Hebrew word · H425

אֵלָה

'elah

Elah

Personal name. As an ordinary noun it means terebinth or great tree.

Appears 16 times in 15 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A king living at the time of Divided Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Ki.16.6;

son of: Baasha (H1201)

§ Elah = "An oak"

a king of Israel for two years, son of Baasha

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

From the study of 1 Chronicles 4:15

Range of meaning

Personal name. As an ordinary noun it means terebinth or great tree.

Against the English

English "Elah" hides the tree meaning. Elah was also the name of a king of Israel (1 Kings 16:8) and of the valley where David met Goliath.

Used elsewhere in the period

Great trees marked holy places and landmarks near Hebron, Caleb's town: the oaks/terebinths of Mamre (Genesis 13:18; 18:1).

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 36:41 אֵלָ֖ה Elah

    Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon,

1 Samuel · 3

  1. 1 Samuel 17:2 הָאֵלָ֑ה <the> Elah

    Saul and the men of Israel assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah, arraying themselves for battle against the Philistines.

  2. 1 Samuel 17:19 הָֽאֵלָ֑ה <the> Elah

    They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.”

  3. 1 Samuel 21:9 הָאֵלָ֗ה <the> Elah

    The priest replied, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here; it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want, you may take it. For there is no other but this one here.” And David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”

1 Kings · 4

  1. 1 Kings 16:6 אֵלָ֥ה Elah

    And Baasha rested with his fathers and was buried in Tirzah, and his son Elah reigned in his place.

  2. 1 Kings 16:8 אֵלָ֨ה Elah

    In the twenty-sixth year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah two years.

  3. 1 Kings 16:13 אֵלָ֣ה Elah

    This happened because of all the sins Baasha and his son Elah had committed and had caused Israel to commit, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger with their worthless idols.

  4. 1 Kings 16:14 אֵלָ֖ה Elah

    As for the rest of the acts of Elah, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

2 Kings · 4

  1. 2 Kings 15:30 אֵלָ֗ה Elah

    Then Hoshea son of Elah led a conspiracy against Pekah son of Remaliah. In the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah, Hoshea attacked Pekah, killed him, and reigned in his place.

  2. 2 Kings 17:1 אֵלָ֧ה Elah

    In the twelfth year of the reign of Ahaz over Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria nine years.

  3. 2 Kings 18:1 אֵלָ֖ה Elah

    In the third year of the reign of Hoshea son of Elah over Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz became king of Judah.

  4. 2 Kings 18:9 אֵלָ֖ה Elah

    In the fourth year of Hezekiah’s reign, which was the seventh year of the reign of Hoshea son of Elah over Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria marched against Samaria and besieged it.

1 Chronicles · 4

  1. 1 Chronicles 1:52 אֵלָ֖ה Elah

    Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon,

  2. 1 Chronicles 4:15 אֵלָ֖ה אֵלָ֖ה Elah

    The sons of Caleb son of Jephunneh: Iru, Elah, and Naam. The son of Elah: Kenaz.

    Here: Second son. The same word means a large tree, the terebinth or oak, a common landmark and shrine-tree in the Judean hills.

  3. 1 Chronicles 9:8 וְאֵלָ֥ה and Elah

    Ibneiah son of Jeroham; Elah son of Uzzi, the son of Michri; Meshullam son of Shephatiah, the son of Reuel, the son of Ibnijah;

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.