Amraphel

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In the Tanakh or Old Testament, Amraphel was a king of Shinar (Babylonia, broadly speaking) in Genesis xiv.1 and 9, who invaded the west along with Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, and others, and destroyed Sodom.

Beginning with E. Schrader (Cuneiform Inscriptions and the Old Testament, vol II (1888), pp 299ff) this king was usually associated with Hammurabi, who ruled in Babylon from 1792 BC until his death in 1750 BC. However, according to The Oxford Companion to the Bible, this view has been largely abandoned in recent years. According to John Van Seters in Abraham in History and Tradition, the existence of Amraphel is unconfirmed by any sources outside the Bible.

In the Midrash and the later Rabbinical literature, Amraphel was identified with Nimrod.

[edit] External links

• Jewish Encyclopedia: Amraphel