Biblical Nations - Nabataeans
Nabataeans Key Scripture: 2 Corinthians 11:32 Figures: Aretus This week we delve into a bit of Biblical mystery. Over the past few posts we have looked at the neighbors of the Hebrew people who occupied the territory to the south and east of the Promised Land. This time we'll look at a people group that expanded just beyond those areas, and eventually encroached upon their lands. What makes this mysterious, however, is that while they play a few important roles in the Biblical narrative and are known well enough to history, they are never directly mentioned by name in the Scriptures. The are the Nabataeans, and learning about them may actually answer one of the big questions in the New Testament. The Nabataean people are thought to be descendants of Ishmael, the oldest son of Abraham by his wife's servant, Haggar. Ishmael's oldest son was named Nebajoth, but whether this people group was entirely descended from him or if the younger families simply adopted the name of