Note 171 — INTRODUCTION (continued 2)

Katifa or El-Katif lies on the Persian Gulf, on the East coast of Arabia, near Bahrein. Bochart is of opinion that this part of Arabia is the land of Havilah, where, according to Gen. ii. 11 and 12, there is gold, bdellium, and the onyx stone. Jewish authorities are divided in opinion as to whether is a jewel, or the fragrant gum exuded by a species of balsam-tree. Benjamin follows Saadia Gaon, who in his Arabic translation of the Bible renders it , the very word used by our author here for pearls. Masudi is one of the earliest Arabic writers who gives us a description of the pearl-fisheries in the Persian Gulf, and it very much accords with Benjamin's account. See Sprenger's translation of Masudi's Meadows of Gold, p. 344. At the present time more than 5,000 boats are engaged in this industry along this coast, and it yields an annual income of £1,000,000. See P. M. Sykes, Ten Thousand Miles in Persia, 1902.