place
Ellasar
אֶלָּסָר
Ellasar, a Mesopotamian city-state whose king Arioch joined Chedorlaomer of Elam in battle against Sodom and Gomorrah.
- verses
- 2
- first named
- Genesis 14:1
- last named
- Genesis 14:9
- feature
- region
- coordinates
- 39.61°N · 35.26°E
Alishar Huyuk (OpenBible)
Scholarship offers 5 identifications for this place. The leading one is shown; the others are recorded in the gazetteer.
Description
Ellasar in the text
Ellasar is mentioned in Genesis 14 as one of the kingdoms that joined the coalition led by Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, in a battle against the cities of the plain, including Sodom and Gomorrah. The king of Ellasar was named Arioch (Genesis 14:1,9).
In the biblical account, the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (Zoar) had served Chedorlaomer for twelve years but rebelled in the thirteenth year. In response, Chedorlaomer and his allies, including Arioch of Ellasar, went to war against them in the Valley of Siddim (the Salt Sea/Dead Sea region). The cities of the plain were defeated, and Sodom and Gomorrah were plundered. Lot, Abraham's nephew living in Sodom, was taken captive.
When Abraham heard of Lot's capture, he pursued Chedorlaomer's forces with his 318 trained men and defeated them near Damascus, rescuing Lot and recovering the goods and people taken from Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 14:13-16).
The exact location of Ellasar is uncertain, but it is believed to be in the region of Mesopotamia, possibly associated with the ancient city of Larsa in southern Babylonia. Its mention in Genesis 14 reveals the geopolitical context of Abraham's time, with rivalries and alliances among the city-states and kingdoms of the ancient Near East.
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Every verse of the text carried here that names this entity — 2, across 1 book.
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