Has it ever been suggested that Arpachshad in Gen.10:22 is meant to
represent Arabia? It seems to fit well in the Sons of Shem scheme where
Arpachshad is the ancestor of the Sons of Joktan in southern Arabia, of the
Sons of Ishmael in western Arabia and of the Israelites who have more
immediately come from the fringes of Arabia.
Also it looks similar to the Arabah, a place which appears a number of times
at the beginning of Deuteronomy (1:1, 1:7, 2:8, 3:17, 4:49) and is
associated with the rift valley of the Jordan and the Dead Sea. I believe it
means something like "wilderness, desert".
So my questions are these:
Is it possible that Arpachshad and Arabah are related in meaning?
Can Arpachshad be understood to mean something like "bosom of the
wilderness" implying the place of origin of the peoples of Arabia?