Genesis 10:22

10:22 The sons of Shem were Elam, ¹  Asshur, ²  Arphaxad, ³  Lud, ⁴  and Aram. ⁵ 

Isaiah 21:2

21:2 I have received a distressing message: ⁶ 

“The deceiver deceives,

the destroyer destroys.

Attack, you Elamites!

Lay siege, you Medes!

I will put an end to all the groaning!” ⁷ 

Jeremiah 25:25

25:25 all the kings of Zimri; ⁸  all the kings of Elam; ⁹  all the kings of Media; ¹⁰ 

Jeremiah 49:34

Judgment Against Elam

49:34 Early in the reign ¹¹  of King Zedekiah of Judah, the Lord spoke to the prophet Jeremiah about Elam. ¹² 

Ezekiel 32:24

32:24 “Elam is there with all her hordes around her grave; all of them struck down by the sword. They went down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth, those who spread terror in the land of the living. Now they will bear their shame with those who descend to the pit.

Acts 2:9

2:9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and the province of Asia, ¹³ 

[10:22]  ¹ sn The Hebrew name Elam (עֵילָם, ’elam) means “highland.” The Elamites were a non-Semitic people who lived east of Babylon.

[10:22]  ² sn Asshur is the name for the Assyrians. Asshur was the region in which Nimrod expanded his power (see v. 11, where the name is also mentioned). When names appear in both sections of a genealogical list, it probably means that there were both Hamites and Shemites living in that region in antiquity, especially if the name is a place name.

[10:22]  ³ sn The descendants of Arphaxad may have lived northeast of Nineveh.

[10:22]  ⁴ sn Lud may have been the ancestor of the Ludbu, who lived near the Tigris River.

[10:22]  ⁵ sn Aram became the collective name of the northern tribes living in the steppes of Mesopotamia and speaking Aramaic dialects.

[21:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “a severe revelation has been related to me.”

[21:2]  ⁷ sn This is often interpreted to mean “all the groaning” that Babylon has caused others.

[25:25]  ⁸ sn The kingdom of Zimri is mentioned nowhere else, so its location is unknown.

[25:25]  ⁹ sn See further Jer 49:34-39 for judgment against Elam.

[25:25]  ¹⁰ sn Elam and Media were east of Babylon; Elam in the south and Media in the north. They were in what is now western Iran.

[49:34]  ¹¹ tn Or “In the beginning of the reign.” For a discussion of the usage of the terms here see the translator’s note on 28:1. If this refers to the accession year the dating would be 598/97 b.c.

[49:34]  ¹² tn Heb “That which came [as] the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet about the Elam.” See the translator’s note on 14:1 for the construction here and compare also 46:1; 47:1; 50:1.

[2:9]  ¹³ tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.