Elam (; ''‘Elam'') in the
Hebrew Bible (
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book o ...
10:22,
Ezra 4:9) is said to be one of the sons of
Shem, the son of
Noah
Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...
. The name is also used (as in
Akkadian) for the ancient country of
Elam
Elam (; Linear Elamite: ''hatamti''; Cuneiform Elamite: ; Sumerian: ; Akkadian: ; he, עֵילָם ''ʿēlām''; peo, 𐎢𐎺𐎩 ''hūja'') was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretc ...
in what is now southern
Iran, whose people the Hebrews believed to be the offspring of Elam,
son of Shem (Genesis 10:22). This implies that the Elamites were considered Semites by the Hebrews.
Their language was not one of the
Semitic languages, but is considered a
linguistic isolate.
Elam (the nation) is also mentioned in Genesis 14, describing an ancient war in the time of
Abraham, involving
Chedorlaomer, the king of Elam at that time.
The prophecies of the
Book of Isaiah
The Book of Isaiah ( he, ספר ישעיהו, ) is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Major Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. It is identified by a superscription as the words of the 8th-century BC ...
(11:11, 21:2, 22:6) and the
Book of Jeremiah
The Book of Jeremiah ( he, ספר יִרְמְיָהוּ) is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, and the second of the Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. The superscription at chapter Jeremiah 1:1–3 identifies the boo ...
(25:25) also mention Elam. The last part of Jeremiah 49 is an
apocalyptic oracle against Elam which states that Elam will be scattered to the four winds of the earth, but "will be, in the end of days, that I will return their captivity," a prophecy self-dated to the first year of
Zedekiah (597 BC).
The
Book of Jubilees may reflect ancient tradition when it mentions a son (or daughter, in some versions) of Elam named "Susan", whose daughter Rasuaya married
Arpachshad, progenitor of another branch of Shemites.
Shushan (or Susa) was the ancient capital of the Elamite Empire. (Dan. 8:2)
Elam as a personal name also refers to other figures appearing in the Hebrew Bible:
*Elam is a son of
Shashak
Shashak is an ancestor of King Saul and the father of Elam in the Books of Chronicles
The Book of Chronicles ( he, דִּבְרֵי־הַיָּמִים ) is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian O ...
of the
tribe of
Benjamin
Benjamin ( he, ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's thir ...
in
1 Chronicles
The Book of Chronicles ( he, דִּבְרֵי־הַיָּמִים ) is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third sect ...
8:24 .
*Elam is the son of
Meshelemiah, a
Levite of the family of
Kohath in 1 Chronicles 26:3.
*Elam is the ancestor of a family that returned with
Zerubbabel in
Ezra 2:1-2,7.
*Elam is the ancestor of a family that returned from the
Captivity
Captivity, or being held captive, is a state wherein humans or other animals are confined to a particular space and prevented from leaving or moving freely. An example in humans is imprisonment. Prisoners of war are usually held in captivity by a ...
in Ezra 2:31. This is possibly the same man and family as in Ezra 2:1-2,7.
*Elam is the ancestor of a family that returned with Ezra in Ezra 8:7 .
*Elam is the father of Jehiel and the grandfather of
Shecaniah Shecaniah or Shechaniah, which means "one intimate with God", is the name of a number of characters mentioned in the Hebrew Bible.
#A priest to whom the tenth lot came forth when David divided the priests (1 Chronicles 24:11).
#One of the priests w ...
in Ezra 10:2.
*Elam is one of the men who joins
Nehemiah in sealing the new covenant in
Nehemiah 10:14.
*Elam is a priest who helps in the rededication of the rebuilt walls of
Jerusalem in Nehemiah 12:42.
See also
*
List of biblical names starting with E
This page includes a list of biblical proper names that start with ''E'' in English transcription. Some of the names are given with a proposed etymological meaning. For further information on the names included on the list, the reader may consult t ...
*
Archevite - A nation mentioned along with Elam in
References
{{Authority control
Book of Genesis people
Elam
Shem
Noach (parashah)
Book of Jubilees