Bible Dictionary: Elah

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Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary

Elah

an oak; a curse; perjury

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Elah

(an oak, strength).

The son and successor of Baasha king of Israel. (1 Kings 16:8-10) His reign laster for little more than a year; comp. ver. 8 with 10. (B.C. 928-7.) He was killed while drunk, by Zimri, in the house of his steward Azra, who was probably a confederate in the plot.
Father of Hoshea, the last king of Israel. (2 Kings 15:30; 17:1) (B.C. 729 or before.).

ATS Bible Dictionary

Elah

1. A valley in which David slew Goliath, 1 Samuel 17:2,3,19. It was probably about eleven miles southwest from Jerusalem.

2. Son and successor of Baasha, king of Israel, B. C. 926. After reigning two years, he was slain while intoxicated, by Zimri, one of his officers, who succeeded him as king. Zimri destroyed all the family of Baasha, according to the prediction of Jehu, 1 Kings 16:6 10.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Terebinth or oak.

(1.) Valley of, where the Israelites were encamped when David killed Goliath (1 Samuel 17:2, 19). It was near Shochoh of Judah and Azekah (17:1). It is the modern Wady es-Sunt, i.e., "valley of the acacia." "The terebinths from which the valley of Elah takes its name still cling to their ancient soil. On the west side of the valley, near Shochoh, there is a very large and ancient tree of this kind known as the 'terebinth of Wady Sur,' 55 feet in height, its trunk 17 feet in circumference, and the breadth of its shade no less than 75 feet. It Marks the upper end of the Elah valley, and forms a noted object, being one of the largest terebinths in Palestine." Geikie's, The Holy Land, etc.

(2.) One of the Edomite chiefs or "dukes" of Mount Seir (Genesis 36:41).

(3.) The second of the three sons of Caleb, the son of Jephunneh (1 Chronicles 4:15).

(4.) The son and successor of Baasha, king of Israel (1 Kings 16:8-10). He was killed while drunk by Zimri, one of the captains of his chariots, and was the last king of the line of Baasha. Thus was fullfilled the prophecy of Jehu (6, 7, 11-14).

(5.) The father of Hoshea, the last king of Israel (2 Kings 15:30; 17:1).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ELAH (1)

e'-la ('elah, "oak" or "terebinth"):

(1) A "duke" or "sheik" (head of a clan, the Revised Version (British and American) "chief") of Edom (Genesis 36:41).

(2) Shimei-ben-Elah, Solomon's commissary in Benjamin (1 Kings 4:18 the King James Version).

(3) A son of Caleb the son of Jephunneh (1 Chronicles 4:15).

(4) Father of Hoshea, last king of Israel (2 Kings 15:30; 2 Kings 17:1).

(5) A Benjamite, son of Uzzi, one of the chiefs of the tribes when the country was settled (1 Chronicles 9:8).

(6) King of Israel. See next article.

ELAH (2)

e'-la.

Son of Baasha, fourth king of Israel (1 Kings 16:6-14).

He reigned two years, 888-887 B.C. The statement that he came to the throne in the 26th year of Asa, reigned two years, and died in the 27th year of Asa, illustrates the Hebrew method of synchronizing the reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah (compare 1 Kings 15:33; 1 Kings 16:8). Elah appears to have been a debauchee. While he was drinking himself drunk in the house of Azra, his chamberlain, Zimri, one of his military leaders, conspired against him and murdered him. According to Josephus (VIII, xii, 4) he took advantage of the absence of the army, which was at Gibbethon, to kill Elah. The extirpation of the royal family followed the murder of the king. Baasha's dynasty had its origin in a murder and it ended in a murder. The government had no stability. These revolutions illustrate the truth that "they who take the sword shall perish with the sword."

S. K. Mosiman

ELAH, VALE OF

(`emeq ha-'elah, "valley of the terebinth"; he koilas Ela; A, tes druos):

The scene of the events of 1 Samuel 17:2, referred to also in 1 Samuel 21:9. There can be no doubt that this is the Wady ec CunT ("valley of the tercbinth"), or part of it. This is the southernmost of the great valleys which cut through the Shephelah. Commencing near Hebron, close to Beit Sur, it descends under the name Wady es Sur in a more or less northerly direction until near Beit Nettif where it turns abruptly west and receives the name Wady ec CunT. Here it is joined by the Wady en Najil, coming from the North, and from the East by the Wady el-Jindy, down which descends an ancient road from Bethlehem. Where all these valleys coalesce the Wady ec CunT expands into a wide and level bottom, half a mile across. On a steep hill to the southern side and a little Southeast of the wide expanse is Kh. esh-Shuweikeh, the site of Socoh. That the great events of 1 Samuel 17:2 took place here there can be no doubt: the Philistines ranged themselves upon the southern hills; the Israelites to the North or Northeast. Upon the wide level valley the contest with Goliath occurred. The exact position of Saul's forces may be a matter of speculation, but the late Principal Miller of Madras, who made a special study of the locality (Least of All Lands, chapter v), considered that the little valley ascending Northeast from Wady ec CunT to Belt Nettif was probably the actual Vale of Elah and that here the Israelites had their fortifications. His elucidation of the whole story is most convincing.

E. W. G. Masterman

Greek

1682. eloi -- my God
... Aramaic), my God. Word Origin of Aramaic origin elah with pronoun suff.
Definition my God NASB Word Usage Eloi (2). Eloi. Of Chaldean ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1682.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew

425. Elah -- "terebinth," an Israelite name, also an Edomite name
... 424, 425. Elah. 426 . "terebinth," an Israelite name, also an Edomite name.
Transliteration: Elah Phonetic Spelling: (ay-law') Short Definition: Elah. ...
/hebrew/425.htm - 6k

424. elah -- a terebinth
... 423, 424. elah. 425 . a terebinth. Transliteration: elah Phonetic Spelling:
(ay-law') Short Definition: oak. Word Origin fem. ... 423, 424. elah. 425 . ...
/hebrew/424.htm - 6k

426. elah -- God, god
... 425, 426. elah. 427 . God, god. Transliteration: elah Phonetic Spelling:
(el-aw') Short Definition: God. ... 425, 426. elah. 427 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/426.htm - 6k

414. Ela -- an Israelite
... NASB Word Usage Ela (1). Elah. A variation of 'elah; oak; Ela, an Israelite -- Elah.
see HEBREW 'elah. 413, 414. Ela. 415 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/414.htm - 5k

841. Asarelah -- a son of Asaph
... From the same as 'Asar'el; right toward God; Asarelah, an Israelite -- Asarelah.
Compare Ysar'elah. see HEBREW 'Asar'el. see HEBREW Ysar'elah. 840, 841. ...
/hebrew/841.htm - 6k

7956. Shelah -- a son of Judah
... Shelah. The same as sh'elah (shortened); request; Shelah, the name of a postdiluvian
patriarch and of an Israelite -- Shelah. see HEBREW sh'elah. 7955, 7956. ...
/hebrew/7956.htm - 6k

427. allah -- an oak
... Word Origin of uncertain derivation Definition an oak NASB Word Usage oak (1). oak.
A variation of 'elah -- oak. see HEBREW 'elah. 426, 427. allah. 428 . ...
/hebrew/427.htm - 5k

8634. Taralah -- a city in Benjamin
... Taralah. Probably for tar'elah; a reeling; Taralah, a place in Palestine -- Taralah.
see HEBREW tar'elah. 8633, 8634. Taralah. 8635 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/8634.htm - 6k

Library

How Zerah, King of the Ethiopians, was Beaten by Asa; and How Asa ...
... so that after this Baasha had no leisure to make expeditions against Asa, for he
was prevented by death, and was buried in the city Tirzah; and Elah his son ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 12 how zerah king.htm

The Divided Kingdom.
... Reigned 2 years and was slain. 3. Baasha, 1-K.15;27-16:6. Reigned 24 years and
died. 4. Elah, 1-K.16;6-10. Reigned 2 years and was slain. ...
/.../tidwell/the bible period by period/chapter xiii the divided kingdom.htm

The Kingdom of Samaria.
... Baasha was not warned by the fate of Nadab, but followed the same courses; and his
son Elah and all his house were destroyed in 928, when after the slaughter ...
//christianbookshelf.org/yonge/the chosen people/lesson viii the kingdom of.htm

The Woman of Samaria
... And it came to pass in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year
of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Shalmaneser, king of Assyria ...
/.../kingsley/town and country sermons/sermon xxvi the woman of.htm

National Apostasy
... worship introduced by him had brought upon the guilty offenders the retributive
judgments of Heaven; and yet the rulers who followed"Baasha, Elah, Zimri, and ...
/.../white/the story of prophets and kings/chapter 8 national apostasy.htm

David's victory Over the Giant
... Saul and the men of Israel came together and camped in the valley of Elah; and
they were drawn up ready for battle against the Philistines. ...
/.../sherman/the childrens bible/davids victory over the giant.htm

The Cost of a Lie
... weapons with me, since the king's business required haste." The priest said, "The
sword of Goliath the Philistine whom you slew in the valley of Elah is there ...
//christianbookshelf.org/sherman/the childrens bible/the cost of a lie.htm

The victory of Unarmed Faith
... of David's victory has been identified in the present Wady Es-Sunt, which still
possesses one of the terebinth-trees which gave it its name of 'Elah.' At that ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture f/the victory of unarmed faith.htm

Chapter xxxv
... Jacob buries all they give him "under the terebinth near Shechem." Such a terebinth
('elah) was mentioned as having been at Shechem in Abraham's day (Genesis 12 ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/leupold/exposition of genesis volume 1/chapter xxxv.htm

Chapter xxxvi
... Dillmann, therefore, seems to be entirely correct in calling the first list of chiefs
"historic-genealogic" and our list "geographic-statistic." Then Elah (v.41 ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/leupold/exposition of genesis volume 1/chapter xxxvi.htm

Thesaurus

Elah (17 Occurrences)
... was near Shochoh of Judah and Azekah (17:1). It is the modern Wady es-Sunt, ie,
"valley of the acacia." "The terebinths from which the valley of Elah takes its ...
/e/elah.htm - 17k

Elah's (1 Occurrence)
... Multi-Version Concordance Elah's (1 Occurrence). 1 Kings 16:14 Now the rest
of the acts of Elah, and all that he did, are they not ...
/e/elah's.htm - 6k

Ben-elah (1 Occurrence)
Ben-elah. Bene-ja'akan, Ben-elah. Benevolence . Multi-Version Concordance
Ben-elah (1 Occurrence). 1 Kings 4:18 Shimei Ben-Elah 'is' in Benjamin. (YLT). ...
/b/ben-elah.htm - 6k

Oak (22 Occurrences)
... The word properly means strongly, mighty, and hence a strong tree. (2.) `Elah, Genesis
35:4, "under the oak which was by Shechem" (RV marg., "terebinth"). ...
/o/oak.htm - 33k

Baasha (26 Occurrences)
... His son Elah who succeeded him and all the members of his family were murdered by
the usurper Zimri (1 Kings 15:16; 1 Kings 16:1 2 Chronicles 16:1). The fate ...
/b/baasha.htm - 16k

Tirzah (17 Occurrences)
... Here reigned Jeroboam, Nadab his son, Baasha, Elah and Zimri (1 Kings 15:21,
33; 1 Kings 16:6, 8, 9, 15). Baasha was buried in Tirzah. ...
/t/tirzah.htm - 14k

Zimri (16 Occurrences)
... Numbers 25:6-15). (2.) Murdered Elah at Tirzah, and succeeded him on the
throne of Israel (1 Kings 16:8-10). He reigned only seven ...
/z/zimri.htm - 18k

Omri (16 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary Servant of Jehovah. When Elah was murdered by Zimri at
Tirzah (1 Kings 16:15-27), Omri, his captain, was made king (BC 931). ...
/o/omri.htm - 20k

Baasa (26 Occurrences)
... (See JPS). 1 Kings 16:6 And Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried
in Tirzah; and Elah his son reigned in his stead. (See JPS). ...
/b/baasa.htm - 13k

Ba'asha (26 Occurrences)
... (See RSV). 1 Kings 16:6 Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried in
Tirzah; and Elah his son reigned in his place. (See RSV). ...
/b/ba'asha.htm - 13k

Bible Concordance

Elah (17 Occurrences)

Genesis 36:41 chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon,
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Samuel 17:2 Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and encamped in the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Samuel 17:19 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Samuel 21:9 The priest said, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it; for there is no other except that here." David said, "There is none like that. Give it to me."
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Kings 4:18 Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin:
(KJV WBS YLT)

1 Kings 16:6 Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried in Tirzah; and Elah his son reigned in his place.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Kings 16:8 In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah began Elah the son of Baasha to reign over Israel in Tirzah, and reigned two years.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Kings 16:9 His servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him. Now he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, who was over the household in Tirzah:
(See NIV)

1 Kings 16:13 for all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, which they sinned, and with which they made Israel to sin, to provoke Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger with their vanities.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Kings 16:14 Now the rest of the acts of Elah, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Kings 15:30 Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and struck him, and killed him, and reigned in his place, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Kings 17:1 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel, and reigned nine years.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Kings 18:1 Now it happened in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Kings 18:9 It happened in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Chronicles 1:52 chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon,
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Chronicles 4:15 The sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh: Iru, Elah, and Naam; and the sons of Elah; and Kenaz.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Chronicles 9:8 and Ibneiah the son of Jeroham, and Elah the son of Uzzi, the son of Michri, and Meshullam the son of Shephatiah, the son of Reuel, the son of Ibnijah;
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Subtopics

Elah

Elah: A Benjamite Chief

Elah: A Valley where David Killed Goliath

Elah: An Edomite Duke

Elah: Father of Hoshea

Elah: Father of Shimei

Elah: Son and Successor of Baasha, King of Israel

Elah: Son of Caleb

Regicide of Elah

Related Terms

Elah's (1 Occurrence)