Tema

Te´ma, a tract and people in the northern part of the Arabian desert, adjacent to the Syrian desert, so called from Tema, the son of Ishmael (Gen 25:15; Job 6:19; Isa 21:14; Jer 25:23). This tract is still called Tema by the Arabs [ARABIA].

An Ishmaelite tribe and district, in the north of Arabia Deserta towards Damascus, Gen 25:15 . It is associated with Dedan, Isa 21:14 ; Jer 25:23, and was famous for its caravans, Job 6:19 . The region is still called Tema by the Arabs.\par

Te’ma. (a desert). The ninth son of Ishmael, Gen 25:15; 1Ch 1:30, whence, the tribe called after him, mentioned in Job 6:19; Jer 25:23, and, also, the land occupied by this tribe. Isa 21:13-14. (B.C. after 1850). The name is identified with Teyma, a small town on the confines of Syria.

("desert land".) Ishmael’s ninth son (Gen 25:15). Founder of an Arab tribe in the northern Arabia Deserta, on the border of the Syrian desert (Job 6:19); "the troops of Tema" are the caravans on the direct road anxiously "looking for" the return of their companions gone to look for water; the failure of it in the wady and the disappointment depict Job’s disappointment at not finding comfort from his friends whose professions promised so much (Isa 21:14; Jer 25:23).

Teyma, a small town, preserves the name (Themme in Ptolemy 5:19, section 6); commanded by the castle El Ablak of a Jew Samuel (A.D. 550), attributed by tradition to Solomon, now in ruins; originally meant to protect the caravan route on the N. of Arabia. Compare Gen 25:15, "sons of Ishmael, by their towns and castles." The Hebrew however for "castles" may mean "hamlets"; see Speaker’s Commentary, Num 31:10; from tor "a row," namely, of rude dwellings, of stones piled one on another and covered with tent cloths, like the devars in Algeria.

[Te’ma]

Son of Ishmael, and father of a tribe of the same name; also the territory occupied by the tribe. Gen 25:15; 1Ch 1:30; Job 6:19; Isa 21:14; Jer 25:23. Probably the same as Teima , 32° 52’ N, 36° 46’ E.

TEMA.—In Gen 25:15 (1Ch 1:30), a son of Ishmael. The country and people meant are still represented by the same name—the modern Taima, a large oasis about 200 miles S.E. of the head of the Gulf of ‘Akabah, and the same distance due N. of Medina in W. Arabia. It was an important community in ancient times, mentioned in Assyr. [Note: Assyrian.] annals of the 8th cent. b.c., and later inhabited in part by Aramæans, who have left inscriptions. It was noted for its caravan traffic (Job 6:19, Isa 21:14), as might be expected from its position on the great trade routes.

J. F. McCurdy.

tē´ma (תּימא, tēmā’, “south country”; Θαιμάν, Thaimán): The name of a son of Ishmael (Gen 25:15; 1Ch 1:30), of the tribe descended from him (Jer 25:23), and of the place where they dwelt (Job 6:19; Isa 21:14). This last was a locality in Arabia which probably corresponds to the modern Teimā’ (or Taymā’ (see Doughty, Arabia Deserta, I, 285)), an oasis which lies about 200 miles North of el-Medina, and some 40 miles South of Dūmat el-Jandal (Dumah), now known as el-Jauf. It is on the ancient caravan road connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Aḳaba; and doubtless the people took a share in the carrying trade (Job 6:19). The wells of the oasis still attract the wanderers from the parched wastes (Isa 21:14). Doughty (loc. cit.) describes the ruins of the old city wall, some 3 miles in circuit. An Aramaic stele recently discovered, belonging to the 6th century BC, shows the influence of Assyrian article The place is mentioned in the cuneiform inscriptions (Schrader, KAT², 149).