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Person Old Testament

Obal

Also known as Obal =ESV, NIV; Ebal =KJV

Obal was one of the sons of Joktan, a descendant of Shem, mentioned in the Table of Nations. Mentioned in 2 verses across 2 books, first at Genesis 10:28.

Why it matters. Son of Joktan

Last reviewed
2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team

About Obal

Obal was one of the sons of Joktan, a descendant of Shem, the son of Noah (Gen.10.28; 1Ch.1.22). He is mentioned in the Table of Nations, which lists the descendants of Noah's sons after the flood. Obal and his brothers were the ancestors of various Arabian tribes. The exact location and identity of the tribes descended from Obal are uncertain, but they likely settled in the southern regions of the Arabian Peninsula.

Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.

Connections

No reviewed connections yet.

Family

Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.

Parents
Joktan

Appears in Scripture

Named in 2 verses across 2 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.

  • Genesis (1 verse)

    10:28

  • 1 Chronicles (1 verse)

    1:22

Record type: Person. FaithGraph explanations on this page are editorial and are not Scripture.