Elam (Hebrew Bible)
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Elam (עֵילָם) in the Hebrew Bible (Genesis 10:22, Ezra 4:9;) is said to be the oldest son of Shem, the son of Noah. It is also used (as in Akkadian), for the country of Elam 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 considered Semites by the Hebrews, although their language was actually unrelated to the Semitic languages family.
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 married Arpachshad, progenitor of another branch of Shemites. Shushan (or Susa) was the ancient capital of the Elamite Empire. (Dan. 8:2)
| Sons and Grandsons of Noah in Genesis 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sons of Shem | Elam | Ashur | Aram | Arpachshad | Lud | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sons of Ham | Cush | Mizraim | Phut | Canaan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sons of Japheth | Gomer | Magog | Madai | Javan | Tubal | Meshech | Tiras | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Elam as a personal name also refers to eight other figures appearing in the Hebrew Bible:
- Elam is a son of Shashak of the tribe of Benjamin in 1 Chronicles 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 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 of Shechaniah in Ezra 10:3.
- 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.
