Bible Dictionary
Jerah
Jerah was a son of Joktan and ancestor of a southern Arabian people. The name is related to the word for moon, though his precise territory is uncertain.
Definition
Jerah was the fourth son of Joktan and the ancestor of a southern Arabian tribe. The name means “the moon,” though its precise territorial association is uncertain.
Biblical Usage
Jerah appears in the genealogies of Genesis and Chronicles as one of Joktan’s sons and as the progenitor of a people in southern Arabia.
Historical Background
No district called Jerah has been securely identified. Proposed associations include places in Yemen and the Hijaz, as well as regions whose Arabic names refer to the moon. Moon worship in southern Arabia helped make the term common in place-names.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(the moon), the fourth in order of the sons of Joktan, (Genesis 10:26; 1 Chronicles 1:20) and the progenitor of a tribe of southern Arabia.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>je'-ra (yerach): A son of Joktan (Ge 10:26 parallel 1Ch 1:20). No district Jerah has been discovered. However, Yurakh in Yemen and Yarach in Hijaz are places named by the Arabic geographers. The fact that the word in Hebrew means "moon" has led to the following suggestions: the Banu Hilal ("sons of the new moon") in the North of Yemen; Ghubb el-Qamar ("the bay of the moon"), Jebel el-Qamar ("the mountains of the moon") in Eastern Chadramant. But in Southern Arabia worship of the moon has caused the word to bulk largely in place-names.</p>