Hebrew word · H5867

עֵילָם

'eilam

Elam

Most often the name of the land and people of Elam, in what is now south-western Iran (Genesis 10:22; 14:1; Isaiah 21:2). It is also a personal name for several Israelites, some of them Levites or temple staff.

Appears 28 times in 27 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Elam = "eternity"

a province east of Babylon and northeast of the lower Tigris

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 26:3

Range of meaning

Most often the name of the land and people of Elam, in what is now south-western Iran (Genesis 10:22; 14:1; Isaiah 21:2). It is also a personal name for several Israelites, some of them Levites or temple staff.

Against the English

English 'Elam' is accurate. A reader might link it to the nation, but here it is just a man's name.

Used elsewhere in the period

Personal name: 1 Chronicles 8:24 (a Benjaminite), Ezra 2:7, 31; 8:7; 10:2, 26; Nehemiah 7:12; 10:14; 12:42 (a singer at the dedication of the wall). Popular sources sometimes say it means 'eternity', from the Hebrew word ʿôlām, but the spelling and vowels are different and the link is not secure. Where the name came from is uncertain.

From the study of Genesis 10:22

Range of meaning

The land and people of Elam (Elamite Haltamti; Akkadian Elamtu, "highland"), in the region of today's Khuzestan and Fars in Iran. Its centres were Susa and Anshan.

Against the English

The English name is fine. What is missing is the reader's awareness that the Elamites did not speak a "Semitic" language.

How it drifted

Readers who take "sons of Shem" to mean "Semitic speakers" or a single ethnicity are surprised to find Elam here.

Used elsewhere in the period

Elamite is a language isolate, unrelated to Hebrew or Akkadian. Elam nonetheless lived closely bound to Mesopotamia for millennia: Akkadian was used widely at Susa, and there were wars, dynastic marriages and trade. Elam appears again in Gen 14:1 (Chedorlaomer king of Elam), Isa 11:11, Jer 49:34–39, Dan 8:2, and in Acts 2:9 ("Elamites").

From the study of Jeremiah 49:39

Range of meaning

The proper name of a kingdom and people on the plain and in the highlands east of the Tigris. Its main city was Susa (Shushan). It spoke a language unrelated to the Semitic or Indo-European families. In Genesis 10:22 Elam is a son of Shem, which reflects Israelite genealogical geography.

Against the English

English simply transliterates 'Elam,' so there is no drift in the word itself. The risk lies in equating it directly with the modern state of Iran. Elam covered only the south-western part of that territory, and the modern state is a very different political entity.

Used elsewhere in the period

Elam appears often in Mesopotamian records as a rival of Babylon and Assyria. Ashurbanipal of Assyria sacked Susa around 647 BCE. A fragmentary Babylonian Chronicle entry for Nebuchadnezzar's 9th year (596/5 BCE) seems to record a confrontation with a king of Elam, though part of the name is restored. Later Susa became a royal capital of the Persian Empire (Neh 1:1; Esth 1:2; Dan 8:2). Isaiah 22:6 and Jer 49:35 mention Elam's famed bowmen. Elamites appear among the crowd in Jerusalem in Acts 2:9.

Where it appears

Genesis · 3

  1. Genesis 10:22 עֵילָ֣ם [were] Elam

    The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.

    Here: Elam, the ancient kingdom of south-western Iran, east of lower Mesopotamia, with its capital at Susa. It comes first, possibly because it was the oldest and most easterly power on the list.

  2. Genesis 14:1 עֵילָ֔ם Elam

    In those days Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim

    Here: The kingdom in the highlands and lowlands of southwest Iran, east of the Tigris, with Susa as a chief city. It was a real and sometimes dominant power in Mesopotamian politics in the early second millennium BC.

  3. Genesis 14:9 עֵילָ֗ם Elam

    against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five.

1 Chronicles · 3

  1. 1 Chronicles 1:17 עֵילָ֣ם Elam

    The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram. The sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshech.

  2. 1 Chronicles 8:24 וְעֵילָ֖ם and Elam

    Hananiah, Elam, Anthothijah,

  3. 1 Chronicles 26:3 עֵילָ֤ם Elam

    Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth, and Eliehoenai the seventh.

    Here: Personal name of Meshelemiah's fifth son, a Levite gatekeeper. It is spelled like the land of Elam east of Babylonia, but here it is just a man's name, used by several Israelites (Ezra 2:7; Nehemiah 10:14; 12:42).

Ezra · 5

  1. Ezra 2:7 עֵילָ֔ם Elam

    the descendants of Elam, 1,254;

  2. Ezra 2:31 עֵילָ֣ם Elam

    the descendants of the other Elam, 1,254;

  3. Ezra 8:7 עֵילָ֔ם Elam

    from the descendants of Elam, Jeshaiah son of Athaliah, and with him 70 men;

  4. Ezra 10:2 עֵילָם֙ Elam

    Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, an Elamite, said to Ezra: “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the people of the land, yet in spite of this, there is hope for Israel.

  5. Ezra 10:26 עֵילָ֑ם Elam

    From the descendants of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah.

Nehemiah · 4

  1. Nehemiah 7:12 עֵילָ֔ם Elam

    the descendants of Elam, 1,254;

  2. Nehemiah 7:34 עֵילָ֣ם Elam

    the descendants of the other Elam, 1,254;

  3. Nehemiah 10:14 עֵילָ֥ם Elam

    And the leaders of the people: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,

  4. Nehemiah 12:42 וְעֵילָ֣ם and Elam

    and also Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. Then the choirs sang out under the direction of Jezrahiah.

Isaiah · 3

  1. Isaiah 11:11 וּמֵעֵילָ֤ם and from Elam

    On that day the Lord will extend His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

    Here: A kingdom east of Babylonia, in southwestern Iran, with Susa as its capital. It marks the far east.

  2. Isaiah 21:2 עֵילָם֙ O Elam

    A dire vision is declared to me: “The traitor still betrays, and the destroyer still destroys. Go up, O Elam! Lay siege, O Media! I will put an end to all her groaning.”

    Here: The kingdom east of Babylonia, in what is now southwestern Iran, centred on Susa. It is called up as an attacker.

  3. Isaiah 22:6 וְעֵילָם֙ and Elam

    Elam takes up a quiver, with chariots and horsemen, and Kir uncovers the shield.

Jeremiah · 8

  1. Jeremiah 25:25 עֵילָ֔ם Elam

    all the kings of Zimri, Elam, and Media;

  2. Jeremiah 49:34 עֵילָ֑ם Elam

    This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.

  3. Jeremiah 49:35 עֵילָ֑ם Elam

    This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Behold, I will shatter Elam’s bow, the mainstay of their might.

  4. Jeremiah 49:36 עֵילָ֜ם עֵילָֽם׃ Elam

    I will bring the four winds against Elam from the four corners of the heavens, and I will scatter them to all these winds. There will not be a nation to which Elam’s exiles will not go.

  5. Jeremiah 49:37 עֵ֠ילָם Elam

    So I will shatter Elam before their foes, before those who seek their lives. I will bring disaster upon them, even My fierce anger,” declares the LORD. “I will send out the sword after them until I finish them off.

  6. Jeremiah 49:38 בְּעֵילָ֑ם in Elam

    I will set My throne in Elam, and destroy its king and officials,” declares the LORD.

  7. Jeremiah 49:39 עֵילָ֖ם Elam

    “Yet in the last days, I will restore Elam from captivity,” declares the LORD.

    Here: The ancient kingdom east of Babylonia, centred on Susa in what is now south-western Iran. It was known for its archers. This is the nation the oracle of vv. 34–38 has just condemned.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 32:24 עֵילָם֙ Elam

    Elam is there with all her multitudes around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword—those who went down uncircumcised to the earth below, who once spread their terror in the land of the living. They bear their disgrace with those who descend to the Pit.

    Here: The old kingdom east of Babylonia, in what is now southwest Iran, with its capital at Susa. Its archers were famous, and Assyria crushed it around 646 BC. The dirge treats it as a fallen empire.

Daniel · 1

  1. Daniel 8:2 בְּעֵילָ֣ם [is] in Elam

    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: Elam, the old kingdom and region east of the lower Tigris, with Susa as its chief city. In biblical tradition it was a distant eastern power (Genesis 14; Isaiah 21:2; Jeremiah 49:34–39).

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