Hebrew word · H195
אוּלַי
'ulai
Ulai
The name of a waterway at Susa (Shushan), capital of Elam in what is now southwestern Iran. Assyrian texts call it the Ulaya and Greek writers the Eulaeus. It may have been a river or a large canal that split near the city.
Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
§ Ulai = "my leaders (mighties)"
river of Elam
Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
The name of a waterway at Susa (Shushan), capital of Elam in what is now southwestern Iran. Assyrian texts call it the Ulaya and Greek writers the Eulaeus. It may have been a river or a large canal that split near the city.
- Against the English
'Between the banks of the Ulai' (BSB, WEB, ESV) adds 'banks' to explain the bare Hebrew 'between Ulai.' NIV renders the phrase as calling 'from the Ulai.'
- Used elsewhere in the period
Daniel 8:2 sets the vision 'by the Ulai' at Susa 'in the province of Elam.' Assyrian reliefs of Ashurbanipal show his defeat of the Elamites at the Ulaya river (c. 653 BC). In Daniel 12:6–7 a 'man clothed in linen' stands 'above the waters of the river,' a similar scene.
Where it appears
Daniel · 2
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Daniel 8:2 אוּלָֽי׃ Ulai
And in the vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa, in the province of Elam. I saw in the vision that I was beside the Ulai Canal.
Here: The Ulai, a river or canal beside Susa. Assyrian records call it Ulaya and Greek writers call it the Eulaeus. It was a well-known local waterway, not a symbolic invention.
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Daniel 8:16 אוּלָ֑י Ulai
And I heard the voice of a man calling from between the banks of the Ulai: “Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.”
Here: The waterway by Susa in Elam where Daniel sees himself standing in the vision (8:2). The voice comes from above or between its waters.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.