What is…
Arvad

also known as: Arwad, Aradus, Aradus (Latin), Aruada, Arada, Arpad, Arphad, Antiochia in Pieria, Irtu (Egyptian) and Ruad Island

Hebrew: אַרְוַד —transliteration: Arvad —possible meaning: wandering —occurrences: 2 (Book of Ezekiel)

Arvad is a small island in the Mediterranean Sea and the city of the same name off the coast of Syria.

Arvad was a Phoenician city-state.

The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your rowers;
Your wise men, O Tyre, were aboard; they were your pilots. —Ezek. 27:8

The sons of Arvad and your military force were on your walls, all around, and the Gammadim were in your towers. They hung their small shields on your walls all around; they perfected your beauty. —Ezekiel 27:11 LSB

Arvad of the Bible, modern Arwad, Syria with its protected harbor—satellite view

It is mentioned as furnishing mariners and soldiers for Tyre.

The inhabitants of Arvad were called Arvadites.

On the Tell-el-Amarna tablets, the name is written as Aruada or Arada.

Archaeology suggests that this island was first settled sometime in the 2nd millennium BC by Phoenicians who developed it into a trading site and their city-state. It had a powerful navy, and its ships are mentioned in the monuments of Egypt and Assyria.

The island is called Irtu in the Egyptian Annals of Thutmose III discovered at the Karnak Temple.

Today, the island is mostly inhabited by Syrian Sunni Muslims.

More information

Article Version: June 21, 2024