Genesis 10:22

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

Genesis 14:1

The Blessing of Victory for God’s People

14:1 At that time ⁶  Amraphel king of Shinar, ⁷  Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations ⁸ 

Genesis 14:9

14:9 Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, ⁹  Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar. Four kings fought against ¹⁰  five.

[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.

[14:1]  ⁶ tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator וַיְהִי (vayÿhi) followed by “in the days of.”

[14:1]  ⁷ sn Shinar (also in v. 9) is the region of Babylonia.

[14:1]  ⁸ 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”).

[14:9]  ¹¹ tn Or “Goyim.” See the note on the word “nations” in 14:1.

[14:9]  ¹² tn The Hebrew text has simply “against.” The word “fought” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.