As to later opinions, Josepiuis says that Uz founded Trachonitis and Damascus (Atif. i, 6, 4). The former province lies in Bashan, and extends as far south as Bostra. It may have formed part of the land of Uz. Jerome appears to identify Uz with Damascus and Trachonitis, following Josephus (Qucesf. in Gen. x, 25; com]). Oiwmnst. s. v. " Uz"). Bochart makes no less than three places of this name: 1. The Ghutah of Damascus, confounding the Arabic Ghutah with the Heb. VI J", words which are altogether dissimilar; 2. The region of A usitis, named from Uz, the son t)f Nahor (Gen. xxii, 21); 3. Uz of Edom, the land of the patriarch Job {Opera, i.80). There seems to be no sufficient authority for this threefold division. The general opinion of Biblical ge- ographers and critics locates" tlie land of Uz" somewhere in A rabia Peirtea. Whether the name of Uz survived to classical times is uncertain : a tribe named ^-Esitii: (A/fftrrtt) is mentioned by Ptolemy (v, 19, 2); this Bo- chart identifies with the Uz of Scripture by altering the reading into AvkjItui {Phaleg, ii, 8); but, with the exception of the rendering in tlie Sept. (Iv X'^'P? "^V AlimTioi, Job i, 1 ; comp. xxxii, 2), there is nothing to justify such a change, (iesenius (Thesaur. p. lOOo) is satisfied with the form ."Esitse as sufficiently' correspond- ing to Uz, without any such change; as also Winer (fieulw. s. V.) and most others. See Spanheim, Hist, .fobi, iv, 10 sq. ; Buddei fJist. V. T. i, 370 ; Carpzov, In- Irod. ii, 42 ; Midler, /)e Terra ./obi, in the Thes. Vet. Test. i, 540; Fries, in the Stud. u. Krit. 1854, vol. ii; and the commentaries on Job. See Arabia.
Uza, in Oriental mythology, was an idol of the an- cient Aral)ians which IMohanuiied destroyed, ordering its priests to be strangled.
U'zai [most U'za'i'\ (Heb. TJzay' , ''I^H, sf}-n7i(j ; Sept. Eii^at V. r. Evt, Vulg. Ozi), the father of Palal, which latter was one of those who aided in the reconstruction of the walls of Jerusalem after the Captivity (Neh. iii, 25). B.C. ante 446.
U'zal (Heb. UsaV, bt^X, perhaps separate; Sept. AiXrjX and Aic,i]i', v. r. Aifir/X and A/a/;\ ; Vulg. Uzal and Ilaz(d), the sixth named of the thirteen sons of .loktan among the descendants of Shem (Gen. x, 27; 1 Chron. i, 21 ). B.C. post 2400. See Joktan.
Abraham Zakuth,a learned Jewish writer, states that Sanaa, the metropolis of Yemen, is by the Jews called Uzal (Bochart, Opera, i, 1 14) ; and in the Ramus, Azal (or Uzal) is said to be the ancient name of Sanaa (Goli- us, J^ex. A rab. s. v.). This was still further confirmed by Nicbuhr, who heard, when travelling in Yemen, the same statement made by Mohammedan natives (Z>e- «niplion de I'A rabie, iii, 252). It was originally Awzdl (Ibn-Khaldun, ap. Caussin, Essai, i, 40, note; Mardsid, s. V. ; Gesen. Lex. s. v. ; Bunsen, Bibelwerk, etc.). The printed edition of the Mardsid writes the name Uzal, and says, " It is said that its name was Uzal; and when the Abvssinians arrived at it, and saw it to be beautiful, they said 'San'ii,' wliich means beautifid: therefore it was called Sau'a." The Hebrew name probably appears
in the Ausara (Avaapa or Av'c,apa) of Ptolemy {Genr/r. vi. 7), and the Auscrritis of Pliny, a city of Arabia Fdix, celebrated for its myrrh (/list. .\a/. xii, 30). See Eth-
NOI.OtiY.
Sanaa is situated in a mountainous region in tlie cen- tre of Yemen, about 150 miles from Aden and 100 from the coast of the Bed Sea. Its commanding position, its strong fortifications, the number of its mostpies and min- arets, and the size of its houses reiulcr it one o( the most imposing cities in Arabia. It has a citadel on the site of a famous temple called Beit-Ghumdan, said to liave been foimded by Shurabll, which was razed by or- der of Othman. It is abundantly watered by mountain streams; and the gardens, orchards, and fields aroinid it are said to rival in luxuriance and beauty the lainous plain of Damascus. In the town of Sanaa there are still some 15,000 Jews, while in the various parts of Ye- men their numbers are supposed to amount to 200,000. See Michaelis, Spicileff. ii, 164-175; Forster, Geogr. of Aralda, i, 143; Bitter, Erdkunde, xii, 815-8-10. See Arabia.
Ezekiel, in his description of Tyre, says, as rendered in the A. V. : "Dan and Javan going to and fro (Heb. Meiizdl, PTilNp ; Sept. l^ ' AaifK ; Vulg. Mosel), occupied in thy fairs; bright iron, cassia, and calamus were in thy market" (xxvii, I'J). The structure of the passage unquestionably favors the translation, " Dan, and Javan of Uzal (btilX'2), conveyed to your markets wrought iron, cassia," etc. There can be little doubt, therefore, that the prophet alludes to the great city of Yemen, the neighborhood of which is known to have been famous for its spices and perfumes. This view is strengthened by the fact that Javan occurs in the Kamus, and is said to be a town of Yemen. The expression Javan of Uzal is thus appropriate, for the latter was the name of the capital and of a district connected with it. The names Dedan, Arabia, Kedar, and vSheba, following immediate- ly in the prophetic narrative, indicate the country to which the eye of the sacred writer was directed. See Javan.