Where is Eglaim located in the Bible?

Eglaim is mentioned as a city in the region of Moab, not Judea, according to the prophecy in Isaiah 15:8. Its modern identification is often associated with the archaeological site Rujm el Jilimeh in Jordan.

What happened at Eglaim in the Bible?

The Bible does not record a specific event at Eglaim. It is only listed as one of the places in Moab that would lament and mourn during a time of judgment, as prophesied by Isaiah (Isaiah 15:8).

Why is Eglaim significant in biblical prophecy?

Eglaim's significance is as a geographical marker in Isaiah's prophecy against Moab, illustrating the completeness of the region's coming desolation. Its inclusion shows that even distant towns would be affected by God's judgment.

Eglaim

cityOld TestamentJudea

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Modern Name

Rujm el Jilimeh

Country

Israel

Region

Judea

Coordinates

31.2085, 35.4492

Eglaim is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Judea in modern-day Israel. Known today as Rujm el Jilimeh. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.

Biblical History

Eglaim appears in Scripture in a single, striking prophetic passage: Isaiah 15:8, part of the oracle against Moab. In this lament, Isaiah describes the anguished cry of Moab echoing from Eglaim to Beer-elim, indicating that Eglaim marked one of the boundary points of Moabite territory. The passage mourns the devastation sweeping across Moab — its cities ruined, its people weeping, its pride brought low by divine judgment. Though Eglaim appears only here, its inclusion in Isaiah's geographical catalog of Moabite grief anchors the prophecy in specific landscape and reinforces its historical verisimilitude. The oracle against Moab in Isaiah 15–16, paralleled closely in Jeremiah 48, represents one of Scripture's most sustained elegies for a foreign nation, reflecting a divine compassion that mourns even the judgment of Israel's enemies. Eglaim's probable location near the southeastern shore of the Dead Sea places it in the heartland of Moabite civilization, a territory with deep biblical resonance reaching back to Lot's daughters and the origins of the Moabite people (Genesis 19:37).

Archaeological & Historical Notes

Rujm el Jilimeh, the proposed identification for Eglaim, lies in the region southeast of the Dead Sea, in what was ancient Moabite territory. The area has been documented through archaeological surveys of Transjordan, particularly the work associated with the Moab Archaeological Project and broader surveys of the Kerak plateau and southern Dead Sea plains. Surface pottery from such sites in this zone typically spans the Iron Age and later periods, consistent with the Moabite occupation reflected in Isaiah's oracle. The remote and arid character of the southern Dead Sea valley means many sites remain incompletely surveyed. Precise excavation at Rujm el Jilimeh has not been published extensively, and the identification rests primarily on geographical and philological grounds.

Verse Appearances (1)

Isa

Isa 15:8

Sources: ISBE Encyclopedia · OpenBible Geocoding (CC BY) · Pleiades Gazetteer View all →

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