Tema

Tema was a son of Ishmael (Gen. 25:15; 1 Chr. 1:30) and the North Arabian oasis settlement that bore his name — modern Tayma in northwestern Saudi Arabia. The Tema oasis sat astride the major incense and spice trade routes between southern Arabia and the Fertile Crescent. Job alludes to the caravans of Tema looking for water in the scorching desert (Job 6:19). Isaiah's oracle concerning Arabia (Isa. 21:13–14) calls on the inhabitants of Tema to bring water to the thirsty refugee. Cuneiform texts confirm that the Babylonian king Nabonidus resided at Tema for approximately ten years (c. 553–543 B.C.), during which Belshazzar governed Babylon — the setting of Daniel 5.