Ellasar
Ellasar is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Mesopotamia in modern-day Iraq. Known today as Assur. It appears across 2 verses in Scripture.
Biblical History
Ellasar appears in Genesis 14:1 and 14:9 as the kingdom of Arioch, one of the four kings in the coalition that warred against the five kings of the plain and captured Lot. The campaign of the four kings is one of Scripture's most historically intriguing passages, describing a sweep through Transjordan and the Negev before the decisive battle in the Valley of Siddim near the Dead Sea. Arioch king of Ellasar is listed alongside Amraphel of Shinar, Chedorlaomer of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim. The identification of Ellasar has generated extensive scholarly discussion. It has been proposed as Larsa, the ancient Sumerian city in southern Mesopotamia, rather than Assur, based on phonological and historical analysis — Larsa was a prominent city-state in the early second millennium BC, making it a plausible context for the Genesis 14 narrative. The account of Abraham's bold pursuit and rescue of Lot (Genesis 14:14–16), and his subsequent refusal to take spoil from the king of Sodom (Genesis 14:22–24), present the patriarch as a man of both military courage and spiritual integrity in a world of competing imperial powers.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
The identification of Ellasar remains one of the more contested geographical questions in the study of Genesis 14. The association with Assur in Mesopotamia is one proposal, but many scholars prefer an identification with Larsa, a major Sumerian city in southern Iraq excavated extensively by French archaeologists. Larsa flourished particularly in the early second millennium BC under the Larsa Dynasty, making it chronologically plausible for the Genesis 14 narrative. Larsa's excavations have yielded cuneiform tablets, temples, and administrative buildings documenting a sophisticated urban society. The phonological shift from Larsa to Ellasar follows patterns attested in ancient Near Eastern name transmission. However, no cuneiform text directly equates Ellasar with any known city, leaving the identification provisional.
Verse Appearances (2)
Sources: ISBE Encyclopedia · OpenBible Geocoding (CC BY) · Pleiades Gazetteer View all →