E'lam. (eternity).
1. This seems to have been originally, the name of a man, the son of
Shem. Gen_10:22; 1Ch_1:17. Commonly, however, it is used as the
appellation of a country. Gen_14:1; Gen_14:9; Isa_11:11;
Isa_21:2. The Elam of Scripture appears
to be the province lying south of Assyria and east of Persia proper, to which
Herodotus gives the name of Cissia, (iii. 91, v. 49, etc.), and which is termed
Susis or Susiana by the geographers. Its capital was Susa. This country
was originally people by descendants of Shem.
By the time of Abraham, a very important power had been built up in the
same region. It is plain that at this early time, the predominant power in
lower Mesopotamia was Elam, which, for a while, held the place possessed
earlier by Babylon, Gen_10:10, and
later by either Babylon or Assyria.
2. A Korhite Levite, in the time of King David. 1Ch_26:3. (B.C. 1014).
3. A chief man, of the tribe of Benjamin. 1Ch_8:24.
4. "Children of Elam," to the number of 1254, returned with
Zerubbabel from Babylon. Ezr_2:7; Neh_7:12. 1Es_5:12.
(B.C. 536 or before). Elam occurs amongst the names of the chief of the people,
who signed the covenant with Nehemiah. Neh_10:14.
5. In the same lists is a second Elam, whose sons, to the same number as
in the former case, returned with Zerubbabel, Ezr_2:31;
Neh_7:34, and which, for the sake of
distinction, is called "the other Elam."
6. One of the priests, who accompanied Nehemiah, at the dedication of
the new wall of Jerusalem. Neh_12:42.
Source:
Smith’s Bible Dictionary
Elam
ē´lam (עילם, ‛ēlām):
(1) A son of Shem (Gen_10:22;
1Ch_1:17; see ELAMITES).
(2) A Benjamite (1Ch_8:24).
(3) A Korahite (1Ch_26:3).
(4) Heads of families in the return (Ezr_2:7 parallel Neh_7:12;
Ezr_2:31 parallel Neh_7:34; Ezr_8:7;
Ezr_10:2, Ezr_10:26).
(5) A chief of the people (Neh_10:14).
(6) A priest (Neh_12:42).
Source:
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Elam
Highland, the son of Shem (Gen_10:22),
and the name of the country inhabited by his descendants (Gen_14:1, Gen_14:9;
Isa_11:11; Isa_21:2,
etc.) lying to the east of Babylonia, and extending to the shore of the
Mediterranean, a distance in a direct line of about 1,000 miles. The name Elam
is an Assyrian word meaning “high.”
“The inhabitants of Elam, or 'the Highlands,' to the east of Babylon,
were called Elamites. They were divided into several branches, speaking
different dialects of the same agglutinative language. The race to which they
belonged was brachycephalic, or short-headed, like the pre-Semitic Sumerians of
Babylonia.
“The earliest Elamite kingdom seems to have been that of Anzan, the
exact site of which is uncertain; but in the time of Abraham, Shushan or Susa
appears to have already become the capital of the country. Babylonia was
frequently invaded by the Elamite kings, who at times asserted their supremacy
over it (as in the case of Chedorlaomer, the Kudur-Lagamar, or 'servant of the
goddess Lagamar,' of the cuneiform texts).
“The later Assyrian monarchs made several campaigns against Elam, and
finally Assur-bani-pal (about 650 B.C.) succeeded in conquering the country,
which was ravaged with fire and sword. On the fall of the Assyrian Empire, Elam
passed into the hands of the Persians” (A.H. Sayce).
This country was called by the Greeks Cissia or Susiana.
Source:
Easton’s Bible Dictionary