Elam Summary
STEPBible TIPNR
Elam was a son of Shem and grandson of Noah.
son of Shem (GEN 10:22)
Lineage: God › Adam › Seth › Enos › Cainan › Mahalaleel › Jared › Enoch › Methuselah › Lamech › Noah › Shem › Elam
Names
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en
Elam
a young man; a virgin; a secret
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en
Elam
· Also called · H5867 none · GEN 10:22 highland
- en son of Shem · Title
-
he
עֵילָ֣ם
eylam · H5867 · GEN 10:22 highland
- he עֵילָם · H5867C
- el Αιλαμ Ailam · none · GEN 10:22
- bg Елам
Mentioned in (2)
SDA Books
Awaiting permission to publishLinked through an explicitly cited Bible passage
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Conditional birth estimate
Conditional birth bounds under generation assumptions; not attested parental ages, biological limits or a lifespan.
The anchors give incompatible conditional intervals. This calculation establishes no birth year.
Below are relatives with a selected birth year, the generations separating them, and the interval allowed by each anchor. Each relative’s page shows available dates and sources. The overall estimate uses the intersection of the allowed intervals.
| Relative / anchor year | Generations | Conditional interval |
|---|---|---|
| Shem · 2447 BC Ancestor |
1 25–130 years per generation |
c. 2422 BC – 2317 BC |
| Noah · 2948 BC Ancestor |
2 25–130 years per generation |
c. 2898 BC – 2688 BC |
| Lamech · 3130 BC Ancestor |
3 25–130 years per generation |
c. 3055 BC – 2740 BC |
| Methuselah · 3317 BC Ancestor |
4 25–130 years per generation |
c. 3217 BC – 2797 BC |
| Enoch · 3382 BC Ancestor |
5 25–130 years per generation |
c. 3257 BC – 2732 BC |
| Jared · 3544 BC Ancestor |
6 25–130 years per generation |
c. 3394 BC – 2764 BC |
| Mahalaleel · 3609 BC Ancestor |
7 25–130 years per generation |
c. 3434 BC – 2699 BC |
| Cainan · 3679 BC Ancestor |
8 25–130 years per generation |
c. 3479 BC – 2639 BC |
| Cain · 4004 BC Ancestor |
8 25–130 years per generation |
c. 3804 BC – 2964 BC |
| Enos · 3769 BC Ancestor |
9 25–130 years per generation |
c. 3544 BC – 2599 BC |
| Adam · 4004 BC Ancestor |
9 25–130 years per generation |
c. 3779 BC – 2834 BC |
| Eve · 4005 BC Ancestor |
9 25–130 years per generation |
c. 3780 BC – 2835 BC |
| Seth · 3874 BC Ancestor |
10 25–130 years per generation |
c. 3624 BC – 2574 BC |
Elam Article
STEPBible TIPNR
Elam is mentioned in Gen 10:22 and 1Ch 1:17 as one of the sons of Shem, the son of Noah. Elam is listed among the descendants of Shem, who spread out into various lands after the flood, giving rise to different nations. Elam is significant as the ancestor of the Elamites, an ancient people who inhabited the region east of Mesopotamia, in present-day Iran. The Elamites developed a powerful kingdom that interacted with the Mesopotamian civilizations.
Elam Dictionary
Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)
Highland, the son of Shem (Gen. 10:22), and the name of the country inhabited by his descendants (14:1, 9; Isa. 11:11; 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 B.C. 650) 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.
Sources: BibleData (CC BY 4.0, Elam_1) · STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0, Elam@Gen.10.22-1Ch) · Theographic Bible Metadata (CC BY-SA 4.0, elam_1049)