Genesis 14:1

The Blessing of Victory for God’s People

14:1 At that time ¹  Amraphel king of Shinar, ²  Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations ³ 

Isaiah 11:11

11:11 At that time ⁴  the sovereign master ⁵  will again lift his hand ⁶  to reclaim ⁷  the remnant of his people ⁸  from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, ⁹  Cush, ¹⁰  Elam, Shinar, ¹¹  Hamath, and the seacoasts. ¹² 

Isaiah 21:2

21:2 I have received a distressing message: ¹³ 

“The deceiver deceives,

the destroyer destroys.

Attack, you Elamites!

Lay siege, you Medes!

I will put an end to all the groaning!” ¹⁴ 

Isaiah 22:6

22:6 The Elamites picked up the quiver,

and came with chariots and horsemen; ¹⁵ 

the men of Kir ¹⁶  prepared ¹⁷  the shield. ¹⁸ 

Jeremiah 25:25

25:25 all the kings of Zimri; ¹⁹  all the kings of Elam; ²⁰  all the kings of Media; ²¹ 

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.

Daniel 8:2

8:2 In this ²²  vision I saw myself in Susa ²³  the citadel, ²⁴  which is located in the province of Elam. In the vision I saw myself at the Ulai Canal. ²⁵ 

[14:1]  ¹ tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator וַיְהִי (vayÿhi) followed by “in the days of.”

[14:1]  ² sn Shinar (also in v. 9) is the region of Babylonia.

[14:1]  ³ tn Or “king of Goyim.” The Hebrew term גּוֹיִם (goyim) means “nations,” but a number of modern translations merely transliterate the Hebrew (cf. NEB “Goyim”; NIV, NRSV “Goiim”).

[11:11]  ⁴ tn Or “in that day” (KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[11:11]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).

[11:11]  ⁶ tc The Hebrew text reads, “the sovereign master will again, a second time, his hand.” The auxiliary verb יוֹסִיף (yosif), which literally means “add,” needs a main verb to complete it. Consequently many emend שֵׁנִית (shenit, “a second time”) to an infinitive. Some propose the form שַׁנֹּת (shannot, a Piel infinitive construct from שָׁנָה, shanah) and relate it semantically to an Arabic cognate meaning “to be high.” If the Hebrew text is retained a verb must be supplied. “Second time” would allude back to the events of the Exodus (see vv. 15-16).

[11:11]  ⁷ tn Or “acquire”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV “recover.”

[11:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “the remnant of his people who remain.”

[11:11]  ⁹ sn Perhaps a reference to Upper (i.e., southern) Egypt (so NIV, NLT; NCV “South Egypt”).

[11:11]  ¹⁰ tn Or “Ethiopia” (NAB, NRSV, NLT).

[11:11]  ¹¹ tn Or “Babylonia” (NIV, NCV, TEV, NLT).

[11:11]  ¹² tn Or perhaps, “the islands of the sea.”

[21:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “a severe revelation has been related to me.”

[21:2]  ¹⁴ sn This is often interpreted to mean “all the groaning” that Babylon has caused others.

[22:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “[with] the chariots of men, horsemen.”

[22:6]  ¹⁶ sn A distant region in the direction of Mesopotamia; see Amos 1:5; 9:7.

[22:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Kir uncovers” (so NAB, NIV).

[22:6]  ¹⁸ sn The Elamites and men of Kir may here symbolize a fierce army from a distant land. If this oracle anticipates a Babylonian conquest of the city (see 39:5-7), then the Elamites and men of Kir are perhaps viewed here as mercenaries in the Babylonian army. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:410.

[25:25]  ¹⁹ sn The kingdom of Zimri is mentioned nowhere else, so its location is unknown.

[25:25]  ²⁰ sn See further Jer 49:34-39 for judgment against Elam.

[25:25]  ²¹ 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.

[8:2]  ²² tn Heb “the.”

[8:2]  ²³ sn Susa (Heb. שׁוּשַׁן, shushan), located some 230 miles (380 km) east of Babylon, was a winter residence for Persian kings during the Achaemenid period. The language of v. 2 seems to suggest that Daniel may not have been physically present at Susa, but only saw himself there in the vision. However, the Hebrew is difficult, and some have concluded that the first four words of v. 2 in the MT are a later addition (cf. Theodotion).

[8:2]  ²⁴ tn The Hebrew word בִּירָה (birah, “castle, palace”) usually refers to a fortified structure within a city, but here it is in apposition to the city name Susa and therefore has a broader reference to the entire city (against this view, however, see BDB 108 s.v. 2). Cf. NAB “the fortress of Susa”; TEV “the walled city of Susa.”

[8:2]  ²⁵ tn The term אוּבַל (’uval = “stream, river”) is a relatively rare word in biblical Hebrew, found only here and in vv. 3 and 6. The Ulai was apparently a sizable artificial canal in Susa (cf. NASB, NIV, NCV), and not a river in the ordinary sense of that word.