription calls Hazael “king of Aram.” This inscription agrees with the Bible, that Hazael’s son Ben-hadad, here called “Barhadad,” succeeded him as king of Syria.

The campaigns of Shalmaneser III against Syria are recorded in his annals, in which he recounts his victories over Hazael. In these annals, Hazael is called a “commoner” (literally, a “son of nobody”), doubtless because he was not of royal descent, but took the throne of Damascus by assassinating King Ben-hadad. One of these inscriptions reads: “In the eighteenth year of my rule I crossed the Euphrates for the sixteenth time. Hazael of Damascus (Imerisu) put his trust upon his numerous army and called up his troops in great number, making the mountain Senir (Sa-ni-ru), a mountain, facing the Lebanon, to his fortress. I fought with him and inflicted a defeat upon him, killing with the sword 16,000 of his experienced soldiers. I took away from him 1,121 chariots, 470 riding horses as well as his camp. He disappeared to save his life (but) I followed him and besieged him in Damascus (Di-mas-qi), his royal residence. (There) I cut down his gardens (outside of the city, and departed). I marched as far as the mountains of Hauran (sade^{e mat} Ha-u-ra-ni), destroying, tearing down and burning innumerable towns, carrying booty away from them which was beyond counting.”

However, Shalmaneser evidently failed to take Damascus itself. This was apparently left for Tiglath-pileser III to accomplish, in the days of Syrian King Rezin. This fulfilled Jehovah’s prophecy through Amos: “I will send a fire onto the house of Hazael, and it must devour the dwelling towers of Ben-hadad. And I will break the bar of Damascus.”—Amos 1:4, 5; 2 Ki. 16:9.

HAZAIAH

(Ha·zaiʹah) [Jehovah has seen].

A descendant of Judah’s son Shelah.—Neh. 11:4, 5; Num. 26:20.

HAZAR-ADDAR

(Haʹzar-adʹdar).

A city on the southern border of Judah, perhaps the same as the