- Biblical Elam
Elam (עֵילָם) in the
Hebrew Bible (Genesis 10:22, Ezra 4:9;) is said to be the oldest son ofShem , the son ofNoah . It is also used (as in Akkadian), for the country ofElam in what is now southern Iran, that the Hebrews believed to be the offspring of Elam, son of Shem. This implies that the Elamites were consideredSemites by the Hebrews, although their language was actually unrelated to theSemitic languages family. This does not conflict with Hebrew beliefs because the Hebrews believed that the diversity of human languages originated at the Tower of Babel.Elam (the nation) is also mentioned in Genesis 14, describing an ancient war involving a king of Elam it calls
Chedorlaomer .The prophecies of Isaiah (11:11, 21:2, 22:6) and Jeremiah (25:25) also mention Elam, and the last part of Jeremiah 49 is an apocalyptic oracle against Elam, 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 marriedArpachshad , 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 eight other figures appearing in the Hebrew Bible:
*Elam is a son ofShashak of thetribe ofBenjamin in1 Chronicles 8:24 .
*Elam is the son ofMeshelemiah , aLevite of the family ofKohath in 1 Chronicles 26:3.
*Elam is the ancestor of a family that returned withZerubbabel in Ezra 2:1-2,7.
*Elam is the ancestor of a family that returned from the Captivity 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 grandfather ofShechaniah in Ezra 10:3.
*Elam is one of the men who joinsNehemiah in sealing the new covenant in Nehemiah 10:14.
*Elam is a priest who helps in the rededication of the rebuilt walls ofJerusalem in Nehemiah 12:42.
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