Arab Etymology
The history of the Arabian Peninsula dates back to Biblical times.
Forensically speaking, Arab relates to people, Arabic refers to language and Arabian is used in connection with land and folklore.
Arabes (in plural form) from Old French; Arabi, from Latin; Arabs (accusative Arabem) from Greek; Araps (genitive Arabos) from Arabic; 'arab is a indigenous name of the people, perhaps literally "inhabitant of the desert" and related to Hebrew arabha "desert."
The root of the word has many meanings in Semitic languages including desert; nomad; merchant; raven and comprehensible with all of these having varying degrees of relevance to the emergence of the name.
An Arab can be defined as a member of a Semitic people, inhabiting much of the Middle East and North Africa. The ties that bind Arabs are ethnic; linguistic; cultural; historical;, nationalist; geographical; political, often also relating to religion and cultural identity.
The following timeline highlights the historical order of the regional main religions, Hinduism (c. 2000 BC); Buddhism (c. 1500 BC); Judaism (c. 1500 BC); Christianity (c. 100 CE); and Islam (c. 622 CE).
Although tradition holds that Arabs descend from Ishmael (c. 1700 BC) the son of Abraham. And subsequently, the tribes of Arabia descended from either one of the two Arab ancestors, “Adnan” (the Northern Arabs) or “Qahtan” (the southern Arabs). Both ancestries allegedly traceable back to Abraham and from there to Noah and Adam.
To be an Arab, like an American, is a cultural trait rather than racial. The Arab world includes predominantly Muslims; Christians, and Jews. Any person who adopts the Arabic language is typically called an Arab.
Arabic is a Semitic language spoken primarily around Arab world. Having emerged in the 1st century, it is named after the Arab people; the term "Arab" was initially used to describe those living in the Arabian Peninsula, as perceived by geographers from ancient Greece.
That said, in the Bible, the word ?arav is closely associated with the word ?erev meaning a "mix of people". The adjectival noun ?aravi formed from ?arav is used in (Isaiah 13:20) and (Jeremiah 3:2) for a desert dweller.
Arabs are first mentioned in Biblical and Assyrian texts of the mid-ninth century BC, where, they appear as tribal people in eastern and southern Syria and the northern Arabian Peninsula. The Syrian Desert is home of the first attested Arab groups.
Pre-Islamic religions in Arabia included Arabian indigenous polytheistic beliefs, ancient Semitic religions (predating the Abrahamic religions), and various forms of Judaism; Christianity; Samaritanism; Mandaeism; Manichaeism; Zoroastrianism, with scarce Hinduism and Buddhism.
Arabian polytheism, the dominant form of religion in pre-Islamic Arabia, was based on veneration of deities and spirits. Worship was directed to various Gods and Goddesses, including Hubal; al-Lah; al-Uzza; and Manat, at local shrines and temples such as the Kaaba in Mecca.
Interestingly enough, not many want to accept that pagan God “al-Lah” was already being worshipped at the Kaaba in Mecca by Arab pagans much before Islam’s arrival. Ironically, the pagan Gods of pre-Islamic Arabia were worshiped in the form of rectangular stones or cubic rocks…
Food for thought!