Editing Elam, son of Shem

{{Short description|Biblical character}}
'''Elam''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|iː|l|ə|m}};<ref>[https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/pronunciation?lang=eng churchofjesuschrist.org: "Book of Mormon Pronunciation Guide"] (retrieved 2012-02-25), [[Wikipedia:IPA for English|IPA]]-ified from «ē´lum»</ref> {{Script/Hebrew|עֵילָם}} ''‘Elam'') in the [[Hebrew Bible]] ([[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 10:22, [[Book of Ezra|Ezra]] 4:9) is said to be one of the sons of [[Shem]], the son of [[Noah]].  The name is also used (as in [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]]) for the ancient country of [[Elam]] in what is now southwestern [[Iran]], whose people the Hebrews believed to be the offspring of Elam,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Josephus |first1=Flavius |editor1-last=Whiston, A.M. |editor1-first=William |title=THE WORKS OF JOSEPHUS Complete and Unabridged |date=1736 |publisher=Attic Books |isbn=978-0890515495 |pages=book 1, chapter 6;143 |edition=1st}}</ref> son of Shem (Genesis 10:22). This implies that the Elamites were considered Semites by the Hebrews. [[Elamite language|Their language]] was not one of the [[Semitic languages]], but is considered a [[linguistic isolate]]. 

Elam (the nation) is also mentioned in Genesis 14, describing an ancient war in the time of [[Abraham]], involving [[Chedorlaomer]], the king of Elam at that time.

The prophecies of the [[Book of Isaiah]] (11:11, 21:2, 22:6) and the [[Book of Jeremiah]] (25:25) also mention Elam. The last part of Jeremiah 49 is an [[Jewish eschatology|apocalyptic oracle]] against Elam which states that Elam will be scattered to the four winds of the earth, but "will be, in the end of days, that I will return their captivity," a prophecy self-dated to the first year of [[Zedekiah]] (597 BC).

The [[Book of Jubilees]] may reflect ancient tradition when it mentions a son (or daughter, in some versions) of Elam named "Susan", whose daughter Rasuaya married [[Arpachshad]], progenitor of another branch of Shemites.  [[Shushan]] (or Susa) was the ancient capital of the Elamite Empire. (Dan. 8:2)

{{Sons of Noah}}
'''Elam''' as a personal name also refers to other figures appearing in the Hebrew Bible:
*'''Elam''' is a son of [[Shashak]] of the [[tribe]] of [[Benjamin]] in [[1 Chronicles]] 8:24 .
*'''Elam''' is the son of [[Meshelemiah]], a [[Levite]] of the family of [[Kohath]] in 1 Chronicles 26:3.
*'''Elam''' is the ancestor of a family that returned with [[Zerubbabel]] in [[Book of Ezra|Ezra]] 2:1-2,7.
*'''Elam''' is the ancestor of a family that returned from the [[Babylonian captivity of Judah|Captivity]] in Ezra 2:31. This is possibly the same man and family as in Ezra 2:1-2,7.
*'''Elam''' is the ancestor of a family that returned with Ezra in Ezra 8:7 .
*'''Elam''' is the father of Jehiel and the grandfather of [[Shecaniah]] in Ezra 10:2.
*'''Elam''' is one of the men who joins [[Nehemiah]] in sealing the new covenant in [[Book of Nehemiah|Nehemiah]] 10:14.
*'''Elam''' is a priest who helps in the rededication of the rebuilt walls of [[Jerusalem]] in Nehemiah 12:42.

==See also==
*[[List of biblical names starting with E]]
*[[Archevite]] - A nation mentioned along with Elam in {{bibleverse||Ezra|4:9}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Book of Genesis people]]
[[Category:Elam]]
[[Category:Shem]]
[[Category:Noach (parashah)]]
[[Category:Book of Jubilees]]